According to the local military governor Pavlo Kyrylenko, around 200 graves and one mass grave have been found in the city of Lyman in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk, which was recently recaptured from Kyiv. Kyrylenko published photos on Telegram that showed many small wooden crosses and emergency services in white protective suits. Kyrylenko said the exhumations had already started. The strategically important small town, temporarily occupied by Russian troops, was recaptured by the Ukrainians in early October.
According to initial findings, the dead could be both Ukrainian soldiers and civilians, it said. How many bodies were in the mass grave has yet to be determined. According to the police, several small children and sometimes entire families were among the people killed.
Mass graves had already been found in various parts of Ukraine in the past after the withdrawal of Russian troops. The bodies found in the Kiev suburb of Bucha in early April caused particular international outrage. Hundreds of dead civilians were found there – some with signs of torture and their hands tied. Since then, Bucha has been considered a symbol for the most serious war crimes.