Ministry of Defense: Kyiv is preparing a provocation with the opening of graves in cemeteries near Kharkov

This statement was published by the Russian Ministry of Defense.

The graves were opened in cemeteries in the settlements of Cossack Lopan, Veliky Burluk, Shipovatoe and Khatnoye.

Local residents are buried there, who died of natural causes during the stay of Russian troops in these areas from February 24 to September 6, 2022.

At the same time, after the exhumation, Ukrainian forces disfigured the bodies of Ukrainian citizens, after which they threw them into specially prepared pits on the outskirts of the settlements, the statement said.

This was done to create a false "evidence base" of alleged torture and execution of civilians, according to the Ministry of Defense.