On Friday, the exhumation of bodies from a mass temporary burial site near a local church began in Bucha, Prosecutor General of Ukraine Iryna Venediktova has said.

Venediktova wrote on Facebook, “Near the church there is a large grave – public utility workers buried victims of war crimes in it – those who died after shelling and murder.

“There are approximately 67 bodies here. Forensic experts, investigators and prosecutors examine each body.

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“Of those who were dug out, most had gunshot and shrapnel wounds from explosions, only fragments remained from some bodies.”

The Prosecutor General said that some of those who were executed had documents, while the rest of the dead bodies will have to be recognised by relatives by clothing or other signs and identified by DNA.

“Next will be painstaking work to establish the circumstances of the death of each. We already have witnesses of how these civilians were killed by the rashists.

“They simply went for bread or medicine, they spoke Ukrainian, or helped volunteers or the army. Bucha was one of polygons of the so-called “denazification,” or, in other words, the destruction of Ukrainians,” Venediktova said.

The Prosecutor General added that the Ukrainian law enforcement officers already have 100 pages of data of the Russian military personnel – the occupiers of Bucha.

“Our ultimate goal is to identify everyone who pulled the trigger and gave orders to massively kill Ukrainians, use torture and rape as a weapon,” Venediktova said.