Ukrainian authorities have found a mass grave of more than 440 bodies in the eastern city of Izium that was recaptured from Russian forces, a regional police official said on Thursday, adding some of the people had been killed by shelling and air strikes.
Serhiy Bolvinov, the chief police investigator for Kharkiv region, told Sky News that forensic investigations would be carried out on every body.
"I can say it is one of the largest burial sites in a big town in liberated (areas)... 440 bodies were buried in one place," Bolvinov said.
"Some died because of artillery fire ... some died because of air strikes," he said. Thousands of Russian troops fled Izium at the weekend.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy put the blame on Russia and likened the discovery to what happened in Bucha, on the outskirts of the capital Kyiv in the early stages of the late February invasion by Russian forces. Ukraine and its Western allies have accused the Russian forces of perpetrating war crimes there.
"Russia is leaving death behind it everywhere and must be held responsible," Zelenskiy said in a video address.
Russia has repeatedly denied it targets civilians or has committed war crimes.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Ukrainian Troops Moving Further In Russia's Kursk, Says Zelensky Zelensky Says Ukraine Controls 74 Russian Settlements Biden Says Ukraine Incursion "Real Dilemma For Putin" 150 mg Semen In Kolkata Doctor's Body, Suspect Gang-Rape: Parents To Court Trump, Musk Groove To Bee Gees' 'Stayin' Alive' In AI-Video Now Viral "Want To Ask Congress...": Mamata Banerjee Snaps At Ally In Rape-Murder Case US Judge Says "Monopolist" Google Can't Avoid App Store Reforms NASA To Decide Stranded Starliner Astronauts' Route Home By End Of Month Mob Vandalises Hospital During Protest Over Kolkata Horror Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.