New reports out of the Ukrainian city of Mariupol indicated that Russian forces may have buried thousands of dead civilians in mass graves in a nearby village.
The Mariupol City Council said that 3,000–9,000 civilians might have been buried in the village of Manhush, which is just west of the port city, in a post on Telegram.
“Right now, Putin is destroying the Ukrainian people. He has already killed tens of thousands of civilians in Mariupol,” said Mariupol mayor Vadym Boichenko, comparing the atrocities perpetrated by Russia to the Holocaust.
Satellite imagery released earlier today by Maxar Technologies shows that Russian forces buried at least 200 bodies at a mass-grave site in Manhush between mid-March and early April.
New mass grave discovered west of Mariupol in Manhush, Ukraine where Russian soldiers have deposited over 200 bodies, satellite image from @Maxar shows pic.twitter.com/c1ld8WAy6v
— Lucas Tomlinson (@LucasFoxNews) April 21, 2022
Boichenko, in an interview with the Guardian today, claimed that Russian forces killed around 20,000 of the city’s residents since the start of the invasion, concealing their bodies in mass graves and incinerating others.
“The invaders are concealing evidence of their crimes,” he told the outlet. “The cemetery is located near a petrol station to the left side of a circular road. The Russians have dug trenches, 30 meters wide. They chuck people in.”
Russian soldiers enlisted Mariupol residents in that effort, recruiting them to drive body bags from locations across the city to the mass-grave site, according to Pyotr Andryushchenko, an aide to the mayor.
He told the New York Times that some of the drivers peered inside the bags, confirming that bodies were inside. He told the newspaper, “We believe that these bags hold civilians, since our military has been working to clear the streets of fallen soldiers.”
The Ukrainian military said earlier this month that Russian troops are using mobile crematoria to dispose of the bodies of Russian soldiers and Ukrainian citizens alike.
Ukrainian military intelligence says it has proof Russia using mobile crematoria to cover up numbers of civilian deaths in Mariupol and elsewhere Also claims Russian leadership using same to reduce number of official military losses.https://t.co/akNjooQWeq pic.twitter.com/dF3kr8Z4cN
— Oliver Carroll (@olliecarroll) April 13, 2022
Boichenko told the Guardian that Russian forces have detained a number of the city’s residents in “filtration camps” just outside of Mariupol.
“People are being tortured in these camps. Not just men but also women are being filtered,” he said. “It’s a terrible ghetto. They are looking for people connected with the municipality. Russia is using the same fascist methods employed by the Nazis. It’s fascist Russia.”