Ukraine discovers hundreds of graves outside Izyum days after retaking it from Russia.
In a woodland outside the town, advancing Ukrainian soldiers found wooden crosses, with the majority bearing numbers. Authorities said that some of the tombs would be exhumed on Friday, BBC reported.
Early reports indicate that some of the fatalities may have perished from shelling and a lack of access to healthcare, while it is yet unclear what happened to them buried in Ukraine mass graves.
Additionally, some indicators suggest some of the tombs may house Ukrainian soldiers. More than 400 victims were allegedly buried there, according to regional police chief Volodymyr Tymoshko, who spoke to the BBC.
Russia exploited the invasion of Izyum as a crucial military base to resupply soldiers from the east in the early stages of the conflict.
It was also utilized to launch strikes into the Donetsk area and Kupyansk, located around 48 kilometers (30 miles) north of Izium, and a rail hub for resupplying, as per a CNN report.
President Volodymyr Zelensky stated in his evening speech that "required procedural measures" have started in the region.
Volodymyr Zelensky said that the world must know "what is really happening" and the outcomes of the Russia Ukraine war .
"Bucha, Mariupol, now, unfortunately, Izyum... Russia leaves death everywhere," he said. "And it must be held accountable for that."
The Ukrainian president was alluding to purported Ukraine mass graves discovered this spring at Bucha, close to Kyiv, the country's capital, and also close to Mariupol, a significant port in the country's southeast that is currently under Russian occupation.
Largest Mass Grave in European History
The mass burial found in Izium, a former Russian front-line bastion, is the largest one to be found in Europe since the 1990s Balkan conflicts' aftermath.
After tens of thousands of Russian soldiers abandoned their guns and ammunition and fled the region, Ukrainian forces retook Izium.
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Volodymyr Zelensky adviser Mykhailo Podolyak tweeted in English: "For months a rampant terror, violence, torture, and mass murders were in the occupied territories."
He posted a photo of a woodland scattered with wooden crosses on sludgy ground.
Mass graves are being discovered in Izyum after liberation from the russcists. The current largest burial sights has 440 unmarked graves.@ZelenskyyUa : "The necessary procedural actions have already begun there. More information - clear, verified - should be available tomorrow." pic.twitter.com/IipipvFJpb
— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) September 15, 2022
"Anyone else wants to 'freeze the war' instead of sending tanks? We have no right to leave people alone with the Evil," he added.
The Russian government did not immediately respond to news of the mass gravesite, according to Reuters.
It has previously denied that its forces had committed crimes. Moscow says it is disarming Ukraine in a "special military operation."
Region Undergoing Stability
Oleh Kotenko, Ukraine's commissioner for missing persons, said search activities for "fallen heroes" are progressing carefully.
Zelensky visited Izium on Wednesday and told reporters he was "shocked" by the quantity of "destroyed buildings" and dead persons.
In addition, Zelensky praised international nations for sending prosecutors and investigators to Ukraine to look into allegations of breaches of human rights by occupying forces and promised that all occupied territories will finally be liberated.
Particularly in the northeast and south of the nation, Ukrainian soldiers have been engaged in a protracted military onslaught.
Zelensky stated Tuesday that Ukrainian forces had reclaimed 8,000 square kilometers (3,088 square miles) this month, with half the region still undergoing "stabilization."
