Ukrainians whose loved ones were killed during the occupation of Izyum gathered to donate DNA as investigators build cases for war crimes allegedly committed during the Russian invasion.
Relatives Help War Crimes Investigation In Eastern Ukraine
People wait to submit their DNA to identify their deceased relatives in the town of Izyum, in Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region, on November 4.
Anna Sukhova, 78, fills out paperwork for war crimes investigators before submitting her DNA to confirm the identity of her dead brother.
A man undergoes a DNA test inside a mobile laboratory in Izyum.
A DNA laboratory was set up in the recently recaptured Ukrainian city to help relatives of people found in burial sites to formally identify the remains of their relatives.
A November 4 photo shows empty graves in a forest in Izyum after the exhumation of bodies by Ukrainian war crimes investigators.
Izyum was occupied by Russian forces from April until early September when a massive Ukrainian counteroffensive pushed the invading army out of the Kharkiv region.
Members of Ukraine’s Emergency Service rest during work to uncover a mass burial site in Izyum on September 16.
After Izyum’s recapture, several burial sites, including one containing the bodies of 440 people, were uncovered.
Ukrainian prosecutors and forensics experts examine a burned-out car in Izyum on October 31.
According to local witnesses, three people were shot dead by Russian troops in or near this car during the occupation.
A man leaves a mobile DNA-testing laboratory in Izyum on November 4.
DNA testing allows the identity of bodies to be confirmed without requiring relatives to go through the trauma of a visual identification.
Inna Kupriyanov, a factory worker, waits to submit her DNA for the identification of her father in Izyum.
Ukraine has sent several groups of investigators to the Kharkiv region. Prosecutor-General Andriy Kostin announced the teams would be "inspecting destroyed infrastructure, and with facts of murders of local residents."