- Bodies were removed from a newly-discovered mass grave in the Kyiv suburb of
Bucha ,Ukraine . - They were then placed in rows and numbered, as several dozen Bucha residents looked on.
Editor's Note: Readers may find some of the images below disturbing.
BUCHA, UKRAINE — Another mass grave had been discovered in Bucha, a suburb of the capital Kyiv.
On Friday, representatives from the Ukrainian government, including prosecutors investigating war crimes, arrived at the site near the Church of St. Andrew and Pyervozvannoho All Saints. Bodies were pulled from a ditch and lined up in rows, and then numbered. Body bags were unzipped so that the dead could be examined and an initial identification could be made.
A few hours into the process, several dozen local residents arrived. They walked slowly through the gates of the church.
As they made their way toward the mass grave, many seemed to look away from what was in front of them. Then the weeping began, as people took in the bodies of loved ones.
Bucha, a town of around 35,000 people that's 23 miles northwest of Kyiv, Ukraine's capital, had been occupied for several weeks by Russian soldiers. Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has claimed that the bodies were "staged" in Bucha after Russian forces withdrew from the town.
But Russia's assertion has been contradicted by mounting evidence of the horror that unfolded in this town.
An analysis of satellite images by the New York Times found that bodies, some of them bound, had appeared around Bucha well before Russian forces withdrew. Ukrainian officials and human rights organizations say they are investigating killings in Bucha as possible war crimes.
Last weekend, satellite images showed the 45-foot-long trench where bodies were later discovered, Reuters reported. As journalists arrived in Bucha, photos quickly circulated of dead bodies strewn by the sides of streets, outside homes, and in backyards.
At the site of the mass grave, gloved hands and boots were seen poking out of the earth. It was later discovered that even more bodies lay below.