Russia calls Ukraine’s war crimes accusations a “lie”

For Russia, it is a “lie” that its troops have committed war crimes in Izium, a city in Kharkiv province recently recaptured by Ukrainian forces.

In the first public response to the Ukrainian accusations, the Kremlin spokesman, Dmitri Peskov, considered the accusations false and pointed out that kyiv is applying “the same script as in Bucha”, referring to the discovery of the bodies of civilians last March after the withdrawal of Russian troops, something that Moscow branded as “assembly”.

Peskov insisted that Russia “will defend the truth” of what happened in Izium.

The exchange of messages comes after the Ukrainian authorities reported the discovery of around 450 bodies in mass graves, mostly civilians, after Ukrainian troops retook control of the area, in the east of the province of Kharkiv. They also claimed to have found Russian torture chambers.

Following this, Zelensky compared the situation in Izium with that in Bucha and accused the Russian forces of torture. “It is premature to advance figures on the people who have been buried there. The investigations are still underway,” said the Ukrainian leader.

This Monday, the governor of Kharkiv, Oleh Synehubov, reported that 146 bodies have been exhumed, mostly civilians, including two children.

“Some of the dead have signs of a violent death. There are bodies with their hands tied and traces of torture. The deceased were also found to have wounds from explosives, shrapnel and stab wounds,” Synehubov wrote in a message sent via Telegram. .

The UN rights mission in Ukraine announced that it will travel to the area to verify the findings, while the European Union called for the installation of a special court to judge alleged crimes committed by Russian troops.

Ukraine accuses Russia of attacking the country’s second largest nuclear plant

Ukraine claimed that Russia launched bombardments near the Pivdennoukrainsk nuclear power plant, the country’s second largest, located in the southern region of Mykolaiv.

According to Ukraine’s atomic energy operator Energoatom, an Iskander missile fell 300 meters from the South Nuclear Power Plant, causing no damage to the reactors or personnel. The attack did produce a brief power outage and the blackout of one of the units of the Oleksandrivska hydroelectric plant.

“Russia endangers the whole world. We have to stop it before it’s too late,” Zelensky warned, through his social networks.

This offensive adds to global concern about a potential nuclear disaster, fueled by fighting around the Zaporizhia plant, the country’s main power plant, captured by Russian forces in March.

Faced with this, the Ukrainian Energy Minister, German Galushchenko, insisted on demanding an intervention from Europe and warned that, if a “nuclear winter” occurs, then “the problem of high electricity prices will no longer be relevant.”

“While it is not too late and a nuclear catastrophe is only a threat, we must stop Russia!” he stressed.

Ukrainian troops gain ground and advance towards Lugansk

Meanwhile, after the counteroffensive in Kharkiv, Ukrainian troops managed to cross the Orkil River on Sunday night, taking control of both banks. This strategic flow, close to the Lugansk province, connects to the south with the Donets River, a channel that meanders through the Donbass, the focus of the Russian invasion.

Through Telegram, Serhiy Gaidai, the Ukrainian governor of Lugansk, expressed his optimism about the advance of the kyiv forces: “Unemployment is not far away.” However, he anticipated that “there will be a tough fight for every inch of land in Lugansk” because the “surprise effect will no longer be there” (as in Kharkiv) and “the enemy is preparing for defense.”

Gaidai explained that the Ukrainian soldiers regained control of the city of Kreminna and the village of Bilohorivka, two settlements located on the northern approach to Lysychansk, whose fall in July led Russia to seize power in Lugansk.

With the vacating of more than 8,500 square kilometers and 388 towns in Kharkiv, Ukraine scored its biggest military victory since the start of the war and achieved a moral boost that led President Volodymyr Zelensky to promise the liberation of more cities, including Yalta, on the Crimean peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014.

“Perhaps it seems to someone now that after a series of victories we have a certain calm. But this is not a pause. This is preparation for the next sequence. Because Ukraine must be free. All of it,” Zelensky stressed, in his usual evening speech on Sunday.

With EFE and Reuters