Prosecutor General Andrei Shved, together with the Chairman of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly Igor Sergeenko, visited a previously unknown site of mass extermination of civilians and prisoners of war in the Uruchye tract

The Prosecutor General of the Republic of Belarus Andrei Shved, together with the Chairman of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus Igor Sergeenko, as well as deputies of the lower house of Parliament, visited a previously unknown site of mass burial of civilians and prisoners of war during the Great Patriotic War, situated in the Uruchye tract.

The head of the investigative group of the Prosecutor General’s Office on the criminal case on genocide of the Belarusian people, Valery Tolkachev, informed the deputy corps about the progress of the investigation and the procedural actions and activities being carried out in this place.

For reference. In the course of the investigation of the criminal case on genocide, 19 pit graves have been discovered since 2021 in this forest area alone, 16 of which – in 2023. At the same time, archival documents contained no mention of 11 pit graves.

With the onset of favorable weather conditions in March 2024, field search work was resumed – four previously discovered pits with bone remains were opened.

“The search activities carried out in the Uruchye tract since 2021 allowed us to identify three people – natives of Belarus, Russia and Uzbekistan, who were considered missing since the Great Patriotic War. Thanks to this work, relatives of the people killed here can find out their fate and burial place,” noted the Prosecutor General.

Andrei Shved emphasized the importance of visiting such places, especially by young people: “We are not just discovering pit graves – we are establishing new facts about the crimes of the Nazis and their accomplices, which are hidden under the soil. Each pit represents someone’s criminal cruelty and inhumanity, someone’s tragic fate and an unjustly cut short life. Seeing this with your own eyes, you come to the realization of what they tried to do to our people 80 years ago. It is especially important for the younger generation to realize this.”

As part of the event, Chairman of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly Igor Sergeenko spoke with representatives of the media and shared his impressions of what he saw.

In particular, the head of the lower house of Parliament stated that Belarus suffered colossal damage during the Great Patriotic War, including demographic and economic damage: “The damage caused to our republic amounted to 35 budgets of the BSSR of 1940, the pre-war year. In fact, the development of our country was set back almost 30 years.”

Igor Sergeenko emphasized that the criminal case on genocide currently being investigated by the Prosecutor General’s Office makes it possible to reveal the truth about the tragedy of the Belarusian people.

Photo: Prosecutor General’s Office

Department for Interaction
with Mass Media
of the Prosecutor General’s Office