KHARKIV, Ukraine (AP) – The outskirts of Kharkiv have the feeling of an open-air morgue, where the dead lie unclaimed and inexplicable, sometimes for weeks as Ukrainian and Russian forces struggle to control land.
He has a charred body of a man, undetectable, propped up on an anti-tank barrier made of cross-beams outside a city that has been under control on both sides in recent days. There are dead soldiers, apparently Russian, four of them lined up in Z as the military symbol found on Russian armored vehicles, visible from Russian drones constantly buzzing from above. The door of the apartment opens for three bodies inside.
How exactly all this happened will probably never be understood.
Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, has come under prolonged Russian attack since the start of the war in late February. With the intensification of the Russian offensive in the east, the Russian offensive became more fierce.
Considered a strategic and industrial reward, the territory on the eastern outskirts of the city moves back and forth between Russian and Ukrainian forces for weeks as fighting moves from village to village. Many, but not all, of the 1 million Kharkiv residents have fled.
Associated Press reporters saw the Z-shaped bodies wearing white armbands commonly used by Russian soldiers and some Russian medical kits next to them. They were found on the front line, where fighting has been going on for days. They, along with the burnt man, were taken to the morgue on Monday. There was no explanation for the Z formation, a symbol of the Russian invasion, nor for the burnt body leaning against the barrier. Both can be considered war crimes for disrespecting the dignity of the dead.
An investigation into their identities follows, perhaps an attempt to notify the family.
But even that is difficult to unravel. It turned out that the body of a man with Ukrainian insignia has identity documents of a Russian soldier. The apartment where the three bodies were found was heavily shelled, but it is unclear what killed them.
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The shelling and air strikes are a daily threat everywhere here, to everyone. And as long as that remains true, death can come at any time, without anyone around answering why.
It was a rare look at the deaths and atrocities of war. Getting a complete picture of the unfolding battle in eastern Ukraine was difficult because air strikes and artillery shelling made the movement of journalists extremely dangerous. Russia has severely restricted reporting in the war zone; The Ukrainian government has imposed fewer restrictions, especially on how quickly materials can be published or on military equipment.
In Washington on Monday, a senior U.S. defense official said Ukrainian forces had managed to push Russian forces farther from Kharkov in the past 48 hours, even when it was subjected to Russian airstrikes. The Russians are now being pushed about 40 kilometers (25 miles) east of the city, further into the Donbass region, said the official, who wished to remain anonymous to discuss a US military assessment.
According to the Red Cross, the mutilation of dead bodies in international armed conflicts is covered by the war crime of “violation of personal dignity” under the Statute of the International Criminal Court, which according to the Elements of Crimes also applies to dead people.
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Pentagon Associated Press writer Lolita Baldor of Washington contributed to the report.
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