Ukraine live briefing: Russian and Ukrainian groups win Nobel prize; Russian attacks mount in south
On Friday, the chief investigator of the northeastern Kharkiv province, Serhii Bolvinov, said his forces had recovered 534 civilian bodies, most of them from a mass grave in the town of Izyum. Many bore signs of torture.
In Lyman, 100 miles to the southeast, a key transport hub for Russian forces before the Ukrainian army recaptured it last week, the local governor said an additional 39 “burial sites” had been uncovered. It was unclear how many bodies were buried there, or how they had died. The youngest was born last year.
As the war lurches into its eighth month, and a Russian victory remains elusive and ill-defined, the unquestioned loyalty Putin has enjoyed may be slipping, intelligence officials said. But they cautioned that there is no indication that he is on the brink of being swept aside.
Yasmeen Abutaleb, Isabelle Khurshudyan, Beatriz Rios and Missy Ryan contributed to this report.
