Local police have buried at least 150 people in a mass grave in Lysychansk, eastern Ukraine, the region’s administrator said on Telegram.
Luhansk Governor Serhii Haidai promised they would be properly buried after the war, and said the emergency situation is requiring police to take on many roles, including that of an undertaker.
He added that victims of Russian shelling and those who died of natural causes would be laid to rest in the grave.
A video showed how corpses were placed in white sacks, each with a name label, and were each placed in the cemetery.
Haidai indicated that Russian troops had taken control of up to 95% of Luhansk. The situation was “extremely bad,” he said.
The cities of Severodonetsk and Lysychansk, each of which had 100,000 residents before the war, are still in Ukrainian hands but have been subject to shelling for days.
“There are only about 40,000 civilians left in the area, hardly any of them want to leave,” Haidai said.
