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Borodyanka

Mass grave

When you pass the building where the Russians were stationed in Borodyanka, it's hard not to feel anxious. Even now, when the city is liberated. It must have evoked a sense of fear or threat during the occupation, and this is likely not without reason. In the month following the liberation, over 40 mass graves were found in the area, including the bodies of over half a thousand victims.

A group of young men are digging a grave on the outskirts of the cemetery. It is a bit strange because the hole in the ground is huge for a grave. They also dig it strangely. They carefully stick the shovel, scrutinise the ground, and brush it away.

Suddenly it becomes clear that they are not digging a grave, but rather uncovering a mass grave. When you look at them closely, other details seem off. They are young who are dressed in jeans and sports shoes. They don't look like gravediggers at work. It turns out that a group of friends digs up this grave because they received information that his friend is buried there.

The services are still finding so many graves that the city gravediggers are still busy, and it is uncertain when they will be able to dig them all up.Therefore, the men decided to do it into their own hands.

When they reach the corpses, they stop digging. They call the prosecutor's office,  and the police are sent to gather evidence and transport the bodies, referred to as "cargo 200".

 

Upon arrival, the police make a detailed description of each of the exhumed bodies. Every detail is described, including items of clothing, physical features and type of wounds. Anything that can be useful in identifying the victim. The bodies are then placed in body bags and loaded onto a truck destined for the morgue. They found five bodies in the grave, the last of which was identified as the brother of one of the men.

Ukrainian
Odyssey