So far, 35 separate burial sites have been discovered in reclaimed parts of the Donetsk region, the Ukrinform news agency reported on Wednesday.
Three mass graves in liberated parts of Donetsk province
Three of the sites are mass graves, one in Sviatohirsk and two at Lyman Cemetery, according to Polish state news agency PAP.
In Sviatohirsk, seven people were buried together, and at Lyman Cemetery, the bodies of several dozen servicemen from the Armed Forces of Ukraine were discovered in a mass grave, with more than 100 civilians found buried in a second location, regional police said, according to Ukrinform.
At Lyman Cemetery, 56 bodies were exhumed during the first week of work, including 22 civilians, the PAP news agency reported on Wednesday.
Some of the recovered remains had signs of natural death, others of having met a violent end, regional police said, according to Ukrinform.
More than 120 bodies exhumed so far
On Tuesday, the office of Ukraine’s Prosecutor General said that 34 bodies had been exhumed in Sviatohirsk and 44 in Lyman, PAP reported.
Officials added that some of the bodies buried in the Sviatohirsk mass grave bore signs of unnatural death; in addition, two charred remains were discovered in a car, as cited by PAP.
Meanwhile, some 110 pits were found at Lyman Cemetery, some of which contained the bodies of children. The youngest child was a one-year-old, buried alongside family members, according to the office of Ukraine’s prosecutor-general, the PAP news agency reported.
In all, 120 bodies have been exhumed in the liberated parts of Donetsk province so far, including the remains of 64 civilians, according to officials.
Wednesday was day 231 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP, ukrinform.net, independent.co.uk