Summary
It’s nearly 1am in Kyiv. Here’s where things stand:
Russian president Vladimir Putin has signed a decree on routine autumn conscription, the Kyiv Independent reports. According to the outlet, Russia’s defense ministry “reportedly claims that the decision is ‘not in any way related’” to Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The Russian consulate in New York was vandalized with red spray paint early Friday. Officers said they responded to an emergency call just after 1:30 am that reported paint sprayed across the facade of the consulate on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. A police spokeperson said the investigation is ongoing into the potential “bias incident” and no arrests have been made.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy hailed Ukraine’s counteroffensive successes in the east as Kyiv’s forces appear to get closer to retaking the key town of Lyman, which Moscow captured in the spring. “We have significant results in the east of our country. There is already enough public information about this. Everyone has heard what is happening in Lyman, Donetsk region. These steps mean a lot to us,” Zelenskiy said in his public daily address.
Russia on Friday vetoed a Western bid at the UN Security Council to condemn its annexations of Ukrainian territory. The US cosponsored a resolution with Ukraine pushed shortly after Russian president Vladimir Putin announced that Moscow would take over areas of Ukraine seized in the invasion following Kremlin-organized referendums. The resolution would have condemned the “illegal” referendums held in those Russian-occupied territories and call on all states not to recognize any changes to Ukraine’s borders.
Russian president Vladimir Putin on Friday accused the West of organising blasts that led to numerous gas leaks on the Nord Stream gas pipelines from Russia to Europe. “Sanctions are not enough for the West. They have switched to sabotage. Unbelievable, but it is a fact!” Putin said during a televised speech at a Kremlin ceremony to annex four Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine.
Congress has approved $12.3bn in aid on Friday to Ukraine as part of a stopgap spending bill that seeks to preven a chaotic government shutdown ahead of a midnight deadline. The package, which was approved just hours after Russian president Vladimir Putin annexed four Russian-occupied Ukrainian regions, includes $3bn for arms, supplies and salaries for Ukraine’s military and authorizes president Joe Biden to direct the Pentagon to transfer $3.7bn in weapons and other hardware to Ukraine.
Updated
Russian president Vladimir Putin has signed a decree on routine autumn conscription, the Kyiv Independent reports.
⚡️ Putin signs decree on routine autumn conscription.
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) September 30, 2022
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on Sept. 30 authorizing routine autumn conscription for men aged 18 to 27, calling 120,000 people for military service, according to Russian state-controlled media TASS.
According to the outlet, Russia’s defense ministry “reportedly claims that the decision is ‘not in any way related’” to Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The Russian consulate in New York was vandalized with red spray paint early Friday, Agence France-Presse reports.
Officers said they responded to an emergency call just after 1:30 am that reported paint sprayed across the facade of the consulate on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.
A police spokesperson said the investigation is ongoing into the potential “bias incident” and no arrests have been made.
Rosie Morse, a retiree who lives in the neighborhood near the consulate, said the spray paint “looks like art work.”
“But the meaning is to express our feeling about Putin, and I can’t say that I don’t agree,” she told AFP.
“It’s vandalism but it is the expression of how people in New York are realizing Putin is killing people,” said another bystander, Romen Eaulin.
The bright red paint appeared hours before Russian president Vladimir Putin announced he was annexing four Russian-controlled territories in Ukraine.
Surveillance camera footage shows a hooded and masked figure spraying the building in the early am. No guards appeared to surround the building.
Friday also saw one of the worst attacks against civilians in months after shelling by Moscow forces killed at least 30 people in Ukraine’s southern region of Zaporizhzhia.
NEW: This is the Russian Consulate in NY this morning, covered in red paint after yesterday’s annexation of Ukraine by Russia. 👊 pic.twitter.com/0yHowoiSLn
— Mueller, She Wrote (@MuellerSheWrote) September 30, 2022
Anti-Russian street art from New York: there the Russian Consulate General was doused with red paint. A masked and hooded man approached the building with a sprinkler and quickly flooded it. Judging by the video, no one guards the building. 🤷 pic.twitter.com/Q6tpmObV33
— Malinda 🇺🇸 🇺🇦 🇵🇱 🇨🇦 (@TreasChest) September 30, 2022
Updated
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy hailed Ukraine’s counteroffensive successes in the east as Kyiv’s forces appear to get closer to retaking the key town of Lyman, which Moscow captured in the spring.
“We have significant results in the east of our country. There is already enough public information about this. Everyone has heard what is happening in Lyman, Donetsk region. These steps mean a lot to us,” Zelenskiy said in his public daily address.
“We must liberate our entire land and this will be the best proof that international law and human values cannot be broken by any terrorist state, even one as insolent as Russia,” he added said.
Zelenskiy’s remarks come after Russian president Vladimir Putin on Friday formally annexed four Moscow-held regions of Ukraine, following hastily organised referendums that the West has condemned as a “sham.”
“The path of our enemy is…completely clear - defeat, shame and condemnation,” Zelensky said.
On Friday, the Russian-backed leader of Donetsk said that Russian troops and their allies were holding on to Lyman with “their last strength” and that Moscow’s forces in the town were “partially surrounded,” Agence France-Presse reports.
Russia vetoes UN bid against Ukraine annexations
Russia on Friday vetoed a Western bid at the UN Security Council to condemn its annexations of Ukrainian territory.
The US cosponsored a resolution with Ukraine pushed shortly after Russian president Vladimir Putin announced that Moscow would take over areas of Ukraine seized in the invasion following Kremlin-organized referendums.
“This is exactly what the Security Council was made to do. Defend sovereignty, protect territorial integrity, promote peace and security,” said US’s UN ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield at the beginning of the meeting, Agence France-Presse reports.
“The United Nations was built on an idea that never again would one country be allowed to take another’s territory by force,” she said.
Russia’s ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, pushed back against criticisms, saying:
“Do you seriously expect Russia to consider and support such a draft? And if not, then it turns out that you are intentionally pushing us to use the right of the veto in order to then wax lyrical about the fact that Russia abuses this right,” Nebenzia said.
The resolution would have condemned the “illegal” referendums held in those Russian-occupied territories and call on all states not to recognize any changes to Ukraine’s borders.
It also would have called on Russia to withdraw troops immediately from Ukraine.
China and India abstained, along with Brazil and Gabon.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said earlier on Friday that the US would seek a vote at the General Assembly.
“If Russia blocks the Security Council from carrying out its responsibilities, we’ll ask the UN General Assembly, where every country has a vote, to make clear that it’s unacceptable to redraw borders by force,” Blinken told reporters in Washington.
“Every country has a stake in condemning these steps,” he said.
Updated
Russian president Vladimir Putin on Friday accused the West of organising blasts that led to numerous gas leaks on the Nord Stream gas pipelines from Russia to Europe.
“Sanctions are not enough for the West. They have switched to sabotage. Unbelievable, but it is a fact!” Putin said during a televised speech at a Kremlin ceremony to annex four Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine, Agence France-Presse reports.
“By organising explosions on the Nord Stream international gas pipelines that run along the bottom of the Baltic Sea, they actually started destroying European energy infrastructure,” Putin said.
“It is clear to everyone who benefits from this,” Putin added, without providing further details.
However, Russia’s Security Council chief, Nikolai Patrushev, told state TV later on Friday that Russia “does not have such data” about the alleged involvement of Western secret services in the Nord Stream blasts.
Unexplained gas leaks, preceded by two explosions, occurred on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines on Monday. Both Moscow and Washington denied involvement.
Updated
Congress approves $12.3 billion in aid to Ukraine
Congress has approved $12.3 billion in aid on Friday to Ukraine as part of a stopgap spending bill that seeks to preven a chaotic government shutdown ahead of a midnight deadline.
The package, which was approved just hours after Russian president Vladimir Putin annexed four Russian-occupied Ukrainian regions, includes $3 billion for arms, supplies and salaries for Ukraine’s military and authorizes president Joe Biden to direct the Pentagon to transfer $3.7 billion in weapons and other hardware to Ukraine.
The so-called “continuing resolution” – passed by 230 votes to 201, with 10 Republicans joining the Democrats – also provides $4.5 billion for Kyiv to keep the country’s finances stable and keep the government running.
The allocation brings the total amount of US contribution to $65 billion.
“This new grant assistance is a further demonstration of US confidence in Ukraine and will support critical government operations and provide relief to Ukrainian people suffering under Russia’s brutal war,” Treasury secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement.
“Critically, this funding will also help bolster Ukraine’s valiant resistance to Putin’s illegal war of aggression. We call on fellow donors to not only speed up their existing disbursements to Ukraine, but also to increase their scale of assistance.”
Air alarms have sounded nearly all across Ukraine following Russia’s illegal annexation of Ukrainian territories and after scores of people were killed on Friday morning after Russian forces attacked a civilian convoy near the city of Zaporizhzhia.
Карта повітряних тривог😔
— 🇺🇦 Богдан ᛟ ᛉ ᛏ (@bogdansbs) September 30, 2022
Тривога майже по всій території України. pic.twitter.com/WnWJD63z2l
"Putin's actions are a sign he is struggling" - Biden
US president Joe Biden described as a “sham routine” Russian president Vladimir Putin’s signing earlier today of “accession treaties” formalising Russia’s illegal annexation of four occupied regions in Ukraine, marking the largest forcible takeover of territory in Europe since the second world war.
He also said, during remarks at the White House, that “Putin’s actions are a sign he is struggling.”
Biden said the US will never recognise the annexed territories as being part of Russia.
Following Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s announcement in a video address in Kyiv today that his country was formally applying for fast-track membership of the Nato alliance, Biden also said the US “is prepared to defend every inch of Nato territory. Mr Putin, don’t misunderstand what I’m saying. Every inch.”
Biden held the event at the White House to make remarks about the devastating hurricane that has hit Florida, after earlier hitting Cuba and knocking out its electricity, and is now heading straight for South Carolina.
He started by saying: “America and its allies are not going to be intimidated by Putin and his reckless words and threats. He’s not going to scare us or intimidate us. Putin’s actions are a sign he’s struggling, the sham referenda that he carried out and this routine he put on, the sham routine he put on this morning, showing the unity and people holding hands together, well the United States is never going to recognise this and quite frankly the world is not going to recognise it either.
“He can’t seize his neighbour’s territory and get away with it, simple as that. And we’re going to stay the course, continue to provide military equipment so that Ukraine can defend itself and its territory and its freedom.”
He didn’t take questions from the press, but instead added specifically at the end of his remarks about Hurricane Ian that he wanted to address the latest turn of events in Ukraine.
Updated
Summary of the day so far
It’s 9pm in Kyiv. Here’s where we stand:
Vladimir Putin has signed “accession treaties” formalising Russia’s illegal annexation of four occupied regions in Ukraine – Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk and Donetsk – marking the largest forcible takeover of territory in Europe since the second world war. After signing the treaties, the Russian-installed heads of the four regions gathered around Putin, linking hands and joining chants of “Russia! Russia!” with the applauding audience.
Putin later addressed crowds in Moscow’s Red Square, where he vowed to “do everything” to “raise the level of security” in Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk and Donetsk. Speaking at a televised patriotic pop concert, the Russian leader said people in the regions had made a choice to rejoin their “historic motherland”. “Welcome home!” he said, prompting chants of “Russia! Russia!” from the flag-waving crowd.
The Kremlin said again on Friday that it would consider attacks against any part of the regions of Ukraine that it is about to annex – Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson – as acts of aggression against Russia itself. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters Russia would “de jure” incorporate parts of Ukraine which are not under the control of Russian forces. Of the four regions, Luhansk and Kherson are the only territories that Russia is close to having total control over.
Nato secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of provoking “the most serious escalation” of the war in Ukraine since it began with his latest actions. Russia’s move was “the largest attempted annexation of European territory by force since the second world war”, Stoltenberg said, adding that Nato reaffirmed its “unwavering support” for Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity.
In a firm rebuttal to Putin’s ceremony in Moscow, Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, announced in a video address in Kyiv that his country was formally applying for fast-track membership of the Nato alliance. Zelenskiy accused Russia of brazenly rewriting history and redrawing borders “using murder, blackmail, mistreatment and lies”, adding that Ukraine would not hold any peace talks with Russia as long as Putin was president.
Dozens of people were killed after Russian forces launched a missile attack on a civilian convoy near the city of Zaporizhzhia, hours before Putin’s signing ceremony. The attack on Friday morning hit people waiting in cars in Zaporizhzhia city to cross into Russian-occupied territory so they could bring family members back across the frontlines.
A large number of Russian forces in the strategic Donbas town of Lyman were reported to have been encircled in the latest setback for Putin. Ukrainian and Russian military bloggers said that Russian forces together with local “Luhansk People’s Republic” fighters were encircled in the city of Lyman. The town – a strategic railway junction – has been under Moscow’s control since May. The surrender of Russia’s garrison in Lyman would be a humiliation for the Kremlin, at a time when it is claiming that the entire Donetsk region including areas under Ukrainian government control is a part of Russia “forever”.
In response to Putin’s annexation of Ukrainian territories, the US announced fresh Russia-related sanctions on hundreds of individuals and companies. More than 1,000 people and firms connected to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine are included in the new sanctions package, including its Central Bank governor and families of National Security Council members.
The US has not to date seen Russia take any action that suggests it is contemplating the use of nuclear weapons, according to the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken. He reiterated that the US takes Vladimir Putin’s nuclear sabre-rattling “very seriously” and said the US plans for “every possible scenario, including this one”.
The UK is also stepping up sanctions against Russia following the “illegal” annexation of four areas of Ukraine, foreign secretary James Cleverly announced. The measures will restrict Russia’s access to key British commercial and transactional services, as well as ban the export to Russia of almost 700 goods that are critical to manufacturing production, the Foreign Office said.
The Guardian’s Shaun Walker describes Vladimir Putin’s speech earlier today where he announced the annexation of four more Ukrainian regions as an “angry, rambling” address.
Putin's finished speaking and we still don't know how much territory he's actually claiming to be annexing...
— Shaun Walker (@shaunwalker7) September 30, 2022
The BBC’s Steve Rosenberg notes Putin’s remark that the US had created a “precedent” by using nuclear weapons against Japan at the end of the second world war.
For me, two things stood out from Putin's annexation speech. First, the level of anti-Western bile. Second, his comment about the US having set a "precedent" by using nuclear weapons against Japan at end of WW2. Worrying in the light of Moscow's recent nuclear sabre-rattling.
— Steve Rosenberg (@BBCSteveR) September 30, 2022
A tide of Russians flowed toward Red Square as Vladimir Putin declared his annexation of Ukrainian territory that would herald a shining new era of perpetual war with Ukraine and the west.
“Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Russia! Together for ever!” read the banner hanging on Manezh Square by the Kremlin.
There were busloads of tough men from a factory near Moscow alighting by the statue of Karl Marx to celebrate, university teachers passing out invitations to a pop concert to their students, workers lugging armfuls of Russian flags to distribute. Some of the tricolours bore the image of Putin.
This is the Russia that Putin envisions after 22 years in power: united, simple, cynical and slavish. But real life is not a staged rally. And as Putin gathered his lackeys and satraps in the gilded Grand Kremlin Palace, across the country, from the minority ethnic republics of Dagestan and Buryatia to the hinterlands of Pskov and Penza, to cosmopolitan Moscow, communities are in turmoil.
Hundreds of thousands of men are leaving their homes, some contracted and mobilised into fighting in Ukraine, and still more fleeing for the borders to dodge the draft. In both cases, they do not know when they will come home.
Tensions have not been as high as they are now in Russia for decades, according to a new poll from the state-run Public Opinion Foundation. Of those surveyed by the centre this week, 69% said they had felt “stress”, nearly double the 35% who told the pollster they felt tense before Putin announced his mobilisation.
“I feel we are going into the unknown, going into nowhere,” said Anton, a Moscow resident who had passed into Georgia after waiting more than three days on the border. He described men desperate to reach the border before Putin spoke on Friday, with fears that the annexations would set off a tit-for-tat response with the west leading to a potential border closure.
Germany has experienced a surge in visa enquiries from Russian citizens since Vladimir Putin’s mobilisation order, according to a source from the German foreign ministry.
German embassies in countries neighbouring Russia have seen a “sharp increase” in visa enquiries, the source told Reuters.
Der Spiegel previously reported that German missions in Yerevan, Astana, Tbilisi, Baku and Minsk had registered thousands of requests for entry permits to Germany since partial mobilisation for the war in Ukraine began.
In the Georgian capital Tbilisi, more than 300 visa applications were registered from Russian citizens in the German embassy since partial mobilisation began in the middle of this week, it said.
This compares with between 10 and 20 such requests a month over the past few months, it added.
Updated
A televised pop concert is taking place on Moscow’s Red Square to celebrate the Russian annexation of four regions of Ukraine.
The concert, held in the shadow of the Kremlin walls with the multicoloured spires of the 16th-century St Basil’s Cathedral as the backdrop, is taking place after President Vladimir Putin signed “accession treaties” formalising the illegal annexation.
The Wall Street Journal’s Matthew Luxmoore writes that the Russian actor, Ivan Okhlobystin, apparently channelled Hitler and called for a “holy war” while on stage.
Russian celebs are apparently channeling Hitler and calling for a “holy war” from a stage in Moscow. Definitely not the upbeat mood from the last Russian annexation 8 years ago pic.twitter.com/RmqQVxQma0
— Matthew Luxmoore (@mjluxmoore) September 30, 2022
Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to Kyiv’s ministry of internal affairs, shared a video of people singing “We won’t care about the price” at the concert.
Thousands of war supporters sing "We won't care about the price" on Red Square in Moscow pic.twitter.com/IwzQZlffOz
— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) September 30, 2022
Updated
The US has not to date seen Russia take any action that suggests it is contemplating the use of nuclear weapons, according to the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken.
But he reiterated that the US takes Vladimir Putin’s nuclear sabre-rattling “very seriously”.
Speaking at a press conference in Washington, Blinken said:
We are looking very carefully to see if Russia is actually doing anything that suggests that they are contemplating the use of nuclear weapons. To date, we’ve not seen them take these actions.
He continued:
But we also know that Russia is engaged in horrific, horrific brutalisation of Ukraine, and so the threats that they make, we take very seriously.
Blinken said he would not speculate on what was Putin’s intent but said the US plans for “every possible scenario, including this one”.
Updated
Russia’s latest actions ‘most serious escalation’ since beginning of war, says Nato chief
Nato secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, said accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of provoking “the most serious escalation” of the war in Ukraine since it began with his latest actions.
Speaking at a news conference, Stoltenberg said:
Putin has mobilised hundreds of thousands of more troops, engaged in irresponsible nuclear sabre-rattling and now illegally annexed more Ukrainian territory. Together, this represents the most serious escalation since the start of the war.
Russia’s move was “the largest attempted annexation of European territory by force since the second world war”, Stoltenberg said, adding that an area roughly the size of Portugal had been “illegally seized by Russia at gunpoint”.
The sham referendums were engineered in Moscow and imposed on Ukraine in total violation of international law. This land grab is illegal and illegitimate.
Nato allies do not and will not recognise any of this territory as part of Russia.
Nato was not a party to the conflict but reaffirmed its “unwavering support” for Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, he said.
We call on all states to reject Russia’s blatant attempts at territorial conquest These lands are Ukraine.
Updated
Ukraine is facing significant risks to energy supplies this winter, the director of the EU energy watchdog has warned.
Ukraine’s current power production appears to be sufficient to cover its needs after a drop in industrial activity cut consumption by 30%, Artur Lorkowski, director of the Energy Community Secretariat, said.
Lorkowski told Reuters:
But I expect the situation may change dramatically, because once the heating season starts consumption will grow.
The situation concerning power generation was unclear, he added. Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, which is currently held by Russia, was cut off from the grid, while some thermal power plants were located in combat areas.
If the Zaporizhzhia plant remains offline for longer and other coal-fired power plants are down, Ukraine may need up to two billion bcm of extra gas, he said.
Nearly 1.4 million Ukrainians currently do not have access either to electricity or gas, mostly in war-impacted areas in the eastern and southeastern parts of the country, Lorkowski said.
Updated
A defiant Volodymyr Zelenskiy has announced that Ukraine is officially applying for membership of Nato, hours after Vladimir Putin said in a Kremlin ceremony that he was annexing four Ukrainian provinces.
In a speech filmed outside his presidential office in Kyiv, Zelenskiy said he was taking this “decisive step” in order to protect “the entire community” of Ukrainians. He promised the application would happen in an “expedited manner”.
“De facto, we have already made our way to Nato. De facto, we have already proven compatibility with alliance standards. They are real for Ukraine – real on the battlefield and in all aspects of our interaction,” he said.
We trust each other, we help each other, and we protect each other. This is the alliance. De facto. Today, Ukraine is applying to make it de jure.
The president signed the application form, as did the speaker of parliament, Ruslan Stefanchuk, and the prime minister, Denys Shmyhal.
The alliance is unlikely to accept Ukraine’s imminent Nato entry while it is in a state of war. As a Nato member, fellow members would be compelled to actively defend it against Russia – a commitment that goes well beyond the supply of weapons.
Zelenskiy acknowledged this soon after Russia’s full-scale invasion. “It is clear that Ukraine is not a member of Nato, we understand this,” he said in March. “For years we heard about the apparently open door, but have already also heard that we will not enter there, and these are truths and must be acknowledged.”
Updated
Key event
Addressing the crowds in the Red Square, Putin vows to “do everything” to “raise the level of security” in the Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk and Donetsk – regions in Ukraine the Russian president formally annexed earlier this afternoon.
Putin says:
Dear friends, we will do everything in order to support our brothers and sisters in Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, and in Donetsk and Luhansk.
We will do everything in order to raise the level of security in these territories for these people.
We will do everything to restore the economy and restore infrastructure, build schools, new institutions, hospitals.
He ends his speech by saying:
We have become stronger because we are together. We have the truth. And the truth means power. At means victory. Victory will be ours.
Updated
Putin addressing crowds after annexing four regions of Ukraine
Vladimir Putin is now addressing crowds in Red Square in central Moscow after he signed “accession treaties” formalising Russia’s illegal annexation of four occupied regions in Ukraine.
Today is a “historic day”, Putin says, “a day of truth and justice”.
He repeats his unfounded claims that Ukraine is “trying to eradicate” the culture of the people who live in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions and says the residents in these regions “made this choice to be with its ancestral motherland” in so-called referendums that Ukraine and the west have denounced as illegal and illegimate.
Putin says:
Russia is not just opening the doors to our home. Russia is opening its own heart. Welcome home.
Updated
Summary of the day so far
It is just past 7pm in Kyiv. Here’s where we stand:
Vladimir Putin has signed “accession treaties” formalising Russia’s illegal annexation of four occupied regions in Ukraine – Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk and Donetsk – marking the largest forcible takeover of territory in Europe since the second world war. After signing the treaties, the Russian-installed heads of the four regions gathered around Putin, linking hands and joining chants of “Russia! Russia!” with the applauding audience.
The Kremlin said again on Friday that it would consider attacks against any part of the regions of Ukraine that it is about to annex – Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson – as acts of aggression against Russia itself. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters Russia would “de jure” incorporate parts of Ukraine which are not under the control of Russian forces. Of the four regions, Luhansk and Kherson are the only territories that Russia is close to having total control over.
In a firm rebuttal to Putin’s ceremony in Moscow, Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, announced in a video address in Kyiv that his country was formally applying for fast-track membership of the Nato alliance. Zelenskiy accused Russia of brazenly rewriting history and redrawing borders “using murder, blackmail, mistreatment and lies”, adding that Ukraine would not hold any peace talks with Russia as long as Putin was president.
Dozens of people were killed after Russian forces launched a missile attack on a civilian convoy near the city of Zaporizhzhia, hours before Putin’s signing ceremony. The attack on Friday morning hit people waiting in cars in Zaporizhzhia city to cross into Russian-occupied territory so they could bring family members back across the frontlines.
A large number of Russian forces in the strategic Donbas town of Lyman were reported to have been encircled in the latest setback for Putin. Ukrainian and Russian military bloggers said that Russian forces together with local “Luhansk People’s Republic” fighters were encircled in the city of Lyman. The town – a strategic railway junction – has been under Moscow’s control since May. The surrender of Russia’s garrison in Lyman would be a humiliation for the Kremlin, at a time when it is claiming that the entire Donetsk region including areas under Ukrainian government control is a part of Russia “forever”.
A Russian-installed official in the southern Kherson region of Ukraine has been killed in a Ukrainian missile strike, according to Russian state media. Alexei Katerinichev, who served as the first deputy head for security of the Kremlin-appointed administration of the Kherson region, was killed on Friday in a pinpoint strike by Ukraine using the US-supplied High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (Himars), Kirill Stremousov, the deputy head of the Moscow-controlled region, said.
In response to Putin’s annexation of Ukrainian territories, the US announced fresh Russia-related sanctions on hundreds of individuals and companies. More than 1,000 people and firms connected to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine are included in the new sanctions package, including its Central Bank governor and families of National Security Council members.
The US president, Joe Biden, condemned Russia’s “fraudulent” attempt to annex sovereign Ukrainian territory. Moscow’s actions “have no legitimacy”, Biden said in a statement, adding that the US “will always honour Ukraine’s internationally recognised borders”. The US treasury secretary, Janet Yellen, said America “will not stand by as Putin fraudulently attempts to annex parts of Ukraine.”.
The UK is also stepping up sanctions against Russia following the “illegal” annexation of four areas of Ukraine, foreign secretary James Cleverly announced. The measures will restrict Russia’s access to key British commercial and transactional services, as well as ban the export to Russia of almost 700 goods that are critical to manufacturing production, the Foreign Office said.
The EU executive has called for tighter restrictions on issuing short-stay visas to Russians in response to the Kremlin’s escalation of the war against Ukraine and partial mobilisation order. Ylva Johansson, the EU commissioner for home affairs, insisted it remained possible for Russians to apply for asylum, but said they would not get special treatment.
Hello everyone, it’s Léonie Chao-Fong still with you with all the latest news from the war in Ukraine. Feel free to get in touch on Twitter or via email.
Ukraine’s prime minister, Denys Shmyhal, has confirmed that Kyiv has submitted its formal application to join the Nato military alliance.
Shmyhal tweeted a photo showing that he, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and the speaker of parliament, Ruslan Stefanchuk, had signed a formal fast-track Nato membership application.
Today, with @ZelenskyyUa & @r_stefanchuk we signed an application for Ukraine’s membership in #NATO under the accelerated procedure. 🇺🇦 is defending democracy, the principles of freedom and the entire civilized world. #Ukraine has proven that we are a worthy and reliable ally. pic.twitter.com/XdI43Grrhh
— Denys Shmyhal (@Denys_Shmyhal) September 30, 2022
Eight-and-a-half years after Vladimir Putin announced the annexation of Crimea, he gathered the elites of Russia in the Kremlin’s St George Hall for another land-grab ceremony: this time laying claim to four more Ukrainian regions.
The annexation formalities were preceded by an angry, rambling speech which dwelled only briefly on either Ukraine or the four regions of which Russia now claims ownership. Instead, Putin railed at the west for a litany of sins, ranging from destabilising Russia in the 17th century to allowing gender reassignment surgery.
He also reiterated his threat to use nuclear weapons, claiming the US had “created a precedent” for the use of nuclear force in 1945.
Friday’s speech is likely to go down as another milestone in Putin’s long reign over Russia. And while it was the same hall, the same crowd and the same message as the Crimea annexation in March 2014, the context is very different.
Then, Putin carried much of Russia’s elite and society with him, on a wave of patriotic fervour boosted by state television propaganda. Outside Russia, while many were shocked at the naked land grab, others felt Putin had a point: after Iraq and Libya, how could the west lecture others on violating sovereignty? Many European politicians wanted to get back to business as usual with Russia as quickly as possible.
This time, the domestic and international situations are far less favourable for Putin. At home, he has embarked on an unpopular mobilisation drive, prompting hundreds of thousands of Russians to try to leave the country. The improvements in quality of life that the first years of Putinism brought are drying up amid sanctions and international isolation.
The former prime minister of the UK, Boris Johnson, has described Vladimir Putin’s speech earlier today announcing the formal annexation of four Ukrainian territories as “a fraud and a disgrace”.
Johnson tweeted:
The world must never accept your sham referendums or your cruel and illegal attempt to colonise Ukraine.
Britain will stand with the people of Ukraine and will support them “without flinching until their country is whole and free”, he added.
Vladimir Putin your speech is a fraud and a disgrace. The world must never accept your sham referendums or your cruel and illegal attempt to colonise Ukraine. We stand with the people of Ukraine and will support them without flinching until their country is whole and free.
— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) September 30, 2022
Updated
Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, said “nothing changes” for Kyiv and that it will continue liberating its territory occupied by Russia.
Kuleba’s tweet came after Vladimir Putin signed “accession treaties” formalising Russia’s illegal annexation of four occupied regions in Ukraine.
Kuleba accused the Russian leader of trying to “grab territories he doesn’t even physically control on the ground”.
By attempting to annex Ukraine’s Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, Putin tries to grab territories he doesn’t even physically control on the ground. Nothing changes for Ukraine: we continue liberating our land and our people, restoring our territorial integrity.
— Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) September 30, 2022
Vladimir Putin’s decision to sign treaties annexing four occupied regions in Ukraine marks the largest forcible takeover of territory in Europe since the second world war.
Taken together, Russia is annexing at least 40,000 square miles of eastern and southern Ukraine, about 15% of Ukraine’s total area, equal to the size of Portugal or Serbia.
UK announces new sanctions after Russia annexes Ukrainian regions
The UK is stepping up sanctions against Russia following the “illegal” annexation of four areas of Ukraine, the foreign secretary James Cleverly has announced.
The measures will restrict Russia’s access to key British commercial and transactional services, as well as ban the export to Russia of almost 700 goods that are critical to manufacturing production, the Foreign Office said.
In a statement, Cleverly said:
The UK utterly condemns Putin’s announcement of the illegal annexation of Ukrainian territory. We will never recognise the results of these sham referendums or any annexation of Ukrainian territory.
The Russian regime must be held to account for this abhorrent violation of international law.
That’s why we are working with our international partners to ramp up the economic pressure through new targeted services bans.
What happens in Ukraine matters to us all, and the UK will do everything possible to assist their fight for freedom.
The announcement of a fresh wave of UK sanctions against Russia comes as the Russian ambassador to London was summoned by Cleverly to protest the Russian annexation of four Ukrainian regions – Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk and Donetsk.
I have summoned the Russian Ambassador, Andrey Kelin, to protest in the strongest terms against Putin’s announcement of the illegal annexation of sovereign Ukrainian territory.
— James Cleverly🇬🇧 (@JamesCleverly) September 30, 2022
Updated
Vladimir Putin has signed “accession treaties” formalising Russia’s illegal annexation of four occupied regions in Ukraine, marking the largest forcible takeover of territory in Europe since the second world war.
The signing ceremony, held in defiance of international law, took place in the Grand Kremlin Palace in the presence of the country’s political elites, and comes on the heels of Kremlin-orchestrated fake referendums in the four Ukrainian regions – Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk and Donetsk.
The US state department said it has imposed visa restrictions on more than 900 people as part of new Russia-related sanctions following Russia’s annexation of Ukrainian territory.
The individuals now barred from travelling to the US include members of the Russian and Belarusian military and “Russia’s proxies for violating Ukraine’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, and political independence”, it said.
In a statement, the US secretary of state Antony Blinken said:
The United States unequivocally rejects Russia’s fraudulent attempt to change Ukraine’s internationally recognised borders, including by holding sham ‘referenda’.
Updated
The new US sanctions in response to Russia’s annexation of Ukraine territory target Russian officials, their families and dozens of entities that Washington says are aiding the annexation.
The US treasury department said it had imposed sanctions on 14 people in Russia’s military-industrial complex, two leaders of the country’s central bank, family members of top officials and 278 members of Russia’s legislature “for enabling Russia’s sham referenda and attempt to annex sovereign Ukrainian territory”.
Among those who have been sanctioned are:
Russian central bank governor Elvira Nabiullina, who is a former adviser to Russian president Vladimir Putin.
Russian deputy prime minister, Alexander Novak.
The families of the Russian prime minister, Mikhail Mishustin, and minister of defence, Sergei Shoigu.
109 State Duma members
The Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of Russia and 169 of its members.
In addition, the US treasury has sanctioned:
14 suppliers, including two international suppliers, “for supporting Russia*s military supply chains”.
57 new entities in Russia and Crimea that the US accuses of aiding the “Russian military’s brutal assault on Ukraine”.
Among those targets related to Russia’s defence procurement was a Chinese supplier the Treasury accused of supporting Radioavtomatika, a US-designated Russian defence procurement firm.
The US also issued a warning to other countries supporting Russia’s war effort. A US treasury statement said:
Current United States export controls on Russia can be applied to entities in third countries that seek to provide material support for Russia’s and Belarus’s military and industrial sectors.
Updated
In a separate statement following the announcement of new US sanctions against Russia, the US president, Joe Biden, condemned Russia’s “fraudulent” attempt to annex sovereign Ukrainian territory.
Biden said:
Make no mistake: these actions have no legitimacy. The United States will always honour Ukraine’s internationally recognized borders.
The new sanctions will impose costs on individuals and entities “that provide political or economic support to illegal attempts to change the status of Ukrainian territory”, Biden said.
He added:
I urge all members of the international community to reject Russia’s illegal attempts at annexation and to stand with the people of Ukraine for as long as it takes.
US hits Russia with new sanctions for annexing Ukrainian regions
The US has imposed a fresh round of Russia-related sanctions on hundreds of individuals and companies, after Vladimir Putin signed treaties annexing occupied regions of Ukraine into Russia.
More than 1,000 people and firms connected to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine are included in the new sanctions package, including its Central Bank governor and families of National Security Council members.
Hundreds of members of Russia’s legislature, leaders of the country’s financial and military infrastructure and suppliers for sanctions designations were named by the US treasury department.
The US treasury secretary, Janet Yellen, said in a statement:
We will not stand by as Putin fraudulently attempts to annex parts of Ukraine.
The Treasury Department and US government are taking sweeping action today to further weaken Russia’s already degraded military industrial complex and undermine its ability to wage its illegal war.
Updated
Zelenskiy: Ukraine ‘ready for talks with Russia, but with a different president’
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has said he is “ready for a dialogue” with Russia, but it would be impossible to do so under its current president, Vladimir Putin.
In a video update where he announced that Ukraine was formally applying for fast-track membership of the Nato military alliance, Zelenskiy said Kyiv was ready for talks with Moscow.
Zelenskiy accused Russia of brazenly rewriting history and redrawing borders “using murder, blackmail, mistreatment and lies”.
But Kyiv remained committed to the idea of co-existence with Russia “on equal, honest, dignified and fair conditions”, he said.
Zelenskiy said:
Ukraine was and remains a leader in negotiation efforts. It was our state that always offered Russia to reach an agreement on coexistence on equal, honest, decent and fair terms.
It is obvious that this is impossible with this Russian president. He does not know what dignity and honesty are.
Therefore, we are ready for a dialogue with Russia, but already with another president of Russia.
Updated
Britain has summoned the Russian ambassador to protest at Moscow’s annexation of more than 15% of Ukraine, the UK Foreign Office said.
— Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (@FCDOGovUK) September 30, 2022
Updated
Ukraine formally applies for Nato membership
Ukraine has formally submitted its application to join the Nato alliance, its president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has announced.
In a video update, Zelenskiy said Ukraine was “taking a decisive step for entire security of free nations”.
Zelenskiy says:
We see who threatens us. Who is ready to kill and maim. Who in order to expand their zone of control does not stop at any savagery.
During his address, which was published after Vladimir Putin signed decrees formalising Russia’s illegal annexation of four occupied regions in Ukraine, Zelenskiy vows to liberate the “entire territory” of his country.
Updated
Poland’s foreign ministry has condemned the signature of treaties by Vladimir Putin to annex four Ukrainian regions, and called for an increase in military support for Kyiv and more sanctions.
In a statement, the ministry said:
The ministry of foreign affairs condemns in the strongest terms the illegal acts of ‘recognition of independence’ and ‘incorporation’ into the Russian Federation of parts of Ukraine’s regions of Kherson, Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia.
Updated
The Ukrainian president’s office has issued a briefing statement after today’s national security council meeting. It reads in part:
The members of the National Security Council discussed the issue of another attempt to annex the territory of Ukraine and the escalation of armed aggression by the Russian Federation. The participants of the meeting discussed ways of countering the attempts of the aggressor country to annex Ukrainian territories.
It said that the group discussed the “fake referendums” and also discussed “the collective security of Ukraine and the Euro-Atlantic space”, concluding:
The measures that must be taken to ensure the collective security of the Euro-Atlantic space and Ukraine were discussed. In particular, this is the strengthening and expansion of the international coalition in support of Ukraine, the increase of military and technical assistance to our country, the strengthening of sanctions pressure on Russia, the implementation of proposals to guarantee security in the international arena, the activation of the strategy of nuclear deterrence of Russia by the countries of the Euro-Atlantic space, as well as countering hybrid threats caused by the aggressor country.
Updated
There is a considerable visible contrast between the scenes today in Moscow celebrating the annexation of Zaporizhzhia, and the scenes in Zaporizhzhia itself, where dozens were killed this morning after a Russian strike on a civilian convoy.
Updated
Here is a still from the end of the signing ceremony, which shows Russian President Vladimir Putin sharing a group handshake with the Russian-imposed leaders of the four occupied regions of Ukraine that have been absorbed into the Russian Federation after today’s annexation. From left to right they are Vladimir Saldo of Kherson, Yevhen Balytskyi of Zaporizhzhia, Putin, Denis Pushilin of Donetsk and Leonid Pasechnik of Luhansk.
My colleague Isobel Koshiw reports that Ukrainian president’s office did not watch Putin’s speech, but that Volodymyr Zelenskiy will react later in a video address.
The president’s office did not watch Putin’s speech. The national security committee meeting is underway and Zelenskiy will react in a video address - Zelenskiy’s team tell Ukraine’s Suspline.
— Isobel Koshiw (@IKoshiw) September 30, 2022
Updated
Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to the head of the office of Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has told Russia that it will need to ask Kyiv for permission for Russian troops to exit the Lyman encirclement, provided “of course, those in Kremlin are concerned with their soldiers”.
Podolyak’s tweet also references the battle of Ilovaisk in 2014. In that event, Ukrainian soldiers who had negotiated safe passage out of an encirclement by pro-Russian forces were fired upon, resulting in, according to official figures, 366 Ukrainian soldiers and volunteer fighters being killed, 429 getting wounded, 128 taken prisoner, and 158 left missing in action.
8 years ago, ru-military surrounded our near Ilovaisk. Our guys agreed to surrender without weapons. But Russia broke its word. The column was shot. Today RF will have to ask for an exit from Lyman. Only if, of course, those in Kremlin are concerned with their soldiers.
— Михайло Подоляк (@Podolyak_M) September 30, 2022
Updated
EU executive calls for tighter visa restrictions on Russians
Jennifer Rankin reports for the Guardian from Brussels:
The EU executive has called for tighter restrictions on issuing short-stay visas to Russians in response to the Kremlin’s escalation of the war against Ukraine and partial mobilisation order.
Announcing new guidelines on Friday, Ylva Johansson, the EU commissioner for home affairs, told reporters that EU member states needed to carry out stricter checks when issuing short-stay visas for the bloc’s border-free travel zone.
“We should be very, very restrictive in issuing these kind of [Schengen] visas in the security situation we are in,” she said, citing Vladimir Putin’s nuclear threats, the illegal annexation of four Ukrainian regions, the Russian president’s mobilisation order and what she called the “attacks” on Nordstream pipelines. “There is an escalation of the security threat. That is why we are presenting new guidelines,” she said.
In reality, it has already become harder for Russians to enter the EU since a ban on direct flights to and from Russia was introduced soon after the invasion. More recently, countries sharing a land border with Russia – Poland, Finland and the Baltic states – have stopped issuing Russian tourist visas and are denying entry to those seeking to travel for leisure.
The granting of visas for Russians has moved up the agenda, since Putin’s partial mobilisation order prompted large numbers of men and their families to flee Russia, although more appeared to have left for non-EU neighbouring states where access is easier.
Johansson insisted it remained possible for Russians to apply for asylum, but said they would not get special treatment. “This is not a time to give easier access than for other citizens that also might want to apply for asylum in the European Union.”
She also said Russians should not be allowed to apply for a Schengen visa from a third country, restricting onward travel options for those who fled to former Soviet states such as Georgia and Kazakhstan. Exceptions, however, are possible for journalists, dissidents, people with family ties in an EU country and those seeking a humanitarian visa.
In September, the EU had an additional 20,000 Russian arrivals compared with the previous year, 190,000 people rather than 170,000 in 2021. “The numbers of people that have entered is more than usual but it’s not that high,” Johansson said, adding that there had been very few applications or asylum from Russians.
Updated
Our correspondent Shaun Walker has suggested that Putin’s speech today was something of a greatest hits re-tread of the Russian president’s favourite themes.
If you were playing a "classic Putin phrases" drinking game you'd be in intensive care by this point.
— Shaun Walker (@shaunwalker7) September 30, 2022
He also suggested that Putin’s repeated complaints about the colonialism of the west struck an odd note when he himself was in the middle of annexing territory from a neighbouring sovereign state.
Putin, who is literally announcing a land-grab, has complained about his "neocolonial" foes about ten times so far.
— Shaun Walker (@shaunwalker7) September 30, 2022
The grand ceremony in Moscow is at some contrast to events on the ground today, where Ukrainian forces appear to have nearly completely encircled Russian troops in a pocket around Lyman in Donetsk.
Reuters reports the move leaves Ukrainian forces with an open path to seize more territory in Luhansk and Donetsk provinces, captured earlier in some of the war’s bitterest fighting.
The Russian-installed leader in Donetsk has acknowledged troops had lost full control of the villages of Yampil and Dobryshev, north and east of the city of Lyman.
The Ukrainian army was “trying at all costs to spoil our historic events”, Denis Pushilin said. “This is very unpleasant news, but we must look soberly at the situation and draw conclusions from our mistakes.”
Ukraine’s military said it was withholding details of the situation on the battlefield until the area was stabilised, but that an operation was under way to encircle Russian forces.
“All the approaches and logistic routes of the enemy, through which they delivered ammunition and manpower, are in fact under fire control” of the Ukrainian army, said Serhii Cherevatyi, a spokesperson for Ukrainian troops in the east.
Updated
Putin annexes four regions of Ukraine in major escalation of Russia’s war
Vladimir Putin has signed “accession treaties” formalising Russia’s illegal annexation of four occupied regions in Ukraine, marking the largest forcible takeover of territory in Europe since the second world war.
The signing ceremony, held in defiance of international law, took place in the Grand Kremlin Palace in the presence of the country’s political elites, and comes on the heels of Kremlin-orchestrated fake referendums in the four Ukrainian regions – Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk and Donetsk.
Putin kicked off the ceremony with a lengthy, combative and angry speech in which the Russian leader issued new nuclear threats, promising to “protect” the newly annexed lands “with all the forces and means at our disposal”.
“The people have made their choice. An unequivocal choice … This is the will of millions of people,” Putin said, adding that the citizens of the four occupied regions will be part of Russia “for ever”.
Shortly after, Putin signed the “accession treaties” on a podium alongside the Russian-installed heads of Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Donetsk and Luhansk.
Taken together, Russia is annexing at least 40,000 sq miles of eastern and southern Ukraine, about 15% of Ukraine’s total area, equal to the size of Portugal or Serbia.
“I urge the Kyiv regime to stop all hostilities, stop the war … and sit down for negotiations,” Putin said in his speech on Friday. Kyiv has indicated it will fight to reclaim all of its lands.
Read more of Pjotr Sauer’s report here: Putin annexes four regions of Ukraine in major escalation of Russia’s war
Updated
Orysia Lutsevych, who is head of the Ukraine forum at Chatham House, has said this about today’s annexation ceremony:
We should see Russia’s moves as a continued wave of annexation of neighbours’ territory. Russia’s level of control varies, from Abkhazia to Transnistria, to Crimea and Belarus. But this is all part of a pattern to enlarge Russia at the expense of others. Putin is on imperial mission to restore control over what he believes is ‘historic Russia’.
EU 'rejects and unequivocally condemns' annexation, and pledges continued support for Ukraine
President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen has immediately issued a rebuke to the Russian president, tweeting:
The illegal annexation proclaimed by Putin won’t change anything. All territories illegally occupied by Russian invaders are Ukrainian land and will always be part of this sovereign nation.
The illegal annexation proclaimed by Putin won’t change anything.
— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) September 30, 2022
All territories illegally occupied by Russian invaders are Ukrainian land and will always be part of this sovereign nation.
A statement issued by the members of the European Council reads:
We firmly reject and unequivocally condemn the illegal annexation by Russia of Ukraine’s Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions. By wilfully undermining the rules-based international order and blatantly violating the fundamental rights of Ukraine to independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, core principles as enshrined in the UN charter and international law, Russia is putting global security at risk.
We do not and will never recognise the illegal ‘referenda’ that Russia has engineered as a pretext for this further violation of Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, nor their falsified and illegal results. We will never recognise this illegal annexation. These decisions are null and void and cannot produce any legal effect whatsoever. Crimea, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk and Luhansk are Ukraine. We call on all states and international organisations to unequivocally reject this illegal annexation.
We reiterate that the European Union firmly stands with Ukraine and will continue to provide strong economic, military, social and financial support to Ukraine for as long as it takes.
Updated
This was the scene outside the Kremlin in Moscow a little earlier today as people gathered for the annexation ceremony.
This is Martin Belam taking the blog back over for an hour. You can reach me at martin.belam@theguardian.com
The attendees at the ceremony are standing to attention while the Russian national anthem is played. Putin is standing in a line with the leaders of the four regions of occupied Ukraine being absorbed into Russia. At the end of the anthem they have all joined hands in celebration.
Updated
Putin signs decrees to annex four Ukrainian regions
Vladimir Putin is signing into law the annexations of four Ukrainian regions – Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk and Luhansk.
The Russian president is signing treaties annexing the territories in occupied Ukraine alongside the Russian-appointed leaders of the four regions.
Updated
Putin accuses the US of being responsible for creating the precedent by using nuclear weapons.
The Russian leader accuses the US and its allies of waging a “hybrid war” against Russia and the separatist administrations it backed in eastern Ukraine.
Putin says the west has no moral right to talk about democracy, adding that there are grounds to believe that western countries do not seek a way out of the global food crisis.
He goes on to say that the world is witnessing “sheer satanism” in the west and asks his audience if they really want their children to be “offered operations on sex changes”.
Updated
Putin says Russia is a great country with a great civilisation that refuses to live under the “false rules” dictated by the west.
He accuses the west of believing that “their civilisation and their neo-liberal culture is the golden standard to everyone else”, while “unilaterally deciding who has the right to self-determination and who doesn’t”.
Western countries were “very angry” at the choice of people in Crimea, he claims, referring to the 2014 so-called referendum that most of the world condemned as illegal.
“That’s why they believe that people do not have the right to have self-determination”.
Putin says:
The western elites have always been like this. They have been colonisers and they remain colonisers, they discriminate and they distinguish between the first class of nations and second-class nations.
That is why there is “Russophobia” that is being spread all over the west, he says.
Updated
Putin accuses west of attempting to turn Russia into its 'colony'
Putin echoes previous claims that the west is seeking to weaken Russia and bring it to its knees ever since the fall of the Soviet Union.
The west is looking new opportunities to hit us and they always dreamt about breaking our state into smaller states who will be fighting against each other.
He accuses the west of being “greedy” and wanting Russia to be in its “colony”. The west is “prepared to do everything using this neo-colonial system to rob all other countries in the world”, he says.
Putin adds:
They don’t want to see us a free society. They want to see us as a crowd of slaves.
To loud applause inside the Kremlin hall, he declares:
They don’t need Russia. We need Russia!
Updated
Putin goes on to call on Ukraine to immediately cease all military actions and the war “that they began in 2014”.
Kyiv must come back to the negotiation table, Putin says.
We are open to this and we stated that many times.
But Ukrainian authorities must “respect the expression of the will of the people”, Putin says, referencing the fake referendums held in the Ukrainian territories over the past week.
We will protect our land using all our forces and we will do everything to ensure people’s securities.
Updated
Putin says the incorporation of the four Ukrainian regions into Russia is the “choice of millions of people” who share a common history with the Russian Federation.
The “destruction” of the Soviet Union “destroyed the connections between different parts” of the country, Putin continues.
Despite all the difficulties, they have carried through this love for Russia, and this feeling cannot be exterminated by anyone.
Putin says he is not aiming to return to the past and to rebuild the Soviet Union but claims there is “nothing stronger than the will of these people to come back to their historic roots”.
Updated
Putin: 'There are four new regions of Russia'
President Vladimir Putin has declared there are four new regions of Russia, as he announced the formal annexation of the Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine.
He says the incorporation of these four regions “is the will of millions of people” and it is their “integral right” as stated in the UN charter.
Putin goes on to claim that the people of Donbas have been “victims of inhumane terrorist attacks conducted by the Kyiv regime”.
The Russian leader has long claimed that Ukraine is targeting Russian speakers in eastern Ukraine, and repeatedly made the unfounded accusation that Ukraine has carried out genocide in the east of the country.
He asks for a minute’s silence to be held to remember the soldiers and “heroes of the Great Russia” who have died during the “special operation” in Ukraine.
Updated
Vladimir Putin is now speaking at the signing ceremony in the Kremlin to mark the formal annexation of four Ukrainian regions – Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk and Luhansk.
The Russian president begins by talking about the so-called “referendums” held over the last week in order for Moscow to claim a mandate for Putin’s territorial claims.
Putin claims the “results have come through and the results are known”. He says:
People have made their choice, and it’s definitive choice.
Ukraine and the west have denounced the fake referendums and said they will never recognise their legitimacy.
Putin arrives at signing ceremony to formally annex Ukrainian territories
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has arrived at a signing ceremony in Moscow as he formally annexes four more areas of Ukraine.
Putin will preside over the signing ceremony with the Russian-installed heads of the four regions in the Kremlin, where he will sign into law the annexations of four Ukrainian regions – Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk and Luhansk.
Russia held fake referendums in these four partially-occupied areas of Ukraine over the last week in order to claim a mandate for the territorial claims.
It comes after the Kremlin announced on Thursday that Putin had recognised Kherson and Zaporizhzhia as independent territories. This is an intermediary step needed before he can go ahead with plans to unilaterally declare on Friday that they are part of Russia.
In February, Putin recognised the independence of the self-proclaimed republics of Donetsk and Luhansk.
Russian state TV commentators appear to be as unclear as the Kremlin as to the exact borders of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia – two of the four Ukrainian regions that President Vladimir Putin intends to annex in the next hour.
The state television commentator - ten minutes after Kremlin ceremony was supposed to start - also saying they have no idea if Putin is laying claim to all of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions or just what russia controls.
— Shaun Walker (@shaunwalker7) September 30, 2022
Updated
Putin - surprise surprise - is late for his own annexation party
— Shaun Walker (@shaunwalker7) September 30, 2022
Russian officials are already seated in the Kremlin’s St George’s Hall ahead of President Vladimir Putin’s speech to mark the annexation of four Ukrainian regions.
From the Financial Times’ Max Seddon:
The Russian political elite look totally pumped for the big Putin speech pic.twitter.com/loHvOsFtDb
— max seddon (@maxseddon) September 30, 2022
— max seddon (@maxseddon) September 30, 2022
Updated
The head of the Russian Orthodox church, Patriarch Kirill, has tested positive for Covid-19, his church has said.
The 75-year-old Putin ally will be absent from the signing ceremony in Moscow where the Russian president will sign into law the annexations of the four Ukrainian regions of Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk and Luhansk.
“All planned meetings and trips in the coming days of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill are canceled,” the church said in a statement, adding that he needed “bed rest and isolation”.
Updated
A Russian-installed official in the southern Kherson region of Ukraine has been killed in a Ukrainian missile strike, according to Russian state media.
Alexei Katerinichev, who served as the first deputy head for security of the Kremlin-appointed administration of the Kherson region, was killed on Friday, Kirill Stremousov, the deputy head of the Moscow-controlled region, said.
Katerinichev was killed in a pinpoint strike by Ukraine using the US-supplied High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (Himars), Stremousov said.
The Russian state-owned news agency Tass cited Stremousov as saying:
Katerinichev died as a result of a pinpoint strike from Himars. Two rockets hit the house in which he was.
Updated
Estonia’s prime minister, Kaja Kallas, has accused Vladimir Putin of theft and urged the EU to step up sanctions including a cap on the price of gas.
Kallas said:
Let’s look at the magnitude of Russia’s illegal annexation. Russia will announce that around 20% of Ukraine’s territory is annexed to Russia. It is the size of 108 800km2 – this is comparable to Austria and Belgium combined. Or Denmark, Belgium and the Netherlands combined. Or 30% of Germany. Or the size of the Republic of Korea. If you add Crimea to it, the territory is comparable to three Belgiums and the Netherlands combined. And around 40% of Germany.
And let’s call things with the right names. Russia tries to rewrite the map of Europe. It’s a land grab. It’s theft. Putin hopes to add legitimacy to his invasion with this step. The international community will never recognise it.
Updated
Ukraine’s defence minister, Oleksii Reznikov, has said “good news” will be announced soon following a call with the US defence secretary, Lloyd Austin.
The pair discussed ways of strengthening Ukraine’s capacities during the call, Reznikov added.
Had 📞 call with @SecDef. Discussed updates from the front line, #Ramstein 6, and ways of strengthening our capabilities. Good news to be announced soon.
— Oleksii Reznikov (@oleksiireznikov) September 30, 2022
Lloyd Austin III confirmed 🇺🇸 won’t recognise "referenda" at TOT of 🇺🇦.#UAarmy will contiue use weapons to deoccupy our land. pic.twitter.com/wd958AJgEX
He also spoke about the visit to Ukraine by Britain’s defence secretary, Ben Wallace.
Every visit of @BWallaceMP to 🇺🇦 brings good news to the battlefield. NLAWs, armoured vehicles, Starstreaks & Brimstones, UK-led 🇺🇦 recruits training programme…What’s next? We have a some good ideas to discuss today.
— Oleksii Reznikov (@oleksiireznikov) September 30, 2022
P.SThis 🇬🇧MLRS M270 from the front line salutes you,my friend! pic.twitter.com/pzqskTpxbp
Wallace also tweeted about the visit, where he reiterated the UK’s support for Kyiv and vowed that Britain would never recognise Russia’s “illegal” annexations in Ukraine.
The UK will never recognise Russia’s illegal annexations in Ukraine. Russia doesn’t even control some of these oblasts. The truth is Russia is losing in Ukraine and their incompetent Generals are sending thousands to their deaths to please President Putin’s imperialist fantasy.
— Rt. Hon Ben Wallace MP (@BWallaceMP) September 30, 2022
Updated
Just hours before Vladimir Putin was due to sign into law the annexation of four Ukrainian regions, it was not clear exactly what territories those would include.
Speaking to reporters, the Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said attacks against any part of the swathe of Ukraine that Putin was about to annex would be considered aggression against Russia itself.
Russia is laying claim to about 109,000 sq km (42,000 sq miles) of Ukrainian territory, or about 18%, in addition to Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014. If Russia could establish control over the whole area it claims, Putin would have annexed around 22% of Ukraine.
But Russian forces do not control all of that territory. Earlier today, the head of the Moscow-installed administration in east Ukraine’s Donetsk region admitted that the Russian stronghold of Lyman is “semi-encircled” by the Ukrainian army.
Peskov said the whole of the Donetsk region would become part of Russia, but he was less clear about whether or not Russia would lay claim to the whole of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions. Russia currently controls about 70% of Zaporizhzhia region.
He told reporters:
We will clarify everything today.
News on annexation day:
— Shaun Walker (@shaunwalker7) September 30, 2022
- Deadly strike on humanitarian convoy
- Ru troops possibly surrounded by Ukr army in Lyman
- Hours before annexation, Putin's spokesman unable to clarify whether Putin will lay claim to all of Zap/Kherson regions or just the parts under Ru control now pic.twitter.com/T9cpgY5TaR
Updated
Vladimir Putin has notified the Russian parliament of his plans to annex four regions of Ukraine into Russia, the head of the State Duma said.
Vyacheslav Volodin, a key Putin ally, said Putin had informed the parliament of official requests by the regions – a technical step towards Russia’s annexation of the territories.
Putin is due to sign into law the annexations of four Ukrainian regions – Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk and Luhansk – in a signing ceremony in Moscow this afternoon.
At the same time Putin was due to announce the annexation of Ukrainian territory, his army was facing embarrassing defeat in the Donetsk region.
Ukrainian and Russian military bloggers said that Russian forces together with local “Luhansk People’s Republic” fighters were encircled in the city of Lyman. The town – a strategic railway junction – has been under Moscow’s control since May.
About five and a half thousand Russian fighters were reportedly trapped inside the city, including troops from Russia’s 20th Combined Arms Army. They now faced the bloody prospect of trying to fight their way out, or surrendering.
Earlier this month Ukraine’s armed forces launched a surprise counter-offensive in the Kharkiv region, liberating an area half the size of Wales. They have since consolidated their positions around the city of Kupiansk and have crossed over to the east bank of the Oskil river.
In recent days Ukrainian battalions have pushed forward rapidly north of Lyman, while at the same time advancing from the south-east towards the town of Yampil. They are now able to fire on the only way out of Lyman – a highway connecting the city with the town of Torskoye.
The surrender of Russia’s garrison in Lyman would be a humiliation for the Kremlin, at a time when it is claiming that the entire Donetsk region including areas under Ukrainian government control is a part of Russia “forever”. On the battlefield Russian troops appear to be going backwards.
Ukraine’s army released video of what appeared to be Russian soldiers fleeing across a wood in the Lyman region. In ironic tones, it said they were taking part in a “tactical regrouping” – the phrase used by the general staff in Moscow to describe the Russian army’s chaotic retreat this month from Kharkiv oblast.
It now seems likely that Ukrainian units will be able to make further territorial gains in the north of Luhansk province. The next obvious target is the city of Svatove, captured by Russian forces in March, soon after Putin began his “special military operation” in Ukraine.
Updated
Convoys of buses are heading to Moscow’s Red Square ahead of the signing ceremony as Russia prepares to formally annex four more parts of Ukraine.
Vladimir Putin is expected to deliver a speech in about an hour’s time as he presides over the Kremlin ceremony followed by a Red Square pop concert to mark Europe’s biggest territorial annexation since Hitler.
Kremlin bringing in a big crowd to show support for today’s annexations. A lot of convoys of buses heading by the Kremlin already. Employees of state companies have also been told to attend. pic.twitter.com/fzmz5FtFOD
— Andrew Roth (@Andrew__Roth) September 30, 2022
The ceremony will take place at 3pm local time (1200 GMT) in the St George’s (Georgievsky) Hall of the Grand Kremlin Palace to sign “agreements on the accession of new territories into the Russian Federation”, the Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said.
Agreements will be signed “with all four territories that held referendums and made corresponding requests to the Russian side”, Peskov said on Thursday.
Updated
Russian-held Lyman ‘semi-encircled’ by Ukrainian forces, says Donetsk self-proclaimed leader
The head of the Moscow-installed administration in east Ukraine’s Donetsk region has admitted that the Russian stronghold of Lyman is “semi-encircled” by the Ukrainian army.
It comes after western analysts said Russian forces faced “imminent defeat” in the key north-eastern city of Lyman as Ukrainian soldiers continue their counteroffensive in the east of the country.
The villages of Yampil and Drobysheve near the Russian-occupied Lyman “are no longer fully controlled” by Russian forces, Denis Pushilin, the Russian-backed leader of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), said in a message posted on Telegram today.
The Ukrainian army “is trying with all its might to blacken this historic event for us”, Pushilin said, as Russian president Vladimir Putin stands poised to formally annex the Donetsk region from Ukraine.
Lyman, a key railway juncture about 100 miles (160km) south-east of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, was captured by Russia in May after an extended battle.
Bellingcat’s Christo Grozev, citing Russian reports, said Ukrainian forces have now surrounded Lyman. The loss of this key city would be a major embarrassment for Vladimir Putin, he writes.
Russian war channels acknowledge niw that Ukraine has now surrounded Liman, a town of strategic military importance in Donbass. The loss of Liman just a day after Putin signed the annexation of "DNR", which has claimed the city since May this year, will be a major embarrassment.
— Christo Grozev (@christogrozev) September 30, 2022
Ukrainian soldiers have also claimed they have retaken the village of Yampil, while pro-Russian Telegram channels said Russian troops have “withdrawn from Yampil to Lyman”.
On Thursday, the US thinktank the Institute for the Study of War said a possible collapse of the Lyman pocket would allow Ukrainian troops to “threaten Russian positions along the western Luhansk” region.
Hello everyone. It’s Léonie Chao-Fong here again, taking over the live blog from Martin Belam to bring you all the latest developments from the war in Ukraine. Feel free to drop me a message if you have anything to flag, you can reach me on Twitter or via email.
Updated
Volodymyr Marchuk, a spokesperson for the governor’s office, explained to the Guardian what had happened:
It’s a logistics hub to allow people go into the temporarily Russian occupied territories. The Russians only accept 150 cars a day so that’s why we created a programme, where people could come register and get their number in line.
So at 7.15 in the morning there were a large number of cars waiting for the turn to cross, mostly people who want to go to and drop off aid to relatives and maybe pick up people who want to leaver on the way back.
They hit that queue with an S-300 missile. There’s no doubt it is a deliberate war crime. They always say they are aiming at a military object and hit something else. But there are no military objects near that site. That’s why there’s no doubt that’s it’s a terrorist act.
Updated
The Guardian’s Peter Beaumont reports from Zaporizhzhia, after a civilian convoy of cars was hit by Russian forces this morning:
Even five hours after the attack it remained a scene of utter carnage with broken bodies spread around the site.
Many, it appears, had been standing outside of their vehicles, not far from a registration point with white tents and a desk when the missile flew in exploding some 10 metres from the cars leaving a huge crater.
In one car, a victim sat slumped dead with one hand gripping his steering wheel, the windows blown out.
Another body was slumped on its knees, covered with a blanket next to the luggage the person was pulling a few metres away.
Updated
Summary of the day so far …
A civilian convoy of cars heading to pick up relatives trying to flee Russian occupied territory in Ukraine has been hit by Russian forces near the city of Zaporizhzhia, with initial reports saying at least 25 people were killed and 50 people injured. Footage posted on social media showed a horrific scene with dead and injured people lying on a road on the south-eastern outskirts of the city.
The governor of Zaporizhzhia region, Oleksandr Starukh, said in a statement: “The enemy launched an attack on a civilian convoy and the outskirts of the city. People were standing in line to leave for the occupied territory to pick up their relatives and to deliver aid. There are dead and wounded. Emergency services are at the site.
According to locals, 60 cars had gathered on a road in two lines after registering for a convoy that was due to take people back into the Russian-occupied territories in the south, some planning to return to homes in places such as Mariupol, others planning to fetch relatives and bring them to government-occupied territory for fear that Russia will prevent people from leaving. In the hours before the attack, Russia launched strikes on several cities, including the centre of the nearby city of Dnipro.
The attack on the convoy on Friday morning came amid a feared Russian escalation in its war in Ukraine, as the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, prepared to publicly sign annexation orders for four regions.
Putin will sign accession documents at the Kremlin before delivering a speech. A pop concert is also planned on Red Square, where a stage and screens have been set up. The territory Russia controls amounts to about 15% of Ukraine’s total area.
The Kremlin said again on Friday that it would consider attacks against any part of the regions of Ukraine that it is about to annex – Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson – as acts of aggression against Russia itself.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Russia would “de jure” incorporate parts of Ukraine which are not under the control of Russian forces. Of the four regions, Luhansk and Kherson are the only territories that Russia is close to having total control over.
US ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink has reiterated her country’s opposition to Russia’s planned annexations, saying “Russia’s sham ‘referenda’ were a spectacle, an effort to mask a further attempted land grab. We will never recognise Russia’s purported annexation of Ukrainian territory.”
The UN secretary general has warned Russia that annexing Ukrainian regions would mark a “dangerous escalation” that would jeopardise the prospects for peace in the region. António Guterres said any decision to proceed with the annexation of the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions “would have no legal value and deserves to be condemned”.
The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, warned of a “very harsh” response by Ukraine if Russia went ahead with the annexations.
British prime minister, Liz Truss, has said that the UK will never accept the Russian annexations, and accused Putin of acting in violation of international law with clear disregard for the lives of the Ukrainian people he claims to represent.
A large number of Russian forces in the strategic Donbas town of Lyman were reported to have been encircled in the latest setback in the battlefield for Russia.
Ukrainian forces have secured all of Kupiansk and driven Russian troops from their remaining positions on the east bank of the river that divides the north-eastern Ukrainian city. Most of Kupiansk, a strategic railway junction, was recaptured earlier this month as part of a counteroffensive by Ukrainian troops. AFP reported that those Russian troops who held out on the east bank of the Oskil river have been driven out.
The so-called “People’s militia of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR)” has stated that the first Russian troops from the partial mobilisation have arrived in Donetsk, and are undergoing training.
The Kremlin has reiterated calls for an international investigation into the circumstances of the suspected attack on the Nord Stream pipelines in the Baltic Sea. Without providing any evidence, the head of Moscow’s foreign intelligence service, Sergei Naryshkin said “We have materials that point to a western trace in the organisation and implementation of these terrorist acts.”
That is it from me, Martin Belam, for now. I will be back later on. Léonie Chao-Fong will be with you shortly.
A civilian convoy of cars heading to pick up relatives trying to flee Russian occupied territory in Ukraine was hit earlier this morning by Russian forces near the city of Zaporizhzhia, with initial reports suggesting at least 25 people have been killed and at least 50 wounded.
Footage from the horrific scene shows dead and injured people lying on a road on the south-eastern outskirts of the city.
Please be warned that this video includes graphic images that some viewers may find distressing.
Updated
The US ambassador to Ukraine, Bridget Brink, has reiterated her country’s opposition to Russia’s planned annexations. She tweeted:
Russia’s sham “referenda” were a spectacle, an effort to mask a further attempted land grab. We will never recognise Russia’s purported annexation of Ukrainian territory and, as President Joe Biden has said, the United States will support Ukraine for as long as it takes.
Russia’s sham “referenda” were a spectacle, an effort to mask a further attempted land grab. We will never recognize Russia's purported annexation of Ukrainian territory and, as @POTUS has said, the United States will support Ukraine for as long as it takes. https://t.co/g1NE7NgYgT
— Ambassador Bridget A. Brink (@USAmbKyiv) September 30, 2022
Updated
The so-called “People’s militia of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR)” has stated on Telegram that the first Russian troops from the partial mobilisation have arrived in Donetsk. It posted to Telegram:
The first military personnel called up for military service in the partial mobilisation announced in Russia arrived in the zone of the special military operation, on the territory of the DPR. Now they are undergoing an intensive combat training course at the training grounds, which takes into account the experience of the battles of recent months. Residents of the People’s Republic enthusiastically met the approaching forces and thank the President of the Russian Federation for the decision.
Russia, Syria and North Korea are the only UN member states to recognise the DPR as a legitimate authority. Russia is expected to announce the annexation of Donetsk, a territory it does not fully control, into the Russian Federation later today.
Kremlin: Russia will 'de jure' incorporate parts of Ukraine it does not control
The Kremlin said again on Friday it would consider attacks against any part of the regions of Ukraine that it is about to annex as acts of aggression against Russia itself, which appears to also include the areas it does not currently control on the ground.
Reuters reports the Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, told reporters Russia would “de jure” incorporate parts of Ukraine which are not under the control of Russian forces into Russia itself as part of its move to annex four regions of Ukraine.
Vladimir Putin will sign a decree incorporating occupied Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson into the Russian Federation later today.
Of the four regions, Luhansk and Kherson are the only territories that Russia is close to having total control over. The line of contact between Ukrainian and Russian forces runs through significant parts of Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia, with Ukraine maintaining control of the northern areas of each region.
Updated
The Kremlin has reiterated calls for an international investigation into the circumstances of the suspected attack on the Nord Stream pipelines in the Baltic Sea.
Declining to comment on earlier reports by the head of Russia’s foreign intelligence service that it held unspecified “materials” pointing the finger of blame at the west, Reuters reports the Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said there was a need for a thorough international investigation.
Updated
My colleague Peter Beaumont is in Zaporizhzhia, and has just posted this video showing several hundred cars escaping the occupied areas of southern Ukraine.
Several hundred cars escaping occupied areas of southern Ukraine escorted towards Zaporizhzhia pic.twitter.com/YwpkPjZqfU
— petersbeaumont (@petersbeaumont1) September 30, 2022
The head of Moscow’s foreign intelligence service has said Russia has “materials” to show western forces had responsibility for the Nord Stream pipeline incident.
Without providing any evidence, Sergei Naryshkin said “We have materials that point to a western trace in the organisation and implementation of these terrorist acts.”
Reuters notes that Naryshkin’s remarks are the most direct accusation yet against the west from a senior Russian official.
Updated
Peter Beaumont and Artem Mazhulin are in Zaporizhzhia for the Guardian:
A civilian convoy of cars heading to pick up relatives trying to flee Russian occupied territory in Ukraine has been hit by Russian forces near the city of Zaporizhzhia, with initial reports saying dozens were killed and injured. That casualty figure could not immediately be confirmed.
Footage posted on social media showed a horrific scene with dead and injured people lying on a road on the south-eastern outskirts of the city. In one video, taken from inside a nearby building, a woman can be heard sobbing, saying repeatedly: “Dead people are lying there.”
At least one crater was visible in other images showing cars that had taken the full force of the blast.
At the site of the blast, in a wooded area just outside the city, police and military were clearing the area after discovering another unexploded munition, with the dead and wounded removed to nearby hospitals.
According to locals, about 60 cars had gathered on a road in two lines after registering for a convoy that was due to take people back into the Russian occupied territories in the south, some planning to return to homes in places such as Mariupol, others planning to fetch relatives and bring them to government occupied territory for fear that Russia will prevent people from leaving following Friday’s annexation ceremony.
Standing on the road outside, Dalina Yakushava, 48, had arrived after the explosion to see if she could register for a convoy.
“This is where people are told to come and register by the authorities to join a convoy. You register online but I came to make sure my permission had been received. I live in Mariupol. We just drove our daughter to Poland but we need to go back because my parents are there. It’s terrible but it is our home.
“There were a lot of cars waiting to leave this morning because no one has been able to go into the occupied areas for the past week.”
Read more of Peter Beaumont and Artem Mazhulin’s report from Zaporizhzhia: Dozens feared dead after Russian strike on civilian convoy near Zaporizhzhia
Updated
Ukrainian president condemns 'terrorist state' rocket attack
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has posted a response on Telegram to the earlier attack on the convoy in Zaporizhzhia. He wrote:
The terrorist state fires rockets at the civilian population in Zaporizhzhia, Mykolaiv, and Dnipropetrovsk. It strikes Ukrainian regions from rocket launchers and drones. The occupiers fired 16 rockets in one morning in Zaporizhzhia district alone. Only complete terrorists can do this, who should have no place in the civilised world. The enemy rages and seeks revenge for our steadfastness and his failures. It cynically destroys peaceful Ukrainians, because it lost everything human a long time ago. Bloodthirsty scum. You will definitely answer for every lost Ukrainian life.
Updated
My colleague Andrew Roth highlights in this map just how much of Ukraine Putin is planning to annex today that he is yet to control. Our Moscow correspondent notes that “under Russia’s amended constitution, no Kremlin leader can cede territories once they are annexed”.
Useful @guardian map showing how much of the territory Putin is “annexing” isn’t even under Russian control. The total territory is about 15% of Ukraine and includes major cities. Under Russia’s amended constitution, no Kremlin leader can cede territories once they are annexed. pic.twitter.com/HVgTGP1QFC
— Andrew Roth (@Andrew__Roth) September 30, 2022
Updated
UK PM Liz Truss rejects annexation of Ukrainian regions
The British prime minister, Liz Truss, has said that the UK will never accept the Russian annexation of Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson.
She accused Vladimir Putin of acting in violation of international law with clear disregard for the lives of the Ukrainian people he claims to represent.
Reuters reports she said in a statement that Putin could not be allowed to alter international borders by brute force.
Updated
The Ukrainian governor of Zaporizhzhia, Oleksandr Starukh, has declared tomorrow to be a day of mourning in the region following the strike on a convoy this morning that has killed at least 23 people and wounded 28 others.
In a message posted to Telegram, Starukh said:
This morning, the Rashists fired at civilians who were waiting in a civilian humanitarian convoy to leave the regional centre. These people went to their relatives in the occupied territories, brought humanitarian aid. They were supposed to take our fellow citizens and take them to the free part of Ukraine. The occupiers struck defenceless Ukrainians. This is another terrorist attack by a terrorist country. In connection with the tragedy and in order to honour the memory of the dead, 1 October 2022 is declared a day of mourning in the Zaporizhzhia region.
Reuters is carrying a witness report from the scene of the attack on the civilian convoy that happened earlier on Friday.
Jonathan Landay writes for the agency that police and emergency workers had rushed to the scene of the missile strike, the impact of which threw chunks of dirt into the air and sprayed the vehicles with shrapnel. The windows of the vehicles – mostly cars and three vans – were blown out.
The vehicles were packed with the occupants’ belongings, blankets and suitcases. A body leaned from the driver’s seat into the passenger seat of a yellow car, his left hand still clutching the steering wheel.
Reuters reports plastic sheets were draped over the bodies of a woman and young man in a green car in the next car in front. A dead cat lay next to the young man in the rear seat.
Two bodies lay in a white mini-van in front of that car, its windows blown and the sides pitted with shrapnel.
A woman who gave her name to reporters as Nataliya said she and her husband had been visiting their children in Zaporizhzhia.
“We were returning to my mother who is 90 years old. We have been spared. It’s a miracle,” she said, standing with her husband beside their car.
The proxy Russian authorities have already issued a denial that the incident was caused by Russian munitions, instead blaming Ukrainian forces for the attack. The Russian news agency RIA quotes Volodymyr Rogov, one of the pro-Russian leaders imposed on occupied Zaproizhzhia, saying: “Ukrainian militants hit a convoy with dozens of civilian cars queuing.”
Russia has repeatedly denied targeting civilians since its latest invasion of Ukraine began on 24 February, despite the clear evidence of damage to civilian infrastructure and discovery of mass burial sites in areas that had been occupied by Russian forces.
Updated
Kyrylo Tymoshenko, an adviser to the Ukrainian presidency, has said of the attack on the civilian convoy: “The terror continues. The killings continue. Sixteen missiles were launched using S-300 air defence.”
Confirming the number, he said four missiles hit near a car parts market where the convoy had gathered.
“There was a convoy of cars with civilians on their way to the temporarily occupied territory to pick up their relatives.”
Updated
23 dead and 28 injured in Zaporizhzhia shelling
Reuters has a quick snap to report that Ukraine’s governor of Zaporizhzhia has said the casualty figures from the attack on the convoy is 23 dead and 28 wounded.
Updated
Civilian convoy 'shelled near Zaporizhzhia'
Peter Beaumont is in Dnipro for the Guardian:
A civilian convoy of cars heading to pick up relatives trying to flee Russian occupied territory was shelled near the city of Zaporizhzhia on Friday morning, causing fatalities and deaths.
Footage posted on social media showed a horrific scene with dead and injured lying in the road with reports that the convoy was hit more than a dozen times.
In one video, taken from inside a nearby building, a woman can be heard sobbing saying repeatedly: “Dead people are laying there.”
At least one crater was visible in other images that showed cars that had taken the full force of the blast.
The governor of Zaporizhzhia region Oleksandr Starukh said in a statement: “The enemy launched an attack on a civilian convoy and the outskirts of the city. People were standing in line to leave for the occupied territory to pick up their relatives and to deliver aid. There are dead and wounded. Emergency services are at the site.”
The attack came on the day that Russian president was due to formally sign a declaration annexing parts of occupied Ukraine following sham referenda by pro-occupation forces.
In the hours befpre the attack, Russia launched strikes on several cities including the centre of the nearby city of Dnipro.
Updated
Oleksandr Starukh, governor of Zaporizhzhia, has posted to Telegram to say that a civilian convoy has been hit by a Russian attack near Zaporizhzhia.
Stryuk said: “There are dead and wounded. Rescuers, medics, and all relevant services are currently working at the site.”
Serhai Haidai, Ukraine’s governor of Luhansk, has also reported the incident, saying: “Near Zaporizhzhia, the Russians fired rockets at a convoy heading to the occupied territory. It should be noted that the departure of 34 vehicles with residents of Luhansk region was planned. More detailed information about the victims is being clarified.”
The claims have not been independently verified.
More details soon …
Updated
Some newly mobilised Russian reservists have been ordered to source their own first aid supplies and advised that female sanitary products are a cost-effective solution, according to the latest briefing by the UK Ministry of Defence.
Medical provision for Russian combat troops in Ukraine is likely growing worse, it says, adding that “medical training and first-aid awareness is likely poor”.
Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine - 30 September 2022
— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) September 30, 2022
Find out more about the UK government's response: https://t.co/Y8S1k3So8J
🇺🇦 #StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/BHmCsXHR8G
Here is some further detail from the UK MoD’s update:
Some Russia troops have obtained their own modern, western-style combat torniquets but have stowed them on their equipment using cable-ties, rather than with the Velcro provided – probably because such equipment is scarce and liable to be pilfered.
This is almost certain to hamper or render impossible the timely application of torniquet care in the case of catastrophic bleeding on the battlefield.
Russian troops’ lack of confidence in sufficient medical provision is almost certainly contributing to a declining state of morale and a lack of willingness to undertake offensive operations in many units in Ukraine.
Updated
Star Wars actor Mark Hamill has become an ambassador for United24, Ukraine’s crowdfunding platform, and will help raise funds to support its war efforts.
The Star Wars actor said he was “honoured” to take on the role.
Honored to be an Ambassador for the Army of Drones and to help President Zelenskyy and the people of Ukraine in any way possible 🇺🇦@ZelenskyyUA @U24_gov_ua pic.twitter.com/1JafSR7Nny
— Mark Hamill (@MarkHamill) September 29, 2022
He will help raise funds to support Ukrainian defenders, the Drone Army, a project set up by the Ukrainian government to procure unmanned drones to assist the war effort.
The Army of Drones will be used to monitor the 2,470km front line and provide an effective response to enemy attacks.
The president’s official Instagram page also shared the news, writing:
American actor who played Luke Skywalker in Star Wars, Mark Hamill became the ambassador of the United24 fundraising platform.
He is the first ambassador to help raise funds to support our defenders, the Drone Army.
This is a difficult yet very important mission. Mark, we are sure you will definitely handle it. Thank you for supporting the Ukrainian people in our struggle for freedom.”
Putin has called for mistakes in Russia’s ongoing military mobilisation for the offensive in Ukraine to be “corrected”.
Here is a report on his comments, and growing discontent over the conscription, from AFP:
Russian media and social networks have reported cases of the mobilisation of elderly people, students, the sick or conscripts without military experience.
Opposition to the drive has also sparked protests and the flight of thousands of men abroad.
“This mobilisation raises many questions. We must correct all the mistakes and ensure that they do not happen again,” Putin said during a videoconference with his security council broadcast on Russian television on Thursday.
The president gave the example of fathers of large families, people suffering from serious illnesses or very old people being summoned, despite these groups being exempted legally.
“If a mistake has been made, it must be corrected and those who were summoned without an appropriate reason should come home,” Putin said.
On Monday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov admitted there had been “mistakes” in the mobilisation, which was supposed to focus on 300,000 reservists with military experience or useful skills, such as truck drivers.
More than 2,400 people have been detained in demonstrations against the mobilisation in Russia since it was announced on 21 September, according to the OVD-Info organisation.
Many Russians have also chosen to flee the country, causing large queues at the borders of Georgia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and Finland.
Many flights were also booked up.
Updated
Reuters has published the following summary on developments relating to the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, which EU leaders believe was the target of sabotage at the start of the week.
The cause of damage to the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines under the Baltic Sea, built to carry Russian gas to Europe though already shut, has not yet been identified. Sweden’s coastguard said it found a fourth leak.
Western countries said the pipelines were sabotaged while stopping short of openly ascribing blame. Russia, which has denied involvement, said it looked like acts of state-sponsored terrorism and that the US stood to gain. Washington has denied any involvement.
US defence secretary Lloyd Austin said it was too soon to speculate who might have been behind the pipeline ruptures.
Nato also called the pipeline leaks sabotage and said it would respond robustly to any deliberate attempt to target infrastructure of alliance members.
Updated
Putin to hold formal annexation ceremony
As mentioned below, Vladimir Putin is due to host a ceremony today formally announcing the annexing of four regions of Ukraine.
According to his spokesman Dmitry Peskov, Putin will sign accession documents at the Kremlin before delivering a speech. A pop concert is also planned on Red Square, where a stage and screens have been set up.
The territory Russia controls in Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia amounts to about 15% of Ukraine’s total area.
Updated
Summary
It’s now 7.50am in Ukraine. Here are the latest developments:
Vladimir Putin is expected to preside over a ceremony to formally annexe swathes of Ukraine today. The Russian president is expected to sign into law the annexations of four Ukrainian regions – Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk and Luhansk. Russia has held fake referendums over the past week in order to claim a mandate for the territories.
The UN secretary general has warned Russia that annexing Ukrainian regions would mark a “dangerous escalation” that would jeopardise the prospects for peace in the region. António Guterres said any decision to proceed with the annexation of the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions “would have no legal value and deserves to be condemned”.
The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, warned of a “very harsh” response by Ukraine if Russia went ahead with the annexations.
There are indications that Russia might limit the movement of Ukrainians living in the occupied territories after it announces their annexation. Ukrainians have been told that from Saturday they will need to apply for a pass from the occupying authorities. This comes as the exiled Luhansk regional governor, Serhiy Haidai, said Russia had prevented about 1,000 Ukrainians from crossing the border into Latvia.
Russian forces may face “imminent defeat” in the key north-eastern city of Lyman as Ukrainian soldiers continue their counteroffensive in the east of the country, according to a US thinktank. The Institute for the Study of War, citing Russian reports, said the defeat would allow Ukrainian troops to “threaten Russian positions along the western Luhansk” region. Alexander Petrikin, the pro-Russian head of the city administration, admitted the situation had grown “difficult” for Russian forces trying to hold the territory.
Ukrainian forces have secured all of Kupiansk and driven Russian troops from their remaining positions on the east bank of the river that divides the north-eastern Ukrainian city. Most of Kupiansk, a strategic railway junction, was recaptured earlier this month as part of a counteroffensive by Ukrainian troops. AFP reported that those Russian troops who held out on the east bank of the Oskil river have been driven out.
Finland is closing its border to Russian tourists after Putin’s partial mobilisation order prompted large numbers of people to flee the country. From midnight Thursday Finnish time (9pm GMT), Russian tourists holding an EU Schengen visa will be turned away unless they have a family tie or a compelling reason to travel.
More than half of Russians felt fearful or anxious after Putin’s mobilisation announcement, according to a new poll. The poll by the independent Levada Centre showed 47% of respondents said they had felt anxiety, fear or dread after hearing that hundreds of thousands of soldiers would be drafted to fight in Ukraine.
Nato vowed a “determined response” to what it described as “deliberate, reckless and irresponsible acts of sabotage” after leaks were discovered in the two Nord Stream pipelines. Swedish authorities have reported a fourth leak on one of the pipelines. The two leaks in Swedish waters were close to each other.
Gas is likely to stop leaking from the damaged Nord Stream 1 pipeline on Monday, according to the pipeline’s operator. A spokesperson for Nord Stream AG said it was not possible to provide any forecasts for the pipeline’s future operation until the damage had been assessed.
The Kremlin has said incidents on the Nord Stream pipelines look like an “act of terrorism”. The Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said a foreign state was probably responsible. Russia’s foreign ministry claimed the “incident on the Nord Stream occurred in a zone controlled by American intelligence”.
The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, announced an eighth package of sanctions – including a draft sanctions law seen by the Guardian – designed to “make the Kremlin pay” for the escalation of the war against Ukraine. Hungary “cannot and will not support” energy sanctions in the package, said Gergely Gulyas, chief of staff to the prime minister, Viktor Orbán. An EU official said an agreement on the next sanctions package was expected before next week’s EU summit, or at least major parts of the package.
Russia is escalating its use of Iranian-supplied “kamikaze” drones in southern Ukraine, including against the southern port of Odesa and the nearby city of Mykolaiv.
Oleg Deripaska, one of Russia’s most powerful oligarchs, has been indicted by the US Department of Justice for criminal sanctions violations. Deripaska previously had deep links to British establishment figures.
