Ukraine has discovered two more mass burial sites containing the bodies of hundreds of people in the northeastern town of Izium, which Kyiv recaptured from Russia this month, referring to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, informs the news agency Reuters.
«Today I received more information… They found two more mass graves, big graves with hundreds of people… We’re talking about (the) little town of Izium,» Zelensky said.
According to the news media The Kyiv Independent, Ukraine’s Security Service has found another Russian torture chamber in the liberated village of Lyptsi, where Russia’s proxies and military kept Ukrainian residents and brutally tortured them.
So far, the Ukrainian police’s main investigation department has discovered 18 Russian torture chambers in Kharkiv Oblast.
Meanwhile, Danish authorities on Monday asked ships to steer clear of a five nautical mile radius off the island of Bornholm after a gas leak overnight from the defunct Russian-owned Nord Stream 2 pipeline drained into the Baltic Sea, as reported by Reuters.
The German government said it was in contact with the Danish authorities and working with local law enforcement to find out what caused pressure in the pipeline to plummet suddenly.
Russia’s oganised «referendums» in Ukraine could lead to Moscow annexing 15% of the country’s territory.
The pseudo–referendums were due to end on Tuesday, 27 September. Voting in the eastern provinces of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia began on Friday, 23 September, and have been dismissed as a sham by western nations, which have pledged not to recognise the results, as informed by the British media The Guardian.
Kazakhstan has no intention of recognizing Russia’s sham referendums in Kherson, Luhansk, Donetsk, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts, news agency KazTAG reported on Monday, 26 September, citing the spokesperson of Kazakhstan’s Foreign Ministry.
In the meantime, the Japanese government has banned the export of materials that could be used for chemical weapons production to 21 Russian organizations, including science laboratories, Associated Press reported on Monday, 21 September, citing Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno.
According to the U.K. Defence Ministry’s post on social network Twitter, the first tranches of men enlisted under Russia’s mobilization have started to arrive at military bases, but many of them will end up on the front lines with minimal relevant preparation.
Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine – 26 September 2022
Find out more about the UK government’s response: https://t.co/qJ9KOiz3lB
?? #StandWithUkraine ?? pic.twitter.com/a84C4tDfep
— Ministry of Defence ?? (@DefenceHQ) September 26, 2022
In response to a question about the border being closed, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Sept. 26: «I don’t know anything about this. At the moment, no decisions have been taken on this, » Reuters reports.
According to The Guardian, Germany is debating whether it should grant asylum to Russian war refuseniks. The interior minister, Nancy Faeser, said the country was potentially prepared to give protection to deserters who face repercussions if they refused to fight, but each case would be decided on an individual basis amid security concerns.
At the same time, the UK announced 92 new sanctions in response to Russia’s «sham referendums» in Ukraine. The package of penalties target those behind the sham votes as well as oligarchs and board members.
Russian news outlet Meduza ,reported that at least 11 military enlistment offices had been set on fire in Russia since Vladimir Putin announced mobilization on Sept. 21. Russians have also tried to set on fire six administrative buildings over the last six days.
U.S. Congress negotiators included USD 12 billion in additional aid to Ukraine in draft bill. The new aid to Ukraine was in response to a request from the Biden administration, reports Reuters.