More than 1,200 dead discovered in Kyiv region

According to Ukrainian sources, after the withdrawal of Russian troops, more and more mass graves are being discovered around Kyiv.

According to prosecutors, more than 1,200 bodies have already been recovered. In 5,600 cases, suspected war crimes are being investigated.

According to Ukrainian sources, more than 1,200 people have been found dead in the region around the Ukrainian capital Kyiv. In an interview with the British broadcaster Sky News, prosecutor Iryna Venediktova called the number of 1,222 dead “in the Kyiv region alone”.

The Russian army withdrew from the region around Kyiv about a week ago and is currently repositioning itself in eastern Ukraine. Since the withdrawal of Russian troops, mass graves have been discovered in more and more places in recent days.

Dozens found dead west of Kyiv

Dozens of civilian bodies were found west of Kyiv over the weekend. “Today we found dead civilians in a pit near the gas station in Busova,” community leader Taras Didych told Ukrainian television. On the road between Kyiv and Zhytomyr to the west, about 15 kilometers from Kyiv, more bodies were found in a dozen cars that had been shot at. On the main route from the capital to the west, the Russian troops were stopped and pushed back by Ukrainian units in the first days of the war.

Moscow denies any responsibility for the killings and speaks of fake photos and videos. However, material such as satellite images and recordings of intercepted radio communications suggest that Russian soldiers are responsible.

Prosecutor sees numerous war crimes

Venediktova accused Russia of having committed war crimes and crimes against humanity in all regions of Ukraine. 5,600 cases of suspected war crimes have already been collected and 500 suspects identified. She described the head of the Kremlin, Vladimir Putin, as the “major war criminal of the 21st century.”

For Venediktova, the collected cases also include the rocket attack on the Kramatorsk train station in eastern Ukraine, in which more than 50 people died. “Absolutely, this is a war crime,” she told Sky News. Ukraine has evidence. Russia, on the other hand, claims it was a Ukrainian Tochka-U missile. Here, too, Moscow had denied responsibility and blamed the Ukrainian army. In anticipation of a massive offensive in eastern Ukraine, the local authorities had recently stepped up their evacuation efforts.

Focus of hostilities in eastern Ukraine

Moscow recently announced that it would concentrate hostilities on eastern Donbass, which has been partially controlled by pro-Russian rebels since 2014. According to Governor Valentin Resnichenko, the airport in the city of Dnipro, west of the Donbass, was “completely destroyed” in a Russian attack.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed Russian troop concentrations in the region on Saturday. According to the US Department of Defense, it is also observing that the Russian armed forces are trying to rebuild their units with new material and soldiers.

Experts expect an offensive from Isjum

Military experts predict that Russian troops could launch a full-scale offensive in eastern Ukraine within the next few days. Experts at the US think tank Institute for the Study of War said the Russians would probably initially focus on the northern edge of the crescent-shaped area they had already conquered in recent weeks.

Starting from the occupied city of Izyum southeast of Kharkiv, the Russians would probably try to reach Sloviansk even further to the southeast, the assessment said. However, it is unclear whether Russian troops are making better progress in eastern Ukraine than in the Kyiv area. After years of conflict with pro-Russian rebels, Ukraine has deployed most of its experienced soldiers in the Donbass.

More than 4.5 million people fled the country

More than 4.5 million people have fled the country since Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine began. The number of refugees rose within 24 hours by more than 42,000 to a total of 4,503,954, according to the UN refugee agency UNHCR. It is the largest refugee movement in Europe since the Second World War.

According to estimates by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), another 7.1 million people are fleeing within Ukraine. 90 percent of those fleeing abroad are women and children, since men between the ages of 18 and 60 are currently not allowed to leave Ukraine.