MOSCOW, March 18. /TASS/. The Ukrainian army is creating chaos among residents of the Kharkov Region while retreating from its positions, committing mass murders, as evidenced by the discovery of mass graves of civilians in the area, Vitaly Ganchev, the head of the Kharkov Region military-civilian administration, told TASS in an interview.
Earlier, employees of the Kharkov Region's department responsible for investigating war crimes discovered three unmarked graves containing the bodies of 17 civilians, including a child, in the Kupyansk district following Ukraine's retreat. Most of the deceased showed signs of forced restraint, strangulation, other forms of tissue damage, and gunshot wounds. For instance, the bodies of two individuals, shot in the back of the head, were found in Dvurechnaya.
"If we talk about mass graves, so far, three burial sites have been discovered containing the bodies of 17 civilians. But we will find more, as our troops advance and the militants, in their desperation over losing on the front line, are committing grave acts of atrocities against civilians. I am sure this will not be the last burial found in the Kharkov Region, and it won’t be limited to this region alone," Ganchev said.
According to him, the forces are also shelling civilians who remain in their homes while retreating. One of the tasks of the military-civilian administration, the agency source said, is to document all these crimes for submission to Russian investigators.