IZIUM, UKRAINE (AP) – Ukrainian authorities were expected to begin recovering bodies yesterday from a newly found 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 burial site, containing hundreds of graves, was discovered close to Izium after a rapid counteroffensive by Ukrainian forces liberated the northeastern city and other swaths of the Kharkiv region, breaking what was largely becoming a military stalemate in the nearly seven-month war.
To keep the offensive going, the Biden administration announced another USD600 million package of military aid onThursday for Ukraine, including more of the weaponry that has helped its troops seize momentum.
Associated Press journalists who visited the burial site Thursday counted hundreds of graves amid the trees, marked with simple wooden crosses – most of them numbered, up to 400 and beyond.
There was also at least one mass grave, with a marker saying it contained the bodies of 17 Ukrainian soldiers.
In his nightly televised address on Thursday, Zelenskyy said “more information – clear, verifiable information” about the burial site is expected soon.
“The necessary procedural actions have already begun there,” he said. “We want the world to know what is really happening and what the Russian occupation has led to.”
