Ukrainian authorities have found 440 graves in a mass grave in Izium, an eastern city recently recaptured by Russian forces, Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said in a Twitter post on Friday.   

  Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukrainian and international journalists would be shown the site to see what was revealed.  “We want the world to know what is really happening and what the Russian occupation has led to,” Zelensky said.   

  Ukraine’s Center for Strategic Communications said on Thursday that some of the graves discovered in Izium were “fresh” and that the bodies buried there were “mostly civilians”.   

  Izium came under intense Russian artillery fire in April and the city, which is near the border between Kharkiv and Donetsk regions, became a major hub for the invading army during its five-month occupation.   

  Ukrainian forces took control of the city on Saturday, dealing a strategic blow to Russia’s military offensive in the east.   

  Photos released by the Ukrainian Defense Ministry on Friday showed several crosses on mounds in a wooded area near Izium, as well as a larger pit dug in the forest.   

  Zelensky said during his speech on Thursday that Russia must be held accountable for the deaths there and in other cities where large numbers of bodies were found.   

  “Bucha, Mariupol and now, unfortunately, Izium… Russia leaves death everywhere.  And he must be responsible for it.  The world must hold Russia to be truly responsible for this war.  We will do everything for it,” he added.   

  Serhii Bolvinov, the chief police investigator for the Kharkiv region, earlier told Britain’s Sky News that there may be other mass burial sites in the Kharkiv region.   

  Speaking specifically about the 440 graves, Bolvinov told Sky News that the exhumations so far showed that the victims died of various causes.   

  “We know that some were killed (shot), some died from artillery fire, so-called mine blast injuries.  Some died due to airstrikes.  We also have information that many bodies have not yet been identified.  Thus, the causes of death will be ascertained during the investigations,” Bolvinov said according to Sky News.

Zelensky talks to CNN about Ukraine’s counterattack against Russia

  Meanwhile, Oleh Kotenko, Ukraine’s commissioner for missing persons, said in a Telegram post that search operations for the remains of “fallen heroes” are proceeding cautiously across the region.   

  “The biggest problem is that some areas are still being mined.  Nevertheless, we continue to work, because we need to bring every hero home, so that the families can honor the memory of the soldiers who died for Ukraine with dignity as soon as possible,” Kotenko said.   

  Zelensky visited Izium on Wednesday and told reporters he was “shocked” by the number of “damaged buildings” and “killed people” left in the wake of the Russian occupation.   

  Moscow was using Izium as a launch pad for attacks south into the Donetsk region and Kupyansk, about 48 kilometers (30 mi) north of Izium, and as a rail hub for resupplying its forces.   

  Zelensky also thanked foreign governments that sent investigators and prosecutors to investigate alleged human rights abuses by occupying forces in Ukraine, adding that all occupied territories would eventually be returned.   

  Ukrainian forces are under constant military attack, particularly in the northeastern and southern regions of the country.   

  Zelensky said on Tuesday that 8,000 square kilometers (3,088 square miles) of territory had now been liberated by Ukrainian forces so far this month, with about half of the area still undergoing “stabilization” measures.