European Union foreign ministers have decided to impose new sanctions of Russia as the crisis in Ukraine officially entered its seventh month. The bloc, comprising 27 foreign ministers, also announced at the United Nations General Assembly in New York that they will be increasing the supply of weapons to Ukraine following Vladimir Putin’s decision to initiate partial military mobilisation in Russia.&nbsp;

After the meeting between the foreign ministers, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell criticised Putin’s escalation of the Ukraine crisis and said that the EU will not back down in this situation.&nbsp;

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-federal-reserve-hikes-interest-rates-to-highest-level-since-2008-518597">US Federal Reserve hikes interest rates to highest level since 2008</a>

"It's clear that Putin is trying to destroy Ukraine," Borrell told reporters according to Reuters.&nbsp;

Borrell met with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and after the official briefing, the bloc decided to prepare another set of sanctions which will target "more relevant sectors of the Russian economy and continue targeting people responsible for the war of aggression in Ukraine".&nbsp;

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/doj-can-resume-review-of-documents-found-in-donald-trumps-residence-says-us-court-518587" hreflang="en">DOJ can resume review of documents found in Donald Trump's residence, says US court</a>

When it comes to the weapons supply, the EU did not provide a concrete figure but it is expected that the countries will look to boost Ukrainian forces as he look to regain lost land. In the past few weeks, the resistance forces have successfully recaptured a number of cities in Kharkiv and Luhansk.&nbsp;

However, the one topic where the EU foreign ministers disagreed was the sanctions on energy imports as the continent is currently going through a massive energy supply crisis. While there were a number of countries who were in favour of it, Hungary completely dismissed the idea of a complete ban.&nbsp;

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European Union foreign ministers have decided to impose new sanctions of Russia as the crisis in Ukraine officially entered its seventh month. The bloc, comprising 27 foreign ministers, also announced at the United Nations General Assembly in New York that they will be increasing the supply of weapons to Ukraine following Vladimir Putin’s decision to initiate partial military mobilisation in Russia.

European Union foreign ministers have decided to impose new sanctions of Russia as the crisis in Ukraine officially entered its seventh month. The bloc, comprising 27 foreign ministers, also announced at the United Nations General Assembly in New York that they will be increasing the supply of weapons to Ukraine following Vladimir Putin’s decision to initiate partial military mobilisation in Russia. After the meeting between the foreign ministers, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell criticised Putin’s escalation of the Ukraine crisis and said that the EU will not back down in this situation. Also read | US Federal Reserve hikes interest rates to highest level since 2008 "It's clear that Putin is trying to destroy Ukraine," Borrell told reporters according to Reuters. Borrell met with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and after the official briefing, the bloc decided to prepare another set of sanctions which will target "more relevant sectors of the Russian economy and continue targeting people responsible for the war of aggression in Ukraine". Also read | DOJ can resume review of documents found in Donald Trump's residence, says US court When it comes to the weapons supply, the EU did not provide a concrete figure but it is expected that the countries will look to boost Ukrainian forces as he look to regain lost land. In the past few weeks, the resistance forces have successfully recaptured a number of cities in Kharkiv and Luhansk. However, the one topic where the EU foreign ministers disagreed was the sanctions on energy imports as the continent is currently going through a massive energy supply crisis. While there were a number of countries who were in favour of it, Hungary completely dismissed the idea of a complete ban.

European Union finance ministers agree to hit Russia with additional sanctions

British Prime Minister Liz Truss accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of “sabre rattling” and said that the nuclear threats were just an attempt on his part to justify the “catastrophic” failure in Ukraine.&nbsp;

During her speech at the United Nations General Assembly, Truss criticised Putin’s decision to announce partial military mobilisation in Russia following severe setbacks at the hands of the Ukrainian forces.&nbsp;

"He is doubling down by sending even more reservists to a terrible fate. He is desperately trying to claim the mantle of democracy for a regime without human rights or freedoms. And he is making yet more bogus claims and sabre rattling threats,"&nbsp;she was quoted by Reuters.&nbsp;

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/zelenskiy-at-unga-we-demand-just-punishment-for-russian-crimes-518559" hreflang="en">Zelensky at UNGA: We demand 'just punishment' for Russian crimes</a>

"We will not rest until Ukraine prevails. At this crucial moment in the conflict, I pledge that we will sustain or increase our military support to Ukraine for as long as it takes."

Truss also said that UK will be spending 3 per cent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on defense from 2030 – a prominent promise that she made during her campaign ahead of the elections&nbsp;

"In the face of rising aggression, we have shown we have the power to act and the resolve to see it through. But this must not be a one-off,” Truss said during her speech.&nbsp;

This must be a new era in which we commit to ourselves, our citizens, and this institution that we will do whatever it takes - whatever it takes to deliver for our people and defend our values," she added.&nbsp;

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/uk-unveils-plans-six-month-plan-to-pay-half-of-energy-bills-for-businesses-518364">UK unveils six-month plan to cut energy bills for businesses by half</a>

One of the major issues being discussed in the UNGA this year is the global energy crisis following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Truss blamed Russia once again for the problem plauging most of Europe and promised that they will not be cutting off “toxic power and pipelines” from authoritarian regimes.&nbsp;

“We will ensure we cannot be coerced or harmed by the reckless actions of rogue actors abroad." &nbsp;

“We will transition to a future based on renewable and nuclear energy whilst ensuring that the gas used during that transition is from reliable sources, including our own North Sea production,” she said.&nbsp;

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British Prime Minister Liz Truss accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of “sabre rattling” and said that the nuclear threats were just an attempt on his part to justify the “catastrophic” failure in Ukraine.

British Prime Minister Liz Truss accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of “sabre rattling” and said that the nuclear threats were just an attempt on his part to justify the “catastrophic” failure in Ukraine. During her speech at the United Nations General Assembly, Truss criticised Putin’s decision to announce partial military mobilisation in Russia following severe setbacks at the hands of the Ukrainian forces. "He is doubling down by sending even more reservists to a terrible fate. He is desperately trying to claim the mantle of democracy for a regime without human rights or freedoms. And he is making yet more bogus claims and sabre rattling threats," she was quoted by Reuters. Also read | Zelensky at UNGA: We demand 'just punishment' for Russian crimes "We will not rest until Ukraine prevails. At this crucial moment in the conflict, I pledge that we will sustain or increase our military support to Ukraine for as long as it takes." Truss also said that UK will be spending 3 per cent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on defense from 2030 – a prominent promise that she made during her campaign ahead of the elections "In the face of rising aggression, we have shown we have the power to act and the resolve to see it through. But this must not be a one-off,” Truss said during her speech. This must be a new era in which we commit to ourselves, our citizens, and this institution that we will do whatever it takes - whatever it takes to deliver for our people and defend our values," she added. Also read | UK unveils six-month plan to cut energy bills for businesses by half One of the major issues being discussed in the UNGA this year is the global energy crisis following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Truss blamed Russia once again for the problem plauging most of Europe and promised that they will not be cutting off “toxic power and pipelines” from authoritarian regimes. “We will ensure we cannot be coerced or harmed by the reckless actions of rogue actors abroad." “We will transition to a future based on renewable and nuclear energy whilst ensuring that the gas used during that transition is from reliable sources, including our own North Sea production,” she said.

UNGA 2022: Liz Truss criticises Vladimir Putin, says 'UK will not rest until Ukraine prevails'

Eyewitness video shows large queues of vehicles at the Zemo Larsi/Verkhny Lars checkpoint on the Georgia-Russia border after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a partial mobilisation in Russia.

Russians fleeing after Putin's call for partial mobilisation amid Ukraine war

The Russian President Vladimir Putin has made his much anticipated next move in the Ukraine war. On Wednesday while addressing the nation, Putin gave a call for military mobilisation.

Russia: Pressure on Putin as reservists called up for war, warns west over Nuclear blackmail

McDonald's in Kyiv re-opened on Tuesday for the first time since Russia's invasion. The branches only opened for delivery services but customers waited outside the restaurants anyway to collect their meals.

McDonald's outlets reopen in Kyiv for delivery services only

Russian-backed representatives of at least four regions in Ukraine have said they will hold a referendum on joining Russia in the coming days.

Leaders in four regions of Ukraine announce referendum

The French president Emmanuel Macron has told the UNGA that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine harked back to an earlier age of imperialism. He also repeated the Indian PM Modi's statement- This is not the time for war.

77th UN General Assembly: 'This is not the time for war, not time for revenge', says Macron

US President Joe Biden came down harshly on Russian President Vladimir Putin in his speech at the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on Wednesday. Lashing out at Putin over Ukraine war, threat of using nuclear weapons and announcement of partial military mobilisation, Biden said Putin 'shamelessly violated' UN charter.&nbsp;

“A permanent member of the United Nations Security Council invaded its neighbour, attempted to erase a sovereign state from the map. Russia has shamelessly violated the core tenets of the United Nations Charter,” Biden said.

During his speech, Biden declared his unequivocal support for Ukraine.

"We stand with Ukraine and against Russian aggression. Period!" he said.

Biden's speech at UNGA came just hours after Putin <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/ukraine-crisis-russias-vladimir-putin-announces-partial-military-mobilisation-518283">ordered a partial military mobilisation</a> in Russia for Ukraine war. Putin also made a thinly veiled threat of nuclear attack.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) denounced Putin's threat as 'reckless'.

"A nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought," Biden said referring to Mutually Assured Destruction doctrine.

The doctrine states that a nuclear attack from one country will result a similar attack on the country by the other and in effect, both countries will get utterly destroyed causing immeasurable impact on global climate with direct effect on immediate human survival worldover.

Also Read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/partial-military-mobilisation-in-russia-has-markets-on-alert-518418">Partial military mobilisation in Russia announcement makes oil, defence stocks surge</a>

In the run up to the Ukraine invasion and even later, Putin had claimed that Russia was threatened. Biden refuted this claim in his UNGA speech and said that no one had threatened Russia.

Also Read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/ukraine-crisis-russias-vladimir-putin-announces-partial-military-mobilisation-518283">'Will use all available means, this is not a bluff': Russia's Putin announces partial military mobilisation</a>

Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24. After sustained military losses in the first few months, Ukraine has been able to launch successful counter-offensives in recent weeks and recapture territory from Russian forces. Putin's call for partial military mobilisation in Russia is thus being viewed by many as desperate move to bolster his forces in Ukraine.

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US President Joe Biden came down harshly on Russian President Vladimir Putin in his speech at the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on Wednesday.

US President Joe Biden came down harshly on Russian President Vladimir Putin in his speech at the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on Wednesday. Lashing out at Putin over Ukraine war, threat of using nuclear weapons and announcement of partial military mobilisation, Biden said Putin 'shamelessly violated' UN charter. “A permanent member of the United Nations Security Council invaded its neighbour, attempted to erase a sovereign state from the map. Russia has shamelessly violated the core tenets of the United Nations Charter,” Biden said. During his speech, Biden declared his unequivocal support for Ukraine. "We stand with Ukraine and against Russian aggression. Period!" he said. Biden's speech at UNGA came just hours after Putin ordered a partial military mobilisation in Russia for Ukraine war. Putin also made a thinly veiled threat of nuclear attack. The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) denounced Putin's threat as 'reckless'. "A nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought," Biden said referring to Mutually Assured Destruction doctrine. The doctrine states that a nuclear attack from one country will result a similar attack on the country by the other and in effect, both countries will get utterly destroyed causing immeasurable impact on global climate with direct effect on immediate human survival worldover. Also Read | Partial military mobilisation in Russia announcement makes oil, defence stocks surge In the run up to the Ukraine invasion and even later, Putin had claimed that Russia was threatened. Biden refuted this claim in his UNGA speech and said that no one had threatened Russia. Also Read | 'Will use all available means, this is not a bluff': Russia's Putin announces partial military mobilisation Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24. After sustained military losses in the first few months, Ukraine has been able to launch successful counter-offensives in recent weeks and recapture territory from Russian forces. Putin's call for partial military mobilisation in Russia is thus being viewed by many as desperate move to bolster his forces in Ukraine. You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here. WATCH WION LIVE HERE ×

UNGA: Biden tears into Putin, says Russia has 'shamelessly violated' UN charter

Share markets across the world showed movement as Russian President Vladimir Putin announced partial mobilisation in the country. The escalation has raised concerns about energy supplies as well as increased demand for weapons.&nbsp;

UK's commodity-heavy FTSE 100 reversed early losses on Wednesday, buoyed by oil stocks as crude prices surged&nbsp;

The benchmark FTSE 100 (.FTSE) rose 0.5%, while the domestically focussed mid-cap index (.FTMC) added 0.3% by 0817 GMT.

Oil majors BP (BP.L) and Shell (SHEL.L) climbed nearly 2.5% each as crude prices jumped on concerns of tighter oil and gas supply.&nbsp;

In addition to oil companies, shares of defence companies rose too. Shares of BAE Systems, Britain's biggest defence company jumped by 5.3 per cent

"Investors will be looking at defence stocks and thinking about the potential that governments will look to increase their spend on weapons and on military hardware," said Danni Hewson, financial analyst at AJ Bell. Hewson was quoted by Reuters.

UK Prime Minister Liz Truss was another world leader who caused a stir in the markets.

Housing stocks (.FTNMX402020) rose 3.3% after a report said that Truss will announce plans to cut the stamp duty on property tax in the government's mini-budget this week.

Also Read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/ukraine-crisis-russias-vladimir-putin-announces-partial-military-mobilisation-518283">'Will use all available means, this is not a bluff': Russia's Putin announces partial military mobilisation</a>

Markets are expecting the Bank of England to follow suit on Thursday,&nbsp;pricing in a 77% chance of a 75-basis-point increase in rates to 2.5%, and a 23% chance of a smaller 50-basis-point increase.&nbsp;

"After what we saw in Sweden yesterday and what we're expecting to see from the Federal Reserve, it does put a great deal of pressure on the Bank of England," said Hewson.

"Markets are not quite sure what to expect from the BoE because you've got the UK Government about to borrow a huge chunk of additional cash, the expectation that the economy is already in recession and a situation where the BoE cannot cut rates in order to stimulate economic growth because that will only lead to further inflationary pressures."

(With inputs from agencies)

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Share markets across the world showed movement as Russian President Vladimir Putin announced partial mobilisation in the country. The escalation has raised concerns about energy supplies as well as increased demand for weapons.

Share markets across the world showed movement as Russian President Vladimir Putin announced partial mobilisation in the country. The escalation has raised concerns about energy supplies as well as increased demand for weapons. UK's commodity-heavy FTSE 100 reversed early losses on Wednesday, buoyed by oil stocks as crude prices surged The benchmark FTSE 100 (.FTSE) rose 0.5%, while the domestically focussed mid-cap index (.FTMC) added 0.3% by 0817 GMT. Oil majors BP (BP.L) and Shell (SHEL.L) climbed nearly 2.5% each as crude prices jumped on concerns of tighter oil and gas supply. In addition to oil companies, shares of defence companies rose too. Shares of BAE Systems, Britain's biggest defence company jumped by 5.3 per cent "Investors will be looking at defence stocks and thinking about the potential that governments will look to increase their spend on weapons and on military hardware," said Danni Hewson, financial analyst at AJ Bell. Hewson was quoted by Reuters. UK Prime Minister Liz Truss was another world leader who caused a stir in the markets. Housing stocks (.FTNMX402020) rose 3.3% after a report said that Truss will announce plans to cut the stamp duty on property tax in the government's mini-budget this week. Also Read | 'Will use all available means, this is not a bluff': Russia's Putin announces partial military mobilisation Markets are expecting the Bank of England to follow suit on Thursday, pricing in a 77% chance of a 75-basis-point increase in rates to 2.5%, and a 23% chance of a smaller 50-basis-point increase. "After what we saw in Sweden yesterday and what we're expecting to see from the Federal Reserve, it does put a great deal of pressure on the Bank of England," said Hewson. "Markets are not quite sure what to expect from the BoE because you've got the UK Government about to borrow a huge chunk of additional cash, the expectation that the economy is already in recession and a situation where the BoE cannot cut rates in order to stimulate economic growth because that will only lead to further inflationary pressures." (With inputs from agencies) You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here. WATCH WION LIVE HERE ×

Partial military mobilisation in Russia announcement makes oil, defence stocks surge

Russian President Vladimir Putin has mobilised more troops after Ukraine's counter-offensive. While Russia has called up 300,000 reservists, Germany called this another terrible and wrong step by Russia.

Putin mobilises more troops for Ukraine after Ukraine's counter-offensive

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a partial military&nbsp;mobilisation&nbsp;in the country in order to put the economy at a “wartime footing” as the invasion of Ukraine continues. In a pre-recorded speech which was televised all around the country, Putin said that the decision taken “to defend the motherland, its sovereignty and territorial integrity” will be viewed as an escalation by the West.

Following the Russian premier's announcement&nbsp;oil prices saw an increase of&nbsp;about 3 per cent due to worries about a tighter oil and gas supply.&nbsp;With this,&nbsp;oil companies, BP and Shell&nbsp;both saw their shares rise by over 2.5 per cent each. While &nbsp;BAE Systems, the largest defence business in the United Kingdom, gained 5.3 per cent.

According to Reuters, Putin also said that the West “wants to destroy our country” and claimed that they had tried to “turn Ukraine’s people into cannon fodder”. The “mobilisation&nbsp;events” will begin on Wednesday, but the Russian president did not provide any more details about the timeline.&nbsp;

"If the territorial integrity of our country is threatened, we will use all available means to protect our people - this is not a bluff," Putin said in the address.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/pm-modis-no-war-comment-to-putin-lauded-by-france-and-united-states-518236" hreflang="en">PM Modi's 'no war' comment to Putin lauded by France and United States</a>

As part of the partial&nbsp;militarisation, there will be a boost in weapons production and as a result, the citizens and businesses in the country are expected to contribute more to the war financially.&nbsp;

The crisis has officially entered its seventh month and in the last few weeks, the Russian position has faltered, allowing Ukraine to recapture considerable ground. This move is expected to be Russia’s push to reclaim lost territories&nbsp;and move towards an advantageous position against the Ukrainian forces.&nbsp;

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-and-canadian-warships-sail-through-taiwan-strait-second-time-in-three-weeks-518244">US &amp; Canadian warships sail through Taiwan Strait, second time in three weeks</a>

The negotiations featured in Putin’s speech on Wednesday as he accused Kyiv&nbsp;of backing out. He said that the move was dictated by the western countries and Ukraine is currently increasing its military strength by including “neo-Nazi extremists” who are being trained by NATO.&nbsp;

Meanwhile, the regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia are likely to organise votes this weekend on a referendum,&nbsp;expressing their desire to become official territories of Russia.&nbsp;

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Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a partial military mobilisation in the country in order to put the economy at a “wartime footing” as the invasion of Ukraine continues.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a partial military mobilisation in the country in order to put the economy at a “wartime footing” as the invasion of Ukraine continues. In a pre-recorded speech which was televised all around the country, Putin said that the decision taken “to defend the motherland, its sovereignty and territorial integrity” will be viewed as an escalation by the West. Following the Russian premier's announcement oil prices saw an increase of about 3 per cent due to worries about a tighter oil and gas supply. With this, oil companies, BP and Shell both saw their shares rise by over 2.5 per cent each. While BAE Systems, the largest defence business in the United Kingdom, gained 5.3 per cent. According to Reuters, Putin also said that the West “wants to destroy our country” and claimed that they had tried to “turn Ukraine’s people into cannon fodder”. The “mobilisation events” will begin on Wednesday, but the Russian president did not provide any more details about the timeline. "If the territorial integrity of our country is threatened, we will use all available means to protect our people - this is not a bluff," Putin said in the address. Also read | PM Modi's 'no war' comment to Putin lauded by France and United States As part of the partial militarisation, there will be a boost in weapons production and as a result, the citizens and businesses in the country are expected to contribute more to the war financially. The crisis has officially entered its seventh month and in the last few weeks, the Russian position has faltered, allowing Ukraine to recapture considerable ground. This move is expected to be Russia’s push to reclaim lost territories and move towards an advantageous position against the Ukrainian forces. Also read | US & Canadian warships sail through Taiwan Strait, second time in three weeks The negotiations featured in Putin’s speech on Wednesday as he accused Kyiv of backing out. He said that the move was dictated by the western countries and Ukraine is currently increasing its military strength by including “neo-Nazi extremists” who are being trained by NATO. Meanwhile, the regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia are likely to organise votes this weekend on a referendum, expressing their desire to become official territories of Russia.

'Will use all available means, this is not a bluff': Russia's Putin announces partial military mobilisation

Russia has been reportedly hiring prisoners to fight its war in an attempt to compensate for the acute shortage of personnel fighting in Ukraine.&nbsp;The name of a private agency has come to the fore that has been recruiting these inmates, who face serious charges like murder and loot.

According to the Guardian, Yevgeny Prigozhin, a close ally of President Vladimir Putin, and the reported head of the Wagner group—a private military company and often described as a network of mercenaries—has been sending these convicted felons to the battlefield.

Though there is no official number available as to how many have been hired, a US official on Monday said that Wagner was trying to recruit more than 1,500 prisoners.&nbsp;&nbsp;

A video had gone viral last week on Russian social media showing a man closely resembling Prigozhin telling inmates at a prison 500 miles north of Tambov that they would be freed if they served six months with his group.&nbsp;

This is&nbsp;the first time that the enlistment process had been captured on camera.&nbsp;

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/ukraines-western-allies-condemn-russian-referendum-plans-for-occupied-regions-518218" hreflang="en">Ukraine's Western allies condemn Russian referendum plans for occupied regions</a>

The Guardian spoke to several prisoners and close family members of inmates across different penal colonies in&nbsp;Russia&nbsp;who all gave similar accounts of how Prigozhin was personally conducting recruitment in prisons, and how they are promised freedom and money in exchange for their services.

One of the inmates, Ivan, told the UK daily that around 120 inmates joined the group and were now fighting in Ukraine after a one-week training course.

All the prisoners interviewed said they were promised a presidential pardon after six months and a salary of 100,000 rubles (£1,400) a month.

Last month, Pentagon said that Russia has lost around 80,000 soldiers since its invasion of Ukraine began.

(With inputs from agencies)

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Russia has been reportedly hiring prisoners to fight its war in an attempt to compensate for the acute shortage of personnel fighting in Ukraine. The name of a private agency has come to the fore that has been recruiting these inmates, who face serious charges like murder and loot.

Russia has been reportedly hiring prisoners to fight its war in an attempt to compensate for the acute shortage of personnel fighting in Ukraine. The name of a private agency has come to the fore that has been recruiting these inmates, who face serious charges like murder and loot. According to the Guardian, Yevgeny Prigozhin, a close ally of President Vladimir Putin, and the reported head of the Wagner group—a private military company and often described as a network of mercenaries—has been sending these convicted felons to the battlefield. Though there is no official number available as to how many have been hired, a US official on Monday said that Wagner was trying to recruit more than 1,500 prisoners. A video had gone viral last week on Russian social media showing a man closely resembling Prigozhin telling inmates at a prison 500 miles north of Tambov that they would be freed if they served six months with his group. This is the first time that the enlistment process had been captured on camera. Also read | Ukraine's Western allies condemn Russian referendum plans for occupied regions The Guardian spoke to several prisoners and close family members of inmates across different penal colonies in Russia who all gave similar accounts of how Prigozhin was personally conducting recruitment in prisons, and how they are promised freedom and money in exchange for their services. One of the inmates, Ivan, told the UK daily that around 120 inmates joined the group and were now fighting in Ukraine after a one-week training course. All the prisoners interviewed said they were promised a presidential pardon after six months and a salary of 100,000 rubles (£1,400) a month. Last month, Pentagon said that Russia has lost around 80,000 soldiers since its invasion of Ukraine began. (With inputs from agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE:

Money, pardon: How Russia is luring prisoners to fight the war in Ukraine

Britain’s newly elected Prime Minister Liz Truss has pledged that the United Kingdom will continue their financial support to Ukraine. Ahead of her first foreign trip as PM, Truss said that the UK will match the figures of 2022 and will also send both financial and artillery support to Ukraine.

"My message to the people of Ukraine is this: the UK will continue to be right behind you every step of the way. Your security is our security," Truss said according to Reuters.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/unga-formally-opens-today-with-ukraine-crisis-global-hunger-in-spotlight-517907" hreflang="en">UNGA formally opens today with Ukraine crisis, global hunger in spotlight</a>

The UK has been a major supporter of Ukraine in the ongoing Russian invasion and till now, they have committed £2.3bn to the cause in 2022. According to the media reports, Truss is expected to talk more about the commitment during the annual United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

"The number one issue is global security - making sure we are able to collectively deal with Russian aggression and ensuring that Ukraine prevails, and Putin doesn't have success in Ukraine.”

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/location-is-everything-donald-trump-mocks-joe-biden-after-queen-elizabeth-iis-funeral-517943" hreflang="en">'Location is everything': Donald Trump mocks Joe Biden after Queen Elizabeth II's funeral</a>

"(It's a) huge priority for European security as well as ensuring that we are working together with other members of the G7 to make sure we are not strategically dependent on authoritarian regimes. That's the priority," Truss told reporters ahead of her foreign trip according to Sky News.

During her campaign, Truss sparked a mini controversy when she said that she is not sure whether France is a “friend or foe” to Britain. Ahead of her US trip, Truss made it clear that she is looking to work closely with Emmanuel Macron and said that she wanted "a constructive relationship with France".

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Britain’s newly elected Prime Minister Liz Truss has pledged that the United Kingdom will continue their financial support to Ukraine. Ahead of her first foreign trip as PM, Truss said that the UK will match the figures of 2022 and will also send both financial and artillery support to Ukraine.

Britain’s newly elected Prime Minister Liz Truss has pledged that the United Kingdom will continue their financial support to Ukraine. Ahead of her first foreign trip as PM, Truss said that the UK will match the figures of 2022 and will also send both financial and artillery support to Ukraine. "My message to the people of Ukraine is this: the UK will continue to be right behind you every step of the way. Your security is our security," Truss said according to Reuters. Also read | UNGA formally opens today with Ukraine crisis, global hunger in spotlight The UK has been a major supporter of Ukraine in the ongoing Russian invasion and till now, they have committed £2.3bn to the cause in 2022. According to the media reports, Truss is expected to talk more about the commitment during the annual United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). "The number one issue is global security - making sure we are able to collectively deal with Russian aggression and ensuring that Ukraine prevails, and Putin doesn't have success in Ukraine.” Also read | 'Location is everything': Donald Trump mocks Joe Biden after Queen Elizabeth II's funeral "(It's a) huge priority for European security as well as ensuring that we are working together with other members of the G7 to make sure we are not strategically dependent on authoritarian regimes. That's the priority," Truss told reporters ahead of her foreign trip according to Sky News. During her campaign, Truss sparked a mini controversy when she said that she is not sure whether France is a “friend or foe” to Britain. Ahead of her US trip, Truss made it clear that she is looking to work closely with Emmanuel Macron and said that she wanted "a constructive relationship with France".

UK will match military aid spent on Ukraine next year, says PM Liz Truss

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned both Russian troops and their Ukrainian collaborators that they "only have" the choice of leaving Ukraine or surrendering, alluding to the counteroffensive carried out in the northeast of the country.

'Flee from our land or surrender', Ukrainian President Zelensky warns Russian troops

It has been a victorious month for Ukraine. Zelensky's troops have managed to push the Rusian troops back from its territories. Reportedly, the Ukrainian Army has managed to recapture a village near the city of Lysychansk. In other news,&nbsp;The Kremlin has accused Kyiv of fabricating its discoveries of mass graves, denying its forces were responsible for large-scale killings in east Ukraine. 
 
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<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/ukrainian-forces-recapture-village-in-luhansk-region-as-russia-loses-control-517905">Ukrainian forces recapture village in Luhansk region as Russia loses control</a>

Ukraine continued their resurgence in the ongoing conflict with Russia as the resistance forces were able to recapture a village near the city of Lysychansk. The region of Luhansk has been under Russian control since early days of the invasion, but this was a significant victory for the Ukrainian military.

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<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/it-seems-like-a-curse-mexico-hit-by-powerful-quake-on-same-day-for-third-time-517900">'It seems like a curse': Mexico hit by powerful quake on same day for third time</a> 
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A magnitude 7.6 quake earthquake struck western Mexico on Monday, killing at least one person, damaging buildings, and knocking out power. Ironically, it was the anniversary of two devastating quakes the country has witnessed in the past. A department store roof collapsed on one person in the Pacific port of Manzanillo, the government said.

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<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/queen-elizabeth-iis-crown-removed-from-her-coffin-formally-ending-of-her-reign-517883">The moment crown was lifted from Queen Elizabeth II's coffin, her reign formally ended</a> 
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Queen Elizabeth II's crown was removed from the coffin on Monday (September 19) which marked the formal end of her reign. Before her committal service in St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle, Westminster Abbey's tenor bell tolled 96 times at one-minute intervals.

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<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/russia-slams-reports-of-mass-graves-in-izyum-accuses-ukraine-of-fabricating-its-discoveries-517911">Russia slams reports of mass graves in Izyum, accuses Ukraine of fabricating its discoveries</a>

The Kremlin has accused Kyiv of fabricating its discoveries of mass graves, denying its forces were responsible for large-scale killings in east Ukraine. Ukraine recaptured Izyum and other towns in the east this month.

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It has been a victorious month for Ukraine. Zelensky's troops have managed to push the Rusian troops back from its territories. Reportedly, the Ukrainian Army has managed to recapture a village near the city of Lysychansk.

It has been a victorious month for Ukraine. Zelensky's troops have managed to push the Rusian troops back from its territories. Reportedly, the Ukrainian Army has managed to recapture a village near the city of Lysychansk. In other news, The Kremlin has accused Kyiv of fabricating its discoveries of mass graves, denying its forces were responsible for large-scale killings in east Ukraine. Click on headlines to read more: Ukrainian forces recapture village in Luhansk region as Russia loses control Ukraine continued their resurgence in the ongoing conflict with Russia as the resistance forces were able to recapture a village near the city of Lysychansk. The region of Luhansk has been under Russian control since early days of the invasion, but this was a significant victory for the Ukrainian military. 'It seems like a curse': Mexico hit by powerful quake on same day for third time A magnitude 7.6 quake earthquake struck western Mexico on Monday, killing at least one person, damaging buildings, and knocking out power. Ironically, it was the anniversary of two devastating quakes the country has witnessed in the past. A department store roof collapsed on one person in the Pacific port of Manzanillo, the government said. The moment crown was lifted from Queen Elizabeth II's coffin, her reign formally ended Queen Elizabeth II's crown was removed from the coffin on Monday (September 19) which marked the formal end of her reign. Before her committal service in St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle, Westminster Abbey's tenor bell tolled 96 times at one-minute intervals. Russia slams reports of mass graves in Izyum, accuses Ukraine of fabricating its discoveries The Kremlin has accused Kyiv of fabricating its discoveries of mass graves, denying its forces were responsible for large-scale killings in east Ukraine. Ukraine recaptured Izyum and other towns in the east this month. WION Dispatch: Honda may discontinue diesel cars in India × WATCH WION LIVE HERE:

Morning news brief: Ukraine's resurgence continues, Queen's reign formally ends & more

Ukraine continued their resurgence in the ongoing conflict with Russia as the resistance forces were able to recapture a village near the city of Lysychansk. The region of Luhansk has been under Russian control since early days of the invasion, but this was a significant victory for the Ukrainian military.

Luhansk’s governor, Serhiy Haidai, took to Telegram to say that the Ukrainian military were in complete control of Bilohorivka, a suburban area around 88 kilometers from Lysychansk.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/ukraine-war-us-says-russian-military-company-wagner-trying-to-recruit-over-1500-felons-517884" hreflang="en">Ukraine war: US says Russian military company Wagner trying to recruit felons</a>

&nbsp;“It’s a suburb of Lysychansk. Soon we will drive these scumbags out of there with a broom,” he said. “Step by step, centimetre by centimetre, we will liberate our entire land from the invaders.”

The Russian forces were in control of the region since July when Ukraine decided to retreat from the cities of Sievierdonetsk and Lysychansk. However, the counteroffensive by the Ukrainian military in the last few weeks allowed them to recapture a part of the region after the success in Kharkiv.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/it-seems-like-a-curse-mexico-hit-by-powerful-quake-on-same-day-for-third-time-517900">'It seems like a curse': Powerful quake hits Mexico on same day for third time</a>

According to Reuters, the next target for the Ukrainian military will be to recapture the city of Lysychansk. The Donbas region – comprising of Donetsk and Luhansk – currently have Russia-backed local governments but it seems that Kremlin will not be able to hold on to their position for long.

There was more good news for Ukraine as the state nuclear company – Energoatom – said on Monday that the recent shelling from the Russian military in the southern Mykolaiv region did not cause any damage to the nearby nuclear plant as all three reacts were working properly.

“Fortunately, there were no casualties among the station staff,” the company&nbsp;told Reuters.

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Ukraine continued their resurgence in the ongoing conflict with Russia as the resistance forces were able to recapture a village near the city of Lysychansk. The region of Luhansk has been under Russian control since early days of the invasion, but this was a significant victory for the Ukrainian military.

Ukraine continued their resurgence in the ongoing conflict with Russia as the resistance forces were able to recapture a village near the city of Lysychansk. The region of Luhansk has been under Russian control since early days of the invasion, but this was a significant victory for the Ukrainian military. Luhansk’s governor, Serhiy Haidai, took to Telegram to say that the Ukrainian military were in complete control of Bilohorivka, a suburban area around 88 kilometers from Lysychansk. Also read | Ukraine war: US says Russian military company Wagner trying to recruit felons “It’s a suburb of Lysychansk. Soon we will drive these scumbags out of there with a broom,” he said. “Step by step, centimetre by centimetre, we will liberate our entire land from the invaders.” The Russian forces were in control of the region since July when Ukraine decided to retreat from the cities of Sievierdonetsk and Lysychansk. However, the counteroffensive by the Ukrainian military in the last few weeks allowed them to recapture a part of the region after the success in Kharkiv. Also read | 'It seems like a curse': Powerful quake hits Mexico on same day for third time According to Reuters, the next target for the Ukrainian military will be to recapture the city of Lysychansk. The Donbas region – comprising of Donetsk and Luhansk – currently have Russia-backed local governments but it seems that Kremlin will not be able to hold on to their position for long. There was more good news for Ukraine as the state nuclear company – Energoatom – said on Monday that the recent shelling from the Russian military in the southern Mykolaiv region did not cause any damage to the nearby nuclear plant as all three reacts were working properly. “Fortunately, there were no casualties among the station staff,” the company told Reuters.

Ukrainian forces recapture village in Luhansk region as Russia loses control

E.ON has informed the German government of a leak at the Isar 2 nuclear power plant which has not compromised security but could complicate the government's winter energy plan, the environment ministry said on Monday.

Isar 2, in the southern state of Bavaria, had been scheduled to go offline at the end of the year under Germany's plan to phase out nuclear power. But the war in Ukraine and the subsequent plunge in energy imports from Russia prompted a policy change, with Berlin now planning to keep two of Germany's three remaining reactors, including Isar 2, on standby into next year.

The ministry said that a week-long repair period is needed in October at the Isar 2 plant, which is run by E.ON subsidiary PreussenElektra, during which operations would stop completely.

A spokesperson for E.ON said it was confident that a framework allowing Isar 2 to add to Germany's power supply security beyond December 31 could be agreed with the government.

"Due to the necessary lead times, however, it is now necessary for the ongoing political discussions to quickly lead to a clear result and for all those involved to create planning security as quickly as possible," the spokesperson added.

Germany's environment ministry said that together with the economy ministry it was "examining the new situation and its implications for the design and implementation of the standby reserve" of the Isar 2 development.

The EEX transparency site, where operators have to place mandatory messages on plant outages to the wholesale power market, did not show an entry on Isar 2 for October.

E.ON's spokesperson said it has informed authorities as required by German law.

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E.ON has informed the German government of a leak at the Isar 2 nuclear power plant which has not compromised security but could complicate the government's winter energy plan, the environment ministry said on Monday.

E.ON has informed the German government of a leak at the Isar 2 nuclear power plant which has not compromised security but could complicate the government's winter energy plan, the environment ministry said on Monday. Isar 2, in the southern state of Bavaria, had been scheduled to go offline at the end of the year under Germany's plan to phase out nuclear power. But the war in Ukraine and the subsequent plunge in energy imports from Russia prompted a policy change, with Berlin now planning to keep two of Germany's three remaining reactors, including Isar 2, on standby into next year. The ministry said that a week-long repair period is needed in October at the Isar 2 plant, which is run by E.ON subsidiary PreussenElektra, during which operations would stop completely. A spokesperson for E.ON said it was confident that a framework allowing Isar 2 to add to Germany's power supply security beyond December 31 could be agreed with the government. "Due to the necessary lead times, however, it is now necessary for the ongoing political discussions to quickly lead to a clear result and for all those involved to create planning security as quickly as possible," the spokesperson added. Germany's environment ministry said that together with the economy ministry it was "examining the new situation and its implications for the design and implementation of the standby reserve" of the Isar 2 development. The EEX transparency site, where operators have to place mandatory messages on plant outages to the wholesale power market, did not show an entry on Isar 2 for October. E.ON's spokesperson said it has informed authorities as required by German law. WATCH WION LIVE HERE:

Leak reported at German nuclear plant, repairs required

Ukrainian troops are advancing along the strategic Oskil River, threatening Russian forces in the Donbas- the region Moscow has promised to conquer.

Russia-Ukraine Conflict: Ukrainian troops heads to Donbas region

Ukrainian President Zelensky tells Russian troops to flee or surrender

Threats of a radiation emergency have re-emerged as the unending war in Ukraine continues to unnerve the world. In a latest update, Ukraine said its second largest nuclear power plant was hit by Russian missiles.

Russian missiles hit Ukraine's second largest Nuclear power plant

Russian army is using mobile recruiting trucks to attract volunteers who'll become contract soldiers in the country's war effort in Ukraine. An incentive of USD 3000 a month is also being offered to these volunteers.

A special unit stationed one such truck in a central park in the southern Russian city of Rostov on Saturday and removed the sides to reveal a mobile office.

Soldiers in camouflage and black masks showed their guns to interested passersby and handed out colour brochures titled "Military service on a contract - the choice of a real man."

Neither Russia nor Ukraine have disclosed their losses in the ongoing military conflict. Experts believe that number of of soldiers killed on both sides is at tens of thousands.

Kremlin said last week that there wasn't any discussion of nationwide mobilisation to help forces in Ukraine.

However, these mobile trucks for recruitment are being perceived to be a sign of need for more soldiers.&nbsp;

Reuters said that officer in charge of Rostov truck said Russians and even foreigners between the ages 18 and 60 with at least high school education were eligible to join.

"Patriotically-minded citizens are choosing to sign contracts for three or six months to take part in the special military operation," major Sergei Ardashev said, promising training for everyone.

The minimum monthly wage on offer is 160,000 roubles ($2,700), which is almost three times the national average.

One potential recruit was musician Viktor Yakunin, who said he had always been attracted by the idea of military service and was now collecting necessary documents.

"I would love to serve in the airborne troops," he said. "My parents brought me up since childhood to love my homeland, to protect the Russian world. I believe the power is with us."

(With inputs from agencies)

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Russian army is using mobile recruiting trucks to attract volunteers who'll become contract soldiers in the country's war effort in Ukraine. An incentive of USD 3000 a month is also being offered to these volunteers.

Russian army is using mobile recruiting trucks to attract volunteers who'll become contract soldiers in the country's war effort in Ukraine. An incentive of USD 3000 a month is also being offered to these volunteers. A special unit stationed one such truck in a central park in the southern Russian city of Rostov on Saturday and removed the sides to reveal a mobile office. Soldiers in camouflage and black masks showed their guns to interested passersby and handed out colour brochures titled "Military service on a contract - the choice of a real man." Neither Russia nor Ukraine have disclosed their losses in the ongoing military conflict. Experts believe that number of of soldiers killed on both sides is at tens of thousands. Kremlin said last week that there wasn't any discussion of nationwide mobilisation to help forces in Ukraine. However, these mobile trucks for recruitment are being perceived to be a sign of need for more soldiers. Reuters said that officer in charge of Rostov truck said Russians and even foreigners between the ages 18 and 60 with at least high school education were eligible to join. "Patriotically-minded citizens are choosing to sign contracts for three or six months to take part in the special military operation," major Sergei Ardashev said, promising training for everyone. The minimum monthly wage on offer is 160,000 roubles ($2,700), which is almost three times the national average. One potential recruit was musician Viktor Yakunin, who said he had always been attracted by the idea of military service and was now collecting necessary documents. "I would love to serve in the airborne troops," he said. "My parents brought me up since childhood to love my homeland, to protect the Russian world. I believe the power is with us." (With inputs from agencies) You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here. WATCH WION LIVE HERE ×

'Choice of a real man': Russia attracts volunteer soldiers with mobile trucks, incentives

The war in Ukraine has now been raging on for close to 7 months. In a latest update, Russia has intensified attacks on Ukraine and accused Kyiv of shelling near Zaporizhzhia power plant.

Russia-Ukraine war: Crucial infrastructure hit in Nikopol; Russian 'prison' discovered in Derhachi

Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Moscow will respond if its troops were put further under pressure. However, the repeated threats have raised concerns over the use of nuclear weapons or a chemical warfare between the two countries.

Russia-Ukraine War: Fears of nuclear war emerge

Every culture wants to memorialize its dead. Every family needs the missing to be identified to reach closure. Perhaps that is why a wartime mass grave offends something so deep in the human conscience. Little can be said with certainty about the hundreds of bodies discovered last week at Izium, in a pine forest in northeastern Ukraine, other than that they are the beginning of a long story.

Restoring human dignity to the most dehumanising of scenes; heaped anonymous corpses, the reduction of lives to nothing, and the stench of abandonment is a painstaking forensic endeavour.

For many months, perhaps years, the work will continue to match DNA samples, collate the scraps, establish the cause of death, and determine what crimes may have been committed by the Russian forces who fled a week ago.

Any mass grave from Bosnia to Rwanda, from Argentina to Guatemala demands of our humanity the reconstitution of the individual lives ended there.&nbsp;

“On one side in Britain you see the Queen’s dignified burial and on the other this mass grave stemming from mass violence,” said Anjli Parrin, the Kenyan deputy director of the Human Rights Clinic at Columbia Law School. “They are two extremes that remind us that the idea of someone missing, buried anonymously, is a violation of a fundamental instinct to honor the dead.”

When President Vladimir V. Putin’s Russia retreats, evidence of possible atrocities surfaces. That now seems to be a pattern of Moscow’s war in Ukraine, most recently in Izium. The post-apocalyptic scene last spring in Bucha, near Kyiv, of dozens of corpses arrayed in black plastic bags beneath weeping birches laden with mistletoe has proved to be the prelude to another troubling landscape.

The exhumation of a burial site in a pine forest, after more than five months of Russian occupation of Izium, has revealed one mass grave of Ukrainian Army soldiers, seventeen of them, according to an inscription on a cross. There were also 445 mainly unmarked individual graves. Dmytro Lubinets, the Ukrainian Parliament’s commissioner for human rights, spoke of “genocide of the Ukrainian population.”

But genocide&nbsp;requiring the “intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnicial, racial or religious group, as such,” in the words of the 1948 Genocide Convention is not easily proved. Other international crimes, including crimes against humanity and extrajudicial executions, may also have occurred.

It took nine years for the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia to rule that the 1995 Serbian killing of more than 8,000 Bosnian men and boys around Srebrenica constituted genocide. This was the worst single massacre in Europe since 1945. 
It was also a massacre foretold.

For any correspondent covering the war there, as I did, it was clear for a long time that the so-called “safe areas” of Bosnia under the protection of the United Nations were no such thing. The blue helmets of UN troops had become a symbol of impotence. The horror, when it came, was merely a re-enactment, on a different scale, of the eviction and slaughter of the Muslim population of Bosnia by Serbian forces three years earlier, at the start of the war in 1992.

Izium, if the war in Ukraine endures and festers (even for years as seems possible), is unlikely to be the last site of myriad graves lost in the forest. Nor are the horrors emerging in Ukraine new to a nation with a poignant history in this regard, including at Babyn Yar, the ravine in Kyiv where more than 33,000 Jews were massacred in 1941 by the Nazis.

My colleague in Bosnia, Elizabeth Neuffer of the Boston Globe, who was later killed in Iraq, wrote of the Cerska mass grave 27 kilometres&nbsp;northwest of Srebrenica in “Crimes of War,” a book edited by Roy Gutman and David Rieff:

“The corpses were dressed in civilian clothes. They had gunshot wounds to the back of their heads. Their decaying hands were bound behind their back.” She continued: “Each part of the human skeleton,&nbsp;some two hundred bones and thirty-two teeth, has its tale to tell.”

They will come to Izium, the forensic pathologists, the ballistic experts, the forensic odontologists examining teeth, the anthropologists, the radiologists, the police investigators, the national and international authorities intent on establishing what violence produced those graves. Establishing the cause and manner and circumstance of death in war is hard. That much I have learned.

“It’s not just the collection of evidence that is difficult, it is preserving it,” Ms Parrin, who has been working on mass graves in the Central African Republic, said. “You are labeling and numbering and photographing under enormous stress and trauma, and you have to demonstrate the chain of custody...who passed what to whom and who locked it in which office and when.” 
It’s easy to get something wrong. Mistaken identity is not unusual.

Before Bosnia, there was Argentina, which I covered in the mid-1980s. Buenos Aires was awakening then to the scope of a national nightmare. Every conversation seemed to end in tears as parents, haunted by desperate imaginings, recalled their children who had been “disappeared” by the military junta. That many of the tens of thousands of “desaparecidos” had been dumped from planes into the South Atlantic between 1976 and 1983 was not yet known.

So did the Argentine military turn “disappear” into a transitive verb and the ocean into a mass grave. I sat and listened. That’s what journalists do: listen through silence, awaiting a clue, the revealing epiphany, the face that crumples like a dynamited building. 
The grief of bereaved parents was overwhelming. Sudden disappearance was too much to bear. There was no farewell and no adequate means to mourn. This twisted minds toward desperate acts.

I took away the conviction that for the bereaved, disappearance into an anonymous mass grave turns every living being into someone with a possible resemblance to a lost child, whose death can never be entirely accepted.

Before Argentina, there was Lithuania. My grandmother came from Zagare, a small Lithuanian town renowned for its cherries. The last Jew there, Aizikas Mendelsonas, died in 2011. When he was born in 1922, there were almost 2,000 Jews in Zagare, with its seven synagogues.

The Nazis ended all that after pushing into Lithuania in June 1941. On October&nbsp;2, 1941, the Jews of Zagare were ordered into the main square before being taken into the woods for execution.

In 1944, the Soviet Red Army, having fought its way into Lithuania, examined a mass grave in the forest outside Zagare and found 2,402 corpses (530 men, 1,223 women, 625 children, and 24 babies), as I discovered in researching a book on my family. A sign in the woods points to the “Graves of the Victims of the Jewish Genocide,” now also commemorated by a monument on the main square.

The hypothetical European fate of my family, had they not left Zagare in time, was to die nameless in a nameless ditch. Perhaps that is why mass graves have haunted me.

These things linger, subliminally or not. Two decades after Srebrenica, a French photographer, Adrien Selbert, showed me photographs of the town, now gathered in a book called “Srebrenica, From Night to Night.” They captured a town overcome by the weight of the past, unable to shake it off, gripped by a kind of sullen idleness. Stray dogs wander empty streets. Neon signs and streetlights glare into vacancy.

It was clear that all the bullets the Serbs emptied into their male victims constituted equal violence upon their female survivors, who were left with the hurt of the unsayable.

What Russia has done, in Izium and elsewhere, is forge a Ukrainian national identity that is more powerful than ever, along with wounds that will be refracted down through the generations.

(Disclaimer: The views of the writer do not represent the views of WION or ZMCL. Nor does WION or ZMCL endorse the views of the writer.)

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Every culture wants to memorialize its dead. Every family needs the missing to be identified to reach closure. Perhaps that is why a wartime mass grave offends something so deep in the human conscience.

Every culture wants to memorialize its dead. Every family needs the missing to be identified to reach closure. Perhaps that is why a wartime mass grave offends something so deep in the human conscience. Little can be said with certainty about the hundreds of bodies discovered last week at Izium, in a pine forest in northeastern Ukraine, other than that they are the beginning of a long story. Restoring human dignity to the most dehumanising of scenes; heaped anonymous corpses, the reduction of lives to nothing, and the stench of abandonment is a painstaking forensic endeavour. For many months, perhaps years, the work will continue to match DNA samples, collate the scraps, establish the cause of death, and determine what crimes may have been committed by the Russian forces who fled a week ago. Any mass grave from Bosnia to Rwanda, from Argentina to Guatemala demands of our humanity the reconstitution of the individual lives ended there. “On one side in Britain you see the Queen’s dignified burial and on the other this mass grave stemming from mass violence,” said Anjli Parrin, the Kenyan deputy director of the Human Rights Clinic at Columbia Law School. “They are two extremes that remind us that the idea of someone missing, buried anonymously, is a violation of a fundamental instinct to honor the dead.” When President Vladimir V. Putin’s Russia retreats, evidence of possible atrocities surfaces. That now seems to be a pattern of Moscow’s war in Ukraine, most recently in Izium. The post-apocalyptic scene last spring in Bucha, near Kyiv, of dozens of corpses arrayed in black plastic bags beneath weeping birches laden with mistletoe has proved to be the prelude to another troubling landscape. The exhumation of a burial site in a pine forest, after more than five months of Russian occupation of Izium, has revealed one mass grave of Ukrainian Army soldiers, seventeen of them, according to an inscription on a cross. There were also 445 mainly unmarked individual graves. Dmytro Lubinets, the Ukrainian Parliament’s commissioner for human rights, spoke of “genocide of the Ukrainian population.” But genocide requiring the “intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnicial, racial or religious group, as such,” in the words of the 1948 Genocide Convention is not easily proved. Other international crimes, including crimes against humanity and extrajudicial executions, may also have occurred. It took nine years for the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia to rule that the 1995 Serbian killing of more than 8,000 Bosnian men and boys around Srebrenica constituted genocide. This was the worst single massacre in Europe since 1945. It was also a massacre foretold. For any correspondent covering the war there, as I did, it was clear for a long time that the so-called “safe areas” of Bosnia under the protection of the United Nations were no such thing. The blue helmets of UN troops had become a symbol of impotence. The horror, when it came, was merely a re-enactment, on a different scale, of the eviction and slaughter of the Muslim population of Bosnia by Serbian forces three years earlier, at the start of the war in 1992. Izium, if the war in Ukraine endures and festers (even for years as seems possible), is unlikely to be the last site of myriad graves lost in the forest. Nor are the horrors emerging in Ukraine new to a nation with a poignant history in this regard, including at Babyn Yar, the ravine in Kyiv where more than 33,000 Jews were massacred in 1941 by the Nazis. My colleague in Bosnia, Elizabeth Neuffer of the Boston Globe, who was later killed in Iraq, wrote of the Cerska mass grave 27 kilometres northwest of Srebrenica in “Crimes of War,” a book edited by Roy Gutman and David Rieff: “The corpses were dressed in civilian clothes. They had gunshot wounds to the back of their heads. Their decaying hands were bound behind their back.” She continued: “Each part of the human skeleton, some two hundred bones and thirty-two teeth, has its tale to tell.” They will come to Izium, the forensic pathologists, the ballistic experts, the forensic odontologists examining teeth, the anthropologists, the radiologists, the police investigators, the national and international authorities intent on establishing what violence produced those graves. Establishing the cause and manner and circumstance of death in war is hard. That much I have learned. “It’s not just the collection of evidence that is difficult, it is preserving it,” Ms Parrin, who has been working on mass graves in the Central African Republic, said. “You are labeling and numbering and photographing under enormous stress and trauma, and you have to demonstrate the chain of custody...who passed what to whom and who locked it in which office and when.” It’s easy to get something wrong. Mistaken identity is not unusual. Before Bosnia, there was Argentina, which I covered in the mid-1980s. Buenos Aires was awakening then to the scope of a national nightmare. Every conversation seemed to end in tears as parents, haunted by desperate imaginings, recalled their children who had been “disappeared” by the military junta. That many of the tens of thousands of “desaparecidos” had been dumped from planes into the South Atlantic between 1976 and 1983 was not yet known. So did the Argentine military turn “disappear” into a transitive verb and the ocean into a mass grave. I sat and listened. That’s what journalists do: listen through silence, awaiting a clue, the revealing epiphany, the face that crumples like a dynamited building. The grief of bereaved parents was overwhelming. Sudden disappearance was too much to bear. There was no farewell and no adequate means to mourn. This twisted minds toward desperate acts. I took away the conviction that for the bereaved, disappearance into an anonymous mass grave turns every living being into someone with a possible resemblance to a lost child, whose death can never be entirely accepted. Before Argentina, there was Lithuania. My grandmother came from Zagare, a small Lithuanian town renowned for its cherries. The last Jew there, Aizikas Mendelsonas, died in 2011. When he was born in 1922, there were almost 2,000 Jews in Zagare, with its seven synagogues. The Nazis ended all that after pushing into Lithuania in June 1941. On October 2, 1941, the Jews of Zagare were ordered into the main square before being taken into the woods for execution. In 1944, the Soviet Red Army, having fought its way into Lithuania, examined a mass grave in the forest outside Zagare and found 2,402 corpses (530 men, 1,223 women, 625 children, and 24 babies), as I discovered in researching a book on my family. A sign in the woods points to the “Graves of the Victims of the Jewish Genocide,” now also commemorated by a monument on the main square. The hypothetical European fate of my family, had they not left Zagare in time, was to die nameless in a nameless ditch. Perhaps that is why mass graves have haunted me. These things linger, subliminally or not. Two decades after Srebrenica, a French photographer, Adrien Selbert, showed me photographs of the town, now gathered in a book called “Srebrenica, From Night to Night.” They captured a town overcome by the weight of the past, unable to shake it off, gripped by a kind of sullen idleness. Stray dogs wander empty streets. Neon signs and streetlights glare into vacancy. It was clear that all the bullets the Serbs emptied into their male victims constituted equal violence upon their female survivors, who were left with the hurt of the unsayable. What Russia has done, in Izium and elsewhere, is forge a Ukrainian national identity that is more powerful than ever, along with wounds that will be refracted down through the generations. (Disclaimer: The views of the writer do not represent the views of WION or ZMCL. Nor does WION or ZMCL endorse the views of the writer.) WATCH WION LIVE HERE:

The singular offense of the mass grave: Story of Izium and beyond

Residents of Izium town of Ukraine continue to search for their dead relatives in a nearby grave site as emergency workers exhume the dead bodies buried in mass graves.

Ukrainians search for their dead relatives at Izium grave site

The post-Second World War decadal confrontation between the former USSR and the West, known as the Cold War, spawned both the theory and practice of deterrence. Conceptually, and practically deterrence, in the context of almost nuclear parity between the two entities, meant Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD). &nbsp;Broken down, and roughly it meant that if a nuclear threshold (not to be confused with nuclear break out) was breached by one party, the other would respond with ‘massive retaliation’ decimating this party. In a convoluted way, MAD held peace till the former USSR dissolved on account of mostly internal contradictions. Obiter dictum, nuclear deterrence could also be used by states to pursue other policies under its shield. Deterrence, as a security concept was then applied by most states (It also has/had pure military connotations). If deterrence became central to the security problematique, then what do&nbsp;military successes of Ukrainians against Russian forces mean? Will deterrence continue to hold? Will it obtain peace?

Admittedly speculative, Ukraine’s latest military advances, may not have occurred without some outside and superior advice. War and success or failure in the same, is to belabor the obvious, about strategy. Or, in other words, it's how you organize and use your forces – no matter how limited or superior these are- it is superior strategy and organization that determine both your tactical and strategic successes. If speculation about Ukrainian forces being offered superior advice on strategy and battlefield tactics is right, then it may be that Western strategists have offered it. The advice would naturally be predicated on a robust understanding of the posture -historical and contemporary – of Russian forces, their generalship and its reflex, factoring in of Russian’s strengths, weaknesses and vulnerabilities. In other words, the Russian military approach would have been war-gamed and then presented to the Ukrainians who then may have incorporated these into their military maneuvers and tactics.

If this theory holds, then it would not be lost on Vladimir Putin. The Russian president’s ostensible premise for invading Ukraine – NATO expansion, regime change in Ukraine etc- appear to be just these: ostensible rationales. The real agenda does not appear to &nbsp;be to reclaim the former USSR but to create a Greater Russia- a Russia that is in Putin’s eyes redeemed and restored to its civilizational glory. There then is both prestige and maximalist inherent in Russia’s war aims. This is overlaid by the realignment of global politics and international relations – the kind that suggests a Cold War 2.0 is in the making. Against this larger backdrop and canvas, what lessons would Putin draw from his troops’ debacle?

That the West is serious and determined to thwart his agenda is the answer. Given that the war has dragged on for six months now and that yesterday’s military advance of the Ukrainians was not only a military debacle but also carried a demonstration and rhetorical effect that would boost Ukrainians morale(in effect shaping them as a nation and thus strengthening their resolve), Putin basically has two choices.

One is total war. This would call for all out mobilization of the Russian polity, society and the state. But this approach has clear limitations: it would not only exhaust Russia but leave it drained against the backdrop of unprecedented sanctions. Besides the obvious economic problems this poses, the approach is fraught with political risk for Russia.

The other , more dark and more ominous is that Putin may consider nuclear deterrence a dead letter, so to speak. This would entail not just the implied threat of nuclear weapons but their actual use. Of course, this is an apocalyptic measure but when zero sum thinking dominates, apocalypse now could in the minds of the leader of a state mean a better option than a retreat- something that could be very costly for Putin politically. The hope and the wish here is that good sense prevails and nukes are not used – either as a first or last resort.

But even if nukes are not used, what does all this mean for deterrence?

I think given the grand realignment and rejigg that is taking place in the chessboard of international politics, deterrence or more accurately nuclear deterrence, while not entirely dead, would lose its value in terms of nuclear weapons and the doctrines governing their use as the ultimate security guarantor. Yesterday’s Ukrainian advances and Russian losses are ominous. The hope, to repeat is, that none of this comes to pass. But states across the world would have taken notice and there would be paradigm shifts in the offing. But all said and done, if deterrence as the ultimate security guarantor will fail, then what governs relations between states in an anarchic world? What can lead to relative peace? What can prevent nuclear Armageddon?

To answer this question, I will hark back to the theory I have propounded in some of my essays: wars are not , necessarily and always a ‘continuation of state policy’ These , often times, begin &nbsp;in the minds of statesmen. This, of course , is a theory, but if it holds, then perhaps only statesmen can end it.

(Disclaimer: The views of the writer do not represent the views of WION or ZMCL. Nor does WION or ZMCL endorse the views of the writer.)

The post-Second World War decadal confrontation between the former USSR and the West, known as the Cold War, spawned both the theory and practice of deterrence. Conceptually, and practically deterrence, in the context of almost nuclear parity between the two entities, meant Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD).

The post-Second World War decadal confrontation between the former USSR and the West, known as the Cold War, spawned both the theory and practice of deterrence. Conceptually, and practically deterrence, in the context of almost nuclear parity between the two entities, meant Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD). Broken down, and roughly it meant that if a nuclear threshold (not to be confused with nuclear break out) was breached by one party, the other would respond with ‘massive retaliation’ decimating this party. In a convoluted way, MAD held peace till the former USSR dissolved on account of mostly internal contradictions. Obiter dictum, nuclear deterrence could also be used by states to pursue other policies under its shield. Deterrence, as a security concept was then applied by most states (It also has/had pure military connotations). If deterrence became central to the security problematique, then what do military successes of Ukrainians against Russian forces mean? Will deterrence continue to hold? Will it obtain peace? Admittedly speculative, Ukraine’s latest military advances, may not have occurred without some outside and superior advice. War and success or failure in the same, is to belabor the obvious, about strategy. Or, in other words, it's how you organize and use your forces – no matter how limited or superior these are- it is superior strategy and organization that determine both your tactical and strategic successes. If speculation about Ukrainian forces being offered superior advice on strategy and battlefield tactics is right, then it may be that Western strategists have offered it. The advice would naturally be predicated on a robust understanding of the posture -historical and contemporary – of Russian forces, their generalship and its reflex, factoring in of Russian’s strengths, weaknesses and vulnerabilities. In other words, the Russian military approach would have been war-gamed and then presented to the Ukrainians who then may have incorporated these into their military maneuvers and tactics. If this theory holds, then it would not be lost on Vladimir Putin. The Russian president’s ostensible premise for invading Ukraine – NATO expansion, regime change in Ukraine etc- appear to be just these: ostensible rationales. The real agenda does not appear to be to reclaim the former USSR but to create a Greater Russia- a Russia that is in Putin’s eyes redeemed and restored to its civilizational glory. There then is both prestige and maximalist inherent in Russia’s war aims. This is overlaid by the realignment of global politics and international relations – the kind that suggests a Cold War 2.0 is in the making. Against this larger backdrop and canvas, what lessons would Putin draw from his troops’ debacle? That the West is serious and determined to thwart his agenda is the answer. Given that the war has dragged on for six months now and that yesterday’s military advance of the Ukrainians was not only a military debacle but also carried a demonstration and rhetorical effect that would boost Ukrainians morale(in effect shaping them as a nation and thus strengthening their resolve), Putin basically has two choices. One is total war. This would call for all out mobilization of the Russian polity, society and the state. But this approach has clear limitations: it would not only exhaust Russia but leave it drained against the backdrop of unprecedented sanctions. Besides the obvious economic problems this poses, the approach is fraught with political risk for Russia. The other , more dark and more ominous is that Putin may consider nuclear deterrence a dead letter, so to speak. This would entail not just the implied threat of nuclear weapons but their actual use. Of course, this is an apocalyptic measure but when zero sum thinking dominates, apocalypse now could in the minds of the leader of a state mean a better option than a retreat- something that could be very costly for Putin politically. The hope and the wish here is that good sense prevails and nukes are not used – either as a first or last resort. But even if nukes are not used, what does all this mean for deterrence? I think given the grand realignment and rejigg that is taking place in the chessboard of international politics, deterrence or more accurately nuclear deterrence, while not entirely dead, would lose its value in terms of nuclear weapons and the doctrines governing their use as the ultimate security guarantor. Yesterday’s Ukrainian advances and Russian losses are ominous. The hope, to repeat is, that none of this comes to pass. But states across the world would have taken notice and there would be paradigm shifts in the offing. But all said and done, if deterrence as the ultimate security guarantor will fail, then what governs relations between states in an anarchic world? What can lead to relative peace? What can prevent nuclear Armageddon? To answer this question, I will hark back to the theory I have propounded in some of my essays: wars are not , necessarily and always a ‘continuation of state policy’ These , often times, begin in the minds of statesmen. This, of course , is a theory, but if it holds, then perhaps only statesmen can end it. (Disclaimer: The views of the writer do not represent the views of WION or ZMCL. Nor does WION or ZMCL endorse the views of the writer.)

Will Ukrainian battlefield successes kill nuclear deterrence?

Days after Ukraine authorities unearthed a mass burial site in the east Ukrainian town of Izium with most bodies having signs of violent deaths, the European Union presidency has called for the establishment of a war crimes tribunal.

Days after Ukraine authorities unearthed a mass burial site in the east Ukrainian town of Izium with most bodies having signs of violent deaths, the European Union presidency has called for the establishment of a war crimes tribunal. Reportedly, the statement was made by Jan Lipavsky, foreign minister of the Czech Republic which currently holds the EU's rotating presidency. Lipavsky took to Twitter to lash out at Russia and called for the establishment of a tribunal that will prosecute crimes of aggression. “Russia left behind mass graves of hundreds of shot and tortured people in the Izyum area. In the 21st century, such attacks against the civilian population are unthinkable and abhorrent," tweeted Lipavsky. "We must not overlook it. We stand for the punishment of all war criminals. I call for the speedy establishment of a special international tribunal that will prosecute the crime of aggression." he further added. Russia left behind mass graves of hundreds of shot and tortured people in the Izyum area. In the 21st century, such attacks against the civilian population are unthinkable and abhorrent. We must not overlook it. We stand for the punishment of all war criminals. #StandwithUkraine — Jan Lipavský (@JanLipavsky) September 17, 2022 × As reported by WION, the Ukrainian authorities on Friday began the process of examining the mass burial site. However, officials stated that 99 per cent of the exhumed bodies found at the burial site had signs of violent death, meaning the Russian troops tortured and mutilated them when killing. WATCH | Zelensky: After Bucha, new mass graves found in Ukraine's recaptured Izium × "Among the bodies that were exhumed today, 99 percent showed signs of violent death. There are several bodies with their hands tied behind their backs, and one person is buried with a rope around his neck." said Oleg Synegubov, head of the Kharkiv regional administration. Read more: Most bodies at mass burial site have signs of violent death, claims Kyiv Synegubov further stated that these people were obviously tortured and executed by the Russian troops. The Russian troops attacked Izyum in April and according to witnesses, over 100 were killed in the first assault as Russian bombs were hurled. The emergency service workers wearing blue plastic may have also stumbled upon the graves of little children, who, according to the locals were one of the earliest casualties in the attack. (With inputs from agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE:

EU bats for war crimes tribunal after mass burial site unearthed in Ukraine

The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has been reconnected to the national grid. The UN nuclear watchdog confirmed this after shelling had previously damaged power lines as per the IAEA. One of the four main power lines have been repaired and the six reactors are currently in a state of cold shutdown.

Ukraine: Six reactors in state of cold shutdown, EU calls for war crimes tribunal

Over the past couple of days, Russia has increased attacks on civilian infrastructure in Ukraine as it suffers setbacks on the front lines, said the British Defense Ministry in an online briefing on Sunday. They further indicated that Russian shelling is already hitting towns and cities at night. Meanwhile, Ukrainians return to places abandoned by Moscow’s army and try to find their dead.&nbsp;

According to the governors of various regions in Ukraine, five civilians were killed after Russia attacked the Donetsk region over the past day. On the other hand, Nikopol, a city southeast of Kryvyy Rih has reported several damages to gas pipelines and power lines, as well as dozens of high-rise and private buildings, which were also attacked by Russian strikes.&nbsp;

“In the last seven days, Russia has increased its targeting of civilian infrastructure even where it probably perceives no immediate military effect,” said the UK's defence ministry. This uptick in the number of attacks on civilian infrastructure is following Russian President Vladimir Putin’s threat of doing so after his ground attack was repelled in northeast Ukraine.&nbsp; 
 
ALSO READ:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/zelensky-claims-troops-recaptured-over-6000-sq-km-while-some-reached-russian-border-515620">Ukrainian troops have reached the state border with Russia, reports suggest</a>

The UK's defence ministry also said that Moscow’s army is putting the aforementioned threat into action, “As it faces setbacks on the front lines, Russia has likely extended the locations it is prepared to strike in an attempt to directly undermine the morale of the Ukrainian people and government,” the defence ministry stated. The strikes have also targeted an electricity grid and a dam, they added. &nbsp;&nbsp;

Earlier this month, Ukraine’s forces managed to retake 20 or so towns in the northeastern Kharkiv region. However, on Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that investigators found evidence of torture against soldiers buried near Izium, which was one of the regions retaken from the Russian forces. The claim was made in a video address, which also indicated the discovery of a mass grave containing at least 17 bodies which showed signs of torture.&nbsp;

Oleksandr Ilienkov, the chief of the prosecutor’s office for the Kharkiv region said in an interview, “One of the bodies (found) has evidence of a ligature pattern and a rope around the neck, tied hands.” Reportedly, the bodies also showed signs of violent death and would undergo forensic examination. This is as Moscow has repeatedly and vehemently denied committing atrocities and deliberately attacking civilians.&nbsp;

On Sunday, the mayor of Izium said, “the exhumation is underway, the graves are being dug up and all the remains are being transported to Kharkiv”. Meanwhile, the Kremlin has not acknowledged or commented on the discovery of the mass grave.&nbsp;

ALSO WATCH:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/gravitas-ukraine-claims-6000-sq-km-retaken-from-russia-515873">Gravitas: Ukraine claims 6,000 sq km retaken from Russia</a>

Ukraine’s regional governor Vitaliy Kim said one of the overnight shelling by the Russian forces hit a hospital in Mykolaiv, while attacks in other parts of the region also wounded two people. Reportedly, three people were hit in Nikopol, and three people were killed by rocket attacks over the past day in Kharkiv, including an 11-year-old girl, said regional government officials.&nbsp;

Russian troops were forced to pull back from most of the Kharkiv region following the Ukrainian counteroffensive efforts. On Sunday, the last reactor of the six-reactor Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant was also switched off after repeated power failures and constant shelling putting crucial safety systems at risk. The power plant was captured by the Russian forces in March earlier this year but is run by Ukrainian engineers.&nbsp; 
 
(With inputs from agencies)

Over the past couple of days, Russia has increased attacks on civilian infrastructure in Ukraine as it suffers setbacks on the front lines, said the British Defense Ministry in an online briefing on Sunday.

Over the past couple of days, Russia has increased attacks on civilian infrastructure in Ukraine as it suffers setbacks on the front lines, said the British Defense Ministry in an online briefing on Sunday. They further indicated that Russian shelling is already hitting towns and cities at night. Meanwhile, Ukrainians return to places abandoned by Moscow’s army and try to find their dead. According to the governors of various regions in Ukraine, five civilians were killed after Russia attacked the Donetsk region over the past day. On the other hand, Nikopol, a city southeast of Kryvyy Rih has reported several damages to gas pipelines and power lines, as well as dozens of high-rise and private buildings, which were also attacked by Russian strikes. “In the last seven days, Russia has increased its targeting of civilian infrastructure even where it probably perceives no immediate military effect,” said the UK's defence ministry. This uptick in the number of attacks on civilian infrastructure is following Russian President Vladimir Putin’s threat of doing so after his ground attack was repelled in northeast Ukraine. ALSO READ: Ukrainian troops have reached the state border with Russia, reports suggest The UK's defence ministry also said that Moscow’s army is putting the aforementioned threat into action, “As it faces setbacks on the front lines, Russia has likely extended the locations it is prepared to strike in an attempt to directly undermine the morale of the Ukrainian people and government,” the defence ministry stated. The strikes have also targeted an electricity grid and a dam, they added. Earlier this month, Ukraine’s forces managed to retake 20 or so towns in the northeastern Kharkiv region. However, on Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that investigators found evidence of torture against soldiers buried near Izium, which was one of the regions retaken from the Russian forces. The claim was made in a video address, which also indicated the discovery of a mass grave containing at least 17 bodies which showed signs of torture. Oleksandr Ilienkov, the chief of the prosecutor’s office for the Kharkiv region said in an interview, “One of the bodies (found) has evidence of a ligature pattern and a rope around the neck, tied hands.” Reportedly, the bodies also showed signs of violent death and would undergo forensic examination. This is as Moscow has repeatedly and vehemently denied committing atrocities and deliberately attacking civilians. On Sunday, the mayor of Izium said, “the exhumation is underway, the graves are being dug up and all the remains are being transported to Kharkiv”. Meanwhile, the Kremlin has not acknowledged or commented on the discovery of the mass grave. ALSO WATCH: Gravitas: Ukraine claims 6,000 sq km retaken from Russia Ukraine’s regional governor Vitaliy Kim said one of the overnight shelling by the Russian forces hit a hospital in Mykolaiv, while attacks in other parts of the region also wounded two people. Reportedly, three people were hit in Nikopol, and three people were killed by rocket attacks over the past day in Kharkiv, including an 11-year-old girl, said regional government officials. Russian troops were forced to pull back from most of the Kharkiv region following the Ukrainian counteroffensive efforts. On Sunday, the last reactor of the six-reactor Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant was also switched off after repeated power failures and constant shelling putting crucial safety systems at risk. The power plant was captured by the Russian forces in March earlier this year but is run by Ukrainian engineers. (With inputs from agencies)

UK: Russia may attack more civilian targets in Ukraine

From Pakistan to Ukraine to Venezuela to vast stretches of sub-Saharan Africa, rising crises and climate disasters are taking an added toll on the most vulnerable -- children deprived of&nbsp;school.

"It is horrendous, and it's hard to imagine," said Yasmine Sherif, head of Education Cannot Wait, a&nbsp;UN&nbsp;fund that focuses on education in&nbsp;crisis&nbsp;zones.

"They've lost everything, and on top of it, they have lost their access to a quality education," she said in a recent interview.

Sherif spoke to AFP ahead of a&nbsp;UN&nbsp;summit on the education&nbsp;crisis&nbsp;to take place Monday, a day before the annual General Assembly.

The&nbsp;UN&nbsp;fund estimates that 222 million children around the world have seen their education disrupted by conflict or climate-related disasters, including nearly 80 million who never set foot in&nbsp;school.

Since 2016, Education Cannot Wait has raised more than $1 billion to build&nbsp;schools&nbsp;and buy educational materials as well as provide daily meals and offer psychological services. The aid helps nearly seven million children in 32 countries.&nbsp;

But Sherif said that the urgency of the situation required much bigger efforts.

"If we are going to meet the needs, we have to think in completely different terms today," she said. "We are speaking billions and billions here, not&nbsp;millions" of dollars.

Following the&nbsp;UN&nbsp;summit, Sherif is organizing a conference in Geneva in February where the fund will seek a further $1.5 billion with a goal of reaching an additional 20 million children.

Some Western nations spend $10,000 per year on educating a child. If children in conflict&nbsp;zones&nbsp;receive $150 each, "you can see the extreme divide," said Sherif, who is Swedish.

In some conflict&nbsp;zones,&nbsp;schools&nbsp;have been destroyed, in what Sherif denounced as war crimes, while others, in violation of international law, have been turned into weapons depots.

Elsewhere, physical danger or the gradual unraveling of infrastructure and public services have shut down education, which Sherif said should be a lifeline for the world's young.

"What we offer is a tool, a hope, an empowerment, to resist those forces in a conflict and, through their own means, be able to rise out of those ashes," she said.

The lack of education has real and immediate consequences. Children sometimes end up on the streets, facing threats of violence, human trafficking, recruitment by armed groups or, for girls, forced marriage.

"They've seen their villages burned down, they've seen their parents be executed, they have been subjected to violence. The only thing left for them is, 'If I can get an education, I can rise up out of this and make a difference in my life,'" Sherif said.

"We're taking away that very last piece of hope, unless we provide them with an education."

WATCH WION LIVE HERE

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From Pakistan to Ukraine to Venezuela to vast stretches of sub-Saharan Africa, rising crises and climate disasters are taking an added toll on the most vulnerable -- children deprived of school.

From Pakistan to Ukraine to Venezuela to vast stretches of sub-Saharan Africa, rising crises and climate disasters are taking an added toll on the most vulnerable -- children deprived of school. "It is horrendous, and it's hard to imagine," said Yasmine Sherif, head of Education Cannot Wait, a UN fund that focuses on education in crisis zones. "They've lost everything, and on top of it, they have lost their access to a quality education," she said in a recent interview. Sherif spoke to AFP ahead of a UN summit on the education crisis to take place Monday, a day before the annual General Assembly. The UN fund estimates that 222 million children around the world have seen their education disrupted by conflict or climate-related disasters, including nearly 80 million who never set foot in school. Since 2016, Education Cannot Wait has raised more than $1 billion to build schools and buy educational materials as well as provide daily meals and offer psychological services. The aid helps nearly seven million children in 32 countries. But Sherif said that the urgency of the situation required much bigger efforts. "If we are going to meet the needs, we have to think in completely different terms today," she said. "We are speaking billions and billions here, not millions" of dollars. Following the UN summit, Sherif is organizing a conference in Geneva in February where the fund will seek a further $1.5 billion with a goal of reaching an additional 20 million children. Some Western nations spend $10,000 per year on educating a child. If children in conflict zones receive $150 each, "you can see the extreme divide," said Sherif, who is Swedish. In some conflict zones, schools have been destroyed, in what Sherif denounced as war crimes, while others, in violation of international law, have been turned into weapons depots. Elsewhere, physical danger or the gradual unraveling of infrastructure and public services have shut down education, which Sherif said should be a lifeline for the world's young. "What we offer is a tool, a hope, an empowerment, to resist those forces in a conflict and, through their own means, be able to rise out of those ashes," she said. The lack of education has real and immediate consequences. Children sometimes end up on the streets, facing threats of violence, human trafficking, recruitment by armed groups or, for girls, forced marriage. "They've seen their villages burned down, they've seen their parents be executed, they have been subjected to violence. The only thing left for them is, 'If I can get an education, I can rise up out of this and make a difference in my life,'" Sherif said. "We're taking away that very last piece of hope, unless we provide them with an education." WATCH WION LIVE HERE

In crisis zones, an urgent UN push to put millions in school

Russian president Vladimir Putin said that there is 'no hurry' to finish Ukraine military campaign. Meanwhile, Putin is under pressure at home to regain the initiative. Can Russian forces halt Ukraine's advance & launch new offensive?

Putin under pressure at SCO summit: Critical voices growing louder in Russia

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