According to official reports, the Ukrainian authorities are finding more and more evidence of atrocities committed by the former Russian occupiers in the liberated areas around Cherson, Kharkiv and Donetsk.
In the past two months, more than 700 bodies have been discovered in these areas, Attorney General Andriy Kostin said on state television on Saturday evening. Around 90 percent of the cases involved civilians. To defend against the aggressor Russia, Great Britain promised the Ukrainian government additional military aid, for which President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked a surprise guest from London.
In Ukraine, meanwhile, technicians are working feverishly to repair the damage caused by the Russian attacks and restore electricity to the country. The resumption of rail traffic between Kyiv and the liberated city of Cherson was celebrated as a sign of the desired normalization of life in the previously occupied areas - a train from the capital arrived there for the first time in a good eight months. Heavy fighting between Russian and Ukrainian troops continued in eastern Ukraine.
"Every day we receive new information"
"We found places where they killed peaceful civilians practically in almost every village in the Kharkiv region," Prosecutor General Kostin said on television. Investigators are now making similar discoveries in the recently liberated Cherson region in southern Ukraine. About 20 places were also discovered where civilians were interrogated and held captive. "And every day we get new information," Kostin said. Such statements by the warring parties can hardly be verified independently.
Selenskyj poses with Sunak in front of captured tanks
On Saturday, Zelenskyi received British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak for an unannounced visit to Kyiv. His guest promised Ukraine further aid: This should amount to the equivalent of almost 57.5 million euros, include 125 anti-aircraft guns and anti-drone technology and help protect the population and infrastructure. At the beginning of November, the British Ministry of Defense had already promised a delivery of 1,000 anti-aircraft missiles.
Sunak and Zelenskyj posed in Kyiv in light snowfall in front of captured Russian tanks. "Thank you, Rishi, Prime Minister, for your willingness to defend freedom even more with us," Zelenskyj said in his daily video address in the evening.
Zelenskyj: More problems with the power supply
Despite ongoing Russian missile and air strikes on Ukraine's energy infrastructure, restoring the country's power supply is a top priority, Zelensky said. "We are working across the country to stabilize the situation," he said on Saturday evening. "Most problems with electricity are in Kyiv and surroundings, Odessa and surroundings, Kharkiv and surroundings." Everything is done "to enable people to lead a normal life".
Earlier this week, Russia caused nationwide power outages in Ukraine with massive attacks on the energy infrastructure. At times, around ten million people were without electricity. According to Zelensky, around 50 percent of the energy infrastructure has been destroyed or damaged. Moscow wants to put further pressure on its neighbors with these attacks before the onset of winter.
Will Russia produce Iranian drones itself in the future?
According to a US media report, Russia has reached an agreement with Iran to produce Iranian attack drones for the war against Ukraine in its own country. Work is currently underway to get production going within months, wrote the Washington Post, citing intelligence information. The agreement was negotiated in Iran at the beginning of November. The Russian army uses the drones, among other things, for attacks on the Ukrainian energy infrastructure.
Train connection from Kyiv to Kherson restored
A train from Kyiv arrived in the recently liberated city of Cherson for the first time in eight months on Saturday. 200 passengers got tickets under the motto "To Victory", as Ukrainian media reported. The seven wagons had been brightly painted by artists. Hundreds of onlookers with Ukrainian national flags cheered the arrival of the special train at the station.
The railway connection between Kyiv and Cherson was interrupted immediately after the start of the war on February 24th as a result of the invasion of Russian soldiers. The Dnipro region was only recently liberated after the Ukrainian military forced the Russian occupiers to retreat across the river.
In Kherson, an action to voluntarily resettle civilians in safe areas in the west of the country began on Saturday. Helpers are ready to bring anyone who wishes to other parts of the country where the government guarantees accommodation and supplies, Ukrajinska Pravda reported, citing the authorities.
Kyiv: More Russian troops in Luhansk
According to the Ukrainian General Staff, the Russian armed forces are increasing their troop presence in the Luhansk region. In order to accommodate the many soldiers, part of the civilian population will be forcibly resettled, the general staff in Kyiv said on Saturday. The eastern Ukrainian region of Luhansk borders with Russia.
Meanwhile, Russian and Ukrainian troops continued fighting in a variety of hotspots. According to the General Staff, tanks, tube and rocket artillery and grenade launchers were used. According to the Ukrainian military, up to 60 Russian soldiers were killed or wounded in the Mykhailovka region in the Zaporizhia region alone. The Russian military spoke of Ukrainian rocket attacks on the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant. This information could not be independently verified.
That will be important on Sunday
In Poland, the second victim of the recent rocket attack is to be buried with a state funeral on the site of a granary in the border area with Ukraine on Sunday. A rocket hit the village of Przewodow, just six kilometers from the border, on Tuesday, killing the 62-year-old tractor driver and a warehouse manager. The 60-year-old was buried on Saturday with a state funeral closed to the public in Przewodow.
