So far 16,000 civilian bodies found in mass graves at Mariupol | NOW

Ukrainian authorities in Mariupol have so far found at least 16,000 civilian bodies in mass graves near the southern port city. City authorities fear the death toll will exceed 22,000, Ukrainians quote media burgemeester Vadym Boychenko.

The mass graves are said to have been arranged in such a way that the bodies are only separated from each other by an iron plate. The Russians want to give the impression that these are individual graves, the city council claims.

Thousands more bodies are said to lie under the rubble of destroyed buildings. Local crematoria and cemeteries have been said to have been full of war dead for ages.

At the end of April, mass graves already laid by Russians were discovered on satellite images. Mayor Boychenko already took such finds into account, “because the Russians want to cover up their war crimes in this way”.

Mariupol had about 450,000 inhabitants before the war. Some 100,000 of them were unable to leave the city and fell victim to a months-long Russian siege. The port city was constantly bombed. Lack of water, food and electricity also threatened other humanitarian disasters.

The United Nations said in a statement Friday that at least 4,000 civilians were killed across Ukraine. At the beginning of May, the counter stood at about three thousand civilian deaths. The UN recognizes that the actual death toll is many times higher. Verifying fatal civilian casualties is often difficult, according to the organization.

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