436 bodies exhumed from mass burial site in Izium with signs of violent death
A total of 436 bodies have been exhumed from a mass burial site in Izium, Ukraine.
This is according to Oleh Syniehubov, head of the Kharkiv region military administration, who confirmed that the exhumation was carried out on Friday.
Syiehubov said in a post on Telegram that most of the bodies demonstrated signs of violent death, and 30 had traces of torture.
He said: “There are bodies with a rope around the neck, with hands tied, with broken limbs and with gunshot wounds. Several men had their genitals amputated. All this is evidence of the terrible torture to which the occupiers subjected the residents of Izium. Most of the bodies are civilians, 21 are military,”
Syniehubov promised to find out the circumstance of each of the deaths “so that their relatives and friends know the truth and the killers are punished.” He added.
He also thanked the 200 people — forensic experts, police officers, and employees of the State Emergency Service — who had been working at the site in the Kharkiv region, which had been recently recaptured from Russian forces.
He added that there were at least three more mass burial sites in other liberated areas of the Kharkiv region.
“All crimes of the occupiers will be documented, and the perpetrators will pay for what they have done,” Syniehubov said.
In April, Izium became the subject to intense Russian artillery attacks. The city, which is situated near the border between the Kharkiv and Donetsk regions, became a meaningful hub for the invading military during five months of occupation.
On September 10, Ukrainian forces took back control of the city, delivering a strategic hit to Russia’s military assault in the east.
