The Czech non-governmental organization Team4Ukraine, in cooperation with the organization Maidan Monitoring Information Center, prepared a public meeting and a photo exhibition about war crimes and the destruction of civilian infrastructure in Izjum, which in 2022 was under the occupation of Russian troops for several months. The event took place with the participation of Bijan Sabet, the US ambassador to the Czech Republic.
Izjum is located in the Kharkiv region, and before the war it had a population of over forty thousand, comparable to, for example, Mlada Boleslav. After the Russian invasion in February 2022, it became the site of heavy fighting for many weeks, facing the deliberate destruction of infrastructure and residential buildings. The witness statements of the fugitives spoke of manhunts, looting, kidnappings. After liberation in a counter-offensive by the Ukrainian army in September 2022, a mass grave containing over 440 victims, including women and children, was found near the city. Czech criminologist and chairman of Team4Ukraine Petr Pojman was among the first to document war crimes in the city:,,After September 10, just after the liberation of the city, we monitored the situation and talked to local residents, and they mentioned that there were mass graves nearby. Unfortunately, this was confirmed. Around the twentieth of September, exhumations began to take place, in which we took part, we were also present at their conclusion. Later we had the opportunity to talk to people who found relatives there. But so far, over a hundred bodies have not been identified."
Mrs. Tatiana Pryvalikina, who lost her mother in Izjum, also spoke at the meeting in the American Center. Parts of her body were found in the rubble of the building, but the burial ground where the remains were supposed to be buried was later exhumed with the body of another person. The last time the mother and daughter were in contact was in March 2022, when she was hiding in the basement of the house from the attacks of the occupiers. She also described the fates of her acquaintances who lost small children or who trusted the information of the Russian army about the creation of a corridor for the safe exit of people from the besieged city, but during the establishment of which the Russian army did not stop bombing the city. According to Ms. Pryvalikina's description, the bombing of civilian infrastructure had been going on since March 6. There were many victims under the rubble, they too were transported to the mass grave. Burials were delayed, the March victims were buried only in May, when the city was already fully controlled by the Russian army. Mr. Ambassador thanked the witness for deciding to speak about these difficult experiences and promised further assistance to her country.
The direct testimony was followed by a discussion. According to Petr Pojman, it was more general, people's interest was more focused on global issues. In conclusion, it was concluded that the monitoring and investigation of war crimes is still underestimated and insufficient internationally. There are at most hundreds of experts in these activities in Ukraine, and tens of thousands of war crimes are committed.
The exhibition is open at the American Center in Prague (Tržiště 13, Prague 1) until March 28, 2024 during public events or by prior arrangement.
Photo: Ester Geislerová
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