Moscow rejects war crimes allegations, calls discovery of hundreds of bodies in Izium a ‘lie’
The Kremlin called Monday a ” lies “ the information on the discovery of hundreds of buried bodies and a mass grave in Izioumin eastern Ukraine, following the withdrawal of Russian forces from the region.
” This is a lie. We will of course defend the truth in this matter.said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. “It’s the same scenario as in Boutcha”he said once more, referring to this other Ukrainian city, located near kyiv, where Russian forces have been accused of committing abuses following the discovery of more than hundreds of bodies of civilians in the streets in April.
According to the Ukrainian authorities, more than 440 graves and a mass grave were found last week near Izium, in the middle of a pine forest on the edge of this city taken over by the kyiv army from that of Moscow. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday denounced the crimes of an army of “torturers”.
According to the regional governor, Oleh Synehoubov, « four hundred and fifty bodies of civilians bearing traces of violent death and torture,” that is « 99 % » bodies exhumed Friday, have been identified.
On Monday, the Kremlin spokesman also assured that the Crimean peninsula, annexed in 2014 by Russia, was “integral part of the territory of Russia”following Ukrainian officials repeated that they wanted to put an end to the« occupation » Russian. “Any sightings on Russian territory will receive an appropriate response”added Mr. Peskov.
