Russian forces are returning the bodies of slain Ukrainian soldiers and civilians with hidden explosives placed inside, investigators have revealed. The practice has caused significant delays in repatriating the dead to their families for proper burials.
Mandatory safety checks enacted
Taras Tarasenko, deputy head of the investigative department at the Kirovohrad Region Police Department, told Ukrinform that mandatory safety checks are now required before identification work can begin. 'First of all, we check whether there are any items that may pose a danger. Such cases have occurred more than once. We have found explosive objects, grenades and other things, so we work as carefully as possible,' he said.
Kirovohrad is home to the Centre for the Search for Missing Persons in Special Circumstances and the Identification of Unidentified Bodies of Servicemen. The team of 32 works around the clock, processing hundreds of bodies daily.
Pattern of atrocities
This is not the first instance of Russian forces mistreating the dead. Previously, Russia was found to be hiding its own slain soldiers and sending their remains back to Ukraine in Ukrainian uniforms to avoid compensating families of the fallen Russian troops. Other Ukrainian bodies have been returned missing internal organs and with signs of torture.
Ukrainian journalist Viktoriia Roshchyna, captured in 2023 in Zaporizhzhia, was tortured by Russian troops. Investigators found severe bruises, abrasions, broken bones, and signs of electric shock. During her autopsy in Ukraine, her brain, eyes, and trachea were missing.
Mass graves and evidence of torture
In the city of Izium, 30 miles from the border with Russia, 436 bodies—mostly women and children—were exhumed from a forest after the city was recaptured by Ukrainian forces. At least 30 showed signs of torture, including ropes around necks, tied hands, broken limbs, and burn wounds. Several men had their genitals cut off.
Dozens of men from military units under Russia's command who enabled war crimes in eastern Ukraine have been identified. The occupation of Izium laid bare the cruelty of Vladimir Putin's troops.
