Another mass grave found

Kharkiv, located in the northeastern part of Ukraine, borders Russia and is the closest Ukrainian region to Belgorod, Russia.

Belgorod is one of the areas where Russian troops and equipment were concentrated just before the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

On February 24, when Russian forces invaded all of Ukraine, Russian forces in Belgorod invaded Kharkiv.



Enlarging an image

▲ Battle of the Northeastern Front at the end of February, The New York Times


In Kharkiv, there is Kharkiv, Ukraine's second city, but also Izium, which is considered a strategic location.

Izium is adjacent to Luhansk Oblast and Donetsk Oblast, so it will be a great help for the Russian military to conduct military operations in the Donbas region in the future.

Because of this, the Russian army has occupied Izium from the beginning of the invasion, but the Ukrainian army, which has successfully counterattacked recently, has taken it back after six months.



Enlarging an image

▲ Battle of the Northeastern Front in early September, The New York Times


The problem is that a mass burial site was discovered in the forest near Igeum after the Russian troops withdrew in a hurry.

There were several mass burial sites, one of which contained as many as 400 or more bodies.


Similar to secondary massacre

This is not the first time that hundreds of bodies have been found in areas where Russian troops have left.

Hundreds of bodies have already been found in Irfin and Bucha, which were used as a bridgehead by Russian forces to capture the capital, Kiiu, in the early stages of the invasion.



Most of the bodies found at that time were civilians, and the bodies had traces of torture.

Last June, during my two-week on-site coverage in Kiiu, the capital of Ukraine, I met a volunteer who directly retrieved the bodies of civilians, and also met a Ukrainian prosecutor who is investigating to find and punish the perpetrators of the Russian military.

They all used the term "mock" to describe the situation at the time.

It is a word meaning 'harassment', and it was an expression to clearly show that the Russians did not kill to defend themselves, but to intentionally inflict pain and destroy their souls on Ukrainian civilians.



The reason I am retelling the situation at that time now is that the bodies found in Igeum include civilians as in the Bucha, and traces of torture were also found.

Although not all bodies have been investigated yet, bodies identified as civilians have been found with arms tied behind their backs or with ropes around their necks, and broken arms and legs.

Although there are obvious traces of torture, facilities used by the Russian military as torture chambers are also found in Igeum.


"Along with the excavation of the body, forensic experts are conducting an autopsy. As a result, there are several confirmed facts. In some victims, their arms were tied or their necks were tied around their necks. Some had broken limbs. The facts show that those buried here were sacrificed in very violent ways, including torture."

Volodymyr Limar, Deputy Chief Prosecutor of the Prosecutor's Office in Kharkiv (September 17, Izeum in Kharkiv)

a more tragic scenario

On the 18th, Ukrainian Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin told CBS News that Ukrainian prosecutors are investigating 34,000 war crimes by the Russian military so far.

These include sexual assault by the Russian military against Ukrainian civilians, planned air strikes on facilities where children and the elderly are evacuated, and acts of torture against civilians.



It's already too much of a tragedy.

However, a bigger tragedy may be coming to Ukraine.

As the Ukrainian army's fierce counterattack began, movements in haste to referendums were detected in places occupied by Russian forces.

The move raises concerns that Russia could mobilize troops from the annexed area and send it to war in Ukraine.


"As we have warned, Russia is trying to hold a fake referendum not only in its occupied territories but also in territories over which they do not control. Russia, backed by Ukrainian forces, is preparing to issue a mobilization order for its citizens. We are rushing to vote."

White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan (September 20, Washington, DC)


If everything goes according to Putin's plan, we could find traces of genocide in another area.

But this time the perpetrators could be Ukrainians conscripted from Ukrainian territory annexed by a 'fake referendum' rather than the Russian military.

It is a scenario of greater tragedy in which Ukraine invades Ukraine.



Seven months have passed since the invasion began on February 24th.

A counterattack started thanks to Ukraine's unwillingness to give up on war and the full support of the West, but the war is not over yet.

And the unfinished war is moving towards a greater tragedy.