Russian authorities claim to have found over 3,000 civilians killed by Ukrainian forces following Moscow’s brutal capture of Mariupol in May, state media reports. Russia’s Investigative Committee alleged that 51 bodies of civilians were found at “positions abandoned by the Ukrainian troops” in April, with thousands more located after “the complete liberation and examination of the city” by Russian soldiers. Russia further accused Ukraine of blocking “humanitarian corridors” created to allow Mariupol residents to flee the bloody battle for the city. “Unable to leave the city and moving in search of food, civilians became a living target for Ukrainian punishers who killed them with various types of weapons,” the Investigative Committee reportedly claimed. The unsubstantiated claims mirror accusations made against Russian forces throughout the invasion of Ukraine, with Kyiv alleging that Russian troops murdered 458 civilians in Bucha early in the war.
