Russia dismisses mass grave allegations

Around 450 bodies - most of which Ukraine says are civilians - have been found in mass graves near Izium after Russian troops were this month forced out of the Kharkiv region.

MOSCOW/KYIV: The Kremlin on Monday rejected allegations that Russian forces had committed war crimes in Ukraine’s Kharkiv province as a “lie”.

Oleg Kotenko, the Commissioner for Issues of Missing Persons under Special Circumstances looks at the unidentified graves of civilians and Ukrainian soldiers in the recently retaken area of Izium, Ukraine, Thursday, Sept. 15, 2022 who had been killed by Russian forces near the beginning of the war (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

Around 450 bodies - most of which Ukraine says are civilians - have been found in mass graves near Izium after Russian troops were this month forced out of the Kharkiv region, much of which they had controlled since the first weeks of their military campaign in Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said investigators at the site had found evidence of torture, including bodies with hands tied, and accused Russian troops of committing war crimes. Asked on Monday about Zelensky’s statements, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters: “It’s the same scenario as in Bucha. It’s a lie, and of course we will defend the truth in this story.”

Meanwhile, a Russian missile struck close to a nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine without damaging the three reactors but hit other industrial equipment on Monday in what Ukrainian authorities deno-unced as an act of “nuclear terrorism”.

The missile struck within 300m of reactors at the Pivdennoukrainsk plant, also known as the South Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant, blasting a crater 2m deep and 4m across, according to Ukrainian nuclear operator Energoatom.

Also, Zelensky vowed there would be no let-up in fight to regain territory as Kyiv said its troops had crossed a major river, paving the way for an assault on Russian forces in the Donbas region. Serhiy Gaidai, Ukrainian governor of Luhansk, wrote on Telegram: “Luhansk region is right next door. De-occupation is not far away.”