Mass grave of 132 bodies found in ditch near village gas station in Ukraine – World News

The number of bodies found in the grave in the Ukrainian town of Buzova, which was occupied by Russian forces for weeks, has yet to be confirmed

A new grave containing dozens of Ukrainians has been found in Buzova, a village near the capital Kyiv, as residents in the east of the country are forced to flee a new Russian offensive.

Taras Didych, head of the Dmytrivka municipality, which includes Buzova and several other surrounding villages, told Ukrainian TV the bodies were found in a ditch near a gas station.

“Now we’re coming back to life, but during the occupation we had our ‘hotspots’, many civilians died,” Didych said.

The number of bodies found in the tomb in Buzova, which was occupied by Russian forces for weeks, has yet to be confirmed. The report could not be immediately verified with local officials.

The bodies found in the graves appeared to be wearing a mix of civilian and military attire.

A devastated woman was seen peering down the shaft hole before collapsing. As she clawed at the earth, she wailed, “My son, my son.”

As Russian forces engaged in an offensive against Kyiv in the first weeks of the Moscow invasion, a number of communities around the capital, including Makariv, Bucha, Irpin and Dmytrivka, remained under constant fire.

In early April, local media reported victims found in and near Buzova, with around 30 bodies found at the time.

With most of the towns and villages around Kyiv now retaken, the discoveries of mass graves and civilian casualties have sparked a wave of international condemnation, particularly over the deaths in the town of Bucha, northwest of the capital.

On Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine was preparing for a tough battle with Russian forces massing in the east of the country, although the threat to Kyiv had receded.

Ukrainian officials have called on people in the east of the country to flee when an eight-mile Russian convoy was sighted heading into the country. The new ambush marks a new phase in the conflict.

Images from space showed the mass of military vehicles and artillery heading towards the eastern part of the war-torn country.

Maxar Technologies captured the satellite imagery showing the heavy military build-up as it made its way through Velykyi Burluk.

After stiff resistance from Ukraine, Russian forces withdrew from the Kyiv area last week and are expected to regroup for a new Donbass offensive.

It was revealed yesterday that Russia is trying to expand its exhausted army with retired old soldiers after suffering nearly 20,000 casualties.

It is believed to be recruiting soldiers from Moldova, which has been classified as an occupied territory of Russia by the Council of Europe.

President Zelenskyy has warned the world that Russia’s use of force is a “disaster that will inevitably affect everyone”.

According to Ukraine’s Prosecutor General Iryena Venediktova, the Kiev authorities have so far uncovered no fewer than 500 suspected war criminals, as well as 5,600 suspected war crimes.