US officials estimate that Russia is working to falsify evidence in connection with last week's attack on the Olenivka prison in eastern Ukraine, which housed prisoners of war.
A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said US intelligence had determined that Russia was trying to plant evidence that Ukrainian forces were responsible for the attack on the prison, which killed 53 inmates and wounded dozens.
The Olenivka settlement is controlled by the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, which is supported by Moscow.
Another anonymous official from a Western country said experts reviewed photos of the prison, which Russia released after the incident, and determined that the damage was likely not caused by "a large explosive impact from the outside" and that it was more likely a "fire inside the site." ".
Russia claims that the Ukrainian military attacked the prison using rocket launchers sent in aid by the US.
Ukraine's military has denied launching any rocket or artillery strikes on Olenivka.
The intelligence service of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense claims that it has evidence that local separatists, in cooperation with the Russian FSB intelligence service and the Wagner mercenary group, blew up the prison before "using an incendiary substance", which caused the "rapid spread of fire in the room".
An anonymous US official said Russia is expected to falsify evidence, as it estimates independent investigators and journalists will eventually gain access to Olenivka.
Earlier, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he would form a fact-finding mission in response to requests from Russia and Ukraine to investigate the prisoner's death.
Russia could launch an offensive on the Kherson region in the south of Ukraine, in order to try to regain momentum in the war, and therefore increase its forces in that area, Ukrainian General Oleksiy Gromov said at a press conference, reports Reuters.
He added that Ukraine had improved its tactical position around Slavyansk in the east of the country and had recaptured two villages, but that Russian forces were trying to capture the town of Avdiyivka and the village of Piski.
"Ukrainian forces were forced to move to the defense of the suburbs of Avdijivka," explained Gromov.
The Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline is currently operating with only one turbine instead of six, Russian state gas company Gazprom announced on Thursday.
He reiterated that Western sanctions are preventing one of the turbines from being shipped back from Germany after it was undergoing maintenance in Canada, and stated that some other turbines are also in need of repair.
The Kremlin said on Thursday that the agreement to unblock Ukraine's Black Sea grain exports, brokered by Turkey, was not a "one-time mechanism" and that it hoped it would continue to function effectively.
The agreement, which allows Ukrainian grain to be sent to world markets via Turkey, must be renewed every 120 days by agreement of the parties, reports Reuters.
The European Union intends to put together another financial package for Ukraine by September that will amount to around 8 billion euros ($8,15 billion), German government sources said.
Part of the package would be non-reimbursable grants, while the other part would be loans, a government official told reporters on Thursday.
Eight people were killed and at least four others were wounded in Russian artillery shelling of the town of Toretsk in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk region, the regional governor said.
"The shelling hit a public transport stop where people had gathered," Governor Pavlo Kirilenko wrote on Telegram.
Three children are among the wounded, he said.
Russia should not be allowed to win the war in Ukraine, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said.
"It is in our interest that this kind of aggressive policy fails," Stoltenberg said in a speech in his native Norway.
Ukraine is seeking an opportunity to speak "directly" with Chinese leader Xi Jinping to help end the war with Russia, President Volodymyr Zelensky said, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported.
In an interview with SCMP, the Ukrainian leader called on China to use its enormous political and economic influence over Russia to end the fighting.
"It is a very powerful country. It is a powerful economy... So (it) can influence Russia politically and economically. And China is (also) a permanent member of the UN Security Council," Zelensky said, as quoted in the report. .
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