Roughly 450 graves have been counted at one burial site near the eastern Ukraine city of Izium which was recently recaptured by Kyiv's forces, a senior presidential aide said Friday. Meanwhile, the Biden administration announced Thursday that it will send another $600 million in military aid to Ukraine.

12:14am: Most people buried in mass grave in Ukraine's Izium are civilians, says police chief

Most of the people buried in a mass grave discovered in the eastern Ukrainian city of Izium are civilians, Ukraine's police chief said on Friday, based on a preliminary estimate.

Earlier, authorities said they had found a mass grave containing 450 bodies in Izium, a former Russian frontline stronghold, and said this was proof of war crimes carried out by the invaders. Russia has not publicly commented on the matter.

Asked if the mass grave contained mainly civilians or soldiers, police chief Ihor Klymenko told a news conference: "On a preliminary estimate, civilians. Although we have information that there are troops there, we haven't recovered a single one yet."

11:49am: The recently deoccupied eastern town Kupiansk receives aid and supplies

Ukrainian forces took back Kupiansk on September 10, 2022. Residents had been deprived of a phone connection and access to media for a long time. For some, the surprise of seeing Ukrainian forces arrive is clearly a huge relief. Gulliver Cragg, FRANCE 24's correspondent in Ukraine, reports from the ground.

11:57am: Erdogan urges end to war in Ukraine 'as soon as possible'

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday told a regional summit attended by Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin that he wanted the war in Ukraine to end "as soon as possible".

"We are making efforts to finalise the conflicts in Ukraine through diplomacy as soon as possible," Erdogan told the meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in ex-Soviet Uzbekistan.

11:02am: UN rights team in Ukraine plans to visit collective grave site

A spokesperson for the UN human rights office said on Friday that it plans to send monitors to Izium, a Ukrainian city recaptured from Russian forces, where authorities say they have found a mass grave containing at least 440 bodies.

"They (monitors) are aiming to go there to try to establish a bit more about what may have happened," Liz Throssell told a Geneva press briefing, without giving a timeframe.

She said she could not confirm if the bodies were contained in one mass grave or in a series of individual graves.

10:20am: Ukraine official says '450 graves' found near recaptured Izium

"Four hundred and fifty graves... This is just one of the mass burial sites discovered near Izium. In the occupied territories, rampant terror, violence, torture and mass murders have been reigning for months," Mykhaylo Podolyak, a senior presidential aide said Friday

He published a photo on social media showing rows of wooden crosses and recently dug mounds in a wooded area along with the claim.

The statement comes after Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an evening address to the nation that a "mass grave" had been discovered near Izium.

As Douglas Herbert, FRANCE 24's international affairs commentator, notes, "we should hardly be shocked by this, if we are to take the Ukrainians at their word. Each time these types of mass burial sites are discovered, they [the Ukrainians] say 'this is the thin end of the wedge'; 'there is a lot more of this to come; 'we should not be surprised'. 

9:16am: NATO's Stoltenberg says Ukrainian counter-attack 'effective', not end of war

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Friday Ukraine's counter-attack against Russian troops had been very effective but warned nations should prepare for the long haul, as this did not signal the beginning of the end of the war.

"It is of course extremely encouraging to see that Ukrainian armed forces have been able to take back territory and also strike behind Russian lines," Stoltenberg told BBC radio.

"At the same time, we need to understand that this is not the beginning of the end of the war, we need to be prepared for the long haul."

8:26am: Germany takes control of Russian firm Rosneft's operations in the country

Berlin said Friday it had taken control of the German operations of Russian firm Rosneft to secure energy supplies which have been disrupted after Moscow invaded Ukraine.

Rosneft's German subsidiaries, which account for about 12 percent of oil refining capacity in the country, were placed under trusteeship of the Federal Network Agency, the economy ministry said in a statement.

"The trust management will counter the threat to the security of energy supply," it said.

The move covers the companies Rosneft Deutschland GmbH (RDG) and RN Refining & Marketing GmbH (RNRM) as well as three refineries: PCK Schwedt, MiRo and Bayernoil. 

The refineries' operations had been disrupted as the German government decided to slash Russian oil imports, with an aim to halt them completely by year's end. By taking control of the sites, the German authorities can then run the refining operations using crude from countries other than Russia.

6:48am: Biden and South African leader to discuss Ukraine, trade, climate

US President Joe Biden and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa are set to meet Friday at the White House for talks on Russia's war in Ukraine, climate issues, trade and more.

Ramaphosa is among African leaders who have maintained a neutral stance in the aftermath of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, with South Africa abstaining from a United Nations vote condemning Russia’s actions and calling for a mediated settlement. 

South Africa’s international relations minister, Naledi Pandor, said Ramaphosa would emphasise the need for dialogue to find an end to the conflict during his meeting with Biden and in separate talks with Vice President Kamala Harris.

3:30am: US sends new military aid to Ukraine

US President Joe Biden announced a new $600 million arms package to help the Ukrainian military battle Russia, according to a White House memo sent to the State Department on Thursday.

Biden authorised the assistance using his Presidential Drawdown Authority, which allows the president to sanction the transfer of excess weapons from U.S. stocks.

The package includes High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), night vision goggles, claymore mines, mine clearing equipment, 105mm artillery rounds and 155mm precision guided artillery rounds, the Pentagon said.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and REUTERS)