Russian President Vladimir Putin formalised the annexation of four Ukrainian regions on Wednesday despite major battlefield reversals in recent days, reducing the amount of seized territory Moscow controls. Read our live blog to see how all the day's events unfolded. All times are Paris time (GMT+2).
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10:07pm: Ukraine liberated three more settlements in Kherson region: Zelensky
Ukrainian forces liberated three more settlements in the southern Kherson region on Wednesday, said President Volodymyr Zelensky in a late-night video address.
Zelensky named the three as Novovoskresenske, Novohryhorivka and Petropavlivka, which all lie to the northeast of the city of Kherson.
9:31pm: Joint 2030 World Cup bid 'symbol of faith' in Ukraine: Zelensky
President Volodymyr Zelensky has Ukraine's joint bid to host the 2030 World Cup with Spain and Portugal is a "symbol of faith in our joint victory".
"Ukraine will endure, prevail and be rebuilt thanks to the solidarity of its partners," Zelensky said on Twitter about his war-scarred country.
4:55pm: Putin signs decree ordering Russian 'federal' control of Zaporizhzhia plant
President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree ordering the Russian government to take control of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and make it "federal property".
The plant, the biggest in Europe, is in Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory, but has been operated until now by Ukrainian staff. Its proximity to the frontline of fighting has raised international fears of a nuclear disaster.
Meanwhile state-owned Russian news agency, TASS, has reported that Rafael Grossi, head of UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), will visit Moscow in the coming days to discuss the situation at the Zaporizhzhia plant.
3:29pm: EU imposes new Russia sanctions
The EU is set to give its final approval for a new batch of sanctions against Russia over its war against Ukraine, according to the bloc's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.
The measures include more restrictions in trade with Russia in steel and tech products, and an oil price cap for Russian seaborne crude deliveries to third countries through European insurers. The sanctions list will also include more individuals involved in Moscow's ad-hoc annexation votes in occupied eastern Ukraine and people involved in bypassing sanctions.
"This should further constrain Russia's exports capacity and the relations its industry carries out, particularly in the technological sector," Borrell told the European Parliament.
The agreement is expected to be formalised Thursday morning if no EU country raises last-minute objections.
3:06pm: Russian TV journalist confirms she has gone on the run
Russian TV journalist Marina Ovsyannikova, famous for staging an on-air protest against the Ukraine invasion, has confirmed that she escaped house arrest over charges of spreading fake news and has proclaimed her innocence.
"I consider myself completely innocent, and since our state refuses to comply with its own laws, I refuse to comply with the measure of restraint imposed on me as of 30 September 2022 and release myself from it," she said on Telegram.
Her lawyer said she was due to turn up for a hearing at 10am Moscow time at a Moscow district court, but that investigators had failed to establish her whereabouts.
Ovsyannikova, 44, was put under house arrest in August over a protest against Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Her house arrest was due to last until October 9, but the state-run news outlet Russia Today reported on Saturday that she had fled along with her 11-year-old daughter, and that her whereabouts were unknown.
FRANCE 24's Russia and Baltic region correspondent Nick Holdsworth had more on the story.
12:21pm: Kremlin vows to win back territory recaptured by Ukraine
The Kremlin on Wednesday vowed to take back land it lost to Kyiv within Ukrainian regions it annexed, saying the territories will be Russian "forever".
"The given territories will be taken back," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters after Moscow suffered a series of military defeats. He said regions annexed by Moscow "will be Russian forever and will not be returned".
11:11am: Russian forces 'trapped' next to Dniepr river
"Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed eight villages or small towns were taken over by the Ukrainian forces just yesterday, on Tuesday, and the total is 50 in the Kherson region since the counter-offensive started," FRANCE 24's Gulliver Cragg reported from Kramatorsk.
"So, yes, they're really gathering momentum. The Ukrainian military action is concentrated mostly, at the moment, in the north or northeastern part of Kherson region. All of it is on the right bank of the Dniepr river, which cuts across Kherson region. Kherson city is also situated on the right bank but down in the southwest of the region. Ukrainian forces are advancing in that direction from Mykolaiv as well, but much, much less rapidly. That's where the Russian defences are really, I think, the strongest – trying to protect the capital of Kherson region.
"But elsewhere in the region they seem to be retreating quite quickly," Cragg continued. "Though according to the Ukrainian spokeswoman for the southern military command, [the Russian retreat] is in a somwhat more orderly fashion than what was seen in the Kharkiv region. And that means they're destroying bridges and pontoon bridges as they leave. [...] And that may slow Ukrainians' advances going forward. [...] But the Russians face a very difficult choice because a large part of their forces are trapped on that right bank of the Dniepr river. How are they going to get back across it?"
10:50am: Zaporizhzhia plant to operate under Russian supervision after annexation
Russia's Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant will operate under the supervision of Russian agencies after President Vladimir Putin formally annexed the wider Zaporizhzhia region this week, the RIA state-owned news agency reported.
Another state-owned news agency, TASS, reported that Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), will visit Moscow in the coming days to discuss the situation at the plant.
Russia moved to annex Zaporizhzhia and three other regions after holding what it called referendums – votes that were denounced by Kyiv and Western governments as illegal and coercive.
10:43am: EU ambassadors agree on new sanctions against Russia
European Union member countries have agreed on another round of sanctions against Russia over its aggression against Ukraine, the Czech EU presidency said on Wednesday.
"Ambassadors reached a political agreement on new sanctions against Russia – a strong EU response to Putin's illegal annexation of Ukraine territories," the presidency said on Twitter.
9:42am: Putin gives final approval to Ukraine annexation plan despite retreats
Russian President Vladimir Putin formalised the annexation of four Ukrainian regions on Wednesday despite major battlefield reversals in recent days shrinking the amount of seized territory Moscow controls.
Russia has escalated its seven-month war with the annexation drive, a military mobilisation and warnings of a possible recourse to nuclear weapons to protect all of its territory.
Putin has now signed off on a law formally incorporating the four regions, representing about 18% of Ukraine's territory, into Russia, the state-owned TASS news agency reported on Wednesday morning.
The Russian leader's signature was the final stage in the legislative process; the two chambers of Russia's parliament have already ratified the plan.
Kyiv and its Western allies say Russia's attempted annexation is an illegal land grab and will never be recognised with Ukraine saying its army will recapture any territory occupied by Russian forces.
8:35am: One injured in attack by Iran-made drones near Kyiv
One person was injured in an attack with Iranian-made drones on the town of Bila Tserkva southwest of Kyiv, the region's governor said Wednesday.
"During the night, the enemy carried out strikes with Shahed-136 type kamikaze drones against Bila Tserkva," governor Oleksiy Kuleba said on social media, adding that the attack left one person injured and damaged infrastructure.
8:32am: Gazprom says it will resume gas exports via Austria
Russian energy giant Gazprom said on Wednesday it is set to resume gas exports via Austria, mainly to Italy.
It added that the company and Italian customers have found a solution on gas sales following regulatory changes in Austria.
7:35am: Ukraine forces approaching borders of Luhansk region, UK says
The Ukrainian armed forces have advanced up to 20 km (12 miles) beyond the Oskil river in the northeastern Kharkiv region into Russia's defensive zone towards the town of Svatove in Luhansk region, Britain said on Wednesday.
"Politically, Russian leaders will highly likely be concerned that leading Ukrainian units are now approaching the borders of Luhansk Oblast, which Russia claimed to have formally annexed last Friday," the British Ministry of Defence said in an intelligence bulletin.
The intelligence update added that it was highly likely that Ukraine could now strike the Svatove-Kremina road in Luhansk region and added that Ukraine continued to make progress is its operations in the southern front as well.
6:09am: Hungary says new EU price cap on Russian oil will not apply to pipeline shipments
A price cap for Russian oil proposed as part of the European Union's eighth round of sanctions against Russia will not apply to pipeline shipments, Hungary's Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said in a statement late on Tuesday.
Hungary, which has been the most vocal critic of sanctions against Russia in the EU, largely relies on Russian crude shipments and Russian gas, both imported via pipelines.
12am: Zelensky claims gains in south Ukraine, 'dozens' of villages retaken
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday said his forces were making "rapid and powerful" gains in southern Ukraine and that they had retaken "dozens" of villages from Russia this week.
"The Ukrainian army is quite rapidly and powerfully advancing in the south," Zelensky said in his daily address on social media, adding that "dozens of settlements" had been recaptured in the south and east.
Some of the territory was taken back in the regions of Kherson, Lugansk and Donetsk, he said, where referendums were held last week on being annexed by Russia.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and REUTERS)
