Russia-Ukraine war: more than 200 bodies found in Mariupol basement; Donbas attacks ‘largest in Europe since second world war’

More than 200 bodies found in Mariupol basement, says official

The bodies of more than 200 people have been discovered in the rubble of a high-rise apartment building in the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, according to a Ukrainian official.

Petro Andryushchenko, an adviser to Mariupol’s mayor Vadym Boychenko, said workers found the bodies while digging through a basement underneath the collapsed building.

Andryushchenko wrote on Telegram:

During the dismantling of the blockages of a high-rise building near the suburban gas station about 200 bodies were found dead in the basement under the blockages with a high degree of decomposition.

Due to the refusal of locals to collect and pack the bodies of the dead, the Russian Ministry of Emergency left the worksite.

Anton Gerashchenk, an adviser to Ukraine’s internal affairs ministry, said Russian forces had tried to force locals to take the bodies out. When they refused, the gravesite was simply abandoned, he said.

It has not been possible to independently verify this information.