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Days after liberating thousands of acres of the occupied region from the Russian troops, the Ukrainian authorities on Friday began the process of examining the mass burial site, discovered a day earlier in the east Ukrainian town of Izyum. The officials stated that 99 per cent of the exhumed bodies found at the burial site had signs of violent death, meaning the Russian troops tortured and mutilated them when killing.
“Among the bodies that were exhumed today, 99 percent showed signs of violent death. There are several bodies with their hands tied behind their backs, and one person is buried with a rope around his neck.” said Oleg Synegubov, head of the Kharkiv regional administration.
Synegubov further stated that these people were obviously tortured and executed by the Russian barbarians.
Read more: Mass grave with over 400 bodies found in Izium in Kharkiv region recaptured last week, says Ukraine
Additionally, the graves of the buried were not marked with names or dates. The Russian troops simply marked a number while burying the dead, leaving no trail for the Ukrainian authorities to identify the victims.
According to locals, those exhumed were most likely killed by the Russian forces who occupied the city for the last six months and used it as the base for launching military operations in the Donbas region.
The Russian troops attacked Izium in April and according to witnesses, over 100 were killed in the first assault as Russian bombs were hurled. The emergency service workers wearing blue plastic may have also stumbled upon the graves of little children, who, according to the locals were one of the earliest casualties in the attack.
As reported by WION, after the burial site was discovered by Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky in an address informed that the process of verification will begin the next day.
“In Izium, Kharkiv region, a mass burial of people was found. The necessary procedural actions have already started there, more information, clear and verified, should be available tomorrow.” said Zelensky in the address.
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Ukraine compared the discovery to what happened in Bucha, on the outskirts of the capital Kyiv in the early stages of the invasion. Ukraine and its Western allies have accused Russian forces of perpetrating war crimes there. Tens of thousands of civilians were likely killed in a separate Russian assault on the southern port of Mariupol, Ukrainian officials said in April.
(With inputs from agencies)
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