As defeated Russian soldiers withdrew from the outskirts of the northeastern Ukrainian town of Kupiansk, at least 11 people met terrible ends there, according to AFP reporters.
The Ukrainian soldiers who discovered the collection of wrecked civilian vehicles with dead and occasionally charred bodies claimed they thought Russian forces had targeted a convoy of civilians.
It was unable to independently verify this. The six cars still contain the remains of the deceased, and the route leading from the Kharkiv area settlement of Kyrylivka is still open to artillery bombardment.
“And you can see the bullet holes, so definitely they were shot at…” Without a professional, it is hard to identify who set fire to one automobile.
After its invasion in February, Russia’s soldiers were in control of a large portion of northern and eastern Ukraine, but this month a quick counteroffensive in the Kharkiv region drove them out.
In the east of the area, on the Oskil river, the Russians attempted to establish a new frontline, but Ukrainian armour has now crossed the river, and while firing is still occurring, the retreat is proceeding.
Throughout the seven-month conflict, Russian soldiers have been accused of torturing and killing residents in seized regions.
In a region that was previously held by Russian forces until earlier this week, the road where the remains of the civilians were discovered runs next to a train line on a low embankment that is open to fields and woodland on both sides.
Four people’s carbonised corpses are inside a tiny vehicle or minibus that has been entirely destroyed by fire. These bodies are all little enough to have been children, at least one of them.
A cream-colored Lada automobile is stopped in front of the bus with the boot open, and a middle-aged guy wearing a cap and blue trousers is lying dead next to a plastic bag of baggage.
Reporters from AFP counted 11 corpses total at the scene.
