According to Ukrainian sources, graves with hundreds of bodies have again been found in the recaptured Kharkiv region. Meanwhile, the Kremlin admits mistakes in the implementation of partial mobilization. Nevertheless, panic is growing among Russians about being drafted. In a recruitment center, a man shoots and another man sets himself on fire out of desperation. Edward Snowden receives Russian citizenship. The 215th day of the war at a glance.
Ukraine reports find of more graves
After discovering hundreds of graves and several “torture rooms” in the retaken Kharkiv region of eastern Ukraine, Ukrainian forces may have uncovered more graves. Authorities and soldiers spoke of up to a hundred bodies in the town of Kosatscha Lopan near the Russian border, without giving any further details. Soldiers guarding the site said they expect to find the bodies of Russian and Ukrainian troops, as well as local civilians. Forensic experts to exhume the bodies are expected later in the week once the area is clear of mines and explosives.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also reported on two more mass graves in the recaptured city of Izyum. It’s about “big graves with hundreds of people,” he told CBS. In early September, Ukraine had already uncovered graves containing 447 mostly civilian bodies, some of which officials said showed signs of torture, next to a cemetery in a forest outside the city.
Snowden receives Russian citizenship
Russian President Vladimir Putin has granted US whistleblower Edward Snowden Russian citizenship. The 39-year-old’s name is on a list of new citizens and Russians surrendering their passports published by the Kremlin. Snowden had previously revealed after his son’s birth in Russia that he was applying for citizenship to have the same rights as the child born in 2020, who received Russian citizenship automatically.
In 2013, Snowden gave journalists documents on spying activities by the US surveillance service NSA and its British counterpart GCHQ. According to his own statements, he wanted to flee via Hong Kong to Ecuador, but ended up stranded at the airport in Moscow after the US government canceled his passport. Russia granted asylum to Snowden and his wife Lindsay.
Kremlin admits mistakes
A few days after the beginning of the Russian partial mobilization, the Kremlin admitted “mistakes” in the implementation. “Indeed, there were cases when the decree was violated,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. Last week, Russian President Putin announced the partial mobilization of 300,000 reservists for the war in Ukraine. The authorities assured that only people with military experience or special skills were affected. But in many cases the elderly, the sick, inexperienced men, and students had also been conscripted. “In some regions, governors are actively working to rectify the situation,” Peskov said. The number of violations of the decree is decreasing, he said. “We hope that this will speed up and that any errors will be corrected.”
Conscientious objectors set fire to themselves
A man set himself on fire on Sunday in despair over his imminent draft. The medium “Novaya Gazeta” published a video from a surveillance camera showing a person dousing himself with liquid and shortly afterwards burning his whole body. According to eyewitnesses, the burning man at the bus station in the city of Ryazan, about 200 kilometers south-east of Moscow, shouted: “I don’t want to go to the front!” Police officers are said to have extinguished the fire and the man is said to have been injured and taken to a hospital. There were different reports in the Russian media about his exact state of health.
Also in the Siberian region of Irkutsk, a man shot at a recruitment center, seriously injuring a serviceman. According to the Russian Investigative Committee, the alleged perpetrator is a 25-year-old resident of the city of Ust-Ilimsk. Local media quoted Marina Sinina, the suspect’s mother. She said her son was very upset because his best friend received a draft notice. “They said there was partial mobilization, but it turns out they’re taking everyone,” Sinina said.
Onslaught on Russia’s external borders
Putin’s partial mobilization has already triggered a rush of Russian men to neighboring countries. There were corresponding reports at the borders with Georgia, Finland, Kazakhstan and Mongolia. In conversations with reporters, the men stated that they wanted to avoid being drafted by leaving the country. According to a report by the Russian exile media Meduza, the Russian authorities are planning to close the borders to potential recruits. The news site, based in Riga, Latvia, cites a source close to the Russian presidential administration. In view of the numerous departures of Russians of fighting age, Kremlin spokesman Peskov hinted that border closures were not unthinkable.
The Finnish Border Protection Agency recorded a record number of arrivals from Russia this year. “Last weekend was the busiest weekend of the year on the eastern border,” said Mert Sasioglu of the Finnish border guard. According to the agency, almost 8,600 Russians crossed the land border on Saturday, and 4,200 crossed the border in the other direction. More than 8,300 Russians arrived on Sunday, and almost 5,100 left the country.
Shrine referendums before the end
With the end of the sham referendums in the occupied territories this Tuesday, a rapid connection to Russia is imminent. According to the organizers, a minimum turnout of 50 percent has been achieved in the affected oblasts in eastern and southern Ukraine. Russia expects 80 to 90 percent of the people to agree to join its territory. The votes are internationally criticized as a breach of international law. It is expected that Putin could add the territories to the Russian Federation as early as Friday. He had emphasized that Moscow would then treat attacks by Ukraine on the areas as attacks on its own territory and would defend itself with all means.
Experts reckon with the use of tactical nuclear weapons if the worst comes to the worst
Putin’s statement raised fears that a nuclear weapon could be used for the first time since 1945. Russia is the world’s largest nuclear power. James Cameron of the Oslo Nuclear Project wrote in The Washington Post about a possible scenario in which Moscow could detonate a tactical nuclear weapon high over Ukraine or the Black Sea. A drop in a sparsely populated area or a military facility is also conceivable – with the aim of persuading Kyiv to capitulate and splitting its allies.
According to an analysis by the AFP news agency, experts assume that the Kremlin would probably use one or more tactical nuclear bombs if the worst came to the worst. These are weapons with an explosive force between 0.3 and 100 kilotons. Tactical bombs are designed for limited effect on the battlefield, unlike strategic nuclear weapons that can wipe out entire regions. But even smaller nuclear explosives can be devastating: the atomic bomb that the USA dropped on Hiroshima in 1945 had only 15 kilotons.
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