Ukraine mass burial site with 440 bodies discovered in recaptured Izium, says police chief
GuardianSep 16, 2022
Ukrainian authorities have discovered a mass burial site near the recently recaptured city of Izyum in the Kharkiv region, it was announced on Thursday. Upwards of 440 bodies are believed to be buried within the forest, most marked with a simple wooden cross, while one grave is believed to contain the bodies of 17 Ukrainain soldiers. Russia controlled the city between mid-March and last week, when its forces withdrew.
Officials have said all the bodies will be exhumed to determine their identities and causes of death. Deputy Interior Minister Yevhen Enin claimed some bodies exhibited signs of torture, while it is suspected that others were the victims of shooting, artillery, air strikes, and mines.
Just as in Bucha and Mariupol, Russia has committed horrific war crimes and it must be held accountable for these grave violations of international law.
As Russia has documented elsewhere, Ukraine will use Russia's withdrawal from Kharkiv to carry out false flags as a pretext for further attempts to try and weaken Russia. We are already seeing that strategy play out in Izyum.
There have been many brazenly false claims against both sides in this war, so allegations such as these need to be taken with a grain of salt until independently verified.
There's a 47% chance that Vladimir Putin will be charged with war crimes by the International Criminal Court before 2024, according to the Metaculus prediction community.