A family of nine, including two young children, were brutally killed in their house in the Russian-occupied eastern Ukrainian town of Volnovakha. The horrifying event has sent shockwaves in Ukraine. The incident has triggered investigations by both nations.
Ukrainian officials are blaming Russian soldiers for the gruesome killings of the family. According to BBC reports, the whole of the Kapkanets family were killed on October 27 for refusing to give the Russian soldiers their house.
The Russian investigators have held two male suspects and said that they were Russian soldiers from the Far East.
Pictures from the murder scene were uploaded by the Ukrainian Donetsk Region Prosecutor's Office. The images show multiple family members shot while in their beds, still tucked in each other's arms, with blood spatters visible on the walls.
The caption of the post read, "Shot a sleeping family - an investigation into the murder in occupied Volnovas of 9 civilians, including two children."
The office further said that armed men in military uniform demanded that the family living there vacate the house to accommodate a Russian army unit.
When the owner of the house refused, "the attackers threatened his family members with physical violence and left."
The office informed that days later the armed men returned and "shot all nine members of the family, who were already asleep at that time."
"A pre-trial investigation was initiated in criminal proceedings over violation of the laws and customs of war," the Ukrainian prosecutor's office said.
"The suspects have been detained and transported to the investigative department, where investigative and procedural actions are being carried out to ascertain all the circumstances of the incident and gather evidence," the committee added.
This month, Ukrainian forces have managed to resist a renewed Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine, even as Moscow's forces continue to target residential areas. In response to the escalating conflict, Ukraine has ordered the mandatory evacuation of civilians, with a particular focus on safeguarding children in regions close to the front lines in the east and south, CNN reported.
