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Ukraine accuses Russia of war crimes after bodies found bound, shot

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Ukrainian authorities were investigating possible war crimes by Russia after finding hundreds of bodies, some bound and shot at close range, strewn around towns near Kyiv after Kremlin forces withdrew to refocus their attacks in other parts of the country.

In the town of Bucha, 37 km northwest of Kyiv’s city centre, Reuters reporters saw a man lay sprawled by the roadside, his hands tied behind his back and a bullet wound to his head.

Bucha’s deputy mayor, Taras Shapravskyi, said 50 of some 300 bodies, found after Russian forces withdrew from the city late last week, were the victims of extra-judicial killings carried out by Russian troops.

Reuters could not independently verify those figures or who was responsible for the killings.

Russia’s defence ministry said in a statement issued on Sunday that all photographs and videos published by the Ukrainian authorities alleging “crimes” by Russian troops in Bucha were a “provocation,” and no resident of Bucha suffered violence at the hands of Russian troops.

Satellite images showed a 45-foot-long trench dug into the grounds of a Ukrainian church where a mass grave was found this week. Reuters reporters in Bucha visited a mass grave at one church that was still open, with hands and feet poking through the red clay heaped on top.

Pictures of the destruction and apparent violence towards civilians sparked widespread condemnation of Russia and leader Vladimir Putin. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken described the images as “a punch in the gut,” while United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for an independent investigation.

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US spy chief visits Russia for meetings, media reports

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U.S. CIA Director John Ratcliffe traveled to Moscow on Tuesday for meetings with Russian officials, U.S. media outlets reported, citing unnamed ​sources.

The trip would be the first known visit to the Russian capital by ‌a U.S. spy chief since Ratcliffe’s predecessor, William Burns, held talks with Vladimir Putin in November 2021. About three months after that meeting, the Russian president launched Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, Reuters reported.

CBS News and Axios ​reported the visit by Ratcliffe, U.S. President Donald Trump’s CIA chief, who served ​as director of national intelligence in Trump’s first term. The outlets did ⁠not say whom he was meeting or what the talks are expected to cover.

The ​CIA declined to comment. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov neither confirmed nor denied the report, telling ​Reuters President Vladimir Putin did not plan to have a meeting with Ratcliffe.

The U.S. last week asked Ukraine not to launch air strikes around Moscow, St. Petersburg, and some northern territories of Russia on ​Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of this week because a plane carrying a senior U.S. ​official would be flying to the Russian capital, said a source familiar with the matter.

The source declined ‌to ⁠provide further information. The Financial Times first reported the U.S. message to Ukraine.

On Monday, the U.S. warned countries to cut business ties with Iran or face secondary sanctions, a move aimed at stepping up economic pressure on Tehran to settle the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran ​launched in February.

The U.S. ​has no ambassador ⁠to Russia, which maintains a close strategic partnership with Iran involving extensive military, economic and diplomatic ties.

Tehran supplied Moscow with drones for its ​war against Ukraine. In March, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy accused Russia of ​supplying its ⁠version of those drones to Iran.

A Ukrainian intelligence assessment reported by Reuters in April said that Russia has aided Iran with satellite imagery for use in targeting U.S. facilities in the ⁠Middle East.

Moscow ​denies providing such assistance and has said it is ​ready to help resolve the U.S.-Iran conflict.

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Israel’s Netanyahu says Iran tried to kill one of his sons

It was not immediately clear which of his sons he was referring to. Netanyahu’s elder son, Yair, lives in Miami.

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that Iran had tried to kill one of his sons, but gave no details about ​when the alleged plot took place, which son was targeted or how ‌close it came to being carried out, Reuters reported.

Netanyahu’s allegation underscores the heightened tensions since the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran began in February, during which Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other senior Iranian ​leaders were killed.

Netanyahu, whose coalition is trailing in opinion polls two months ​before an October 27 general election, made the claim in a ⁠telephone interview with Israel’s Channel 14. He was responding to reports that one ​of Israel’s security agencies had refused to provide protection for a political rival ahead ​of the nationwide vote.

“As for my sons. Here, I think there is something quite unbelievable, yes. Iran targeted one of my sons. Iran tried to kill, to murder one of my sons,” ​Netanyahu told the conservative channel known for its favourable coverage of the government.

“Iran tried ​to murder one of my sons, and therefore this security protection is not a luxury,” he ‌said, ⁠without providing any further details about the alleged plot or how close it came to being carried out.

It was not immediately clear which of his sons he was referring to. Netanyahu’s elder son, Yair, lives in Miami.

Iran’s mission at the United Nations ​in New York ​did not immediately ⁠respond to a request for comment on the accusation.

Netanyahu also said he had told the Shin Bet security agency chief David ​Zini that appropriate security should be provided for any prime ministerial ​candidate.

Israeli media ⁠had reported earlier that Zini declined to provide security for Gadi Eisenkot and told the country’s election authority there was no plot to harm him, read the report.

Eisenkot’s party is projected ⁠to win ​the largest number of seats in the election, ​although Israeli governments are usually formed through coalitions among multiple parties rather than by a single party winning ​a parliamentary majority outright.

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Norway to give over $9 billion to Ukraine in 2027

Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere and ​leaders from across the Nordic and Baltic region ​are visiting Kyiv on Sunday in a show of ⁠support for Ukraine in the war with Russia.

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Norway plans to give another 85 billion Norwegian crowns ($9.2 billion) in financial support ​to Ukraine in the 2027 fiscal year, in ‌line with the amount given in 2026, the Nordic country’s government said in a statement on Sunday.

Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere and ​leaders from across the Nordic and Baltic region ​are visiting Kyiv on Sunday in a show of ⁠support for Ukraine in the war with Russia.

Norway plans to give another 85 billion Norwegian crowns ($9.2 billion) in financial support ​to Ukraine in the 2027 fiscal year, in ‌line with the amount given in 2026, the Nordic country’s government said in a statement on Sunday.

Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere and ​leaders from across the Nordic and Baltic region ​are visiting Kyiv on Sunday in a show of ⁠support for Ukraine in the war with Russia.

Russia ​and Ukraine ⁠are both ramping up drone campaigns aiming to cripple each other’s economic infrastructure, often striking targets far beyond the frontlines ⁠of ​the war started by Moscow, as ​fighting on the battlefield grinds toward the 4-1/2-year mark.

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