The Ukrainian authorities have exhumed 436 bodies buried in a forest near the Ukrainian city of Izium, and 30 of them had "signs of torture", the governor of the Kharkiv region announced on Friday. "A total of 436 bodies were exhumed.
Most show signs of violent death and 30 show signs of torture," Oleg Sinegu-bov said on Telegram. "There are bodies with a rope around them, with their hands tied, with broken limbs or bullet wounds. Several men have had their genitals amputated," Sinegubov said.
'Proof of the terrible torture' suffered by the population
Several hundred graves and a mass grave were discovered in mid-September near the town of Izium, which had been under Russian occupation for several months before being retaken by Ki-ev's forces. Ukrainian police said they also discovered "torture rooms" in the region, including in Izium.
Russian forces are accused of multiple abuses in the territories under their control in Ukraine, especially in Bucha, on the outskirts of Kiev, where the bodies of civilians were discovered in the streets after they were evacuated from the area in late March. Moscow denies committing these crimes and has called the discovery of the tombs in Izium a "lie".