Zelensky: “After Bucha and Mariupol, now Izium… Russia must take responsibility for the war”
Local researcher “confirms more than 440 mass burial sites”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on the 15th (local time) that a mass burial site had been discovered in the northeastern part of Kharkiv Izium, where his army has recently recovered.
According to AFP and the Associated Press, President Zelensky said in a televised speech aired every night, “More clear and authentic information will come out tomorrow.”
President Zelensky stressed that Russia should be held accountable, referring to cities that had previously been exposed to brutal atrocities, such as the massacre of civilians, when Russian troops withdrew.
“After Bucha and Mariupol, it is now Igeum,” he said. “The world should hold Russia accountable for this war, and we will do everything we can for that.
President Zelensky did not reveal the size of the body or the cause of death on that day, stating only that “the necessary procedures have already started there.”
President Zelensky visited Igeum on the 14th to check the situation in the city and encourage the troops.
Sergey Bolbinou, a senior police investigator in Kharkiv, told Sky News that more than 440 bodies were found nearby after Ukrainian troops entered Izium.
He said those buried were killed by gunfire, artillery fire or land mines.
The Associated Press reported that the mass burial site had been identified in the forest outside Igeum.
The burial site was marked with the remains of 17 Ukrainian soldiers, surrounded by hundreds of individual graves with cross marks, the Associated Press reported.
Recently, the Ukrainian Army recaptured Kharkiv, after Baraklia and Kupiansk, and then to Izium, a strategically important location, effectively driving the Russians out of Kharkiv.
Igeum, which had been occupied by Russian forces for almost half a year, suffered irreparable damage, including the destruction of military facilities and residential areas due to shelling and missile attacks.
The BBC, which visited Igeum, said that many buildings had been destroyed or burned, and that the city had no running water, electricity or heat.
In Baraklia, it was confirmed that the Russian military had committed atrocities such as electric torture and murder against local residents.
/happy news
