In Izium, Kharkiv region, 449 bodies of people who died during the city’s occupation in 2022 have been identified and reburied. Among them were 23 Ukrainian Armed Forces servicemen.
This was reported on December 9 by the press service of the Izium City Military Administration, according to Suspilne.
According to the statement, Russian forces buried the dead and killed residents of Izium in a forested area near the cemetery. Exhumation, identification, and reburial of the bodies began after the city was liberated and continued for three years.
“This was an exhausting, emotionally painful but necessary task. It is especially heartbreaking to realize that some of these people no longer have relatives who could come, identify, or see them off on their final journey. Some died along with their entire families,” the military administration said.
As of November 24, the work of identifying and reburial has been completed, the city administration added. A total of 449 people were identified and reburied, including 23 servicemen of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
What is known about the mass burials of Izium residents who died during the occupation
After the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russian occupiers heavily shelled Izium with artillery and aviation until they completely captured the city in April.
During the counteroffensive in September 2022, the Ukrainian Armed Forces liberated the city from the invaders, and the Ukrainian flag was raised over the city with the participation of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
In the cemetery in the forest, where Russian troops had set up positions, about 450 graves from the occupation period were found. Residents of Izium report people missing, killed in shelling, and tortured to death.
The first reburials of Izium residents who died began in February 2023. One million hryvnias were allocated from the city budget for this purpose.
As of January 2025, 22 people who died during the Russian occupation of Izium in 2022 remained unidentified, the press service of the Izium community reported.
