Mariupol Officials Say New Mass Grave Found

Russia says fire at oil depot near Ukraine border won't cause shortages
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Apr 25, 2022 5:09 PM CDT
Mariupol Officials Say New Mass Grave Found
In this photo taken by an anonymous source, smoke and flame are from oil storage facilities hit by fire in Bryansk, Russia, Monday, April 25, 2022.   (Anonymous source via AP)

Officials in the embattled Ukrainian city of Mariupol say a new mass grave has been identified north of the city. Mayor Vadym Boychenko said authorities are trying to estimate the number of victims in the grave about 6 miles north of the city, the AP reports. Satellite photos released over the past several days have shown what appear to be images of other mass graves. Mariupol has been decimated by fierce fighting over the past two months. Ukraine said Monday that the United Nations should step in to oversee an evacuation route for civilians from the besieged steel mill in Mariupol which is Ukrainian troops’ last stronghold in the port city.

Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said on the Telegram messaging app that a Russian announcement of a "humanitarian corridor" out of the Azovstal plant to operate later Monday was not agreed to by Ukraine. Vereshchuk added that Ukraine does not consider the route safe for that reason and said Russia had breached agreements on similar evacuation routes before. Ukrainian officials have said that up to 1,000 civilians have sheltered at the sprawling steel plant. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres is scheduled to visit Russia and Ukraine this week. Vereshchuk called on Guterres to be the "initiator and guarantor" of a humanitarian route out of Azovstal.

Russia's Energy Ministry meanwhile, says a massive fire at an oil depot in western Russia will not cause fuel shortages. The ministry said fuel supplies to consumers haven’t been interrupted The Emergencies Ministry said earlier that a huge blaze erupted overnight at the depot owned by Transneft-Druzhba, a subsidiary of the Russian state-controlled company Transneft, which operates the western-bound Druzhba pipeline carrying crude to Europe. It wasn’t immediately clear what caused the blaze at the facility in Bryansk around 60 miles north of the border with Ukraine. (More Russia-Ukraine war stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X