Over 3,000 Corpses Found in Mariupol: Russia

 

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 Russia has found more than 3,000 killed civilians in Mariupol after taking control of the city, the Russian Investigative Committee said.

"In April alone, the bodies of 51 civilians were found at the positions abandoned by the Ukrainian troops, and after the complete liberation and examination of the city, their number amounted to over 3,000," the committee told Sputnik on Friday.

The investigators added that the Ukrainian military "artificially created obstacles for evacuation (of citizens) from the city" after the Russian armed forces had organized humanitarian corridors.

"Unable to leave the city and moving in search of food, civilians became a living target for Ukrainian punishers who killed them with various types of weapons," the Russian Investigative Committee added.

The Russian investigators proposed the creation of a special DNA database of those killed, citing difficulties in identifying the victims.

In addition, the Russian Investigative Committee initiated a criminal case against Gen. Valery Zaluzhny, the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian armed forces, Gen. Oleksandr Pavlyuk, the commander of the operations of Ukraine's joint forces, and other military leaders accused of the war crimes in Mariupol.

The case has been initiated under the article on the use of prohibited means and methods of warfare.

The Russian Investigative Committee also announced on Friday that the total estimated damage to the Donetsk and Luhansk peoples' republics (DPR and LPR) from Ukrainian shelling has exceeded 228 billion rubles ($3.14 billion).

"According to the conclusions of experts, the amount of damage caused is at least 228.234 billion rubles," the committee said in a statement.