A new grave containing the bodies of two civilian Ukrainians has been found in Buzova, a liberated village near the capital Kyiv that for weeks was occupied by Russian forces, a local official says.
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Taras Didych, head of the Dmytrivka community that includes Buzova, told Ukrainian television earlier that a grave with dozens of bodies had been found in a ditch near a petrol station.
"Right now, as we are speaking, we are digging out two bodies of villagers, who were killed. Other details I cannot disclose," Didych told Reuters by telephone.
"There are other people who we cannot find. They could be in different places, but this doesn't lessen the pain of the loss of loved ones."
As Russian forces were engaged in an offensive against Kyiv in the first weeks of Moscow's invasion, a number of communities surrounding the capital, including Makariv, Bucha, Irpin and Dmytrivka remained under constant fire.
Local Ukraine media in early April reported casualties found in and near Buzova, with about 30 bodies found at the time.
With most of the towns and villages around Kyiv now seized back, discoveries of mass graves and civilian casualties have triggered a wave of international condemnation, in particular over deaths in the town of Bucha, northwest of the capital.
On Saturday, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said that while the threat to Kyiv had receded, Ukraine was preparing for a tough battle with Russian forces amassing in the east of the country.
Ukrainian officials have called on people in the east of the country to flee.
Australian Associated Press
