More mass graves
Documenting atrocities and destruction from Armenian enclaves to Ukraine
The UN says it will send monitors to investigate a site near the liberated town of Izyum, where Ukrainian officials say they found multiple mass burial sites, the largest holding “440 unmarked graves.”
Kharkiv’s police investigative chief Serhiy Bolvinov told Sky News that local officials are aware of a number of other sites elsewhere in the Kharkiv region, believed to hold civilian casualties. “We know that some were [shot dead], some died because of artillery fire, so-called mine explosion traumas. Some died because of airstrikes,” but “the reasons of death will be established during the investigations.”
Welcome to Globe Trot on September 16. When we consider atrocities in Ukraine, grief and woe elsewhere, we remember with Joni Eareckson Tada, “Suffering is the textbook that shows you who you really are.”
Ukraine: Before Ukrainian forces retook the city of Izyum last weekend, Russian troops stationed there were so demoralized that they drafted letters begging their superiors to dismiss them. The documents left behind and accounts from Izyum residents who endured months of Russian occupation paint a picture of poorly arrayed Russian forces who beat a messy retreat with the approach of Ukrainian forces.
Ukraine has recaptured more territory in the past week than Russia was able to capture in the last five months. With the real but far from assured possibility of Ukrainian victory, it’s time to look at the future of Russia—two good reads here on how the West should be ready for the collapse of the Russian Federation and how Putin’s leadership may crumble.
West of Kharkiv along the Dnipro River, baptisms happen amid war.
Armenia: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will visit Armenia this weekend, where a cease-fire held for a second day after an outburst of fighting with neighboring Azerbaijan that killed more than 200 troops from both sides.
A new report documents the near-complete destruction of Armenian cultural heritage in the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic of Azerbaijan beginning in the late 1990s. Using decades of high-resolution satellite imagery, the Cornell-led Caucasus Heritage Watch found 108 of 110 medieval and early modern Armenian monasteries, churches, and cemeteries were destroyed.
Iran: Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei canceled all meetings and public appearances over the last week after falling ill, and he is currently on bed rest under observation by a team of doctors. Some reports suggest the 83-year-old ayatollah has cancer, posing a power vacuum at a time when Iran’s nuclear enrichment program and encroachments in the region pose threats.
Afghanistan: Canada will accept at least some of the 1,500 religious minorities who escaped Afghanistan last year but have languished in Abu Dhabi’s Humanitarian City, reports Susan Crabtree at RealClearPolitics. As I wrote last month, the United States has refused to process their claims despite approving manifests for their departure from Afghanistan. The State Department told RCP it is working with other countries, including Canada, to help relocate some who remain in limbo.
Religious minorities are among those facing the greatest threat in Afghanistan, yet the State Department has said it will not prioritize their cases. “To abandon them would betray America’s oldest traditions and highest principles,” said Hudson Institute senior fellow Nina Shea, who has worked on the Afghans’ cases.
COVID-19: The number of coronavirus deaths worldwide last week was the lowest reported in the pandemic since March 2020, marking what could be a turning point in the years-long global outbreak. World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus said the world has never been in a better position to stop the virus: “We are not there yet, but the end is in sight.”
UN: Ahead of the first day on Sept. 20 of the high-level general debate for this year’s UN General Assembly, ten challenges that face world leaders range from Afghanistan to Honduras to Mali to Yemen.
United Kingdom: Residents of Ballater, “the village that knew the queen best,” were the first to bid a public farewell to Queen Elizabeth II as the hearse bearing her body exited Balmoral Castle a week ago to begin its journey of national mourning. The journey culminates in Monday’s funeral service at Westminster Abbey in London.
Ballater butcher John Sinclair often served the queen and saw her only three weeks before her death. “She was on really good form that day,” he said. As Brits queued to pay respects to the late monarch, the Rev. David Barr, minister in Ballater, spoke for many:
“It’s like your mum has passed away it’s that sort of grief. In this village everyone knows each other. Everyone cares about each other.”
The queue in London is back on today, despite reaching its five-mile capacity (gulp), with many waiting more than 12 hours to pay respects. David Beckham stood in line too, viewing the Queen’s coffin at 1:45 a.m. this morning.
I’m reading … The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah.
Thank you, Mindy, for your reporting on these important matters. I'm especially disgusted with--and disappointed by--this administration's refusal to give Afghan asylum-seekers priority status to come to the U.S. So this is how we treat those who aided us for all those years? I am ashamed of our leaders in Washington.
Thanks for another excellent roundup of news.