At least 440 bodies are found in graves in Izyum. Meanwhile, Germany and Greece agree on a ring exchange of tanks: the news ticker.
- Terrible find: Mass graves discovered in the city of Izyum
- “Red line”: New warning on United States and Ukraine out Russia
- Editor’s note: All news about Ukraine conflict read in this news ticker. The information comes partly from warring parties in the Ukraine war and cannot be directly verified independently.
Update from Saturday, September 17, 09:45: After the discovery of hundreds of bodies in the eastern Ukrainian city of Izyum, which had been liberated from Russian occupation, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv called for the international community to react to Moscow’s crimes. Currently, more than 440 graves have been found near Izyum in the Kharkiv Liberated Region. “It is too early to say anything about the number of people buried there, the investigation is ongoing,” said Zelenskyy in a video message distributed in Kyiv on Friday evening.
The 44-year-old warned that the world should not look on as the “terror state” kills and tortures Russia. Russia must be punished with even tougher sanctions. “There is already clear evidence of torture, degrading treatment of people. In addition, there is evidence that Russian soldiers, whose positions were not far from this place, shot at the buried just for fun,” said Zelenskyy.
Russia acted as it did in the spring in Bucha, a suburb of the capital Kyiv, where the bound bodies of civilians were found. Zelenskyj welcomed the fact that the United Nations now want to send experts.
News about the Ukraine war: Putin announces new attacks on eastern Ukraine
+++ 7.50 p.m.: Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced new attacks on eastern Ukraine. At the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit in Uzbekistan Putin commented publicly on the military successes of the Ukrainian military for the first time and issued a clear warning to Kyiv: Russia would deploy only part of its armed forces in Ukraine and would continue its operations in Donbass.
+++ 6:08 p.m: The federal government has agreed with Greece on a ring exchange to supply the Ukraine with additional armored personnel carriers. Greece will deliver 40 BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine. For this, Athens will receive 40 Marder armored personnel carriers from Germany, as the Ministry of Defense announced on Friday afternoon.
The BMP-1 armored personnel carrier developed in the Soviet Union is a weapon system that is “well known” in Ukraine, according to the statement. The idea of the ring exchange came up shortly after the beginning of the Ukraine war: The Ukrainian armed forces are to be supplied with Soviet weapon systems for which they do not need any additional training. Countries that hand over Soviet weapons are to be supplied with Western makes in return.
+++ 5.15 p.m.: Unlike before from the news agency Reuters reported (see update from 2.30 p.m.), have Reuters-Reporters did not see any corpses with ropes around their necks in the Izyum mob. Reuters had previously spoken of several corpses with ropes around their necks and hands tied. This was confirmed by Reuters reporters who were present on site. However, the news agency later corrected this. Our editors accepted this information. We apologize for this error.
+++ 4.30 p.m.: At an airfield in the city of Melitopol (Zaporizhia region) occupied by Russian troops, there was apparently a “strong explosion” in the afternoon. This was stated by Mayor Ivan Fyodorov, according to a report by the news portal Kyiv Independent. He did not give any further details. The information is not independently verifiable.
News about the Ukraine war: mass grave discovered in Izyum
+++ 3.45 p.m.: The Ukrainian police spoke at a press conference in the afternoon about the discovery of the mass grave in Izyum. 440 bodies were found there, a total of 458 dead have been counted in the city recaptured by Ukrainian forces so far. “According to a preliminary estimate, they are civilians,” said police chief Ihor Klymenko about the discovered mass grave at the press conference. “We have information that there are also soldiers there, but we haven’t recovered a single one.” Forensic investigations are continuing, he adds. The UN has already announced a visit to the Human Rights Office (see update from 2.30 p.m.).
+++ 2.30 p.m.: A mass grave was discovered in the city of Izyum, which was recaptured by Ukrainian troops (see update from 1:30 a.m.). More and more details are now emerging about the alleged atrocities committed by Russian soldiers. Phil Stewart, correspondent for the news agency Reuters, reports on Twitter that several bodies were found with a rope around their necks and handcuffs. It is estimated that there are 450 dead in the mass grave. The United Nations has already announced that a special team will be sent to better assess the situation on the ground.
+++ 1.45 p.m.: In addition to the prosecutor general of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic, the deputy prosecutor general, Ekaterina Steglenko, is said to have died in the explosion in Kherson. The news portal reports Nexta.
Ukraine War News: Explosion in Cherson
+++ 11.30 a.m.: In Cherson, an explosion apparently occurred in the city center in the morning. Like the news portal Nexta reported, the building of the appeal report is said to be affected. According to the report, Russian troops had previously settled there. So far it is unclear whether there are dead or injured. The news portal Kyiv Independent reports, citing Yuriy Sobolevskyi, First Deputy Chairman of the Kherson Oblast Council, that the building of the regional state administration is said to be affected. The above information is not independently verifiable at this time.
+++ 8.30 a.m.: After Ukrainian troops recaptured several areas, the Russian military apparently relies on “cryptomobilization”. That explains the US think tank “Institute for the Study of War” in one go management report. Accordingly, this is the alternative to creating conditions for “a general mobilization”. President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly denied this. Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov called for a kind of “self-mobilization” on Thursday. By this he meant, according to his own statements, a decentralized recruitment of new soldiers in the regions of Russia. The information from the US think tank cannot be independently verified.
News about the Ukraine war: Russian military expert calls for more brutality
+++ 07.15 a.m.: Military experts and politicians from Russia have called on state television for soldiers to be more brutal during the war, primarily in response to the loss of territory in Ukraine. This is reported by a reporter from the US news portal Daily Beast. It was also said several times that “attacks on critical infrastructures” had to be expanded. Military expert Igor Korotschenko commented on this, among other things. He is considered a pro-Kremlin propagandist. For example, about a month ago he asked for the support of donald trump in the US election campaign that he was a “friend” of Russia.
News about the Ukraine war: mass graves discovered in Izyum
Update from Friday, September 16, 1:30 a.m.: According to media reports, mass graves were found in the city of Izyum (Kharkiv region), which was recaptured by Ukrainian troops. This is reported by both the British TV station sky as well as the Ukrainian news portal Nexta based on official information. The information is reminiscent of what became known months ago Mass grave in Bucha near Kyiv. It caused international reactions.
A total of 440 bodies were apparently found in the mass graves in Izyum. They are to be examined forensically in the coming days. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj condemned the crimes in a TV speech: “We want the world to know what caused the Russian occupation.” Officials said that the first forensic results were expected on Friday.
Russia apparently cannot stop the Ukraine offensive – Poor supply of soldiers
+++ 5.15 p.m.: The governor of Kharkiv region Oleh Syniehubov said that Russian soldiers fleeing the region destroyed a power plant. The news portal reports Kyiv Independent. According to Syniehubov, around 5,000 people now have no gas supply. His statements are not independently verifiable.
+++ 4.30 p.m.: Russian troops in southern and eastern Ukraine are apparently still having difficulties stopping the Ukrainian army’s counter-offensive. This is reported by the US broadcaster CNN – and refers to problems that the Russian armed forces have had since the beginning of the invasion: The poor supply situation of the troops should be mentioned above all, so several supply routes are not working. According to the report, there is also a lack of an “effective command and control structure”. The information in the report cannot be independently verified. However, a military expert had previously given similar information and reported three factors that could hinder the Ukrainian army’s offensive.
Update from Thursday, September 15, 6:45 a.m.: The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, visited troops in the east of the country yesterday (September 14). When the 44-year-old was on his way back to Kyiv, a car drove into the head of state’s convoy. That reports the dpa citing Zelenskyy’s spokesman Serhiy Nykyforov.
After an initial examination, however, the all-clear was quickly given, Selenskyj was not seriously injured. The driver of the other vehicle involved in the accident was taken to a hospital. Investigations into the circumstances of the accident are ongoing.
News about the Ukraine war: Russian rocket attacks on Mykolaiv reported
First report from Wednesday, September 14, 1:00 p.m.: Mykolaiv Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych has reported numerous attacks by Russian troops. During the night, the armed forces bombed the city several times. According to Sienkevych, security forces were still busy cleaning up at noon. So far, little is known about the injured and dead. The information cannot be independently verified. (lm/tu/na/nak with dpa/AFP)