Ukraine says two mass graves were found in the recently recaptured eastern town of Lyman after the Russians withdrew.
Donetsk Region Governor of Ukraine Pavlo Kyrylenko said a burial ground has about 200 individual graves with civilian bodies.
It’s unclear how many bodies the second location contained, but it could contain both soldiers and civilians, he said.
The time of death and the cause of death of the deceased have not yet been determined.
The BBC has been unable to independently verify the claims.
Mr Kyrylenko wrote on Telegram that officials had started investigating both grave sites. He also asked people not to speculate on the details until the investigation is complete.
Russia withdrew its troops from the strategic city of Lyman, causing a major setback to its campaign in eastern Ukraine.
Lyman is in Donetsk – one of four partially occupied Ukrainian regions that Moscow says it is annexing. Ukraine and its Western allies have dismissed the move as illegal land grabs.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has previously accused Russia of deliberate killings of civilians elsewhere in Ukraine.
Mr Zelensky said mass graves were found this spring in Bucha, near the capital Kyiv and also near Mariupol – southeast Ukraine’s main port now occupied by Russia since its invasion of Ukraine in February.
Investigators and journalists apparently found evidence of the premeditated killing of civilians in Bucha and other surrounding areas.
Ukrainian forces said they found mass graves and evidence that civilians had been killed after their feet and hands were tied.
Hundreds of graves were also found outside the eastern city of Izyum days after Russian troops withdrew, Ukrainian authorities said. It’s unclear what happened to the victims, but early reports suggest some may have died from shelling and lack of access to medical care.
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