Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky denounced Friday, September 16 the crimes of an army of “torturers” after the discovery of hundreds of bodies summarily buried in a region recaptured from the Russians, including those of people “tortured and executed”according to local authorities.
“99%” bodies exhumed on Friday in a forest on the outskirts of Izium, a town in eastern Ukraine retaken from the Russians last week, “showed signs of violent death”said in the evening the regional governor, Oleh Synehoubov.
“There are several bodies with their hands tied behind their backs and one person is buried with a rope around their neck. Obviously, these people were tortured and executed”, he said on Telegram. According to him, these are in total “450 bodies of civilians bearing traces of violent death and torture” who were buried at this site. “There were also children” among the bodies exhumed during the day by the “200 agents and experts” who work on the site, he added.
The President of Ukraine, in a video posted on Telegram, promised “a terribly just punishment” those responsible for the alleged crimes. “Russia leaves only death and suffering. Murderers. Torturers. Deprived of all that is human”he added, pointing out that“there is also evidence that Russian soldiers, whose positions were not far from this place, shot at the buried people just for fun”.
He also referred to the release by the Ukrainians of “seven citizens of the republic of Sri Lanka”medical students who had been captured in March by the Russians at Izium. “They receive the appropriate medical care”said Mr. Zelensky without further details.
Ukrainian human rights official Dmytro Lubinets, for his part, claimed on Telegram that there was “probably more than 1,000 Ukrainian citizens tortured and killed in the liberated territories of the Kharkiv region”.
Conviction of Emmanuel Macron
Russia is acting “terrible way and it is seen and repeated (…). We see what she leaves in her wake.commented in Washington the head of American diplomacy Antony Blinken.
The European Union has also declared itself “deeply shocked”. “Russia, its political leaders and all those implicated in the continued violations of international law and international humanitarian law in Ukraine will be held to account”said the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, in a press release.
Same story in France: on Twitter, President Emmanuel Macron condemned “with the greatest firmness the atrocities committed in Izium, Ukraine, under Russian occupation”.
I condemn in the strongest terms the atrocities committed in Izium, Ukraine, under Russian occupation. Their a… https://t.co/B6deMVkvvO
On the ground, near Izium, Ukrainian investigators began Friday to exhume bodies in a forest where 443 graves were discovered, including a pit containing the bodies of 17 Ukrainian soldiers. One grave bore a cross with the inscription: “Ukrainian army, 17 people. Izioum, from the morgue », according to AFP journalists on the spot. Men in white coveralls were digging in the sandy soil.
On the same site, an AFP journalist was able to see at least one body with its hands tied with a rope, without being able to immediately establish whether it was a civilian or a soldier, the body being too damaged.
“Every death will be investigated”
“The bodies will be sent for autopsy to determine the exact cause of death”stressed Governor Synehoubov. “Every death will be investigated and become evidence of Russia’s war crimes in international courtshe added. The scale of the crimes committed in Izium is enormous. He denounced “a bloody and brutal terror”.
The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights of the United Nations immediately indicated that it wanted to send a team to Izioum to “determine the circumstances of the death of these people”.
Ukrainian police chief Ihor Klymenko announced the discovery of 10 “torture rooms” in localities recaptured from the Russians in the Kharkiv region, including six in Izium and two in the town of Balakliïa.
Russian forces have been accused of numerous abuses in areas under their control, including Boutcha, on the outskirts of kyiv, where the bodies of coldly executed civilians were discovered after their withdrawal at the end of March. Moscow denies that its soldiers committed these atrocities.
Russia “under pressure”
On the diplomatic side, present alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin for a regional summit in Uzbekistan, Turkish Head of State Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for an end to the conflict in Ukraine ” as quickly as possible “while the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, underlined that the hour was not “not at war”.
After meeting his Chinese counterpart and ally, Xi Jinping, on Thursday, Mr. Putin had first assured that he wanted to finish ” as soon as possible “ the war, accusing kyiv of “refuse any negotiation process”.
Russia is under ” pressure “ to end the conflict in Ukraine, commented the head of American diplomacy after these exchanges in Samarkand (Uzbekistan). “I believe what we are hearing from China and India reflects concerns around the world about the impact of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, not just for the Ukrainian people. »underlined Antony Blinken.
But Mr. Putin then indicated on Friday that his offensive would continue in Ukraine. “The plan does not require change (…) We are in no hurry”he said.
Massive bombardments in the recaptured regions
On the front, fighting and shelling continued. In the east, separatist authorities in Luhansk announced the death of a local pro-Russian prosecutor and his deputy, killed by an explosion. Pro-Russian authorities have reported other attacks against occupation cadres in southern Ukraine.
In the Kharkiv region, 12 people were injured in Russian shelling “massive” in areas recently taken over by the Ukrainians, and four more people in the city of Kharkiv itself, according to regional authorities.
The Ukrainian presidency reported “position fights” in the region of Luhansk, while in that of Donetsk, Russian bombardments, in particular on Bakhmout, caused five deaths and six injuries.
On the southern front, where the Ukrainian forces meet more resistance than in Kharkiv, the “situation remains difficult”according to the same source.