Ukrainian Authorities Investigate Deaths of 22 Unidentified Victims in Izium Mass Grave

As of January 2025, the bodies of 22 individuals found in a mass grave in Izium, Kharkiv region, in September 2022, remain unidentified according to the press service of the Izyum community.

The exhumation at the site, which recovered 436 bodies in total, has not led to the identification of these 22 victims, as no information has been found linking them to relatives or acquaintances. As a result, forensic experts cannot complete their analyses. Local authorities have asked residents to assist in identifying the deceased or providing any relevant information.

Izium was under Russian occupation from April 1 to September 10, 2022. Ukrainian forces began a counteroffensive in early September, regaining control of more than 400 settlements, including Izium and Balakliya.

On September 15, 2022, a mass grave containing 447 bodies was discovered near Izium. Many of the bodies showed signs of violent death, with 30 victims bearing marks of torture. By September 2023, 57 of the victims remained unidentified.

In October 2024, Ukrainian authorities charged three Russian soldiers in connection with the death of one civilian found in the mass grave. Two of the suspects were pro-Russian Ukrainian nationals from Poltava and Luhansk regions, fighting in the occupied areas of Luhansk. The third suspect is a machine commander from the 27th Motorized Rifle Brigade, originally from Dagestan.

This was not the first Russian war crime, nor the last attempt to deflect blame. After abandoning the region, Russia created an “informational alibi,” a strategy used to create a false narrative or deflect blame. In this tactic, the party responsible for an event or crime accuses another party of committing the same actions it has carried out.

Ukraine’s Center for Countering Disinformation has systematically documented how Russia uses this tool to obscure its own actions by preemptively accusing others of crimes it has committed.