Volodymyr Zelensky has warned the situation on the battlefield against Russia is “very, very difficult” as Vladimir Putin’s invasion enters its third autumn.
“Reports on each of our frontline sectors, our capabilities, our future capabilities and our specific tasks: The situation is very, very difficult,” he said in his nightly video address.
“Everything that can be done this autumn, everything that we can achieve must be achieved,” he said.
Russia is ramping up its military recruitment before ground conditions deteriorate with the arrival of winter, ordering the conscription of 133,000 new servicemen in an autumn draft campaign that starts today.
That figure is on top of the additional 180,000 active servicemen Putin ordered in an expansion of the regular Russian army last month.
Meanwhile, outgoing Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg has said the alliance’s members should not be deterred from giving more military aid to Ukraine by “reckless Russian nuclear rhetoric”.
Key Points
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Frontline ‘very, very difficult,’ Zelensky warns
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Putin seeks military draft of 133,000 servicemen in autumn
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Vladimir Putin wants to wipe us off the map, Ukraine’s top tennis player warns
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Putin: Russia will accomplish “all goals set” in Ukraine invasion
Vladimir Putin wants to wipe us off the map, Ukraine’s top tennis player warns
04:13 , Arpan Rai
Russian president Vladimir Putin is waging war to try and wipe Ukraine off the map, the country’s top tennis player has warned.
Elina Svitolina, 30, accused Russia of genocide and urged the West to help bring back roughly 20,000 Ukrainian children deported to Russian camps since Putin’s invasion in February 2022.
More than 70 camps used to forcibly “re-educate” children have been found across Russia, Belarus and occupied Crimea, according to the Ukrainian government.
Svitolina stunned the sporting world in 2023 after she beat world No 1 Iga Swiatek in the Wimbledon quarter-finals just eight months after giving birth to her daughter.
Svitolina tells Alexander Butler the West must act to get Ukraine’s stolen children back from Russia:
Vladimir Putin wants to wipe us off the map, Ukraine’s top tennis player warns
Three killed and at least 45 injured in past day, Ukraine says
04:05 , Alex Croft
Russian attacks on Ukraine killed three people and injured at least 45 more over the past day, regional authorities said on Sept 30.
Two people were killed in the villages of Lysivka and Shevchenko in the Donetsk region, with three injured across the region.
One person was killed and 12 injured in the Kherson region, where Russian forces targeted 17 towns and cities including Kherson city itself.
An air strike on Zaporizhzhia in southeastern Ukraine injured at least 16 people, including two boys aged 17 and eight, while damaging residential buildings and a railway.
Ten people were injured in the northeastern Sumy region as a result of guided aerial boom and FPV drone attacks, The Kyiv Independent reported.
Putin orders conscription of 133,000 servicemen in autumn draft
03:58 , Arpan Rai
Vladimir Putin has ordered the conscription of 133,000 new servicemen in Russia’s autumn draft that starts today, a Kremlin decree said.
The decree seeks to carry out the draft of citizens “aged 18 to 30 years, who are not in the reserve and are subject to conscription in accordance with the Federal Law… in the amount of 133,000 people.”
The mobilisation will go on until the end of the year, the decree published yesterday in Russian state-run newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta read.
Vice admiral Vladimir Tsimlyansky, head of Russia’s conscription office, said the terms of conscript remain the same – 12-month service in military units in Russia.
“I would like to note that conscripts will not be called up to participate in the special military operation in the new regions,” Rossiyskaya Gazeta cited Tsimlyansky as claiming.
Last month, Putin had already ordered the Russian army to be increased by 180,000 troops to 1.5 million active servicemen as the invasion of Ukraine enters its third winter.
Frontline ‘very, very difficult,’ Zelensky warns
03:50 , Arpan Rai
The situation on the frontline against Russia is “very, very difficult,” Volodymyr Zelensky has warned.
“Reports on each of our frontline sectors, our capabilities, our future capabilities and our specific tasks: The situation is very, very difficult,” he said in his nightly video address, referring to a more than two and a half hour meeting with top commanders.
“Everything that can be done this autumn, everything that we can achieve must be achieved,” he said.
It was the second time in less than a week that Mr Zelensky referred to the need to act quickly in the coming months in terms of military action.
Russian forces have been advancing on the hilltop town of Vuhledar in the south of the Donetsk region, Ukrainian military bloggers have reported in recent days.
Lithuania calls for ICC investigation into Belarus
03:04 , Alex Croft
Lithuania has requested the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate their neighbours, Belarus, over alleged crimes against humanity.
The Lithuanian justice ministry said on Monday it was asking the ICC to open an investigation into alleged crimes committed by the regime of authoritarian leader and Putin ally Alexander Lukashenko.
Lithuania accuses Lukashenko and Belarus of “forced deportation, persecution of persons and other cruel behaviour which is contrary to the main norms of international law”, Reuters reported.
Lukashenko’s regime has ruled Belarus since 1994 and has long been an ally of Putin. Around 300,000 Belarusians have been forced to flee the country due to the nature of the regime.
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the exiled opposition leader who is recognised by Lithuania as the legitimate leader of Belarus, said: “The crimes committed by this regime, from forced deportations to illegal arrests and torture, cannot go unpunished. Lithuania’s courage gives us hope that the world is finally holding the regime accountable for its atrocities.”
Tsikhanouskaya ran against Lukashenko in the August 2020 presidential election and was forced to flee the country after he was declared the winner.
Western governments denounced the result as fraudulent.
Russia to draft 133,000 into military this autumn
02:00 , Alex Croft
Russia aims to draft 133,000 servicemen between October and January after a new decree signed by president Vladimir Putin on Monday.
Men aged 18 to 30 will be eligible for draft as part of the autumn conscription campaign, The Kyiv Independent reported.
In autumn 2023, the conscription campaign included people who lived in the annexed regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia.
Russia is likely recruiting around 30,000 people per month to the war effort, the UK defense ministry said in March.
US citizen pleads guilty in Moscow court to fighting for Ukraine
01:03 , Alex Croft
US citizen Stephen James Hubbard pleaded guilty to charges of mercenary activity in a Moscow court on Monday.
Mr Hubbard admitted to receiving money to fight for Ukraine against Russia, the RIA state news agency reported.
The 72-year-old was placed in pre-trial detention for six months last week, and faces a sentence of seven to 15 years if convicted.
A spokesperson for the US embassy in Moscow said it was aware an American citizen had been detained but did not offer further comment.
Prosecutors claim he was promised $1,000 a month to fight with a Ukrainian territorial defence unit at the start of the war.
There has been no independent verification of Russia’s claims.
The Michigan native has worked as an English teacher abroad for decades, his sister Patricia Fox told Reuters.
Ms Fox denied he was a mercenary and said he had no interest in fighting war. “He is so non-military,” she told Reuters. “He never had a gun, owned a gun, done any of that…He’s more of a pacifist.”
Mr Hubbard moved to Ukraine in 2014 and survived on a small pension. Ms Fox last spoke with her brother in September 2021, when he split with his girlfriend and was living alone.
There are at least 10 American citizens behind bars in Russia, two months after a major prisoner swap in August.
‘Victory plan’ will be publicised barring ‘sensitive’ details, Ukraine says
Tuesday 1 October 2024 00:02 , Alex Croft
Some parts of president Volodymyr Zelensky’s “victory plan” will remain secret, his office has confirmed.
The five-point victory plan was presented to president Joe Biden at the White House on Thursday (Sept 26), before he discussed it with presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.
The full details of the peace framework proposed in the plan has not yet been publicised, but its goal is to strengthen Ukraine’s future negotiating position and force Russia into accepting a just peace, Kyiv says.
It includes Ukraine’s invitation to join NATO, among other military and diplomatic components.
The head of the Presidential Office Andriy Yermak told the Ukrainian people on Sunday that the plan will be presented publicly bar some “sensitive” details, The Kyiv Independent reported.
Russian forces capture village in Donetsk region, state news agency says
Monday 30 September 2024 23:29 , Alex Croft
The Russian military has captured the village of Nelipivka in the eastern Donetsk region of Ukraine, according to Russian-owned Interfax news agency.
The news agency cited the Russian defence ministry as making the claim on Monday (Sept 30), Reuters reported.
It was not possible for Reuters to independently verify the battle report, but it comes as Russian forces continue their progress in the Donetsk region where they are focussing much of their military firepower.
Ukrainian citizens in occupied areas won’t be prosecuted for holding Russian passports
Monday 30 September 2024 23:00 , Alex Croft
Ukrainian citizens in the occupied territories who were forced to obtain Russian passports will not be prosecuted, the Ministry of Justice has confirmed.
The Ministry said in a statement that depriving a person of choice is a common tactic used by Russia to “influence a person’s behaviour”, so they act not of free will but out of “fear of repression or the imposition of illegal restrictions”.
It added: “One example is the forced passportisation in the temporarily occupied territories (TOT) of Ukraine, which is one of the numerous proofs of the violation of citizens’ rights.”
Such documents have no legal force and aren’t recognised anywhere other than the occupied territories, the ministry said.
It added that Russia’s forced passportisation is “illegal” and “contradicts the principles and norms of international law”.
What to know from the UN: China, Russia have their say, and a frog metaphor makes a cameo
Monday 30 September 2024 22:34 , Alex Croft
China and Russia got their turns at the U.N. General Assembly podium on Saturday, but — per usual — their top leaders didn’t speak. Instead, they turned to their foreign ministers, Wang Yi and Sergey Lavrov.
Lavrov, meanwhile, waded into the topic of nukes three days after Russian President Vladimir Putin aired a shift in his country’s nuclear doctrine, “I’m not going to talk here about the senselessness and the danger of the very idea of trying to fight to victory with a nuclear power, which is what Russia is,” he said.
Read the full report byJennifer Peltz and Michael Weissenstein here:
What to know from the UN: China, Russia have their say, and a frog metaphor makes a cameo
Russia formalising new nuclear doctrine that lowers threshold, says Kremlin
Monday 30 September 2024 22:01 , Alex Croft
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov says amendments to Russia’s nuclear doctrine have been prepared and are about to be formalised.
“The amendments have been prepared, and will now be formalised,” Mr Peskov told a Russian state TV reporter yesterday.
Last week, president Vladimir Putin warned the West that under proposed changes to the doctrine Russia could use nuclear arms if it was struck with conventional missiles and would consider any assault on it supported by a nuclear power to be a joint attack.
Mr Peskov cited the international situation, escalating tensions near Russia’s borders and the growing proximity of Nato infrastructure to them, and what he called the deeper involvement of Western nuclear powers’ in the Ukraine war on Kyiv’s side, as the backdrop for the changes to the doctrine.
He did not mention Russia’s arms imports from Iran and North Korea, including drones and ballistic missiles, which are widely reported to have been used to strike Ukrainian cities.
US must change approach to Russia, government agency says
Monday 30 September 2024 21:33 , Alex Croft
A bipartisan committee which promotes human rights and democracy in post-Soviet states is urging the US to adjust its stance on Russia.
The Helsinki Commission, a US government agency, is calling for the US to officially recognise Moscow as a “persistent” threat to global security, and end its port-Cold War approach to the country.
A report issued by the commission and obtained by The Hill before its release has urged the US to adopt an approach more similar to its recent approach to China.
One part of the proposed strategy includes “massive” military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine in order to guarantee its victory in war, The Kyiv Independent reports.
It also calls for the US to allow Ukraine’s forces to strike deep inside Russia with American weapons – one of the key debates surrounding military aid for Ukraine.
The report said the US should be reasoned in its approach to the Russian nuclear threat, stating that while it “cannot simply be dismissed”, the US “can’t let fear dominate how we think about this kind of stuff”.
In pictures: Kyiv air defences strike down Russian drone attacks
Monday 30 September 2024 21:01 , Alex Croft
More on Russia’s Sunday night attacks on Kyiv
Monday 30 September 2024 20:30 , Alex Croft
More on Russia’s Sunday night attacks on KyivA large-scale Russian drone attack on Kyiv was successfully defended by the capital city’s defence systems.
The attack caused fires and damage to a residential building but no casualties were reported, according to Ruslan Kravchenko, head of the military administration in the Kyiv region.
Authorities said every drone which attacked Kyiv was shot down, according to Serhii Popko, the head of the city’s military administration.
Kravchenko said: “The enemy assets have been destroyed. There were no casualties. There were no hits to critical or residential infrastructure.
Wreckage from the downed drones was found in six districts of the Kyiv region. Grass and rubble caught fire due to the fall of the wreckage.
The fire in a residential building was contained by firefighters, police in the district said.
Ukraine’s new foreign minister visits Hungary
Monday 30 September 2024 20:02 , Alex Croft
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha visited Budapest on Monday at the request of president Zelensky.
Syhbiha held talks with his Hungarian counterpart Péter Szijjártó as Ukraine seeks to strengthen relations with its neighbour on the south west border.
The foreign minister, who replaced former foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba earlier this month, is continuing his regional tour after he visited Romania earlier this month.
The foreign ministry’s press office said: “Key topics for discussion will include the development of good neighbourly relations, the implementation of joint projects, particularly in the areas of economy and border infrastructure, the protection of national minorities’ rights, advancing Ukraine’s accession to the EU and NATO and the Peace Formula as a path to a just end to Russian aggression.”
Kyiv defends several waves of overnight drone attacks on Sunday
Monday 30 September 2024 19:35 , Alex Croft
Kyiv went through multiple waves of drone attacks over Sunday night, the city’s authorities said.
An air raid alert was in place in the capital from 1am until just after 6am this morning, as Ukrainian air defense systems battled the drones.
Vitalii Klitschlo, the mayor of Kyiv, warned residents shortly before 5am to “stay in shelters” due to a wave of drones “over and near the capital”, The Kyiv Independent reported.
There have been no casualties or damage to the city reported.
Ukraine’s Air Force said Russian forces launched 73 Shahed-type drones across Ukraine overnight, with 67 intercepted.
Serhii Popko, head of the Kyiv City Military Administration, said: “All Russian attack drones that threatened Kyiv were neutralized.” It is not clear how many drones attacked Kyiv.
Far-right party against Ukraine aid wins Austria election
Monday 30 September 2024 19:03 , Alex Croft
The Freedom Party (FPÖ) in Austria won a momentous general election yesterday.
Led by Herbert Kickl, the far-right party has voiced its opposition to aiding Ukraine in its fight against Russia.
It won 29.2 per cent of the vote over the centre-left Social Democrats and the ruling conservative Austrian People’s Party,The Kyiv Independent reported.
The FPÖ has failed to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, opposes EU sanctions on Russia, and many MPs walked out of a speech to the Austrian parliament by President Zelensky last year.
It comes as the far-right continues to succeed in European general elections, with Italy’s Giorgia Meloni leading a right-wing coalition in government while the AfD in Germany run high in the polls.
But Meloni, in contrast to Kickl, has given her full backing to EU support for Ukraine.
Russia launched more than 75 drones and missiles in overnight attack
Monday 30 September 2024 18:35 , Alex Croft
Russia fired 76 drones and missiles in an overnight attack on Ukraine, the country’s air force said on Telegram Monday morning.
In the attack, Russia used 73 drones and three missiles, including one ballistic and one guided cruise missile, Ukraine’s air force said.
“One drone flew in the direction of Belarus, three more were lost in location in the northern regions of Ukraine as a result of countermeasures. One UAV remains in the airspace of Ukraine, combat work is underway,” it said in a statement.
It said the attack was repulsed by a combination of aviation, anti-aircraft missile forces, electronic warfare units and mobile fire groups of the air force and the wider Ukrainian military.
Russia claims Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant’s substation attacked
Monday 30 September 2024 18:04 , Alex Croft
The management of the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station said Ukrainian forces had launched a new attack on a nearby electricity substation, destroying a transformer yesterday.
Russia seized the Zaporizhzhia station, Europe’s largest with six reactors, in the early days of its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Each side regularly accuses the other of attacking or plotting to attack the plant.
Yesterday, an artillery strike hit a transformer at the “Raduga” substation in the town of Enerhodar in southeastern Ukraine, the plant’s management said on Telegram.
It described the incident as “yet another terrorist act aimed at destabilising the situation in the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant’s satellite city”. A photograph shared by authorities showed smoke billowing from the top of a building. It said power supplies to Enerhodar had not been interrupted.
The UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, has stationed monitors permanently at the plant and urged both sides to refrain from all attacks on it.
Russia formalising new nuclear doctrine that lowers threshold, says Kremlin
Monday 30 September 2024 17:32 , Alex Croft
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov says amendments to Russia’s nuclear doctrine have been prepared and are about to be formalised.
“The amendments have been prepared, and will now be formalised,” Mr Peskov told a Russian state TV reporter yesterday.
Last week, president Vladimir Putin warned the West that under proposed changes to the doctrine Russia could use nuclear arms if it was struck with conventional missiles and would consider any assault on it supported by a nuclear power to be a joint attack.
Mr Peskov cited the international situation, escalating tensions near Russia’s borders and the growing proximity of Nato infrastructure to them, and what he called the deeper involvement of Western nuclear powers’ in the Ukraine war on Kyiv’s side, as the backdrop for the changes to the doctrine.
He did not mention Russia’s arms imports from Iran and North Korea, including drones and ballistic missiles, which are widely reported to have been used to strike Ukrainian cities.
Russia downs over 100 Ukrainian drones
Monday 30 September 2024 17:01 , Alex Croft
More than 100 Ukrainian drones were shot down over Russia yesterday, officials said.
Russia’s ministry of defence reported that it had shot down 125 drones overnight across seven regions. The southwestern region of Volgograd came under particularly heavy fire, with 67 Ukrainian drones reportedly downed by Russian air defences.
The barrage of drones sparked a wildfire and set an apartment block alight in one of the largest barrages seen over Russian skies since Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
Of these, 17 drones were also seen over Russia’s Voronezh region, where falling debris damaged an apartment block and a private home, said governor Aleksandr Gusev. Photos posted on social media showed flames rising from the windows of the top floor of a high-rise building. No casualties were reported. A further 18 drones were reported over Russia’s Rostov region, where falling debris sparked a wildfire, said governor Vasily Golubev.
Russia never confirms the full extent of damage or loss to life caused by Ukrainian attacks, especially those that succeed in causing military losses.
China, at UN, warns against ‘expansion of the battlefield’ in Ukraine war
Monday 30 September 2024 16:29 , Alex Croft
Three days before his communist government turns 75, China’s foreign minister warned fellow leaders Saturday against an “expansion of the battlefield” in Russia‘s war with Ukraine and said the Beijing government remains committed to shuttle diplomacy and efforts to push the conflict toward its end.
China, at UN, warns against ‘expansion of the battlefield’ in the Ukraine war
Three killed and at least 45 injured in past day, Ukraine says
Monday 30 September 2024 15:59 , Alex Croft
Russian attacks on Ukraine killed three people and injured at least 45 more over the past day, regional authorities said on Sept 30.
Two people were killed in the villages of Lysivka and Shevchenko in the Donetsk region, with three injured across the region.
One person was killed and 12 injured in the Kherson region, where Russian forces targeted 17 towns and cities including Kherson city itself.
An air strike on Zaporizhzhia in southeastern Ukraine injured at least 16 people, including two boys aged 17 and eight, while damaging residential buildings and a railway.
Ten people were injured in the northeastern Sumy region as a result of guided aerial boom and FPV drone attacks, The Kyiv Independent reported.
Zelensky commends ‘superhuman’ combat medics and doctors
Monday 30 September 2024 15:35 , Alex Croft
President Volodymyr Zelensky has praised the “professional, brave and resilient” Ukrainian medics, who are central in helping the country “stand against Russian territory”.
He posted a handful of powerful pictures alongside the message on Monday.
Our combat medics and medical workers, like our warriors, help our state every day to stand against Russian terror and defend lives. They are professional, brave, and resilient.
No matter how difficult the conditions, they give their all, using every bit of strength and humanity… pic.twitter.com/onPcHt1n6l
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) September 30, 2024
Lithuania calls for ICC investigation into Belarus
Monday 30 September 2024 15:23 , Alex Croft
Lithuania has requested the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate their neighbours, Belarus, over alleged crimes against humanity.
The Lithuanian justice ministry said on Monday it was asking the ICC to open an investigation into alleged crimes committed by the regime of authoritarian leader and Putin ally Alexander Lukashenko.
Lithuania accuses Lukashenko and Belarus of “forced deportation, persecution of persons and other cruel behaviour which is contrary to the main norms of international law”, Reuters reported.
Lukashenko’s regime has ruled Belarus since 1994 and has long been an ally of Putin. Around 300,000 Belarusians have been forced to flee the country due to the nature of the regime.
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the exiled opposition leader who is recognised by Lithuania as the legitimate leader of Belarus, said: “The crimes committed by this regime, from forced deportations to illegal arrests and torture, cannot go unpunished. Lithuania’s courage gives us hope that the world is finally holding the regime accountable for its atrocities.”
Tsikhanouskaya ran against Lukashenko in the August 2020 presidential election and was forced to flee the country after he was declared the winner.
Western governments denounced the result as fraudulent.
Russia to draft 133,000 into military this autumn
Monday 30 September 2024 15:02 , Alex Croft
Russia aims to draft 133,000 servicemen between October and January after a new decree signed by president Vladimir Putin on Monday.
Men aged 18 to 30 will be eligible for draft as part of the autumn conscription campaign, The Kyiv Independent reported.
In autumn 2023, the conscription campaign included people who lived in the annexed regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia.
Russia is likely recruiting around 30,000 people per month to the war effort, the UK defense ministry said in March.
ICYMI: Kyiv defends several waves of overnight drone attacks on Sunday
Monday 30 September 2024 14:41 , Alex Croft
Kyiv went through multiple waves of drone attacks over Sunday night, the city’s authorities said.
An air raid alert was in place in the capital from 1am until just after 6am this morning, as Ukrainian air defense systems battled the drones.
Vitalii Klitschlo, the mayor of Kyiv, warned residents shortly before 5am to “stay in shelters” due to a wave of drones “over and near the capital”, The Kyiv Independent reported.
There have been no casualties or damage to the city reported.
Ukraine’s Air Force said Russian forces launched 73 Shahed-type drones across Ukraine overnight, with 67 intercepted.
Serhii Popko, head of the Kyiv City Military Administration, said: “All Russian attack drones that threatened Kyiv were neutralized.” It is not clear how many drones attacked Kyiv.
ICYMI: Putin is afraid to use nuclear weapons, says Zelensky
Monday 30 September 2024 14:21 , Alex Croft
Volodymyr Zelensky has said his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin is afraid to use nuclear weapons because “he loves his life”.
“Nobody knows what’s in his head,” Mr Zelensky said in the interview with Fox News. “He could use nuclear (weapons) on any country at any time – or not. (But) I don’t think that he will,” he said.
Putin warned the West last week that under proposed changes to its nuclear doctrine, Russia could use atomic weapons if it were struck with conventional missiles – saying it would consider any assault on it supported by a nuclear power as a joint attack.
The warning has been viewed as a direct response to the discussions among Western leaders, including prime minister Keir Starmer and US president Joe Biden, about allowing Kyiv permission to strike Russia with long-range weapons supplied by the West.
Russia formalising new nuclear doctrine that lowers threshold, says Kremlin
Monday 30 September 2024 14:02 , Alex Croft
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov says amendments to Russia’s nuclear doctrine have been prepared and are about to be formalised.
“The amendments have been prepared, and will now be formalised,” Mr Peskov told a Russian state TV reporter yesterday.
Last week, president Vladimir Putin warned the West that under proposed changes to the doctrine Russia could use nuclear arms if it was struck with conventional missiles and would consider any assault on it supported by a nuclear power to be a joint attack.
Mr Peskov cited the international situation, escalating tensions near Russia’s borders and the growing proximity of Nato infrastructure to them, and what he called the deeper involvement of Western nuclear powers’ in the Ukraine war on Kyiv’s side, as the backdrop for the changes to the doctrine.
He did not mention Russia’s arms imports from Iran and North Korea, including drones and ballistic missiles, which are widely reported to have been used to strike Ukrainian cities.
UK refutes Russian claims of sovereignty over Ukraine
Monday 30 September 2024 13:41 , Alex Croft
Two years ago, Russia breached the UN Charter by orchestrating another illegal “annexation” of Ukraine’s sovereign territory, just as it did in Crimea in 2014.
The UK’s position is clear: Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, and Crimea are Ukraine.#StandWithUkraine pic.twitter.com/gDKDoUQdS7
— Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (@FCDOGovUK) September 30, 2024
Putin: Russia will accomplish “all goals set” in Ukraine invasion
Monday 30 September 2024 13:20 , Alex Croft
Vladimir Putin has told the Russian people that its military will accomplish “all goals set” in Ukraine.
Putin was speaking in a video message to mark the second anniversary of “Reunification Day” – when Moscow officially claimed the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson as its own.
“The truth is on our side. All goals set will be achieved,” Putin said on Monday as he addressed the nation.
He said Ukraine’s western allies had “turned Ukraine into their colony, a military base aimed at Russia” and promoted “hate, radical nationalism” against Russia.
“Today we are fighting for a secure, prosperous future for our children and grandchildren,” Putin added.
Russia held sham referendums in the four regions on September 30, 2022, seven months after Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February.
Putin signed a document to unilaterally incorporate the occupied regions of Ukraine into the Russian Federation – a move which has not been recognised by any western countries.
Russia does not fully control the territories which it has laid claim to.
Pictured: Ukrainian and Hungarian foreign ministers meet
Monday 30 September 2024 12:56 , Alex Croft
We reported earlier that Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha was set to meet Hungarian counterpart Péter Szijjártó today.
Here are some snaps of the meeting:
US citizen pleads guilty in Moscow court to fighting for Ukraine
Monday 30 September 2024 12:35 , Alex Croft
US citizen Stephen James Hubbard pleaded guilty to charges of mercenary activity in a Moscow court on Monday.
Mr Hubbard admitted to receiving money to fight for Ukraine against Russia, the RIA state news agency reported.
The 72-year-old was placed in pre-trial detention for six months last week, and faces a sentence of seven to 15 years if convicted.
A spokesperson for the US embassy in Moscow said it was aware an American citizen had been detained but did not offer further comment.
Prosecutors claim he was promised $1,000 a month to fight with a Ukrainian territorial defence unit at the start of the war.
There has been no independent verification of Russia’s claims.
The Michigan native has worked as an English teacher abroad for decades, his sister Patricia Fox told Reuters.
Ms Fox denied he was a mercenary and said he had no interest in fighting war. “He is so non-military,” she told Reuters. “He never had a gun, owned a gun, done any of that…He’s more of a pacifist.”
Mr Hubbard moved to Ukraine in 2014 and survived on a small pension. Ms Fox last spoke with her brother in September 2021, when he split with his girlfriend and was living alone.
There are at least 10 American citizens behind bars in Russia, two months after a major prisoner swap in August.
‘Victory plan’ will be publicised barring ‘sensitive’ details, Ukraine says
Monday 30 September 2024 12:16 , Alex Croft
Some parts of president Volodymyr Zelensky’s “victory plan” will remain secret, his office has confirmed.
The five-point victory plan was presented to president Joe Biden at the White House on Thursday (Sept 26), before he discussed it with presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.
The full details of the peace framework proposed in the plan has not yet been publicised, but its goal is to strengthen Ukraine’s future negotiating position and force Russia into accepting a just peace, Kyiv says.
It includes Ukraine’s invitation to join NATO, among other military and diplomatic components.
The head of the Presidential Office Andriy Yermak told the Ukrainian people on Sunday that the plan will be presented publicly bar some “sensitive” details, The Kyiv Independent reported.
Russian forces capture village in Donetsk region, state news agency says
Monday 30 September 2024 11:58 , Alex Croft
The Russian military has captured the village of Nelipivka in the eastern Donetsk region of Ukraine, according to Russian-owned Interfax news agency.
The news agency cited the Russian defence ministry as making the claim on Monday (Sept 30), Reuters reported.
It was not possible for Reuters to independently verify the battle report, but it comes as Russian forces continue their progress in the Donetsk region where they are focussing much of their military firepower.
Ukrainian citizens in occupied areas won’t be prosecuted for holding Russian passports
Monday 30 September 2024 11:35 , Alex Croft
Ukrainian citizens in the occupied territories who were forced to obtain Russian passports will not be prosecuted, the Ministry of Justice has confirmed.
The Ministry said in a statement that depriving a person of choice is a common tactic used by Russia to “influence a person’s behaviour”, so they act not of free will but out of “fear of repression or the imposition of illegal restrictions”.
It added: “One example is the forced passportisation in the temporarily occupied territories (TOT) of Ukraine, which is one of the numerous proofs of the violation of citizens’ rights.”
Such documents have no legal force and aren’t recognised anywhere other than the occupied territories, the ministry said.
It added that Russia’s forced passportisation is “illegal” and “contradicts the principles and norms of international law”.
German foreign minister supports long-range missiles for Ukraine
Monday 30 September 2024 11:17 , Alex Croft
German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock has supported the provision of long-range missiles to Ukraine for self-defence.
It comes despite chancellor Olaf Scholz’s opposition to the move as he fears escalation of the war.
Baerbock said she believes long-range missiles will play an important role in the conflict against Russia, and that she has made this position clear with Scholz.
She explained that in the German coalition, if the partners can’t agree on the provision of one item of warfare, then it won’t be provided, Ukrainska Pravda reported.
Germany has refused consistently to supply their Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine – despite the UK, France and the US providing long-range weapons.
US must change approach to Russia, government agency says
Monday 30 September 2024 10:41 , Alex Croft
A bipartisan committee which promotes human rights and democracy in post-Soviet states is urging the US to adjust its stance on Russia.
The Helsinki Commission, a US government agency, is calling for the US to officially recognise Moscow as a “persistent” threat to global security, and end its port-Cold War approach to the country.
A report issued by the commission and obtained by The Hill before its release has urged the US to adopt an approach more similar to its recent approach to China.
One part of the proposed strategy includes “massive” military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine in order to guarantee its victory in war, The Kyiv Independent reports.
It also calls for the US to allow Ukraine’s forces to strike deep inside Russia with American weapons – one of the key debates surrounding military aid for Ukraine.
The report said the US should be reasoned in its approach to the Russian nuclear threat, stating that while it “cannot simply be dismissed”, the US “can’t let fear dominate how we think about this kind of stuff”.
Five injured in Russian strikes in Kherson region
Monday 30 September 2024 10:22 , Alex Croft
Five people have been injured in Russian attacks in the southern Kherson region.
Three people were injured in the settlement of Velyka Oleksandrivka, just over 100km from Kherson city. These included two men aged 45 and 62 and a 37-year-old woman.
Two women, aged 72 and 53, were also injured in Kherson city after Russia dropped an explosive charge from a drone in the city’s suburbs, Ukrainska Pravda reported.
The women were taken to hospital.
In pictures: Kyiv air defences strike down Russian drone attacks
Monday 30 September 2024 10:02 , Alex Croft
German foreign minister supports long-range missiles for Ukraine
Monday 30 September 2024 16:26 , Alex Croft
German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock has supported the provision of long-range missiles to Ukraine for self-defence.
It comes despite chancellor Olaf Scholz’s opposition to the move as he fears escalation of the war.
Baerbock said she believes long-range missiles will play an important role in the conflict against Russia, and that she has made this position clear with Scholz.
She explained that in the German coalition, if the partners can’t agree on the provision of one item of warfare, then it won’t be provided, Ukrainska Pravda reported.
Germany has refused consistently to supply their Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine – despite the UK, France and the US providing long-range weapons.
More on Russia’s Sunday night attacks on Kyiv
Monday 30 September 2024 09:44 , Alex Croft
A large-scale Russian drone attack on Kyiv was successfully defended by the capital city’s defence systems.
The attack caused fires and damage to a residential building but no casualties were reported, according to Ruslan Kravchenko, head of the military administration in the Kyiv region.
Authorities said every drone which attacked Kyiv was shot down, according to Serhii Popko, the head of the city’s military administration.
Kravchenko said: “The enemy assets have been destroyed. There were no casualties. There were no hits to critical or residential infrastructure.
Wreckage from the downed drones was found in six districts of the Kyiv region. Grass and rubble caught fire due to the fall of the wreckage.
The fire in a residential building was contained by firefighters, police in the district said.
Air quality deteriorates in Sumy region following fires
Monday 30 September 2024 09:23 , Alex Croft
The Sumy region has seen a “serious deterioration” in its air quality due to an atmospheric vortex of dust and smog from Russia.
Although brought in from the Caspian Sea, the smog has emerged from Russia due to “large scale forest fires”, the Sumy Hydrometeorological Centre said.
“All this mixture of dust and smog was brought in by a southeasterly wind,” it added.
Russia has struggled with forest fiures all year, with more than 2.3 million hectares of forest burned since the start of 2024, the most since 2020, according to The Moscow Times.
Ukraine’s new foreign minister visits Hungary
Monday 30 September 2024 09:02 , Alex Croft
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha will visit Budapest on Monday at the request of president Zelensky.
Syhbiha will hold talks with his Hungarian counterpart Péter Szijjártó as Ukraine seeks to strengthen relations with its neighbour on the south west border.
The foreign minister, who replaced former foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba earlier this month, is continuing his regional tour after he visited Romania earlier this month.
The foreign ministry’s press office said: “Key topics for discussion will include the development of good neighbourly relations, the implementation of joint projects, particularly in the areas of economy and border infrastructure, the protection of national minorities’ rights, advancing Ukraine’s accession to the EU and NATO and the Peace Formula as a path to a just end to Russian aggression.”
Kyiv defends several waves of overnight drone attacks on Sunday
Monday 30 September 2024 08:41 , Alex Croft
Kyiv went through multiple waves of drone attacks over Sunday night, the city’s authorities said.
An air raid alert was in place in the capital from 1am until just after 6am this morning, as Ukrainian air defense systems battled the drones.
Vitalii Klitschlo, the mayor of Kyiv, warned residents shortly before 5am to “stay in shelters” due to a wave of drones “over and near the capital”, The Kyiv Independent reported.
There have been no casualties or damage to the city reported.
Ukraine’s Air Force said Russian forces launched 73 Shahed-type drones across Ukraine overnight, with 67 intercepted.
Serhii Popko, head of the Kyiv City Military Administration, said: “All Russian attack drones that threatened Kyiv were neutralized.” It is not clear how many drones attacked Kyiv.
Far-right party against Ukraine aid wins Austria election
Monday 30 September 2024 08:28 , Alex Croft
The Freedom Party (FPÖ) in Austria won a momentous general election yesterday.
Led by Herbert Kickl, the far-right party has voiced its opposition to aiding Ukraine in its fight against Russia.
It won 29.2 per cent of the vote over the centre-left Social Democrats and the ruling conservative Austrian People’s Party,The Kyiv Independent reported.
The FPÖ has failed to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, opposes EU sanctions on Russia, and many MPs walked out of a speech to the Austrian parliament by President Zelensky last year.
It comes as the far-right continues to succeed in European general elections, with Italy’s Giorgia Meloni leading a right-wing coalition in government while the AfD in Germany run high in the polls.
But Meloni, in contrast to Kickl, has given her full backing to EU support for Ukraine.
More than 150 battlefield clashes in past 24 hours in Ukraine, says military
Monday 30 September 2024 07:58 , Arpan Rai
A total of 153 combat clashes have occurred on the battlefield over the past day, Ukrainian military officials said in a morning update.
Russian forces have attacked nine settlements 28 times on the Pokrovsk front, while Ukrainian defenders repelled 25 Russian attacks on the Kurakhove front, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said.
In the the Chernihiv and Sumy oblasts, the Russians are actively using guided aerial bombs and attack drones, while also firing mortar and artillery on Ukrainian settlements.
In Kursk, Russian forces are using guided bombs to attacking the territory where Ukrainian forces are continuing operations.Over the past day Russia has launched 21 airstrikes using 30 guided bombs in Kursk, the update said.
Russia launched more than 75 drones and missiles in overnight attack
Monday 30 September 2024 06:51 , Arpan Rai
Russia fired 76 drones and missiles in an overnight attack on Ukraine, the country’s air force said on Telegram this morning.
In the attack, Russia used 73 drones and three missiles, including one ballistic and one guided cruise missile, Ukraine’s air force said.
“One drone flew in the direction of Belarus, three more were lost in location in the northern regions of Ukraine as a result of countermeasures. One UAV remains in the airspace of Ukraine, combat work is underway,” it said in a statement.
It said the attack was repulsed by a combination of aviation, anti-aircraft missile forces, electronic warfare units and mobile fire groups of the air force and the wider Ukrainian military.
Russia claims Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant’s substation attacked
Monday 30 September 2024 06:39 , Arpan Rai
The management of the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station said Ukrainian forces had launched a new attack on a nearby electricity substation, destroying a transformer yesterday.
Russia seized the Zaporizhzhia station, Europe’s largest with six reactors, in the early days of its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Each side regularly accuses the other of attacking or plotting to attack the plant.
Yesterday, an artillery strike hit a transformer at the “Raduga” substation in the town of Enerhodar in southeastern Ukraine, the plant’s management said on Telegram.
It described the incident as “yet another terrorist act aimed at destabilising the situation in the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant’s satellite city”. A photograph shared by authorities showed smoke billowing from the top of a building. It said power supplies to Enerhodar had not been interrupted.
The UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, has stationed monitors permanently at the plant and urged both sides to refrain from all attacks on it.
16 injured in Russian attacks on Zaporizhzhia
Monday 30 September 2024 06:03 , Arpan Rai
At least 16 people were wounded in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia as Russia struck the nuclear power plant city with multiple guided bombs yesterday, officials said.
Of those injured, two were children aged 8 and 17, said Ivan Fedorov, the governor of the Zaporizhzhia region.
Russia struck three city districts with a total of 13 guided bombs between 5am and 7am on Sunday, he said. The attacks damaged railways, infrastructure, and residential and commercial buildings, Ukrainian officials said.
Volodymyr Zelensky shared the photos from the sites of the attacks, showing charred cars, rescuers battling fires and the impact of a bomb which caused a hole in the side of a residential building.
“Today in Zaporizhzhia, 14 people were injured following a Russian strike. The rubble is being cleared all day long. 2 people were rescued from under the rubble. The aerial bombs hit ordinary residential buildings, ordinary city facilities,” he said in his nightly address.
Russia formalising new nuclear doctrine that lowers threshold, says Kremlin
Monday 30 September 2024 05:36 , Arpan Rai
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov says amendments to Russia’s nuclear doctrine have been prepared and are about to be formalised.
“The amendments have been prepared, and will now be formalised,” Mr Peskov told a Russian state TV reporter yesterday.
Last week, president Vladimir Putin warned the West that under proposed changes to the doctrine Russia could use nuclear arms if it was struck with conventional missiles and would consider any assault on it supported by a nuclear power to be a joint attack.
Mr Peskov cited the international situation, escalating tensions near Russia’s borders and the growing proximity of Nato infrastructure to them, and what he called the deeper involvement of Western nuclear powers’ in the Ukraine war on Kyiv’s side, as the backdrop for the changes to the doctrine.
He did not mention Russia’s arms imports from Iran and North Korea, including drones and ballistic missiles, which are widely reported to have been used to strike Ukrainian cities.
Russia downs over 100 Ukrainian drones
Monday 30 September 2024 05:08 , Arpan Rai
More than 100 Ukrainian drones were shot down over Russia yesterday, officials said.
Russia’s ministry of defence reported that it had shot down 125 drones overnight across seven regions. The southwestern region of Volgograd came under particularly heavy fire, with 67 Ukrainian drones reportedly downed by Russian air defences.
The barrage of drones sparked a wildfire and set an apartment block alight in one of the largest barrages seen over Russian skies since Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
Of these, 17 drones were also seen over Russia’s Voronezh region, where falling debris damaged an apartment block and a private home, said governor Aleksandr Gusev. Photos posted on social media showed flames rising from the windows of the top floor of a high-rise building. No casualties were reported.A further 18 drones were reported over Russia’s Rostov region, where falling debris sparked a wildfire, said governor Vasily Golubev.
Russia never confirms the full extent of damage or loss to life caused by Ukrainian attacks, especially those that succeed in causing military losses.
China, at UN, warns against ‘expansion of the battlefield’ in Ukraine war
Monday 30 September 2024 04:58 , Arpan Rai
Three days before his communist government turns 75, China’s foreign minister Wang Yi warned his fellow leaders against an “expansion of the battlefield” in Russia’s war with Ukraine and said the Beijing government remains committed to shuttle diplomacy and efforts to push the conflict toward its end.
“The top priority is to commit to no expansion of the battlefield… China is committed to playing a constructive role,” Mr Yi said. He warned against other nations “throwing oil on the fire or exploiting the situation for selfish gains,” a likely reference to the US.
China has been an ally of Russia, a nation that has been accused of violating the UN Charter by secretary-general António Guterres, the US and many nations.
China, at UN, warns against ‘expansion of the battlefield’ in the Ukraine war
Putin is afraid to use nuclear weapons, says Zelensky
Monday 30 September 2024 04:57 , Arpan Rai
Volodymyr Zelensky has said his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin is afraid to use nuclear weapons because “he loves his life”.
“Nobody knows what’s in his head,” Mr Zelensky said in the interview with Fox News. “He could use nuclear (weapons) on any country at any time – or not. (But) I don’t think that he will,” he said.
Putin warned the West last week that under proposed changes to its nuclear doctrine, Russia could use atomic weapons if it were struck with conventional missiles – saying it would consider any assault on it supported by a nuclear power as a joint attack.
The warning has been viewed as a direct response to the discussions among Western leaders, including prime minister Keir Starmer and US president Joe Biden, about allowing Kyiv permission to strike Russia with long-range weapons supplied by the West.
Explosions heard in Kyiv as Russia launches waves of drones
Monday 30 September 2024 04:44 , Arpan Rai
Loud explosions were heard in Ukraine’s Kyiv as Russia launched several waves of drone attacks, Ukraine’s military said.
The Ukrainian air defence units were engaged in repelling the strikes for several hours, they said.
Kyiv and its surrounding region and all of the eastern part of Ukraine has remained under air raid alerts since around 1am this morning. Witnesses in the Ukrainian capital confirmed they had heard numerous blasts in Kyiv in what sounded like air defence systems repelling the incoming Russian drones.
“Several enemy UAV (unmanned aerial vehicles) are over and near the capital,” Kyiv’s mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram, asking citizens to remain careful.
Ukraine’s air force said several groups of Russian drone attacks were heading towards Kyiv and Ukraine’s west. Russia also fired several guided bombs around 4.40am from the Ukrainian territory it controls, the air force said.
Monday 30 September 2024 04:13 , Arpan Rai
Good morning, welcome to our coverage of the Ukraine war on Monday, 30 September.