Fields Of Heartbreak: Inside Mariupol's New Cemetery Grounds
New images from a massively expanded cemetery in Mariupol capture the individual tragedies caused by the Russian invasion.
1. Iryna Orfinyak at the grave of her granddaughter, Veronika, in the Starokrymske cemetery in the northwest of Mariupol on November 9. The child was killed alongside her father when a mortar round landed among a huddle of people cooking outside during the Russian siege of the city.
2, Orfinyak at her granddaughter’s grave.
According to Orfinyak, 10 people were killed in the mortar explosion, including three children. Veronika, “was thrown against the entrance door. She was wounded and died while we were taking her to the hospital,” the bereaved grandmother told Reuters, adding, “our son was killed immediately."
3. Rows of new graves in the Starokrymske cemetery photographed in May.
The cemetery was massively expanded following the Russian takeover of the city, largely with graves marked only with a number.