Mop-up operations continue in Kharkiv Oblast, mutilated bodies found with genitals cut off

TUESDAY, 20 SEPTEMBER 2022, 00:08

The Ukrainian government has regained control over, and conducted mop-up operations in, 118 cities, towns and villages in Kharkiv Oblast that were previously occupied by Russian forces. Mop-up operations in another 12 settlements are currently underway. 

Source: Yevhen Yenin, Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, on the national 24/7 newscast on 19 September; Suspilne

Quote: "Over the course of the previous day alone, [the Ukrainian Armed Forces] have retaken 12 settlements and are conducting mop-up operations there. Since the beginning of the [counteroffensive], 118 settlements with a total population of around 50,000 civilian persons have been retaken; mop-up operations have also been conducted there."

Details: Yenin said that around 50 bodies of civilians [killed in the course of Russian occupation - ed.] have been found on the liberated territories of Kharkiv Oblast on 18 September. Law enforcement officers have found a total of 168 bodies since the beginning of the counteroffensive. Yenin did not specify where exactly the bodies had been found.

Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs said that law enforcement officers have exhumed 52 bodies from 48 graves at the mass burial site in Izium. He confirmed that the bodies bear signs of torture.

"We are continuing to find numerous bodies with marks of violent death, including broken ribs and skulls, men with hands tied behind their backs, with broken jaws, with their genitals cut off," Yenin said.

He added that the mass grave in Izium is not the only one even in that area.

So far, a total of 292 war crimes have been recorded in Kharkiv Oblast alone. The majority of them concern the violation of laws and customs of war.

Background:

Russian forces withdrew from the city of Izium, in Kharkiv Oblast, on 10 September, leaving behind many pieces of military equipment.

On 15 September, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine said that mass burial sites were found in Izium following its liberation.

On 19 September, 146 bodies were exhumed from the mass burial site in Izium, including the bodies of women and children. Russian occupiers tortured civilians in the local police department and at other sites throughout the city.

The UN is preparing to send a team of its experts to inspect the mass burial site in Izium.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Become our patron, support our work!