A probable mass grave of victims of the 2022 shelling was discovered in Mariupol

In temporarily occupied Mariupol, researchers have recorded a probable mass burial of victims of Russian shelling in 2022. This was reported by the Mariupol City Council, citing the Mariupol Destruction and Victims Foundation.

According to the researchers, the burial is located in the Starokrymskoye cemetery. The site is located in a lowland, approximately 3 kilometers from residential buildings and 2 kilometers from a makeshift morgue on Zaporizhzhia Highway, where the bodies of the dead were taken in 2022.

The analysts found that changes in the terrain can be traced on satellite images. In 2022, there was a ditch at this location, which later turned into a pit, and later into a filled-in embankment. According to their estimates, the length of the site increased from approximately 30 meters in May 2022 to over 50 meters in 2024.

The researchers emphasize that the nature of the changes does not indicate construction work. According to their version, the trench could have been dug in early May 2022, after which it was filled in in the summer.

The foundation assumes that this is a burial of dead civilians, in particular, residents of the house at 127 Myru Avenue, which was destroyed by an airstrike. At the same time, it is not excluded that victims of other massive shelling may be buried in this area, since the mound gradually increased.

The researchers also note that the occupation forces could have taken the bodies of the dead along with the debris of destroyed buildings to special sites, where they were sorted and later buried.

The circumstances require further investigation and international legal assessment.