The Russian Investigative Committee stated as quoted by Sputnik that Moscow discovered nearly 3,000 dead people after taking control of Mariupol.

"In April alone, the bodies of 51 civilians were found at the positions abandoned by the Ukrainian troops, and after the complete liberation and examination of the city, their number amounted to over 3,000," the Committee said.

After the Russian armed forces built humanitarian corridors, the Ukrainian military "artificially erected hurdles for evacuation [of residents] from the city," as per the investigators.

"Unable to leave the city and moving in search of food, civilians became a living target for Ukrainian punishers who killed them with various types of weapons," the Russian Investigative Committee added as quoted by Sputnik.

Due to challenges in identifying the victims, Russian investigators advocated the construction of a separate DNA database of those killed.

In addition, the Russian Investigative Committee opened a criminal complaint against Ukrainian armed forces commander-in-chief Gen. Valery Zaluzhny, joint forces commander Gen. Oleksandr Pavlyuk, and other military officers suspected of war crimes in Mariupol. The case was filed in accordance with the provision on the use of prohibited weapons and techniques of warfare.