The bodies are stacked in the morgue of the Ukrainian city of Mikolaiv.

In the courtyard of the forensic institute with a morgue in the Ukrainian city of Mikolaiv, on the Black Sea coast, there is snow on the corpses wrapped in gray plastic bags, waiting for evacuation.

In one of these cold images, the body is close to the hand, as if prayering.He explains that the Russians were actually throwing a Molotov cocktail when they caught him.He added that his hands were tied and executed.

In the ruinous forensic facilities of the city, where Russians were attacked due to lack of space, other corpses are on the ground. The smell of death mixed with disinfectants is everywhere.

“I have never seen anything like this. I thought the worst thing that could happen to us here was a car accident.” Vladimir, one of the morgue workers, says he is holding a cigarette in his hand.He works around the clock with his colleagues.

Among the deaths are victims of war, civilians and military, as well as people who died from natural causes.

The doctor performs an autopsy in unsanitary conditions: in Ochkiv, a few kilometers from Mikolaiv, you need to go to a cold store where the bodies of the victims of the attack, which took place a few days ago, must pass through several naked bodies.

- “Too young” -

Vladimir again crosses the courtyard and opens the gates of nightmares. About 30 bodies are located on the ground.

Vladimir regrets that “they are very young and younger than their nephews.” He also says that there is a Russian soldier in the back of the building. “We keep them away,” he says.

The employee carefully removes the neck chain used for identity from the body.

Violent Russian battles and bombings occurred in Mikolaiv and the region, but Ukrainians resisted and recovered even the northernmost airport a few days ago.

The city is strategic because it constitutes the final stage of the transfer of the large port city of Odessa.

Olga Dierugina, of the Forensic Research Institute, said: “Since the beginning of the war, we have received 120 bodies, including 80 soldiers and 30 civilians. The youngest of the civilian victims was a three-year-old boy, and the oldest was a 70-year-old man, he says.

Some bodies are difficult to identify. This is especially true of the 19 bodies that arrived from Ochakov two days ago. We collect DNA samples to learn more about their identity and analyze tattoos and jewelry by experts.

The bodies of soldiers are sent to their homeland. “They are all very young and were born in 1990, 2000...” “, explains Dierugina. “How do you feel today?” , he asks. “Fear. We all have children,” he remembers after being silent for a while.

The doctor tries to calm down with tears. “Here in Mikolaiv, everything is still fine, but my parents are in Chernigov (north) and cannot be evacuated,” he says.

From the forensic institute, 15 colleagues fled to the west, about 60 people were still working, 20 of them were in the morgue.

“I can't thank you enough,” she continues, although in Mikolaiv the situation is still under control, “if it continues, we are heading directly to a humanitarian disaster.”

Outside the morgue, some families wait quietly under the snow.

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