UN investigation finds new evidence of Russian war crimes A United Nations commission of inquiry on Ukraine found additional evidence that Russian forces had committed “indiscriminate attacks” and war crimes in Ukraine, including rape and the deportation of children to Russia, Reuters reports. “The commission has found new evidence that Russian authorities have committed violations of international human rights and international humanitarian law, and corresponding crimes, in areas that came under their control in Ukraine,” it said in a report submitted to the UN general assembly that highlighted attacks in the cities of Uman and Kherson, among others. “The commission has recently documented attacks that affected civilian objects, such as residential buildings, a railway station, shops, and a warehouse for civilian use, leading to numerous casualties.” Though Russia has denied committing war crimes or targeting civilians, the commission said it had documented cases of rape “with the use of force or psychological coercion”. “Most of the incidents occurred after the perpetrators broke into the victims’ homes,” it said. “Victims reported rapes at gunpoint and threats of killing or of inflicting other serious harm to the victims or their relatives.” The commission also documented the transfer of 31 children from Ukraine to Russia in May and “concluded that it was an unlawful deportation and a war crime”. Moscow has repeatedly denied forcibly taking Ukrainian children. The Russian diplomatic mission in Geneva did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Closing summary The White House asked Congress today to approve a $106bn (£87bn) package of emergency aid to Israel and Ukraine, as well as to the southern US border. The request includes $61.4bn for Ukraine, $44.4bn of which is to provide defence department equipment for the country. For Israel, the Biden administration is asking for $14.3bn. In addition, the package includes $9.15bn for the US state department to provide humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, Israel and Gaza. A United Nations commission of inquiry found additional evidence that Russian forces had committed “indiscriminate attacks” and war crimes in Ukraine, including rape and the deportation of children to Russia. The Security Service of Ukraine has sent an indictment to the court against the former abbot of the Ukrainian Orthodox monastary Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. Authorites charged Metropolitan Pavel with the violation of the equality of citizens as an official, and justification, recognition as legitimate or denial of armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine as an official. This comes one day after Ukraine’s parliament voted overwhelmingly to advance legislation seen as effectively banning the Ukrainian Orthodox Church over its ties to Moscow, despite the church’s insistence it is fully independent and supportive of Ukraine’s fight against Russian invaders. Ukraine has recovered 14 archaeological items allegedly stolen by a Russian man, from Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory. The return of the artefacts is a small victory amid the widespread destruction and pillaging of historical sites and treasures that has accompanied the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Ukrainian authorities have estimated total losses as being in the hundreds of millions of euros, and the ministry of culture reports that the number of buildings of cultural value damaged or destroyed has reached at least 623. After Ukrainian forces liberated the city of Kherson, authorities discovered 16,000 items missing from the art museum. A Ukrainian strike on Russian helicopters and air defence equipment this week could prompt Moscow to once again move its operating bases and command and control nodes further from the frontline, the UK defence ministry said in its daily intelligence briefing. A Russian-American journalist has been detained in Russia on charges of violating its foreign agents law, reportedly due to her coverage of Russia’s military mobilisation for its invasion of Ukraine. Alsu Kurmasheva, an editor with Radio Free Europe-Radio Liberty’s (RFE-RL) Tatar-Bashkir service, was detained on Wednesday. European leaders are frustrated about the meeting between Vladimir Putin and Viktor Orbán, the prime minister of Hungary, in Beijing this week. “As it has been repeatedly shown, Putin does not meet European leaders with the aim of achieving peace in Ukraine,” said Petr Pavel, the president of the Czech Republic. “Peace can be achieved without any negotiations on his part simply by ceasing attacks and withdrawing his troops from Ukrainian territory.” Ukraine claimed to make a small incremental gain of 400 metres to the south-west of Verbove in the Zaporizhzhia region. Military spokesperson Oleksandr Stupun said the southern advance was still difficult because of Russian minefields and heavily fortified defences. Nato is stepping up patrols in the Baltic Sea after recent damage to undersea infrastructure. “The increased measures include additional surveillance and reconnaissance flights. A fleet of four Nato minehunters is also being dispatched to the area,” Nato said in a statement. Bishop charged with justifying Russian invasion of Ukraine The Security Service of Ukraine has sent an indictment to the court against the former abbot of the Ukrainian Orthodox monastary Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. Authorites charged Metropolitan Pavel with the violation of the equality of citizens as an official, and justification, recognition as legitimate or denial of armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine as an official. The Security Service of Ukraine purports that Pavel repeatedly publicly denied the existence of Ukraine as a sovereign state, and called the Russian armed aggression against Ukraine a “civil conflict” that has been ongoing since 2014. Pavel has been under house arrest since April. Kyiv has long accused the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of collaborating with Russia, raiding Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, a thousand-year-old monastary, and several other Orthodox sites last year. Prior to his arrest, Pavel had cursed Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who is Jewish, and threatened him with damnation. But he told reporters that he hadn’t “done anything”. “I believe this is a political order,” he said in April. Pavel’s indictment came as the Ukrainian parliament gave initial approval on Thursday to a law that would ban the Ukrainian Orthodox church. Reuters is reporting that Mikhail Bogdanov, the Russian deputy foreign affairs minister, will be taking part in the Cairo peace summit on the Gaza conflict. Russian forces launched five missiles, 33 airstrikes and 32 shellings yesterday, and engaged Ukrainian troops in 77 combat engagements, the general staff of the Ukrainian armed forces said in its evening briefing. More than 110 settlements in the Sumy, Kharkiv, Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson oblasts came under artillery fire. “American leadership holds the world together,” said Joe Biden. “If we put that at risk and walk away from Ukrainians or turn our back on Israeli and Palestinian civilians, it’s just not worth it.” Biden’s administration asked Congress today to approve a $106bn (£87bn) package of emergency aid to Israel and Ukraine, as well as to the southern US border. The request includes $61.4bn for Ukraine of which $44.4bn is to provide defence department equipment for the country. For Israel, the Biden administration is asking for $14.3bn. The package also includes $9.15bn for the US state department to provide humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, Israel and Gaza. Volodymyr Zelenskiy said today that he spoke with Olaf Scholz, chancellor of Germany, to thank him for Germany’s support. Scholz said the EU must collectively continue to financially support Ukraine in future. “We have a clear stance here: This aid for Ukraine, for the financial stability of the country, we will have to provide this jointly as Europeans,” Scholz told lawmakers. Jake Sullivan, the White House’s national security adviser, told reporters today that Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine and Hamas’ attack on Israel represented a “global inflection point”, the Associated Press is reporting. “This budget request is critical to advancing America’s national security and ensuring the safety of the American people,” Sullivan said. The White House has released the supplemental request for billions of dollars in aid for Israel and Ukraine. In the accompanying letter, Shalanda D Young, the director of the US office of management and budget, notes that the request “reflects how, under President Biden’s leadership, the US has marshalled a robust response to Putin’s brutal invasion of Ukraine and is now coming to the aid of our ally Israel”. “The President has reaffirmed that we must stand up to tyranny and with Ukraine as it defends its sovereignty,” Young wrote. “We must send the unmistakable message that in the 21st Century, a dictator cannot conquer or carve up his neighbours’ territory. “The United States has rallied the world to stand with Ukraine and built a coalition of more than 50 countries that are providing weapons and equipment to help Ukraine defend itself against Russian aggression. However, as we shared with the Congress as part of our recent supplemental funding request in August, previous supplemental appropriations for direct military aid, economic and humanitarian assistance, and other support have been committed or nearly committed. “As Ukrainians wage a tough counteroffensive and as winter fast approaches, the world is watching what the Congress does next. It is important that we continue to do everything we can to help Ukraine succeed on the battlefield and protect its people. As the president said, we cannot under any circumstances allow America’s support for Ukraine to be interrupted—we are the indispensable nation in the world, let’s act like it.” White House requests $106bn in aid for Ukraine, Israel, US southern border The White House asked Congress today to approve a $106bn (£87bn) package of emergency aid to Israel and Ukraine, as well as to the southern US border, Politico is reporting. The request includes $61.4bn for Ukraine, $44.4bn of which is to provide defence department equipment for the country. For Israel, the Biden administration is asking for $14.3bn. In addition, the package includes $9.15bn for the US state department to provide humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, Israel and Gaza. The Biden administration faces a number of hurdles in getting this aid package approved. The House of Representatives is at a standstill without a speaker, with some of the more vocal conservative members of the House balking at the amount of aid sent to other countries. Here are some of the latest images coming in from Ukraine via news agency wires: