A mass grave with 440 bodies found in Izium – Police

KATERYNA TYSHCHENKO -- THURSDAY, 15 SEPTEMBER 2022, 22:44 A mass grave containing 440 bodies was found in the liberated city of Izium of the Kharkiv region. Source: Serhiy Bolvinov, head of the Investigative Department of the National Police in Kharkiv region, in a comment for Sky News; Oleh Kotenko, Commissioner on Missing Persons in the comments for Current Time

Quote from Bolvinov: "I can say that here is one of the largest graves in one liberated city, with more than 440 graves."

Details: According to Bolvinov, the bodies were buried separately. When asked how the people buried there died, Bolvinov said, "We know that some were killed [shot], some died from artillery fire, the so-called mine-explosive injuries. Some died from airstrikes.

Many bodies have not been identified yet, so the causes of death will be determined during the investigation." Bolvinov noted that all the bodies will be exhumed and sent for forensic medical examination.

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At the same time, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Voice of America, and Current Time TV, published photos of the mass grave in the forest in Izium, received from Ukrainian journalists.

"Some burials have crosses and inscriptions on them. There are even wreaths in some places. There's nothing in some places but only a grave.

Inscriptions: "AFU, 17 people, from the morgue", "345", "412"", -- it is stated on his Telegram channel. Oleh Kotenko, Commissioner on Missing Persons, confirmed to Current Time the authenticity of the images. Kotenko said that the invaders published a video from this burial in Izium themselves, so the Ukrainian Forces were looking for it.

"And somewhere there is a register in which, I think, they will tell us where they got this body for burial. We are currently working on this, and I think we will find these lists and understand who this person is, why he was assigned a number and not a surname. But there are also surnames, and there are also wreaths, and the date of death is also on some of them.

Most of them, I think, died under fire. We have already understood this from the dates. People died when they [Russians -- ed.] were hitting the city with artillery," Kotenko said.

At the same time, Hromadske reports with reference to Konenko that a mass grave of Ukrainian soldiers was found at the cemetery, where up to 25 Ukrainian defenders are buried.

In total, during the occupation, more than 460 new burials appeared at the local cemetery.

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