[1/4] Ukrainian servicemen check the body of a dead Russian soldier, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the village of Blahodatne in Donetsk Region Ukraine September 8, 2023. REUTERS/Oleksandr Ratushniak/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBLAHODATNE, Ukraine, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Wearing face masks, the Ukrainian soldiers poked sticks into the undergrowth along a deserted country road, searching for the bodies of Russian soldiers they hoped to exchange for their own comrades, living and dead. They called it the "road of death" after the number of Russian soldiers killed there when Ukrainian forces retook the southeastern village of Blahodatne at the start of their counteroffensive in June. Three months on, the frontline had shifted south and it was finally safe enough for the three-man team of Ukrainian soldiers to start their operation in this liberated part of Donetsk region. There was intense fighting for Urozhaine," he said, referring to a nearby village that was later retaken.

---

Persons: Oleksandr Ratushniak, Volodymyr, Ron Popeski, Tom Balmforth, Andrew Heavens Organizations: Donetsk Region Ukraine, REUTERS, Kremlin, Thomson Locations: Russian, Ukraine, Blahodatne, Donetsk Region, Donetsk, Russia, Urozhaine