Mass Graves 765 Civilian Bodies Found So Far In Kyiv

Ukrainian authorities have collected the bodies of 765 civilians, including 30 children in the Kyiv area since Russian forces were routed there at the start of April, a senior prosecutor in the region has said.

- Isobel Koshiw Kyiv Dan Sabbagh

Oleh Tkalenko, the Kyiv region's deputy head prosecutor, said officials expected that many more bodies would be found in coming weeks. "This is only the beginning. We have only just started working in the bigger towns such as Borodianka, Hostomel, Irpin and Bucha,” Tkalenko said.

“There's a lot we haven't dug up yet.” Several mass graves have been discovered since Ukrainian authorities regained control of swathes of the Kyiv region that had been under Russian occupation. “Documenting each individual correctly takes time and effort. But we need to do this so that we have the evidence so that there won't be any tales about it being a fake,” Tkalenko said.

He described three cases of alleged torture against groups of civilians in the region that his office was investigating. Russia has repeatedly denied targeting civilians and says allegations of war crimes are concocted.