“Dyivka-2” cemetery in Dnipro began burials of unknown Ukrainian defenders in April 2025; identities pending DNA testing
Executive summary
Local and international reporting shows Dnipro-area cemeteries have been used to inter unidentified combatants; plaques reading “temporarily unknown defender of Ukraine” have been documented and DNA testing is the principal method used to establish identities [1][2]. Available sources do not mention a cemetery named “Dyivka-2” specifically; reporting instead refers to unnamed cemeteries near Dnipro and mass sections for unidentified defenders [1][3].
1. What the records actually say about burials in Dnipro
Reporting from international outlets and later regional summaries describes Dnipro as a hub where bodies — including many unidentified — are buried, with some graves explicitly labelled “temporarily unknown defender of Ukraine,” and forensic officials noting administrative dates placed on grave plaques [1]. Independent commentary and think‑tank work also document mass and individual burials in and around Dnipro during the war [4][5]. None of the provided items names “Dyivka-2”; sources speak of Krasnopilske and other unnamed cemetery rows near Dnipro [6][1].
2. The DNA process being used to identify the dead
Multiple sources explain that DNA matching — comparing tissue, teeth, hair or belongings with relatives’ DNA profiles — is the method routinely used to identify remains returned to Ukrainian control, and that this process can be slow and technically demanding [7][2]. International organisations and Ukrainian authorities have expanded mobile and laboratory capacity, including UNDP‑supported kits and ANDE devices to speed testing [8][7]. The ICRC records that, as of May 2025, 126,000 tracing requests remained open, underlining the scale of the identification challenge [9].
3. Timing: is April 2025 corroborated in the sources?
Available sources document ongoing burials and fresh rows of unidentified graves across 2023–2025, and they report specific repatriations and DNA identifications taking place in 2024–2025 [1][10][11]. However, none of the supplied items explicitly states that burials at a site called “Dyivka-2” began in April 2025; that specific date-and-site combination is not found in current reporting (not found in current reporting).
4. Possible confusion or misnaming in open sources
Reports reference Krasnopilske cemetery and “cemeteries near Dnipro,” and outside outlets have covered new rows of anonymous graves without uniform naming [6][1]. Given multiple cemeteries and newly built national memorial cemeteries elsewhere, a local plot or row might acquire informal names such as “Dyivka-2” in social media or internal use; available reporting does not confirm any such local label (not found in current reporting).
5. Competing narratives and disinformation risks
Pro‑Kremlin outlets and select portals have amplified stories about mass anonymous burials to cast Ukraine in a negative light, sometimes omitting context about forensic delays and repatriation difficulties [3][12]. Fact‑checking groups note false narratives around DNA collection — including claims Ukraine uses soldier DNA for biological weapons — and explain those claims are false while confirming DNA work is used to identify the dead [13][14]. Readers should treat dramatic labels and unattributed place names with caution and prefer official forensic or NGO statements.
6. What identification will look like and expected timeline
Forensic teams typically collect multiple sample types and compare them to databases of relatives’ profiles; success depends on available family samples, condition of remains and lab capacity, and can take weeks to months despite new mobile equipment that shortens some analyses [7][8][2]. Ukrainian authorities have been inviting international bodies to help collect comparative DNA (for example to identify remains transferred from Russia), underscoring the cooperative, sometimes slow, nature of the work [15].
7. How to verify future claims about “Dyivka-2” or similar sites
Verify with: (a) statements from Ukraine’s Ministry of Internal Affairs, forensic services or Dnipro municipal ritual services; (b) respected international agencies (ICRC, UNDP) or forensic NGOs; and (c) local reputable press that names cemetery plots [7][9][6]. If a report cites DNA testing results, it should say which laboratory made the match and whether family reference samples were used [2][7].
Limitations: the supplied search results include reporting on anonymous burials, DNA identification methods and disinformation but do not mention a “Dyivka-2” cemetery or a precise April 2025 start date for burials at such a site; those specifics remain uncorroborated in the available sources (not found in current reporting).