Almost 440 graves found at Izium burial site, Ukraine says
Ukrainian authorities have found 440 graves at a mass burial site in Izium, an eastern city recently recaptured From Russian forces, Ukraine's Defense Ministry said in a Twitter post-Friday.
Earlier Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskysaid Ukrainian and international journalists would be shown the site to see what had been uncovered. "We want the world to know what is happening and what the Russian occupation has led to," Zelensky said.
Ukraine's Center for Strategic Communications said on Thursday that some of the graves discovered at Izium were "fresh" and that the corpses buried there were "mostly civilians."
Ilium was subject to intense Russian artillery attacks in April. The city, which sits near the border between the Kharkiv and Donetsk regions, became an important hub for the invading military during five months of occupation.
Ukrainian forces took back control of the city on Saturday, delivering a strategic blow to Russia's military assault in the east.
Zelensky visited Izium on Wednesday and told journalists he was "shocked" by the number of "destroyed buildings" and "killed people" left in the wake of the Russian occupation.
Moscow was using Izium as a launching pad for attacks southward into the Donetsk region and Kupyansk, some 48 kilometres (30 miles) to the north of Izium, and as a rail, hub to resupply its forces.
Zelensky also thanked foreign governments for sending investigators and prosecutors to investigate alleged human rights abuses by occupying forces in Ukraine, adding that all occupied areas would eventually return.
Ukrainian forces have been on a sustained military offensive, particularly in the northeast and southern regions.
Zelensky said that 8,000 square kilometres (3,088 square miles) of territory had been liberated by Ukrainian forces this month, with roughly half the area still undergoing "stabilisation" measures.
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