President Zelensky Says His Party has Recovered Two Mass Graves Containing Hundreds of Bodies in Izium

Officers evacuated the bodies from mass graves in Izium, Ukraine. (Wikimedia Commons/National Police of Ukraine)

JAKARTA - Ukraine has again discovered two mass grave sites containing hundreds of bodies in Izium, a city captured by Kyoiv forces from Russia, President Volodymyr said.

President Zelensky made his comments in an interview with CBS published on Sunday evening, in which he also called for continued sanctions pressure on Russia.

"Today I received more information. They found two more mass graves, a large grave with hundreds of people. We are talking about the small town of Izium", said President Zelensky, citing Reuters on September 26.

"Sanctions need to be continued. These sanctions will have a political impact, as well as a financial impact", he continued.

After months of Russian occupation, Ukrainian authorities discovered a large burial site next to a cemetery in a wooded area of ​​Izium earlier this month and launched an investigation into the deaths.

Last week, they finished exhuming the bodies of 436 people. The majority of them appear to have died from the violence and there are early indications that 30 of them have been tortured, the regional governor said.

In addition, the bodies of seventeen soldiers were also exhumed from mass graves at the site.

Russian authorities did not immediately comment on Zelenskiy's remarks about the discovery of two more burial sites.

Moscow regularly denies committing atrocities in the war in Ukraine or targeting civilians.