Ukraine reports that there are signs of torture and mutilations on the bodies exhumed from Izium

A look at the mass graves in Izium, recently liberated from the Russians 2:53

(CNN) --

Ukrainian officials say they have finished exhuming bodies from a mass grave found in the city of Izium, confirming that of the 436 bodies found, 30 showed signs of torture.

In a shocking reminder of the human cost of Russia's invasion, most of the bodies showed signs of violent death, said Oleh Syniehubov, head of the Kharkiv region's military administration.

"There are bodies with a rope around their necks, hands tied, limbs broken and bullet wounds. Several men had their genitals amputated," Syniehubov reported in a Telegram post on Friday.

"All this is evidence of the terrible torture to which the occupants subjected the residents of Izium."

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Syniehubov added that most of the bodies were civilians and only 21 were military.

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Exclusive: CNN enters the newly liberated Izium in Ukraine 3:14

Izium, which is located near the border between Ukraine's Kharkiv and Donetsk regions, came under heavy Russian artillery fire in April before being occupied.

Then, and for the next 5 months, it became an important center for the invading military.

Ukrainian forces regained control of the city this month, dealing a strategic blow to Russia's military assault on the country's east.

Russian forces were forced to flee the strategic eastern city after Ukrainian forces launched a new offensive east through the Kharkiv region.

While Ukraine's offensive successfully recaptured thousands of square kilometers of territory, it also revealed the horrors suffered by civilians and soldiers at the hands of Russian troops.

Members of the Ukrainian Emergency Service work on a mass grave during an exhumation in the recently liberated city of Izium, in Ukraine's Kharkiv region on September 19, 2022.

Syniehubov said that this was not the only mass grave that had been discovered.

There are at least three more in other liberated areas of the Kharkiv region, he said.

He added that each of the recovered bodies has a different story, and promised to investigate the circumstances of each of their deaths "so that their families and friends know the truth and the murderers are punished."

"All the crimes of the occupiers will be documented and the perpetrators will pay for what they have done," Syniehubov said.

He also thanked the 200 people, including forensic experts, police officers and employees of the State Emergency Service, who were working there every day for their "morally difficult but necessary work".

mass graveIziumTorture