The Horrors of Izyum (Izium)

Описание: Filmed in April and April of 2023, I talk about the eastern Ukrainian city of Izyum(Izium). A Russian speaking town Izyum was not "Liberated" by the Russians or brought back into some grand "Russian world" it was terrorized, brutalized, and betrayed from within.

I went to Izyum on my first deployment to Ukraine,. Much in the same way I covered Buch, Irpin, and Borodyanka I wanted to see how places that were liberated from Russian occupation were surviving. In Izyum however I only found the crippling reality of what it is like to live so close to Russia. I want to walk you through the story of how Izyum fell into Russian hands and then show you how seven months after Ukrainian liberation the scars remain.

I said that Izyum was betrayed from within, that is sadly true. Russian Collaborators would betray the Armed Forces of Ukraine by helped the invading army sneak past defenses and correct fire for Russian artillery. Russian invaders would target civilians in their homes, at hospitals, and would Kidnap the citizens of Izyum to subject them to mass torture.

Over a thousand people were killed due to Russian hostility, and over 440 of them would be buried in a mass grave at the outskirts of the town. Many showing signs of torture, ropes around necks and hands, burn marks, mutilations, and close range gunshot wounds. These were the largest mass graves found since the Yugoslav genocid e. The kicker? The Russians had enough time to boobytrap the mass graves on their way out.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Myuu song used in the later part of the video.
Music:    • What Could Have Been - Myuu  

SOURCES:
(1) Human Rights First Report: https://humanrightsfirst.org/library/...
(2) Video of Izyum Mayor reporting on Collaborators: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=138...
(3) NV report on Collaborators: https://nv.ua/kharkiv/izyumskiy-deput...
(4) Pravda Report on Collaborators: https://www.pravda.com.ua/rus/news/20...
(5) Maksym Strelynk Reporting that Anatoliy Fomychevskyi betrayed Izyum:   / 1727808710759681  
(6) Kyiv Post reporting on the condition in Izyum immediately after Liberation: https://www.kyivpost.com/post/1291
(7) New Yorker Article on occupation: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/20...
(8) 2024 Pravda report on Izyum today: https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/article...
(9) Pravda Mass Grave report: https://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2022/0...
(10) Human Rights Watch report: https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/03/22/u...
(11) Human Rights Watch video:    • Digital Reconstruction Highlights Russian ...  
(12) Reuters video on Izyum:    • Ukraine finds hundreds in mass grave in Izium  
(13) Russian's Banning Ukrainian in occupied Territory: https://www.kyivpost.com/post/26896
(14) Politico report on torture: https://www.politico.com/news/2022/10...
(15) AP Report on Izyum Mass Graves: https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukr...
(16) CNN Article on Torture in Izyum: https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/23/europe...
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

RAZOM LINK FOR CALLING YOUR GOVERNMENT REPRESENTATIVES:
https://www.razomforukraine.org/all-a...

UKRAINIAN DONATION LINKS:
-
SAVE UKRAINE:
saveukraineua.org/donate
ANASTASIYA'S WORK:
Send donations via paypal - email destination [email protected]
COME BACK ALIVE:
https://savelife.in.ua/en/donate-en/#...

PERSONAL LINKS
-
INSTAGRAM:
instagram.com/devinsanluis
TWITTER:
twitter.com/DevinSanLuis
WEBSITE:
autumnpeak.co

CHAPTERS
00:00 INTRO
06:45 WELCOME TO IZYUM
08:55 RUINED SCHOOLS
12:16 RUINED HOMES
16:19 RUINED LIVES
21:43 WHAT I REMEMBER MOST
23:50 OUTRO

I AM A COMPLETELY INDEPENDENT PHOTOGRAPHER AND JOURNALIST SO ANY SUPPORT IS GREATLY APPRECIATED!