Ukraine – The Czech Presidency of the European Union requested the establishment of a special international tribunal, after the discovery of hundreds of bodies buried near Izium, a city in eastern Ukraine, reseized by Kiev’s troops after months of Russian occupation. „In the 21st century, such attacks against the civilian population are inconceivable and heinous”, the Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky said on Twitter. Ukrainian authorities reported „450 bodies of civilians, bearing signs of violent death and torture, buried in a forest on the outskirts of Izium”. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has announced that „the exhumation process continues”, also stating that „torture was a widespread practice in the occupied territories” and that the Russian fascists are doing what the Nazis did. The president promises to find the culprits, „on the battle field or in justice”. The US President, Joe Biden, once again warned his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, against the use of chemical or nuclear weapons in Ukraine. Such a measure „would change the course of the war, like never before” since the second world war, Biden said, promising a „substantial response” of the United States if this step were taken.
Refugees – The General Inspectorate of the Border Police (IGPF) informs that on Saturday, September 17, 241,400 people crossed Romania’s borders of which 11,173 were Ukrainian citizens, 4.3% more than the the previous day. According to a press release from the Inspectorate, sent to the media on Sunday, starting on February 10, two weeks before the Russian army invaded their country, 2,339,683 Ukrainian citizens entered neighboring Romania.
(Radio Romania International)
