Suspected mass graves seen near Mariupol

Four groups of rows in the ground appear to represent more than 200 mass graves in the Ukrainian town of Manhush, about 12 miles west of the southeastern port city of Mariupol. U.S.-based Maxar Technologies, which released satellite images showing the formations Thursday, said the suspected graves were dug late in March and extended from an existing cemetery. The Mariupol city council said the graves could hold as many as 9,000 dead people from Mariupol, where Russian forces continue to surround the city’s last military defenders along with some civilians holed up inside a steel plant.

How are other civilians faring? Ukraine’s deputy prime minister Iryna Vereshchuk said no civilian evacuations would happen Friday due to danger along the routes. On Thursday, at least two Russian airstrikes hit the city of Zaporizhzhia, a landing point for Mariupol evacuees. Ukrainian officials said Russian forces captured villages in the eastern Donetsk region amid an ongoing offensive there. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked the United States for its latest $800 million in military aid, including ammunition, heavy artillery, and drones.

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