“44 bodies of civilians were found in Izyum under the rubble of a 5-storey building that was destroyed during the first ten days of March” by Russia, said the governor of the Kharkiv region, Oleg Senegubov, on Telegram.
He added that the city’s residents removed the rubble “when the bombing stopped”, while the area was still witnessing battles.
He did not talk about the conditions for collecting the bodies, or who collected them.
Russian forces occupied the city of Izyum and its surroundings on April 1, after several weeks of heavy fighting.
For its part, the Prosecutor’s Office in the Kharkiv region announced that it had opened an investigation for “violation of the laws and customs of war and premeditated murder,” explaining that 14 bodies had been identified.
The statement of the Ukrainian Prosecutor General confirmed that “according to the investigation, the Russian army systematically bombed the city of Izyum from 7 to 10 March 2022.”
The Secretary-General of the Council of Europe, Maria Becevonich Boric, announced on Tuesday that the Council will provide “support” and “firm solidarity” with Kiev in its investigations into the “grave human rights violations” committed by the Russian army in Ukraine.
“Evidence of atrocities in a member state, Ukraine, which I have been presented with deeply disturbs me,” Borich said in a statement.
On Monday, Borich ended a working visit to Ukraine, where she met several officials, including President Volodymyr Zelensky.
It also went to Borodianka and Irpin, near Kyiv, where dozens of bodies were found in civilian clothes after the Russian army withdrew.
She added: “I reiterated to President Zelensky and to the Ukrainian people the unwavering support and solidarity of the Council of Europe in these very difficult times. We have agreed with the Ukrainian authorities on a series of immediate measures, including the Assistant Prosecutor Irina Venediktova, her office in investigations into grave human rights violations and cooperation with the International Criminal Court “.
“We are preparing a set of measures that will be implemented after the end of the Russian aggression,” the European official explained, “and once again called for an immediate cessation of hostilities, highlighting responsibilities and defending Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
