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Ukrainians search for dead relatives in Izium after Russians driven out

Emergency workers dig into a grave of a civilian during an exhumation in the recently retaken area of Izium, Ukraine, September 17, 2022. © Evgeniy Maloletka, AP

Residents of the Ukrainian town of Izium searched for dead relatives in a nearby wooded grave site as emergency workers continued to exhume what they said were hundreds of bodies found after Russian forces were driven from the region. Read our live blog to see how all the day's events unfolded. All times Paris time (GMT+2).

This blog is no longer being updated. For more coverage of the war in Ukraine, click here. 

10:10pm: Russian pop superstar comes out against Ukraine offensive

Russian pop superstar Alla Pugacheva has denounced the Ukraine conflict and the "death of our boys for illusory goals" amid severe repression of any anti-Kremlin criticism.

This is the first time that the legendary crooner has publicly spoken out about the Ukraine offensive.

File photo of Russian pop superstar Alla Pugacheva (with flowers) take in Moscow on 2, 2018. © Maxim Shemetov, Reuters

Pugacheva's husband Maxim Galkin had just been recognised as a foreign agent -- a label reminiscent of "enemy of the people" that has been used extensively against opponents, journalists and human rights activists.

"I am asking you to include me on the foreign agents list of my beloved country," 73-year-old Pugacheva told the Russian justice ministry – and her 3.5 million followers – on Instagram.

"Because I stand in solidarity with my husband, who is an honest and ethical person, a true and incorruptible Russian patriot, who only wishes for prosperity, peace and freedom of expression in his Motherland," Pugacheva said. 

7:10pm: Unclear how Russia will react to battlefield setbacks: top US general

US Army General and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley has cautioned that it's still unclear how Russia might react to the latest battlefield setbacks in Ukraine. He also called for vigilance among US troops as he visited a base in Poland aiding Ukraine's war effort.

"The war is not going too well for Russia right now. So it's incumbent upon all of us to maintain high states of readiness, alert," said Milley. 

The top US general said he was not suggesting US troops in Europe were at any increased threat, but said they had to be ready.

"In the conduct of war, you just don't know with a high degree of certainty what will happen next."

5:10pm: Izium residents suffered 'terribly, terribly traumatic time'

Reporting from the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, located around 100 km north of Izium, FRANCE 24's Gulliver Cragg discusses the experiences of Izium residents days after Ukrainian forces recaptured the city. "It's really been a terribly, terribly traumatic time. They themselves say they're traumatised and need therapy," said Cragg a day after his trip to Izium.

Regarding the Ukrainian offensive in the northeast region, Cragg said it was not proceeding as easily as the recent push on the Kharkiv region. A Ukrainian military spokesperson said there would perhaps be more swift successes coming from the ongoing offensive in the south, "where they’re trying to retake the mostly occupied Kherson region", said Cragg.

 

4:44pm: Trudeau says Canada is steadfast in its support of Ukraine

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his country was "steadfast in its support of Ukraine" and would continue to provide aid to the country as it defends itself against a months-long invasion by Russia.

Trudeau, in London for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth, is scheduled to meet Ukraine's Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal later this evening.

12:13pm: Russia, Ukraine trade blame for shootings in Kherson

Russia and Ukraine on Sunday accused each other of provoking fighting in Kherson, after a video showed clashes in the centre of the occupied Ukrainian city the previous evening. 

The Ukrainian army is leading a counter-offensive to retake the southern city of Kherson, which was seized by the Russian army in the first weeks of the invasion.  

Russian official media Vesti-Crimea broadcast a video on Saturday evening showing an exchange of fire around two armoured vehicles near Kherson train station.

The Russian-installed administration of Kherson said later in the day it had "destroyed" a group of attackers.

"There was a clash in the centre of Kherson between sections of the Russian armed forces patrolling the streets of the city and an unidentified group of people," the administration said on Telegram.

On Sunday morning, Ukrainian southern army command spokeswoman Natalia Gumeniuk said, "Yesterday's shootings and explosions in Kherson are provocations by the occupiers."

12:07pm: Russia likely to step up Ukraine civilian target attacks, warns UK

Russian shelling hit cities and towns across a wide stretch of Ukraine during the night, officials said Sunday, and the British Defense Ministry warned that Russia is likely to increase its attacks on civilian targets as it suffers battlefield defeats.

“In the last seven days, Russia has increased its targeting of civilian infrastructure even where it probably perceives no immediate military effect,” the ministry said in an online briefing. “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."

Overnight shelling hit a hospital in the city of Mykolaiv, a significant Black Sea port, regional governor Vitaliy Kim said. He also said shelling hit other parts of the region, wounding two people.

Three people were wounded in nighttime shelling of the city of Nikopol, which is across the river from Europe's largest nuclear power station, regional governor Valentyn Reznichenko said.

9:39am: 'The main thing is that they are just really, really traumatized [in Izium]'

FRANCE 24's correspondent in Ukraine Gulliver Cragg describes life in Izium for the people who survived the bombings earlier this year. "They don't have electricity or water, they are receiving humanitarian aid, some people have generators, there is one shop but it isn't very well stocked [. . .] The main thing is that they are just really, really traumatized," he reports.

6:53am: Ukraine searches for more bodies at Izium mass burial site

Dressed in white protective suits and wearing rubber gloves, Ukrainian emergency workers on Saturday dug up more bodies from a wooded burial site in territory recently recaptured from Russian forces, while townspeople looked for dead relatives.

Ukraine says hundreds are buried at the site discovered this week, including at least 17 Ukrainian servicemen found in a mass burial site on Friday and others who may be civilians buried in individual graves marked with flimsy wooden crosses.

The causes of death have not yet been established, although residents say some of the graves near the town of Izium were of people who died in an air strike. Ukrainian authorities have said at least one of the bodies had tied hands and rope marks on the neck.

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