Images obtained via satellite and released Thursday by Maxar Technologies, a U.S. government contractor, show evidence of mass graves outside the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, which Russian forces have almost completely destroyed.
Mariupol, a port city on the Sea of Azov, has been a target of Russian attacks since the country launched an invasion of Ukraine in late February. As of Thursday, Russian forces claimed control over the city, where Ukrainian officials estimate there are more than 100,000 people with little or no food, water, heat or medicine.
According to a tweet from Daily Beast reporter Shannon Vavra shared by Maxar, Mariupol called the satellite images depictions of “crimes of the Russian army.” She also said Russian troops have renewed the offensive in eastern Ukraine.
The images were taken in from mid-March to mid-April and show more than 200 new graves, according to a Maxar statement cited by NBC News. These mass graves are aligned in four sections of linear rows, each about 280 feet long, on the northwestern edge of the village of Manhush, about 12 miles west of Mariupol. They are adjacent to an existing cemetery.
In a statement posted to Telegram, Mariupol’s city council said this newly discovered mass grave is 20 times larger than a burial site discovered this month in the city of Bucha, outside Kyiv. So far, this claim has not been verified, according to NBC News.
According to the council, 70 bodies were found in the grave and officials from Manhush said it could hold 3,000 to 9,000 bodies. Bodies were buried in layers, and Russians dug trenches and filled them with corpses every day this month, said the council. NBC said these claims have not been verified.
As of Friday, the outlet said it is not clear who might be buried in the grave, or whether it held the bodies of civilians from Mariupol or soldiers. Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boychenko said city officials had information that Russians were dumping bodies in a Manhush grave – possibly the same one captured in the Maxar images – to hide war crimes.
NBC News said there was no “immediate reaction from the Kremlin,” regarding the Maxar images. However, Russia has denied targeting Ukrainian civilians. For example, when the mass grave filled with civilians was discovered in Bucha, Russian officials accused Ukraine of staging the scene and denied responsibility.
Investigators are currently working to collect evidence to confirm allegations of war crimes perpetrated by Russia during the invasion. Both U.S.
President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky have publicly referenced “war crimes” carried out by Russia in its invasion of Ukraine.
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