Russia-Ukraine war: DPR accuses Ukrainian Military of killing 26 civilians in Mariupol

As the ravaging war between Russia and Ukraine continues, Moscow has accused the Ukrainian Army of showering lethal weapons against residents of Mariupol. Citing the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) representative's office, news agency Sputnik reported that the bodies of at least 26 people were found near a hospital in Mariupol. The office accused the Ukrainian forces of killing at least 26 people in Mariupol. 

"On Wednesday, experts again worked on the territory of city hospital Number 4, where they continued to record and document the fact of mass deaths of civilians," the DPR office in the JCCC wrote on Telegram.

"In total, 26 dead civilians who became victims of massive shelling by the Azov nationalist battalions were found on the territory along with the building of the medical institution," added the statement. However, the Ukrainian Defence Ministry has not reacted to the Russian claims.

Earlier this month, the local authorities of Ukraine's national capital, Kyiv, claimed to have discovered more than 1,200 bodies, marking the highest number of casualties found in an area since the war began on February 24, this year. The same has also been confirmed by the Prosecutor General of Ukraine, Iryna Venediktova. She told British broadcaster Sky News that the bodies of at least 1,222 civilians had been found in the region around Kyiv alone so far. During the conversation with the broadcast, she said 5,600 cases of alleged war crimes were already registered in the country. According to Venediktova, the war-torn country has identified at least 500 suspects related to the aggression in the country, including senior Russian military figures, politicians and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

More than 400 bodies found in Bucha

Moreover, piles of bodies were found in Bucha, illustrating the alleged cruelty of the Russian forces who turned a 'captivating country into a 'graveyard' within two months of the war. According to an AP report, at least 400 bodies were found in Bucha, in which several bodies had marks of bullets shot at a close range.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, while addressing the nation, condemned the killings of civilians in several regions of the country. Calling the strike a heinous war crime, Zelenskyy said, "Efforts will be taken to establish every minute of who did what, who gave what orders, where the missile came from, who transported it, who gave the command and how this strike was agreed to." 

(Image: AP)