Moscow has accused Ukrainian forces of killing at least seven civilians in Russia's southern Kursk region during their recent occupation, DPA and Agence France-Presse reported, quoted by BTA.
The civilians were found in the basement of an apartment building in the village of Russkoe Porechnoye, Russian investigators said. Spokeswoman Svetlana Petrenko described the deaths as a "terrorist act against civilians" and said those responsible would be brought to justice.
Russian state media had earlier published video footage from a basement in which Russian soldiers pointed out the bodies of adult victims who had apparently been tortured and then shot with their hands tied.
The partially blurred video footage could not be independently verified, DPA noted. There has been no immediate reaction from the Ukrainian side.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova described the killings as a gross violation of international humanitarian law.
"These atrocities are yet another proof of the terrorist and neo-Nazi attitudes of the Kiev regime," she added, accusing those responsible of committing "cannibalistic massacre" in a sign of frustration over Ukrainian losses on the front. The West is also responsible for the crime, having provided Kiev with weapons and money, Zakharova added.
In August, Ukrainian forces launched a surprise counteroffensive in Russia's Kursk region, occupying dozens of villages. The operation is aimed at improving Ukrainian positions ahead of possible talks to end the war that began almost three years ago.
Kiev accuses Russian forces of hundreds of war crimes during the conflict, including mass killings of civilians, DPA recalls. AFP adds that Moscow rejects allegations of massacres in Bucha by its forces and accuses Ukrainian authorities of falsifying evidence - a claim rejected by international media and fact-checking organizations.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has again called on his country's allies to provide more US Patriot air defense systems after a week in which Russia carried out over a thousand airstrikes against Ukraine, DPA reported, quoted by BTA.
“We need strong support from our partners“, Zelensky wrote on his “Telegram“ channel. “More “Patriot“ (systems) for Ukraine means greater protection for (our) lives“, he pointed out.
According to the Ukrainian president, in the past week Russia has attacked Ukraine with over 660 cruise bombs, about 550 drones and nearly 60 ballistic missiles. Ukrainian air defenses have managed to shoot down 33 missiles, including ballistic missiles, and over 300 drones.
Zelensky also released a video showing the destruction from attacks carried out over the weekend on Kiev and Zaporizhia, as well as in the Donbas region in the eastern part of the country.
Ukraine is also suffering from a shortage of manpower, the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, Oleksandr Syrsky, said today.
“We need to increase the number of our mechanized brigades,“ he said in an interview with Ukrainian radio. "But the mobilization capacity, unfortunately, is insufficient to cover these needs," Syrsky noted.
He added that in order to strengthen Ukrainian forces on the front line, personnel from logistics, supply and support units had been withdrawn "within reasonable limits" to fill the gap and create new units.
Ukraine suffers from a shortage of personnel for troops at the front, partly due to the age limit for reservists. Although all men must complete basic military service from the age of 18, soldiers can only enter combat at the age of 25. Some of Ukraine's allies have called on Kiev to lower the age limit, DPA noted.