Ukrainian authorities say they have discovered mass graves in the liberated city of Izyum in the Kharkiv region.
Ukraine’s defense ministry in a social media post on Thursday published photos of the scene, saying multiple mass burial sites had been discovered, the largest holding “440 unmarked graves.” One photo shows a partly excavated large hole in a woodland area; another mounds of dirt topped with wooden crosses.
Kharkiv’s police investigative chief Serhiy Bolvinov told Sky News on Thursday that the causes of death of those in the graves were being investigated. “We know that some were [shot dead], some died because of artillery fire, so-called mine explosion traumas. Some died because of airstrikes,” Bolvinov said. “We have information that a lot of bodies have not been not identified yet. So the reasons of death will be established during the investigations.”
In his nightly address on Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine would provide further information to reporters on Friday.
“We want the world to know what is really happening and what the Russian occupation has led to. Bucha, Mariupol, now, unfortunately, Izyum,” Zelenskyy said, referring to some of the cities Ukrainian forces have retaken since the beginning of Russia’s war in February, where evidence of war crimes has emerged.
“The world must hold Russia to real account for this war,” Zelenskyy said.
The president had on Wednesday visited Izyum and raised the Ukrainian flag atop the city’s main square, after a successful counter-offensive that saw Kyiv recapture much of the northeastern Kharkiv region.