New Delhi: Satellite images that allegedly indicate mass graves in Mariupol emerged on Thursday. According to AP News, local officials have accused Russia of burying over 9,000 Ukrainian civilians and concealing the violence taking place during the siege of the port city.
The images which show rows of graves in the town of Manhush outside Mariupol were released by Maxar Technologies hours after the Russian President Vladimir Putin had declared victory in the battle of Mariupol.
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The Mayor of Mariupol Vadym Boychenko said that the bodies were taken from the city and buried in Manhush and the City Council has said in a post on the Telegram messaging app that the graves could hold as many as 9000 bodies.
An aide to Boychenko, Piotr Andryushchenko said on Telegram that the bodies of the dead were being brought by the truckload and dumped in mounds.
After the Russian army retreated similar mass graves were also discovered in Bucha and other towns around Kyiv but Russian officials had denied the charges and accused Ukraine of staging it.
Similar mass graves were also discovered in Bucha and other towns around Kyiv after the Russian army retreated. But Russian officials had denied the charges and accused Ukraine of staging it. Mariupol is a vital port for Ukraine, a land bridge between Russia and the Crimean Peninsula and has seen some intense armed conflict in the last few days.
On Thursday the Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his forces not to storm the besieged city and instead block it. An Associated Press report said that Putin asked the Russian troops to block it in such a way “so that not even a fly comes through."
Boychenko has rejected claims of Russian victory and has stated that the city remains in Ukrainian control.