- Heartbreaking images of one funeral came from Irpin, a town that was occupied by Moscow's forces in March
- Since it was liberated, numerous Russian atrocities have been discovered, and a vast graveyard is growing
- One elderly woman was shown in photographs wearing a red coat standing on the edge of the cemetery, her head resting on her son's coffin that was about to be lowered into an already-dug grave and buried
- In the east of the country on Tuesday, another mother was shown weeping as she took one final look at her son
- Ukrainian army officer Vyacheslav Vyacheslavovych Dimov was killed defending his homeland on April 16
- His body was given a guard of honour as his coffin was carried by Ukrainian soldiers through Marhanets
- WARNING: Graphic content
Heartbreaking images of the funeral came from a growing cemetery Irpin, a town that was occupied by Moscow's forces for almost a month after it was seized in the early days of Vladimir Putin's invasion
This is the moment a grief-stricken Ukrainian mother wept over the coffin of her son who died at the hands of Russian troops, as another took one last look at her soldier son's face before he was put to rest.
Heartbreaking images of one funeral came from Irpin, a town that was occupied by Moscow's forces for almost a month after it was seized in the early days of Vladimir Putin's invasion.
Since being liberated, numerous Russian atrocities have come to light in Irpin, and a vast graveyard has been growing by the day as more bodies of civilians and soldiers killed by Russian forces are discovered.
One elderly woman was shown on Sunday in photographs wearing a red coat standing on the edge of the cemetery, her head resting on her son's coffin that was about to be lowered into an already-dug grave.
But she appeared unable to pull herself away from his coffin, that had a small bunch of red flowers placed on top of its blue covering. Her family were gathered around her, standing in solemn silence as the woman spent her final moments with her lost loved one.
After some time, she was shown standing beside the grave as the coffin was lowered into the ground. As grave diggers piled sandy earth over the coffin, the woman was shown being held by another relative as she wept, holding a handkerchief to her face while her wispy hair blew in the wind.
Such scenes have become all-too-common across Ukraine since Russian forces began their barbaric invasion on February 24, when they entered Ukraine and began besieging towns and cities on Putin's orders.
Irpin - along with the neighbouring of Bucha - is one of many sites across the country where Russian forces are accused of carrying out war crimes, indiscriminately attacking and executing civilians.
This is the moment a grief-stricken Ukrainian women wept over the coffin of a relative who died at the hands of Russian troops in Irpin, a town found on the outskirts of Kyiv, April 17, 2022
Heartbreaking images of the funeral came from a growing cemetery Irpin, a town that was occupied by Moscow's forces for almost a month after it was seized in the early days of Vladimir Putin's invasion
Pictured: The woman's family are gathered around her, standing in solemn silence as she spends her final moments with her loved one before their coffin is lowered into the ground and buried
Since being liberated, numerous Russian atrocities have been discovered in Irpin, and a vast graveyard has been growing by the day as more bodies of civilians and soldiers killed by Russian forces are found
Pictured: Graveyard workers lower the coffin into the ground at the cemetery in Irpin
As grave diggers pile sandy earth over the coffin, the woman is shown being held by another relative as she weeps, holding a handkerchief to her face and her wispy hair blowing in the wind
Pictured: Three dug graves are ready for the next funerals at the cemetery in Irpin, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, April 19, 2022
Around 270 miles away, another funeral was held for Ukrainian army officer Vyacheslav Vyacheslavovych Dimov, who was killed defending his homeland on April 16 in battle in the eastern Zaporizhzhia region.
On Tuesday, Vyacheslav's body was given a guard of honour as it was carried in its coffin by his fellow Ukrainian soldiers through the town of Marhanets - draped in the country's blue and yellow flag.
Pictures showed his weeping mother - Alla Dimova, also in a red coat - taking one last look at her son's face and covering him with a silk cloth before the red coffin was closed and lowered into a grave.
Zaporizhzhia, in eastern Ukraine, is one of a number of regions bracing itself for intense fighting in the coming weeks as Moscow's forces refocus their efforts to capture to Donbas region, after failing to make ground in the north of the country and being pushed back from the capital Kyiv and the surrounding regions, like Irpin.
A police official said on Monday that Ukrainian investigators have examined 269 dead bodies in Irpin, a commuter town on the outskirts of Kyiv, since the town was taken back from Russian forces in late March.
The town, which had a pre-war population of about 62,000, was one of the main hotspots of fighting with Russian troops before they pulled back from Ukraine's northern regions to intensify their offensive in the east.
Alla Dimova, mother of Ukranian army officer Vyacheslav Vyacheslavovych Dimov, who was killed on April 16 in battle in Vasylivka district of Zaporizhzhia region, cries as she covers his face during his funeral held in the town of Marhanets, in Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine April 19, 2022
Ukrainian soldiers carry a coffin with the body of their officer Vyacheslav Vyacheslavovych Dimov, who was killed on April 16 in battle in Vasylivka district of Zaporizhzhia region, through the town of Marhanets
Pictured: Locals watch on as Ukrainian soldiers carry the body of officer Vyacheslav Vyacheslavovych Dimov through the town of Marhanets, in Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine April 19, 2022. His mother and other relatives also walk behind
A Ukrainian soldier takes the knee as the body of officer Vyacheslav Vyacheslavovych Dimov is carried through Marhanets
People lower the coffin of Ukrainian army officer Vyacheslav Vyacheslavovych Dimov into the ground, April 19
At the cemetery on the outskirts of Irpin, dozens of new graves have been dug and heaped with wreaths. Under the watch of a few tearful mourners, workers hurriedly shovelled the sandy earth into one grave on Monday.
Adorned with fresh flowers and recently lit candles, dozens of new graves have emerged in the battle-scarred town since the Russians withdrew from Kyiv's outskirts. Drone footage on Monday captured row after row of fresh burials marked with dates after the start of the invasion in late February.
Among them lies the coffin of Roman Vered, 53, who his family claim was killed by Russian soldiers in the town which was the site of intense fighting in the first month of war.
His body was recently identified in Kyiv’s morgue and he was finally laid to rest on Monday in the growing cemetery. Since Russian troops withdrew from Irpin and other towns around the Ukrainian capital increasing evidence has emerged of war crimes including the killing of innocent civilians.
'As of now, we have inspected 269 dead bodies,' said Serhiy Panteleyev, first deputy head of the police's main investigation department, at an online briefing.
He said forensic work was ongoing to determine the cause of death for many of the victims, sharing photos of severely charred human remains.
He said seven sites in Irpin where civilians were allegedly shot have been inspected, without giving further details.
Russia denies targeting civilians and has dismissed allegations its troops committed war crimes in occupied areas of Ukraine - despite mounting evidence against them.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has opened an investigation against Russia, with chief prosecutor Karim Khan QC visiting Irpin's neighbouring town Bucha last week - where hundreds more bodies have been found.
Meanwhile, Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the Russian army as 'the most barbaric and inhuman in the world' and said the country will be stained 'as a source of absolute evil for generations' as Putin's men stepped up attacks across the country in an effort to seize a bloody victory from the jaws of defeat.
President Volodymyr Zelensky has condemned Russia's military as 'the most barbaric and inhuman in the world' and said the 'war crimes' committed by Putin's troops will stain the country's reputation for 'generations'
Tamara, 71, weeps in front of a destroyed apartment building in the city of Mariupol which has been near-totally destroyed by Russian attacks that have been going on for almost two months
A woman is comforted by medics in the city of Kharkiv, north-eastern Ukraine, as medics place the body of her father into a body bag after he was killed by Russian shelling on the city
A government worker walks among freshly-dug graves in a cemetery built into the tree-line of a forest in Irpin, on the outskirts of Kyiv, which for weeks was occupied by Russian forces
Russia unleashed a barrage of artillery fire on eastern Ukraine overnight as its offensive in the east got underway, with troops seizing the village of Kreminna. But Ukraine has also launched counter-attacks east of Kharkiv and near Izyum to cut Russian supply lines
Zelensky, in a late-night address to his nation, said Putin's military has been 'purposefully killing civilians' with weapons banned under international law and that once the full scope of their 'war crimes' comes to light 'a Russian passport will mean only one thing in any country: Unequivocal condemnation from all decent people.'
The talismanic president also used the speech to praise his armed forces and people for resisting the invasion as fighting enters its 55th day today, while renewing calls for Ukraine's western allies to send more weapons and faster in order to ensure the Russian army is defeated.
If Ukraine had access to the same kinds of weapons being used by Russia, Zelensky said, then 'we would have already ended this war.' Only the West is capable of providing such weapons, he added.
He spoke after the Ukrainian military said it had managed to repel numerous Russian advances in the eastern Donbas region on Tuesday, as the opening stages of what is likely to be the war's defining battle get underway.
British military intelligence said Moscow hit more than 1,200 targets with bombs and artillery across a 300-mile stretch of frontline near Donetsk and Luhansk as it tries to break through Ukrainian defences - but continues to suffer 'environmental, logistical and technical challenges' of the kind that thwarted its efforts to take Kyiv.
The UK Government department wrote: 'Russian shelling and strikes on the Donbas line of control continue to increase, with the Ukrainians repelling numerous attempted advances by Russian forces.
'Russia's ability to progress continues to be impacted by the environmental, logistical and technical challenges that have beset them so far, combined with the resilience of the highly-motivated Ukrainian armed forces.'
It continued: 'Russia's inability to stamp out resistance in Mariupol and their indiscriminate attacks, which have harmed the resident civilian populace, are indicative of their continued failure to achieve their aims as quickly as they would like.'
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10734507/Heartbroken-Ukrainian-mothers-final-farewell-brave-boys.html
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