Ukraine faces massive task of investigating Russian war crimes

In the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, some pro-Russian Ukrainian oligarchs and politicians made a beeline for southern France. Others tried to smuggle suitcases full of cash across the Hungarian border.

Rafael Grossi, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), addressed the danger of nuclear weapons in the war in Ukraine in an interview with FRANCE 24 from Vienna. "We expect that no use of a nuclear weapon whatsoever will take place in this or in any other conflict," Grossi said when asked about recent threats by Moscow.

Workers from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) met with Ukrainian and Russian prisoners of war. The Kremlin spokesman acknowledged the risk of Ukraine launching attacks on Russian-occupied Crimea.

Ukraine said Russian forces were shelling the entire front line in the Donetsk region. Despite a high profile prisoner swap, Russian government officials are keen to tamp down hopes for a rapprochement with Washington.

Moscow is downplaying the consequences of Ukrainian airstrikes on its military airfields. But even if they are only small stings, they send important signals about the course of the war going forward.

The new UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Austria's Volker Türk, granted a wide-ranging interview to FRANCE 24 from Geneva. This week, the High Commissioner travelled to Ukraine to observe first-hand the consequences of Russia's invasion on the Ukrainian people.

Russia and Iran are collaborating more closely than ever in the areas of fighter jets and lethal drones, according to US intelligence. Moscow has rebuked Washington's assessment, as the invasion of Ukraine presses on.

Crossing from Russian-occupied areas to the rest of Ukraine is difficult and dangerous. But there's one place about 30 kilometers south of the city of Zaporizhzhia where civilians pass through an informal corridor, albeit one with police checkpoints.

The Polish president made the comments after speaking with German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Berlin. The contentious issue of Poland's WW2 reparations demands was again broached during the visit.

In an interview with FRANCE 24 from Brussels, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg warned that any use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine would have "severe, dramatic consequences for Russia", calling Russian President Vladimir Putin's nuclear rhetoric "reckless and dangerous".

European leaders have promised aid to Ukraine "for as long as it takes." But the amount of aid promised has not been what has actually arrived in Ukraine. DW's Nick Connolly takes a look at what kind of support has been pledged so far.

Early on in the war on Ukraine, Russia passed laws making it illegal to criticise the invasion, the military or even to describe the war as such. Along with thousands of arrests for anti-war protests, several high-profile opposition activists face lengthy prison sentences for speaking out against the war. Russian artist Alexandra Skotchilenko is among them.