Ukraine finds two more mass graves containing hundreds of bodies and probe third 'burial site at chicken farm' near Russian border
- President Volodymyr Zelensky said two more mass burial sites found in Izyum
- Ukraine also probing a third suspected mass burial site located in Kozacha Lopan
- It comes after Ukrainian authorities discovered burial site with 447 bodies
Ukraine has discovered two more mass graves containing the bodies of hundreds of people in the the northeastern town of Izyum, which Kyiv recaptured from Russia this month.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the mass burial sites were found in Izyum in the Kharkiv region - days after the area was liberated by Ukrainian troops having spent four months under Russian occupation.
Ukraine is also probing a third suspected mass burial site located in a shell-damaged and abandoned industrial chicken farm in Kozacha Lopan, a mile away from the Russian border.
It is not known how many bodies lie there - Ukrainian troops and officials speak of 90 to 100 without saying how they know - but the signs of recent violence lie in rubble all around the chicken farm.
Reports of the grim discoveries comes after Ukrainian authorities uncovered a large burial site further south containing the bodies of 447 people next to a cemetery in a wooded area in Izyum.
In total there were 425 civilians buried in the mass graves, including five children, and 22 Ukrainian servicemen.
Zelensky said that two further mass burial sites have been found in Izyum.
'Today I received more information... They found two more mass graves, big graves with hundreds of people... We're talking about (the) little town of Izium,' Zelensky told CBS News on Sunday, while calling for further sanctions against Russia.
'The sanctions need to continue. These sanctions will have political impact, as well as financial impact.'
Further north, a potential mass grave has been discovered in Kozacha Lopan. De-mining teams have not yet arrived at the site and the suspected burial site has yet to be disturbed.
'I was told by the soldiers who came to our village that they saw a burial place of soldiers, but they didn't specify the number,' said Lyudmyla Vakulenko, head of the Kozacha Lopan local administration.
'They said a specialised unit would look into it,' she added.
The forensic teams are expected later this week, once the area is deemed safe for work. On Monday, soldiers moved gingerly, avoiding unpaved areas, wary of mines and unexploded shells.
But reports of the potential mass burial will confirm the worst fears of Ukrainians, still shocked by the discovery of a makeshift forest cemetery containing 447 bodies in Izyum.
The Kharkiv regional governor, Oleg Synegubov, said that most of the Izyum bodies showed signs of a violent death and that 30 of the victims appeared to have been tortured beforehand