Over 3,000 Killed Civilians Found in Mariupol: Russian Investigative Committee

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russia has found more than 3,000 killed civilians in Mariupol after taking control over the city, the Russian Investigative Committee told Sputnik.

"In April alone, the bodies of 51 civilians were found at the positions abandoned by the Ukrainian troops, and after the complete liberation and examination of the city, their number amounted to over 3,000," the committee said.

The investigators added that the Ukrainian military "artificially created obstacles for evacuation [of citizens] from the city" after the Russian armed forces had organized humanitarian corridors.

"Unable to leave the city and moving in search of food, civilians became a living target for Ukrainian punishers who killed them with various types of weapons," the Russian Investigative Committee told Sputnik.

The Russian investigators proposed the creation of a special DNA database of those killed, citing difficulties in identifying the victims.

In addition, the Russian Investigative Committee initiated a criminal case against Gen. Valery Zaluzhny, the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian armed forces, Gen. Oleksandr Pavlyuk, the commander of the operations of Ukraine's joint forces, and other military leaders accused of the war crimes in Mariupol. The case was initiated under the article on the use of prohibited means and methods of warfare.