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About 450 bodies were exhumed from a mass grave in Izyum, a city in the northeastern Khakriv region, a senior Ukrainian official told Fox News Digital on Saturday.
Russian troops withdrew from Kharkiv last week as Ukrainian ground forces made rapid progress and recaptured most of the region’s territory from Russian troops.
But the devastation left in Russia’s wake was similar to the atrocities and alleged war crimes seen in other reconquered areas of Ukraine, such as Bucha and Irpin.
Bags with corpses were seen during exhumation in the recently reconquered area of Izyum, Ukraine on Friday, September 16, 2022.
(Photo AP / Evgeniy Maloletka)
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“We are discovering new places of atrocities and renewing evidence of war crimes,” Ukrainian Defense Minister Yuriy Sak told Fox News Digital. “Men, women, children. Some of the bodies were excavated with their hands tied behind their backs.”
Witnesses of the exhumation of the bodies said they depicted signs of being shot, killed by artillery, mines or air strikes.
“We are seeing what we have warned earlier, that wherever the Russian occupiers set foot they leave disasters, they leave atrocities, they commit war crimes, they terrorize and terrorize peaceful populations,” he added.
Sak said a torture chamber was found in the city of Kupiansk, about 75 miles north of Izyum, and was used by Russian forces to terrorize those they suspected of working to thwart the invasion of Russia.
Reports on Friday suggested that up to 10 torture chambers had been discovered since Russian troops withdrew.
GRAPHIC IMAGE WARNING
Part of the Ukrainian soldier’s body emerges from the ground during an exhumation in the recently recaptured Izyum area, Ukraine, on Friday, September 16, 2022.
(Photo AP / Evgeniy Maloletka)
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Ukrainian forces since early September have recaptured some 3,300 square miles of territory that was under Russian occupation, but Sak said Ukrainians aren’t celebrating yet.
“It is absolutely a paralyzing thought to try to imagine what the Ukrainian army will discover when we liberate cities like Mariupol,” Sak said, referring to the site of one of the most fought battles in Ukraine, where hundreds of soldiers and civilians were trapped after the Russian troops advanced on the city. “Absolutely razed and destroyed and hammered by rockets and bombs for months.”
Sak said at least 25,000 civilians are believed to have been killed in the southern port city when Ukrainian troops left the city in May after weeks of intense fighting, increasing the risk of starvation and an eventual ceasefire.
GRAPHIC IMAGE WARNING
Ukrainian authorities discovered a mass burial site near the reconquered city of Izyum which contained hundreds of graves.
(Photo AP / Evgeniy Maloletka)
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“We understand that this war is far from over. We understand that we are opposing a treacherous, genocidal enemy who is still well equipped,” he added. “We are determined to continue what we are doing.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenksyy said numerous investigations into suspected war crimes and human rights violations were launched this week.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
