After 445 bodies were found in the eastern Ukrainian city of Izyum, the first research results are now available. Contrary to what was initially claimed, it should not be a mass grave, but individual graves. Police say the dead are mostly civilians killed as a result of artillery fire or air strikes.
“According to a preliminary estimate they are civilians. We have information that there are soldiers, but we have not found any yet,” police chief Ihor Klymenko said at a news conference on Friday. All bodies are now subject to forensic examination, the chief of the investigating authority in the Kharkiv region, Serhiy Bolvynov, added. “I can say that it is one of the largest cemeteries in the liberated areas. Some died from artillery fire, others died from air raids.”
Izyum had only recently been recaptured by Russian forces. Thousands of Russian soldiers fled last weekend and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the city on Wednesday. After the graves were discovered in Izyum, he compared events to those in the Kiev suburb of Bucha. Numerous bodies of civilians were discovered there in February. Zelenskyi again accused Russia of war crimes.
torture chambers discovered
Ukrainian police provided evidence for this version on Friday. She discovered at least ten torture chambers in the Kharkov region and authorities had already launched 204 investigations into possible war crimes committed by the Russian armed forces. Bodies with hands tied behind their backs have now been found, according to the local governor of Izyum. This has yet to be explored with international assistance.
The United Nations wants to send observers to the Ukrainian city “to learn more about what could have happened,” said spokeswoman Liz Throssell in Geneva. She did not give an exact date for such a visit for the time being.
Crosses with numbers
Missing persons commissioner Oleh Kotenko said people in Izyum were believed to have died in March when Russian forces shelled the city in an attempt to take it. Because some funeral services did not know who the many dead civilians were, some of the crosses only had numbers. Authorities are now working to find a record of where the bodies were found.
In an initial response on Friday, the Austrian Foreign Ministry was “deeply shocked by the latest reports of mass graves in Isjum”. The perpetrators must be held accountable. US President Joe Biden has announced that he will receive $600 million in military aid to Ukraine.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
