• Ukrainian forces are making progress near Kharkiv and in the south near Kherson.
• A mass grave was found in the city of Izyum, which was just recently taken back.
• President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says the world needs to see what Russian army left behind.

Vladimir Putin says that Russia will do everything it can to end the war in Ukraine “as soon as possible,” even though his military has been losing ground in recent days.

In parts of the north east, Russian troops have been pushed back, and defence forces have taken back thousands of square kilometres of land near Kharkiv.

The Ukrainian flag is once again flying over dozens of settlements, including the important city of Izyum, where a mass grave was found. A top police investigator was shocked by the find.

Ukrainian forces are encouraged by the fact that they are making progress near Kharkiv and in the south near Kherson. They hope to push Russian soldiers out of all of Ukraine.

But this is probably not what President Putin means when he talks about ending the war quickly.

He spoke with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a televised summit in the Uzbek city of Samarkand.

“I know that today’s era is not an era of war, and I have spoken to you on the phone about this,” Mr Modi told the Russian president.

As the Indian leader said this, Mr. Putin pursed his lips, looked at him, then looked down and touched the hair on the back of his head.

He told Mr. Modi that he knew he was worried about Ukraine, but that Moscow was doing everything it could to bring an end to the fighting there.

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“I know your position on the conflict in Ukraine, the concerns that you constantly express,” he said. “We will do everything to stop this as soon as possible.”

When a mass grave was found in the city of Izyum, which was just recently taken back, there was a lot of uproar.

Friday afternoon, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Telegram, “Today, the whole world needs to see what the Russian army left behind.

In the forest near Izyum, there are more than 400 graves. We don’t know how many bodies are there yet.

“Russia is already the world’s biggest source of terrorism, and no other terrorist power is responsible for as many deaths.

“The law must recognize this. The world needs to move. Russia needs to be called out as a country that supports terrorism.

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