Mass Graves Found in Izium After Ukraine Liberates City From Russian Forces

Meanwhile, the Biden administration announced a new $600m arms package for Ukraine.

The mass burial site found in Izium, Ukraine. 

(Photo: Twitter/@DMokryk)

A Ukrainian regional police chief said on Thursday, 15 September, that authorities have discovered a mass burial site of more than around 450 bodies in the eastern city of Izium, in Kharkiv Oblast.

The Russian-occupied city was recently liberated by the Ukrainian military.

Serhiy Bolvinov, who is the chief police investigator for Kharkiv region, told Sky News that shelling and airstrikes had been responsible for part of the death and destruction.

Additionally, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy compared the atrocities to the evidences of mass killings in Bucha, saying in a Thursday night video address that "Russia is leaving death behind it everywhere and must be held responsible."

"The necessary procedures have already begun there. More information – clear, verifiable information – should be available tomorrow," the president added.

US Announces $600 Arms Package

The Biden administration announced a new $600m arms package for Ukraine after the latter's sucucessful counteroffensive in the east.

“With admirable grit and determination, the people of Ukraine are defending their homeland and fighting for their future,” US secretary of state Antony Blinken stated on 15 September.

In response to its poor show in Kharkiv, Russia has launched a national recruitment drive for troops, according to the Institute for the Study of War.

Meanwhile, Germany is taking control of the Russian oil company Rosneft PJSC’s German branch, which accounts for around 12 percent of the country's oil preocessing capacity, Bloomberg reported.