By Joseph Campbell and Zohra Bensemra
TROSTYANETS, Ukraine – The handmade sign on the gate warns: “The cemetery is mined. Danger.” But residents of the formerly occupied town of Trostyanets in northern Ukraine still come to visit the fresh graves of families killed in the war.
The cemetery in this Sumy region town has only been partially secured since Russian forces planted mines there when retreating in early April, cemetery administrator Olena Matvienko said.
“Later, demining teams came and partially demined it. Then they didn’t go any further in,” Matvienko said on Saturday, while standing in the cemetery where several tombstones were smashed or riddled with bullet holes.
Some areas are still dangerous for people, she said.
Nonetheless, mourners gathered around various graves, some with bouquets of spring flowers.
One of those who ignored the warnings was Natalia Evdokimova, 46. She and her husband visited the grave of their son Dmytro, a Ukrainian soldier who was killed on March 29 on the north-eastern front and soon after Russian forces left the area , were buried at home.
She said her son, who was fighting near the city of Izyum in the Kharkiv region, was very worried about what might happen to his parents under Russian occupation.
“‘Mom, go, it’s getting too dangerous in Trostianets,'” Evdokimova recalled his words, tears streaming down her cheeks. “And he himself went to hell, near Izyum. And died there.”
Her husband stood silently at the flower-decorated grave. Before they left, Evdokimova held out both hands for a framed photo of her son pinned to the tombstone, as if to hug him.
Russia denies that its forces have killed or attacked civilians or committed war crimes in the occupied territories of Ukraine since the February 24 invasion. Reuters has not been able to independently verify casualty estimates or reports of deaths in Trostyanets.
The cemetery manager said another 20 people who died during the occupation of Trostyanets were recently buried in the cemetery.
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Mayor Yuri Bova told Reuters that at least 50 people are estimated to have died or been killed while Russian troops controlled the city, which had a population of around 20,000 before the war.
“Some of them were just shot dead in the street, others were found with their hands tied and their eyes taped. We found people in villages shot in the head,” he said.
(Writing by Alessandra Prentice, Editing by Angus MacSwan)