Mass grave in Izium: 402 people identified, 22 remain unknown
As of early March 2025, 402 people from the mass grave in Izium, Kharkiv region, have been identified, 46 remain unidentified, of whom 22 are still unknown.
This was stated by the head of the Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor's Office, Yevhen Sokolov, Censor.NET reports citing LB.UA.
Thus, according to Sokolov, as of the beginning of March 2025, 402 people have been identified through molecular genetic examinations.
"Another 46 remain unidentified, of whom we have biological samples of relatives for 24 people. At the same time, 22 people remain unknown," he said.
Among those identified are reportedly 198 civilian men, 211 civilian women, 25 servicemen, seven children, as well as human remains, presumably of seven people whose gender could not be determined.
Sokolov also said that during the examination of the bodies from the mass grave in Izium and the necessary examinations, law enforcement officers found signs of violent death in 140 people:
- gunshot wounds - 15 people;
- explosive injuries (shrapnel wounds, massive body injuries as a result of air strikes) - currently 87 people;
- signs of torture were found in at least 15 people (rope around their necks, hands tied behind their backs, polymer clamps on their wrists, bullet wounds to the knee joints, multiple traumatic rib fractures);
- other signs of violent death (fractures of the jaws, stab wounds, etc.) - in 23 people.
It is noted that in others, the cause of death was not established due to putrefactive changes or was non-violent (natural).
Mass grave in Izium
As a reminder, after the liberation of Izium in September 2022, law enforcement officers discovered a mass grave in the forest on the outskirts of the city. According to the regional police, 449 bodies (22 military personnel and civilians, several children) were recovered from it, at least 30 of them with signs of torture.
In particular, DNA tests confirmed that the mass grave contained the body of children's writer Volodymyr Vakulenko, who was shot dead by the invaders in the spring of 2022.
On 28 December 2022, it became known that the head of the Izium branch of "Plast", Oleh Yefimenko, was also buried in the forest. Experts confirmed that the man had been tortured.
In early 2024, the National Police reported that 40 victims from the mass grave had not been identified.
