Ukraine: Switzerland Calls For Probe Over Izyum Mass Grave Reports

(MENAFN- Swissinfo) Ukrainians carry bodies that were unearthed from graves in Izyum, Kharkiv region on September 16, 2022. Officials say the burial site, one of the largest in a recaptured city so far, counts more than 440 separate graves. Keystone / Oleg Petrasyuk

Switzerland says it is deeply disturbed by fresh reports of mass graves in Izyum, a territory in east Ukraine that was until recently occupied by Russian forces.

This content was published on September 17, 2022 - 16:24 September 17, 2022 - 16:24 swissinfo.ch/ds

• Pусский (ru) Швейцария требует расследовать массовые захоронения в Изюме

The Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs called for 'an independent and thorough investigation while taking care of the rights and needs of the victims and their relatives.'

It noted that the the killing of protected persons constitutes a grave breach of international humanitarian law and pointed to the jurisdiction of Ukrainian authorities and the International Criminal Court. 

The United Nations says it hopes to send a monitoring team in the coming days to Izyum, a town that Russia seized shortly after invading Ukraine in February this year. Situated in the Kharkiv Oblast, Izyum served as a strategic hub to supply Russian forces in the east of Ukraine. 

Ukrainian forces recaptured Izyum earlier this month in a bold counteroffensive that yielded rapid territorial gains. President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine raised his country's flag over the town on Wednesday to mark its liberation. Ukrainian officials say over 400 graves have been found in the forest flanking Izyum.

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