In a pine forest on the outskirts of Izium, Ukraine, the smell of death fills the air as a mass exhumation of bodies takes place.
The earth reveals secrets. The Ukrainian Army believes that war crimes have been committed and is determined to document them.
About 1, emergency services workers in blue plastic suits dig and open makeshift graves.
They try to establish the cause of death of hundreds of people buried in a forest on the outskirts of the city, recently liberated by Ukrainian troops .
Regional police chief Volodymyr Tymoshko told the BBC that it is believed that more than 400 Bodies were buried on the spot.
Izium, invaded in April, was used by Russia as a military center to supply its troops in eastern Ukraine.
“We want the world to know what is really happening now what has the Russian occupation brought. Bucha, Mariupol, now, unfortunately, Izium… Russia leaves death everywhere. And he must be held accountable for that,” said the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky.
Zelensky was referring to the mass graves found in Bucha, near the capital, Kyiv, and also near Mariupol, the key port in southeastern Ukraine now occupied by Russian troops.
“War crimes”
The exhumation was carried out in silence before the eyes of the police and prosecutors.
Kharkiv City Prosecutor Olexander Ilyenkov says there is no doubt that war crimes have been committed.
“In the first grave there is a civilian with a rope around his neck. There are signs of torture,” he told the BBC. And he added that the majority died at the hands of Russian soldiers.
“Some were killed, others tortured, some died by artillery attacks and Russian aircraft.”
Some of the graves are marked with crosses. Others have names, but most are marked only by numbers. The burials were carried out under the orders of the Russians when they controlled the city.
Ukrainian police say there is 445 new graves, but some contain more than one body. Many are civilians, women and children included, they say.
They even denounce that there is a grave with around 13 Ukrainian soldiers, some with their hands tied and with a rope around their necks.
As the pits were opened, explosions could be heard in the distance as part of the demining work in the area.
Hryhorii, from 72 years old, went to see the grave of his wife, Ludmilla. He tells us that he died on March 7 during an intense Russian bombardment of Izium.
Much of Izium is in ruins. A local politician told reporters that until 80% of the city’s infrastructure hasbía been destroyed and bodies are still being discovered in the rubble.
Izium and other towns in the Kharkiv region were liberated earlier this month during a swift Ukrainian counteroffensive that appeared to have surprised Russian troops.
- Maps showing the territory recovered by Ukraine after its “lightning” offensive against Russia
Ukraine claims to have iden tified more than 12, possible war crimes, including murder of civilians and rape, committed by Russian troops since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a full-scale invasion of the country on 24 February.
Forensic investigators and journalists found what appeared to be evidence of the deliberate killing of civilians in Bucha and other nearby areas.
The forces Ukrainian women said they found mass graves and evidence that civilians had died after their hands and feet were tied.
The International Criminal Court has already sent a team of investigators and forensic experts to Ukraine to investigate the findings.
The president of the United States, Joe Biden, and the former prime minister of the United Kingdom, Boris Johnson, accused Russia of having committed war crimes in Ukraine.
The Russian government has repeatedly denied targeting civilians, and accused Ukraine and the West of fabricating evidence.
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