UKRAINE, KHARKIV OBLAST, Dec. 9 — On Dec. 9, the identification of bodies in a mass grave in Izium was completed. In total, Russians killed 449 people, including 23 Ukrainian soldiers, during the occupation of the city, said the Izium Military Administration.

In September 2022, after Ukrainian forces liberated Izium, a mass grave for over 440 bodies was found in the forest near the cemetery on Shakespeare Street. The local authorities said that all the bodies found show signs of violent death. Most of the graves were unmarked.

The identification continued from the moment the city was liberated and included exhumation, examination, and the organization of burials.

“It is especially painful to realize that some of these people no longer have relatives who could come, identify them, or attend their funeral. Entire families died,” said the Izium Military Administration.

On Dec. 9, a memorial service was held in Izium in honor of all the people killed in the mass grave.

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