Scholz: 'We will decide on further measures against Russia in the coming days'

As Serbs prepare to vote in parliamentary and presidential polls on Sunday, members of Germany's Bundestag tell DW that they expect the government in Belgrade to make a clear break with Vladimir Putin's Russia.

This week, we start with some good news. Radiation levels are "quite normal" around Chernobyl. The head of the UN's nuclear watchdog confirms that Russian forces have pulled back from the site of Europe's worst-ever nuclear disaster. The IAEA is working with both sides to avoid Chernobyl again becoming a frontline in the war in Ukraine.

Is it a turning point? There's outrage over the carnage and desolation left behind by retreating Russian forces north of Ukraine's capital. We discuss war crimes accusations in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha and ask – now that the war's set to last – whether the Kremlin's ultimate objective is to occupy Ukraine or reduce it to rubble.

Papers react to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's speech to the UN, with some agreeing that the Security Council's veto power is preventing the body from fulfilling its mission. In France, the death of a Jewish man in a Parisian suburb is prompting reactions on the campaign trail, despite there being no evidence so far that it was provoked by anti-Semitism. Finally, we look at a call for candidates to count penguins at a post office in Antarctica.

Since invading Ukraine, Russian armed forces have hit nearly 100 medical facilities. Attacks on health care infrastructure are classified as war crimes, but perpetrators have historically evaded justice. DW investigates.

Ukraine's president spoke to the UN Security Council by video link on Tuesday. In his first speech to the body since Russia's invasion, Volodymyr Zelensky called for accountability. His plea followed the discoveries of civilian victims in the town of Bucha, killings that Zelensky says are tantamount to attempted genocide and war crimes committed by Russia. We take a closer look.

The town of Bucha has become the "symbol" of massacres by Russian troops and "compromise with Russia is impossible after Bucha", Ukraine's former president Petro Poroshenko told FRANCE 24 in an interview from Kyiv. Poroshenko added that Vladimir Putin "wants to have all of us dead", calling the Russian leader "the devil". He also called for an unconditional ceasefire before any talks, a stance currently at odds with the official Ukrainian position.

In an interview with FRANCE 24, Russian theatre and film director Kirill Serebrennikov said that what was happening in Ukraine is indeed "a war" and that Russia "quite obviously" started it. In his native Russia, the conflict is being called a "special military operation" and describing it as a war is against the law. Serebrennikov said the "tragedy" in Ukraine breaks his heart and expressed concern that the war could transform into "hatred" [...] and destroy our hearts, our lives, our careers, everything". The director also criticised the boycott of Russian artists by Western countries.

Many view the demonstrations, some in the form of vehicle convoys, as support for Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. But organizers say their goal is to highlight discrimination against Russians in Germany.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has prompted viral videos claiming military success on both sides. But can you trust the images of drone strikes, snipers and ambushes?

Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen continue to meet with voters, just over 10 days before they go head to head in the French presidential run-off. Also, Ukraine says it has detained one of Putin's closest allies, a Ukrainian oligarch and opposition politician. Meanwhile, Kyiv refuses to meet Germany's president over his past sympathies for Russia. Finally, we tell you what a coastal grandma is and why TikTokers are crazy about this summer trend!