Photo caused a stir – golden dental crowns apparently come from a dentist

It was a photo that caused a stir: the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense shared images from the recently liberated village of Pisky-Radkivski in the Kharkiv region. A gas mask and a box of gold dental crowns were on display. "A torture chamber," the ministry wrote in a tweet. “A gas mask placed on the head of a victim who was covered with a smoldering rag and buried alive. And a box of gold dental crowns. A mini Auschwitz.”

However, the suspicion that these are dental crowns from Ukrainian victims of Russian soldiers is apparently not correct, as research by the "Bild" newspaper shows. The teeth come from a local dentist.

"These teeth look like the ones from my collection that was looted here," the doctor, quoted by his first name Sergey, told the newspaper. "I'm the only dentist here. So if they were found here, they must be mine.” He suspects that the Russian soldiers probably mistook the teeth for real gold and therefore stole them. The crowns did not come from dead people. "They come from people I've treated over the years. I took these teeth out because they were bad.” The “Bild” could not clarify where the gas mask came from.

Nevertheless, according to "Bild", the people in Pisky-Radkivski were victims of Russian torture. Several residents told the newspaper they kept hearing cries for help. A man said, "They just took me away. When I was hit, they said, 'If you don't work with us, we'll shoot you in the legs and that's it'."

The number of Ukrainian students at German schools has continued to rise. The federal states reported 193,141 children and young people from Ukraine in schools for the 39th calendar week that ended on Sunday, as the Conference of Ministers of Education (KMK) announced on Thursday in Berlin.

Compared to the previous week, the number rose by 2242. The number of pupils given by the KMK refers to schools with general education and vocational schools.

Seven Russian rockets are said to have hit houses in the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhia early Thursday morning. One person was killed and at least five were still trapped in the rubble, said the governor of the largely Russian-occupied region, Oleksandr Staruch.

Many people were rescued from the multi-storey buildings, including a three-year-old girl who was taken to a hospital for treatment, Staruch wrote on his Telegram channel. Photos released by the emergency services showed responders in the rubble of a destroyed building. Authorities reported another rocket attack late in the morning, but gave no immediate information on casualties or damage.

The Zaporizhia region is one of four Ukrainian regions that Russian President Vladimir Putin signed on Wednesday to annex in violation of international law. There is also the Ukrainian nuclear power plant Zaporizhia, the largest in Europe, which is also occupied by Russia. The city, on the other hand, is under Ukrainian control.

The Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, is expected in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv this week to discuss the situation at the Zaporizhia plant, which continues to be run by Ukrainian workers. Putin had declared by decree on Wednesday that Russia would take over the plant with six reactors. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spoke of a criminal act and said it considered the decree null and void. The state-owned nuclear power plant operator Enerhoatom announced that it would continue to manage the power plant. After his visit to Kyiv, Grossi wants to travel to Moscow for talks.

In his evening video address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi announced the capture of three more villages in the Kherson region by Ukrainian forces, all northeast of the city of Kherson. The Ukrainian troops have recently gained ground in areas annexed by Russia and repulsed the Russian military in several places.

The Kremlin has already lost because it still cannot explain to Russian society why the war and mobilization are necessary, Zelenskyy said in Russian on Wednesday evening. "And more and more citizens of Russia are realizing that they only have to die because one person does not want to end the war."

In the face of panic among young men in Russia over the partial mobilization for the war in Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin temporarily exempted other groups from military service. According to a decree published by the Kremlin in Moscow on Thursday, the recruitment of students to state-licensed private universities will be suspended. Accordingly, certain postgraduates and people who want to become priests or take up other religious professions also get a postponement.

Bundeswehr soldiers have arrived in Lithuania for the first exercise of the German NATO brigade to increase the protection of the alliance partner. Troop members and military vehicles of Jäger Battalion 413 Torgelow were moved from Kiel across the Baltic Sea to the Baltic EU and NATO country by ship. After arriving in the port of Klaipeda, the German troop convoy made its way to the Lithuanian military base in Rukla on Wednesday evening, as a Bundeswehr spokesman announced on Thursday. An advance commando had already made their way to Lithuania by plane for the manoeuvre.

According to the Lithuanian army, a total of 250 soldiers from the German NATO brigade with equipment will take part in the "Fast Griffin" military exercise and practice with Lithuanian troops. It was the first joint exercise after the agreement reached in June on sending a German brigade to Lithuania, according to a statement. The maneuver is scheduled to begin on October 7th.

Hundreds of thousands of Russians have fled their country fearing military service in Ukraine - sometimes leaving their cars at crowded border crossings. These vehicles should now be confiscated, MP Oleg Morozov told the Russian state news agency Ria Novosti. "We urgently need to change the law so that decisions on the transfer of vehicles into state ownership can be made." A confiscation could come into question if a car has not been picked up after a month, said the politician from the Kremlin party United Russia.

According to British intelligence services, Russia faces a strategic dilemma in defending fiercely contested areas on the Dnipro River in Ukraine. One of the biggest challenges for Russian commanders is the growing threat to the strategically important city of Nowa Kakhovka at the southern end of the Dnipro Dam, according to the British Defense Ministry's daily briefing. The Russians needed the damaged supply route across the Dnipro in this region to supply their own troops across the river.

A withdrawal of the units from there would strengthen the defense of the region around the regional capital of Cherson, but the political imperative will probably dictate not to withdraw, according to the British. Moscow has already deployed the majority of its undermanned air force to defend Kherson. As a result, the Kremlin hardly has any other highly qualified and rapidly deployable troops that could stabilize the front. It is likely that reservists will be used in the future, it said.

The Chairwoman of the Defense Committee in the Bundestag, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann (FDP), arrived in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv on Thursday for talks. She will speak there with government officials and members of the Ukrainian armed forces, the MPs' office said. The program also included a visit to places where there had been fighting to defend the country against the Russian attackers.

In view of the lack of clarity about the implementation of the planned gas price brake, SPD leader Lars Klingbeil has urged patience until Monday. "Everyone now wants something to happen immediately, I want that too, but I trust the experts who will then present a clever model next Monday," said Klingbeil in the ZDF "Morgenmagazin". It is important that the reliefs reach the citizens this year. The measure will "really push the prices down massively".

Ukraine is making progress in recapturing Russian-held territories, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. After Russian forces withdrew from the southern and eastern frontlines, Ukrainian troops liberated Novovoskresenske, Novohryhorivka and Petropavlivka northeast of the city of Kherson, Zelenskyi said in his daily video address.

Zelenskyy added that he and his senior military officials had met to discuss the recovery of all Russian-held territories. The Ukrainian military in the south said its forces killed at least 58 Russian fighters and destroyed nine tanks, 17 armored vehicles and four howitzers. The information cannot be directly verified independently.

Fighting in the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhia continues overnight. “As a result of enemy attacks, fires broke out in the city, there may be casualties. Rescuers are already rescuing people from the rubble," said the region's governor, Oleksandr Starukh, on Telegram. Several houses were damaged or destroyed by the shelling.

According to reports, US intelligence services assume that parts of the Ukrainian government approved the assassination attempt on Russian war supporter Darya Dugina in Moscow. The United States had no prior knowledge of the plans, the New York Times newspaper and CNN reported on Wednesday, citing unnamed sources.

However, it is unclear who exactly approved the attack. US officials warned Ukrainian officials about the assassination, it said.

The car driven by the daughter of right-wing nationalist Alexander Dugin exploded near Moscow on August 20. Shortly after the crime, the investigators accused a suspect from Ukraine who was put out to search. Russia blames Ukrainian secret services for the attack. Kyiv denies any involvement.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) is expected in Prague on Thursday. He takes part in the founding summit of the European Political Community in Prague Castle (from 2 p.m., final press conference around 9.45 p.m.). The heads of state and government of more than 40 countries that support Ukraine in the Russian war of aggression have been invited. The participants want to send a signal of unity to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In addition to Ukraine and the EU countries, the new political forum includes Great Britain, Turkey, the Western Balkan countries and the Caucasus republics of Armenia and Azerbaijan. Prime Minister Denys Schmyhal is expected in Prague for Ukraine, and President Volodymyr Zelenskyj is to be added. The main topics are security policy and energy issues.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj sees Russia as losing in the war of aggression against his country. The Kremlin has already lost because it still cannot explain to Russian society why the war and mobilization are necessary, Zelenskyy said in his regular video address in Russian. "And more and more citizens of Russia are realizing that they only have to die because one person does not want to end the war," he added.

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