Satellite imagery shows another mass grave near Mariupol

Satellite images reveal the construction of another mass grave just outside the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, Maxar Technologies said in a statement shared with The Hill on Friday.

The space technology company said that the images reveal a “secondary cemetery” that has been expanded in Vynohradne, Ukraine, over the past month and includes “several long trenches that are/will likely become new grave sites.”

The next trenches dug in the area are parallel to one another and measure 40 meters long. The company reported that initial expansion of the trenches began at the end of March, and over the past several weeks, several other trenches have been added.

News of the mass graves comes amid efforts by the U.S. to help Ukraine collect evidence of Russian war crimes committed in the country.

“We have now been in contact with the prosecutor general of Ukraine, and we are assisting. … They’ve collected a group of international allies to assist, and so we are helping in the collection of evidence and the preservation of evidence relating to possible war crimes,” U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said Thursday during a press briefing.

The U.S. determined in March that Russia had committed war crimes in Ukraine. However, American officials have stopped short of calling it a genocide.

A European official said they expect Mariupol to fall to Russians forces soon. 

“The Russians will continue to use artillery and bombings, and at the same time they will push civilians out of the city. So at the end of the day, we do expect a complete destruction of the city and many civilian casualties in Mariupol,” the European official said earlier this month. 

Ukraine has accused Russia of breaking international laws by targeting civilians, raping women and children, and using chemical weapons amid the war.

Russia has reportedly blocked humanitarian aid from reaching Ukrainian civilians, has shot at civilians in bread lines, and is not allowing civilians to leave their homes to get food or water in occupied areas.