The head of the regional military administration in Ukraine's Kharkiv region, Oleh Synyehubov, says 436 bodies, including 30 with signs of torture, were exhumed from a mass burial site near the eastern city of Izyum recaptured from Russian forces in early September.
Synyehubov said on September 23 that most of the bodies have signs of a violent death.
"Some bodies have ropes on the necks, tied hands, broken limbs, and burn wounds. Several men had their genitals cut off. All that indicates torture the occupiers imposed on the residents of Izyum. The majority of the bodies are civilians, 21 are military personnel," Synyehubov wrote on Telegram.
Synyehubov also said that at least three more mass graves had been found in Izyum, and more in the Kharkiv region where demining operations are under way.
The discovery of a mass burial site and evidence of torture in Izyum days after the city was retaken from Russian forces during Ukraine’s successful offensive in early September shocked Ukrainians and the international community.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called it proof of war crimes.
