After the withdrawal of Russian troops, a “mass grave” was found in the eastern Ukrainian city of Izyum in the Kharkiv region, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. “The necessary procedural actions have already begun there,” said the head of state in a video message distributed in Kyiv on Thursday. There should be more detailed information this Friday, said Selenskyj. Ukrainian media reported that more than 440 bodies were found in a forest.
According to Ukrainian information, the Russians fled the area on Saturday following a counter-offensive by Ukrainian forces. The Defense Ministry in Moscow had spoken of a “regrouping” of its troops, while even sources close to the Kremlin spoke of a devastating defeat. Zelenskyj visited Izyum on Wednesday. Journalists are to be taken to the mass grave this Friday. “We want the world to know what really happened and what the Russian occupation led to,” Zelenskyy said.
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Keystone/AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletk/
«Bucha, Mariupol and now unfortunately also Izyum: Russia leaves death everywhere and has to answer for it. The world must hold Russia to real responsibility for this war,” the head of state demanded. After the withdrawal of Russian troops in the spring from the Kiev suburb of Bucha and in numerous other places, including the port city of Mariupol, which was occupied by Moscow, Ukraine complained regarding the most serious war crimes.
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Keystone/AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka
According to Ukrainian authorities, hundreds of civilians were killed in Bucha and thousands in Mariupol. According to the Internet newspaper Ukrajinska Pravda, the head of the police investigation agency in the Kharkiv region, Serhiy Bolvynov, spoke of a mass grave with more than 440 bodies in a forest in Izyum.
Selenskyj did not begin his eight-minute video message with the news of the many dead bodies, but with his thanks for the recent visit by EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Kyiv and for the support in the fight once morest Russian aggression. His country is making progress on the way to becoming a candidate for EU membership, said the President.
Selenskyj once once more described Russia as a “terrorist state” that is trying to compensate for the “cowardice and incompetence of its armed forces” with attacks on the energy infrastructure and dams in Ukraine. There must always be a tough reaction to terror, demanded Zelenskyj. “That’s why there must be the eighth package of sanctions from the EU.”
In addition, Zelenskyj once once more demanded powerful air defense systems from the West to protect Ukrainian airspace. “Protecting Ukraine from Russian missiles is a truly fundamental element of global security,” he said. Russia has fired more than 3,800 rockets at Ukraine since the war began on February 24.
Supporting his country with weapons, ammunition and money is essential for peace in Europe, emphasized the 44-year-old. “The more support we have, the sooner this war will end.” Freedom in the world can only be defended if Ukraine wins.
