Satellite Images Show Secret Mass Grave for Civilians in Ukraine
Russia accused of trying to hide the true death death as site discovered near Mariupol
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New satellite images have emerged that appear to show a secret mass grave near the war-torn city of Mariupol in Ukraine.
The images, from Maxar Technologies, reportedly show scores of freshly dug graves for civilians killed during the Russian invasion of the country.
The news has sparked fresh allegations that Russia is trying to hide the true death toll by secretly burying bodies in mass grave sites.
The images purport to show the gradual creation of a mass grave site next to an existing graveyard on the edge of the town of Manhush.
The town is located around 20 km (12 miles) west of Mariupol.
The images, taken between March 19 and April 3, 2022, show around 200 new graves covering an area of around 85 square meters (approx. 914 sq ft), the company said.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin alone can decide the fate of the 100,000 civilians still trapped in Ukraine‘s war-torn Mariupol, Mayor Vadym Boichenko told Reuters on Thursday.
Boichenko said that the satellite images of a mass grave site were proof Russians were burying bodies to try to hide the death toll.
Earlier Putin claimed victory in the battle for Mariupol after nearly two months of siege that has led to the most intense battles of the war and its worst humanitarian catastrophe.
Under heavy bombardment, citizens who did not flee have suffered without electricity, heating, or water.
"It’s important to understand that the lives that are still there, they are in the hands of just one person—Vladimir Putin,” Boichenko said in an interview.
"And all the deaths that will happen after now will be on his hands too."
Putin on Thursday said Russian troops had “liberated” Mariupol, which would make it the biggest city to fall into Russian hands since the start of what Moscow calls a “special military operation.”
Russia denies targeting civilians.
"There were no plans to liberate the city,” Boichenko said.
"It was a plan of destruction."
He estimated that 90 percent of the southeastern port city had been damaged or destroyed since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24.
"Today at all levels, we only talk about one thing—that we need a ceasefire, we need a full evacuation of the 100,000 Mariupol residents who are prisoners of Russian forces and we need to free all the people who are at Azovstal.”
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Thursday his war-ravaged country needed more heavy weapons to defend itself from Russia’s invasion that threatened Ukraine’s very survival, and he asked Western nations to impose further sanctions.
"In 57 days of war, more than 1,000 Ukrainian towns were occupied by invaders who continue to destroy our cities,” he said.
"Millions of people had to flee … it is as if the whole of Portugal was forced to leave.”
He said the Russian army had committed atrocities, including in the port city of Mariupol, which has faced heavy bombardment.
"We are fighting not only for our independence, but for our survival, for our people so that they do not get killed, tortured, and raped,” Zelenskyy said.
"The Russians have already kidnapped more than 500,000 people … who were deported to the most distant regions of Russia, in remote camps.”
