New satellite images published by the Maxar company confirm the existence of 1,500 previously unknown graves near the city of Mariupol, captured by the Russians in May, the BBC reports.
Ukrainian officials and several eyewitnesses contacted by British journalists say the site in the northwest of the city consists of a huge field of graves containing thousands of bodies.
The port city of Mariupol was one of the main strategic targets of the invasion launched by Vladimir Putin on February 24, and finally fell only in mid-May, when the last Ukrainian defenders of the Azovstal plant surrendered.
Since the beginning of the war, the city was subjected to continuous bombardment by the Russian armed forces, and by the time of the surrender, it was almost completely destroyed. Thousands of peaceful Ukrainians died here during the siege, as a result of which the city was left without drinking water and electricity for months.
The latest satellite images show that the three sites, in Old Crimea, Mangus and Vynogradnoy, where the Russian invaders have buried thousands of people since the spring, are constantly expanding.
The Russian genocide in Mariupol lives on. A satellite image shows 1,500 new graves at a mass burial site near the city. #Ukraine estimates that at least 25,000 people died in Mariupol, and 5,000-7,000 of them died under the rubble after their homes were bombed. https://t.co/ndpDFmAst3 pic.twitter.com/47xr5bJNCA
— Glasnost Gone (@GlasnostGone) November 7, 2022
A huge number of peaceful Ukrainians who would have died in Mariupol
Analysts of the Information Stability Center analyzed satellite images over the village of Stary Krym and concluded that after the last survey in June, 1,500 new graves were dug here. This settlement is located only 11 kilometers from Mariupol.
It is estimated that more than 4,600 graves have been dug up in Crimea since the war began, but the total number of people buried cannot be determined with certainty, given that they probably contain more than one body.
Ukrainian officials now believe that at least 25,000 people died during the fighting in Mariupol, and 5,000 to 7,000 died under the rubble from Russian bombing.
BBC journalists say that several eyewitnesses in Mariupol have told them that in recent months they have seen Russian occupation authorities removing bodies from the rubble and taking them to be buried elsewhere.
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Source: Hot News RO
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