Retrieving The Fallen In Ukraine

This photo, of Ukrainian National Guard members retrieving the body of a soldier in the Kharkiv region, is one of several images made on September 17-19 by AP photojournalist Leo Correa.

The photographer joined a risky mission to retrieve the remains of Ukrainian fighters from former battlegrounds recently recaptured by Ukrainian forces.

Smoke rises in the distance as a National Guardsman looks on during the operation to retrieve fallen Ukrainians. 

The mission took place in an unspecified area of the Kharkiv region, near the border with Russia. 

Ukrainian soldiers examine the body of a fellow Ukrainian servicemen -- apparently killed days earlier in the retaken area. 

In early September, Kyiv recaptured vast swathes of territory from Russian forces in the northeast of Ukraine, seizing masses of abandoned Russian hardware. Russia's Defense Ministry claimed to be withdrawing troops from northeast Ukraine to redeploy elsewhere.

A punctured ballistic helmet at the site where the bodies of four Ukrainian soldiers were found on September 19. 

Images of celebration and surprise flooded social media as the extent of the recent Ukrainian advance became clear. In contrast, these photographs captured by Correa show the continuing human cost of the Russian invasion, even amid sweeping military victories.

Ukrainian National Guardsmen pull the body of a Ukrainian fighter out of a damaged vehicle. 

In total, the remains of seven Ukrainian soldiers were retrieved during the recovery operation in and around the site of an apparent close-range battle in open landscape.

A Ukrainian soldier checks the area for unexploded ordnance near a destroyed civilian vehicle.

The recovery team crouches and waits as a deminer checks the body of a Ukrainian soldier for booby traps.

National Guardsmen approach a damaged Russian tank that has been fitted with a Ukrainian flag during the recovery operation. 

A Ukrainian serviceman holds the remains of a Russian soldier recovered from the damaged tank. 

Ukrainian soldiers inspect the damaged Russian tank. 

Ukrainian National Guardsmen carry the remains of a fellow Ukrainian soldier toward an area where he will be identified and eventually handed over to his family. 

As of September 20, nearly all of the Kharkiv region had been retaken by Ukrainian forces. In the key city of Kupyansk, however, Kyiv has claimed the city is under its control, while journalists say fighting there is ongoing.