Ukraine uncovers another mass grave in Kharkiv Oblast, 17 bodies recovered

Russians dumped bodies into a pit, covered with soil, rolled it flat with tanks
Russians dumped bodies into a pit, covered with soil, rolled it flat with tanks

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Residents of the village of Kopanky informed the police about the mass burial site, saying the Russian invaders had collected the bodies of the dead throughout the area.

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The eyewitnesses said the bodies were brought on two trucks on April 13 and dumped into a pit up to three meters deep dug by an excavator. The ground over the mass grave was then flattened by tanks.

“Preliminarily, we have data on at least 17 dead bodies,” said Dmytro Soyma, deputy chief of the investigative department of the National Police in Kharkiv Oblast.

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“According to the locals, our soldiers died in battle and were buried here… All of the recovered bodies will be sent for forensic examination to establish the cause of death.”

Investigators have initiated criminal proceedings under Part 3 of Art. 110 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (encroachment on the territorial integrity and inviolability of Ukraine).

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The head of the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration, Oleg Synegubov, said on Oct. 20 that the Armed Forces of Ukraine had liberated 544 settlements in Kharkiv Oblast since early autumn. At the same time, 28 settlements remain under Russian occupation, he said.

Earlier Oleksiy Danilov, the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, said that Kharkiv Oblast was almost completely liberated, but the threat of another enemy offensive remains in the region due to the proximity of the Russian border.

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine