[Korrespondent] Before the invasion of Ukraine, Russian occupiers were given instructions on the location of collective graves.
Russia was preparing for the genocide of Ukrainians long before the full-scale invasion of Ukraine and was compiling execution lists. This was stated by the Chief of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense, Lieutenant General Kirill Budanov, speaking at the forum Genocidal Practices of the Russian Federation in Ukraine: from the Holodomor to the Russian-Ukrainian War, the special service reported on Saturday, November 23.
"We have seen terrible mass crimes against Ukrainian citizens, the facts of which have become known to the entire world. The atrocities of the Russian Armed Forces units in Borodyanka, Bucha, Gostomel, Izyum, Mariupol and many other settlements in Ukraine have shown that these identical and synchronous actions were based on clear doctrinal provisions of the Russian genocidal policy of the authorities and military leadership," he said.
According to Budanov, the execution lists should include teachers of the Ukrainian language, literature, history, ATO veterans, journalists, scientists, writers, priests of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine and other confessions who supported Ukraine, public and political figures, heads of state and local government bodies.
Also, according to his data, Russia's preparation for genocide against the Ukrainian people included the creation of mobile crematoriums and provided for mass burials. Before the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russian occupiers were given instructions on the location of collective graves.
Recall that, according to the UN, in October, Russians killed at least 183 Ukrainian civilians , including nine children. Another 903 people were injured. And from the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022 to the end of October 2024, 12,162 civilians were killed and 26,919 were injured.
However, these data are far from complete and do not include, for example, victims among the residents of Mariupol. According to various estimates, from 20,000 to 100,000 people could have died in this city alone.