HRAKOVE: Lightning pylons toppled, cables scattered to the ground; Potholed houses and roads ruined, the village of Grakov in the east Ukraine There are traces of bitter retaliation by Ukraine.
“It was frightening,” said the 61-year-old Anatoly VasilyevRecalling this week’s battle when Ukrainian troops withdrew Grekov from the Russians.
“There were bombings and explosions everywhere.”
Vasiliev stood in front of the local church, whose bell was damaged by a projectile.
Some Russian soldiers “took the phone, but I managed to keep it hidden so I could communicate with my family,” he said.
Ukrainians have declared significant territorial gains in the East Kharkiv region.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said that 30 towns and cities were captured on Friday.
There are still dogs and cats lurking among the rubble scattered in front of Grecove and houses looking for scraps of food.
Of the 800 pre-war inhabitants of the village, only 30 remain.
The road from Ukraine’s second city Kharkiv to Grakov, a regional hub, is littered with the skeletons of cars destroyed in explosions or crushed by tanks.
Disarmed mines are scattered along the road, waiting to be picked up. A tow truck carries a captured Russian military vehicle.
Two armored cars carrying soldiers to the front, traveling in the opposite direction. Artillery fire echoes in the distance.
In the village, a team from the police and the Kharkiv region prosecutor’s office exhumed the bodies of two men aged thirty.
The authorities here are suspected of a war crime: the remains show signs of torture and execution.
village resident sargi lutse Told AFP Russian The soldiers forced him to bury the bodies at gunpoint.
“They came to my house. I was with my 70-year-old father,” he said.
“I was afraid they would threaten him. He asked me to come to dig a pit.”
This, he said, was soon after the Russian offensive began on February 24.
A prosecutor’s office official said the bodies would be sent for medical examination to determine the cause of death.
sargi bolvinovDeputy Chief of Police of Kharkiv Region said lutse told them that the victims had “wounds on the back of the head and their ears were cut off”.
Lutse did not confirm the details to reporters.
Ukraine accuses Russian military of committing war crimes in outside towns and villages Kyiv that his forces recaptured in March.
Ukraine re-occupied the area when Moscow At the beginning of the invasion, he withdrew his forces after an unsuccessful attempt to capture the capital.
“This is not the only evidence of atrocities committed by the Russians,” Bolvinov said.
“There are two other sites like this in the village. We will investigate them.”
Police warned journalists not to wander off the streets or investigate abandoned buildings as excavations were still going on.
“It was frightening,” said the 61-year-old Anatoly VasilyevRecalling this week’s battle when Ukrainian troops withdrew Grekov from the Russians.
“There were bombings and explosions everywhere.”
Vasiliev stood in front of the local church, whose bell was damaged by a projectile.
Some Russian soldiers “took the phone, but I managed to keep it hidden so I could communicate with my family,” he said.
Ukrainians have declared significant territorial gains in the East Kharkiv region.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said that 30 towns and cities were captured on Friday.
There are still dogs and cats lurking among the rubble scattered in front of Grecove and houses looking for scraps of food.
Of the 800 pre-war inhabitants of the village, only 30 remain.
The road from Ukraine’s second city Kharkiv to Grakov, a regional hub, is littered with the skeletons of cars destroyed in explosions or crushed by tanks.
Disarmed mines are scattered along the road, waiting to be picked up. A tow truck carries a captured Russian military vehicle.
Two armored cars carrying soldiers to the front, traveling in the opposite direction. Artillery fire echoes in the distance.
In the village, a team from the police and the Kharkiv region prosecutor’s office exhumed the bodies of two men aged thirty.
The authorities here are suspected of a war crime: the remains show signs of torture and execution.
village resident sargi lutse Told AFP Russian The soldiers forced him to bury the bodies at gunpoint.
“They came to my house. I was with my 70-year-old father,” he said.
“I was afraid they would threaten him. He asked me to come to dig a pit.”
This, he said, was soon after the Russian offensive began on February 24.
A prosecutor’s office official said the bodies would be sent for medical examination to determine the cause of death.
sargi bolvinovDeputy Chief of Police of Kharkiv Region said lutse told them that the victims had “wounds on the back of the head and their ears were cut off”.
Lutse did not confirm the details to reporters.
Ukraine accuses Russian military of committing war crimes in outside towns and villages Kyiv that his forces recaptured in March.
Ukraine re-occupied the area when Moscow At the beginning of the invasion, he withdrew his forces after an unsuccessful attempt to capture the capital.
“This is not the only evidence of atrocities committed by the Russians,” Bolvinov said.
“There are two other sites like this in the village. We will investigate them.”
Police warned journalists not to wander off the streets or investigate abandoned buildings as excavations were still going on.