LUGANSK, December 24. /TASS/. More than 150 spontaneous graves holding around 150 bodies of civilians have been discovered in the city of Popasnaya in the Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR), Daniil Styzhkin, head of the LPR human rights ombudsman’s office, said.
"We have information that there are more than 150 spontaneous graves in Popasnaya. They hold some 150 bodies," he said, adding that around 250 people are still staying in the city.
According to LPR ombudswoman Anna Sorokoa, at least four large burials holding the bodies of those killed in hostilities since 2014 have been organized in the LPR on the basis of the result of the activities by a special working group in charge of efforts to find graves of the Ukrainian aggression victims.
She said that many bodies are still unburied in frontline areas the working group members cannot reach due to risks of shelling or drone attacks. Many bodies have not yet been retrieved from under the debris houses destroyed in shelling attacks by Ukrainian troops.
Soroka also said that efforts are being taken to identify locations of the scenes of crimes committed by Ukrainian nationalist units, such as torture rooms and concentration camps, in the liberated territories. Thus, in her words, one of such torture chambers was found in the village of Polovinkino. "We know that, regrettably, many of those who survived in this concentration camp died later of diseases they acquired here," she added.
Settlements of the Severodeonetsk agglomeration were liberated from Ukrainian troops in the summer of 2022, the city of Popasnaya was liberated in the spring of 2022. According to LPR head, Leonid Pasechnik, around 96% of buildings in Popasnaya were destroyed during combat operations.