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Olga Sukhenko, the mayor of the village of Motyzhyn, and her family have been found dead. It reports several international media.
The family was found shot in a wood near a ruined farm, partly covered by soil and sand. One of the bodies had tape around his head. A number of media have photographed the burial site, writes the news agency Reuters.
The three family members were found together with a fourth, unidentified person.
The killings were first reported by the interior minister’s adviser, Anton Herashchenko, on Monday.
– 340 corpses taken from Butsja
The kidnapping on March 23
The mayor of the village, which is located about 50 km west of Kyiv, is said to have been kidnapped with his husband Igor and son Alexander, about two weeks ago.
According to reports, the family was captured by Russian soldiers while staying in their own home on March 23.
– There have been Russian occupiers here. They have tortured and killed the whole family, Herashchenko said.
PARTLY COVERED: Four people were found partially buried in a wood outside the village of Motyzhyn in Ukraine. Among them the village mayor, her husband and son. Photo: AP Photo / Vadim Ghirda / NTB
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Reports of several hundred corpses
Russia has repeatedly denied killing civilians in Ukraine, despite a series of reports of war crimes in the Kyiv region after Russian forces withdrew from the area last week.
The news agency AP reports that local residents say that the three were executed. The news agency Reuters has not been able to verify who killed the family.
The village, like much of the Kyiv region, has been hit hard by the Russian invasion.
According to Ukrainian media, around 340 bodies have been found in the city of Butsja after the Russian forces withdrew. These figures are expected to rise.
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Hailed by the girlfriend
According to relatives, the mayor’s family refused to leave the village when the Russians attacked.
– The family was categorically opposed to leaving the city. They understood that people needed help, and helped with medication and food, a family member told the newspaper Public when they were kidnapped.
The news of the killings has provoked strong reactions. The boyfriend of his son Alexander, Darya Belenitsyna, expresses her grief in a post on Instagram, reproduced by Swedish Aftonbladet.
– I have no words to describe what I and my family know now. This is a crime – in every way. All involved must be brought to justice. They have caused pain that can not be relieved, can not be forgiven. I will do my best to make it happen. My Sasha, my hero. You did not leave your parents. You will be in my heart forever. In our hearts. Heroes do not die, she writes.
Putin’s lies revealed
The perpetrators are condemned
According to AP kidnappings and threats against public figures are part of the Russian strategy. Russian forces are trying to persuade government officials and local politicians to change sides. Those who do not cooperate are killed, a person in Motyzhyn told AP.
Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk confirmed on Monday that Olga Sukhenko had been killed, saying in a speech published on Facebook that a total of eleven leaders of local communities in Ukraine are currently held captive by Russian soldiers.
– This is a military crime. The perpetrators will be punished in accordance with international humanitarian law, she says.
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