UKRAINE-CRISIS/FUNERAL Ukraine's unidentified soldiers buried in mass grave

Record ID: 144719

  • Title: UKRAINE-CRISIS/FUNERAL Ukraine's unidentified soldiers buried in mass grave
  • Date: 7th August 2015
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) VOLUNTEER, INNA SYDORENKO, SAYING: "I am looking at so many people burying their brothers now. Of course it is a scary scene. When you bury one, your heart stops. When you bury so many, you cannot breathe."
  • Embargoed: 22nd August 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Ukraine
  • Country: Ukraine
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA8AJFO40LC7N329WHNLZ95GHQ2
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Mourners gathered at a cemetery in the Ukrainian city of Zaporyzhzhya on Friday (August 7) to bury 57 unidentified Ukrainian soldiers killed in some of the deadliest clashes with separatists in the east.
    The servicemen fell in the battles of Ilovaisk and Debaltseve, which took place one year and six months ago respectively.
    Authorities have spent months trying to identify the bodies and find relatives of perished soldiers, but so far with no success.
    "I would have never thought that this could happen in our country, that our boys will die. It is even scary to think that parents are waiting for them somewhere, children, brothers, sisters are waiting for them somewhere," said local resident Olga Bondarenko, who had come to pay last respect to Ukrainian servicemen.
    In the course of these battles Ukrainian forces found themselves encircled, outgunned, and vastly outnumbered by Russian-backed separatists, which resulted to a high number of casualties.
    Hundreds of soldiers are believed to have been killed in both encounters, but official numbers are much lower.
    In October, a parliamentary report on Ilovaisk listed a series of military mistakes and concluded that "the causes of the ... tragedy are fundamental problems in the organisation of the country's system of defence."
    It said it was not able to establish the true number of casualties due to a lack of data from the Ministry of Defence and General Stuff.
    "I am looking at so many people burying their brothers now. Of course it is a scary scene. When you bury one, your heart stops. When you bury so many, you cannot breath," said volunteer Inna Sydorenko.
    "We must pay respect to those who died. It is probably the last thing we can do. First of all, we must remember them, name our streets, our enterprises, avenues after them," said ex-serviceman Vyacheslav Zaitsev.
    Clouds of red dust rose into the air as soldiers shovelled earth into the graves, each marked with a plain cross and a plaque inscribed with the words: "Unknown soldier."
    Over 6,500 soldiers, separatists and civilians have been killed since fighting between Ukrainian troops and rebels seeking independence from Kiev erupted in April 2014, according to United Nations estimates.
    Violence in the east continues despite a ceasefire deal signed in February with both sides accusing the other of violations. Sixteen servicemen have been killed by shelling or landmine explosions since the start of August, while 29 were killed on the frontline in July.
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