Exclusive: CNN enters the newly liberated Izium in Ukraine 3:14
(CNN) --
Ukrainian authorities have found 440 graves at a mass burial site in Izium, an eastern city recently recaptured from Russian forces, Ukraine's Defense Ministry said in a Twitter post on Friday.
Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukrainian and international journalists would be shown the site to see what had been discovered.
“We want the world to know what is really happening and what the Russian occupation has led to,” Zelensky said.
Ukrainian forces enter Izium city after five months of Russian occupation, Kyiv says
The mass burial site in Izium, Ukraine, is shown in an image from the Office of the President of Ukraine.
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 heavy Russian artillery fire in April, and the city, which lies near the border between the Kharkiv and Donetsk regions, became a major point for the invading army during the five-month occupation.
Ukrainian forces regained control of the city on Saturday, dealing a strategic blow to Russia's military assault in the east.
Zelensky says he is shocked by Russia's destruction of Izium
Photos released by Ukraine's Defense Ministry on Friday showed numerous crosses on mounds in a forested area near Izium, as well as a larger hole dug into the forest floor.
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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 have been found.
"Bucha, Mariupol and now, unfortunately, Izium... Russia leaves death everywhere. And it must be responsible for it. The world must hold Russia responsible for this war. We will do everything possible for this," he added.
Serhii Bolvinov, the lead investigator for the Kharkiv region police, earlier told Britain's Sky News that there may be other mass burial sites in the Kharkiv area.
Speaking specifically about the 440 graves, Bolvinov told Sky News that the exhumations so far show that the victims died of various causes.
“We know that some were killed (shot dead), some were killed by artillery fire, so-called mine blast trauma.
Some were killed by air strikes.
We also have information that many bodies have not yet been identified.
So the causes of death will be established during the investigations," Bolvinov was quoted as saying by Sky News.
Meanwhile, Oleh Kotenko, Ukraine's commissioner for missing persons, said in a Telegram post that search operations for the remains of "fallen heroes" were being carried out cautiously throughout the region.
“The biggest problem is that some areas are still mined.
Despite this, we continue to work, because we have to return every hero home so that the families can honor the memory of the soldiers who died for Ukraine in a dignified manner as soon as possible," Kotenko said.
Zelensky visited Izium on Wednesday and told reporters he was "shocked" by the number of "destroyed buildings" and "dead people" left behind by the Russian occupation.
Zelensky says he is shocked by the devastation in Izium 0:40
Moscow was using Izium as a launching pad for attacks south into the Donetsk and Kupyansk region, some 48 kilometers (30 mi) north of Izium, and as a rail hub for resupplying its forces.
Zelensky also thanked foreign governments for sending investigators and prosecutors to investigate alleged human rights abuses by the occupying forces in Ukraine, adding that all occupied areas would eventually be retaken.
Ukrainian forces have been on a sustained military offensive, particularly in the northeastern and southern regions of the country.
Zelensky said Tuesday that Ukrainian forces had liberated 8,000 square kilometers (3,088 square miles) of territory so far this month, with about half of the area still undergoing "stabilization" measures.
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