Ukraine combs mass burial site near recaptured city, says Russia ‘leaves death’
Ukrainian authorities were expected to begin recovering bodies Friday from a mass burial site in a forest recaptured from Russian forces near Izyum.
Ukrainian authorities were expected to begin recovering bodies Friday from a mass burial site in a forest recaptured from Russian forces, a delicate task that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said would help show the world “what the Russian occupation has led to.”
The site, containing hundreds of graves, was discovered close to Izyum after a rapid counteroffensive by Ukrainian forces retook the northeastern city and much of the Kharkiv region, breaking what had largely become a stalemate in the nearly seven-month war.
To bolster the offensive, the Biden administration announced another $600 million package of military aid Thursday for Ukraine, including more of the weaponry that has helped its troops seize the momentum.
Associated Press journalists who visited the burial site Thursday saw graves amid the pine trees, marked with simple wooden crosses. Most were numbered — and the count went into the 400s.
It was not clear who was buried in many of the plots or how all of them died, though witnesses and a Ukrainian investigator said some were shot and others were killed by artillery fire, mines or airstrikes.
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