09/23/2022
Ukraine war in the live ticker
+++ 05:30 FDP foreign politician sees Putin firmly in the saddle despite protests +++
FDP foreign politician Alexander Graf Lambsdorff has warned the West against overestimating the protests in Russia against partial mobilization in the country. “The demonstrations demand the utmost respect from me – but they are not likely to shake the Putin system,” says the deputy chairman of the FDP parliamentary group of the “Augsburger Allgemeine”. It is not foreseeable how long the Russian President will be able to stay in power. Putin is “surrounded by people who, at least to the outside world, don’t give the impression of being disloyal,” says Lambsdorff. In addition, there is no possible successor who could seize power.
+++ 04:24 mock referendums in Russian-controlled areas of Ukraine begin today +++
In spite of international protests, so-called referendums on annexation by Russia are starting today in the Russian-controlled areas of Ukraine. The separatist areas in eastern Ukraine’s Donbass and the southern Ukrainian regions of Cherson and Zaporizhia are affected. In Donetsk, voting will be held door-to-door for the first few days “for security reasons,” the electoral authority said. Polling stations would only open on Tuesday, the last day. Regarding the “referendums” announced by the pro-Russian authorities, former Russian President and Deputy Chairman of the National Security Council Dmitry Medvedev said on Wednesday that the regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia would “join Russia”.
+++ 03:21 Green and Union politicians call for asylum for Russian conscientious objectors +++
In view of Russia’s partial mobilization of the population in the war of aggression against Ukraine, politicians from the Greens and the Union are calling for Russian conscientious objectors to be admitted quickly. “Any soldier who does not want to take part in Putin’s murderous war of aggression against Ukraine, which is illegal under international law, and therefore flees Russia, must be granted asylum in Germany,” said Irene Mihalic, the parliamentary director of the Greens parliamentary group in the Bundestag Post”. Union parliamentary group leader Johann Wadephul tells the newspapers of the Funke media group that humanitarian visas must “now be interpreted generously and comprehensively”. This must “also apply to soldiers who openly oppose the Putin regime”. Germany must “allow them to live in safety. They deserve our support.”
+++ 02:12 Klingbeil: “It is important to prevent the Third World War”+++
SPD leader Lars Klingbeil has assured Ukraine of support even after the partial Russian mobilization and at the same time warned of a dramatic escalation. “We will continue to consistently support Ukraine. At the same time, it is clear that a third world war must be prevented,” Klingbeil told the editorial network Germany (RND). The well-coordinated action of the West is important in this situation. Also as a signal to Putin that unity in the western alliance is and will remain intact.
Read more about this here.
+++ 01:11 Peskow defends his son after a call to call up the army +++
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov defends his son, who is accused of resisting his conscription into the army, which was only a fictitious one by a blogger. His son Nikolai told him about the incident, says President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman in Moscow. However, the full content of the phone call between his son and the blogger has not yet been published. The Kremlin spokesman implied that his son’s statements had been taken out of context.
+++ 00:22 China’s Foreign Minister calls for “dialogue and negotiations” +++
China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi calls on Russia and Ukraine to start peace talks without preconditions at the UN Security Council. “Dialogue and negotiations” are the only way to end the conflict, Wang said on the sidelines of the Security Council in New York. “All efforts that could help solve the crisis should be supported.” Any form of “hot war or new cold war” must be prevented. Wang demands that the territorial integrity of all countries must be respected and that the principles of the UN Charter must be observed. He called on those involved to “restrain” – but as before did not directly condemn friendly Russia for the war of aggression against Ukraine.
+++ 23:38 Report for OSCE: Repression in Russia has reached its peak +++
The state’s open persecution of Russian civil society is coming to a head, according to a report for the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). According to the analysis by German lawyer Angelika Nußberger, which she is presenting in Vienna, the repression of the opposition, the media and independent organizations has reached a new high in recent months since the start of the war of aggression in Ukraine. “The most important strategy of the Russian authorities is based on intimidation,” sums up the former vice president of the European Court of Human Rights, who researches at the University of Cologne.
+++ 23:06 Baerbock at the UN Security Council: “A war that you will not win” +++
The UN Security Council meeting on the Ukraine war was marked by serious allegations against Russia and counterattacks by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. At the meeting in New York, Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock spoke of a “war of aggression with war crimes, with torture, with rapes”. The war is also worsening “hunger, poverty and insecurity” around the world. In her first speech before the United Nations’ most powerful body, Baerbock says that Putin’s recent announcements have finally made it clear that Russia is not waging a “so-called special operation” in Ukraine, but a “war of aggression.” This has now become clear to the Russian population at the latest.
Read more about this here.
+++ 22:25 Selenskyj calls on Russians to protest against mobilization +++
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is calling on the Russians to oppose partial mobilization in the country. “Protest! Fight! Run away! Or go into Ukrainian captivity! These are the options for you to survive,” Zelenskyy said in his daily video address in Russian to the people in Russia who are about to be mobilized. According to him, 55,000 Russian soldiers have already died in Ukraine. Zelenskyy also makes an appeal to the mothers and wives of the draftees. “Do not doubt that the children of your state’s leadership will not take part in the war against Ukraine. Those who make decisions in your country protect their children. And your children will not even be buried,” he says.
Read more about this here.
+++ 21:56 Lavrov: decision for military action was inevitable +++
Before the UN Security Council, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused Ukraine of threatening Russia’s security. In addition, the rights of Russian and Russian-speaking people in Ukraine are being trampled on, he explains in New York. Russia will never accept this. “Everything I said today only confirms that the decision to carry out the special military operation was inevitable.”
+++ 21:23 Kuleba: Putin has admitted defeat with partial mobilization +++
According to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, with the announced partial mobilization, Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin is admitting Russia’s defeat. “Putin announced mobilization, but what he really announced to the whole world was defeat,” says Kuleba in New York. “You can draft 300,000 or 500,000 people, but you will never win this war.” Every single Ukrainian is ready to defend their country, he says.
+++ 21:04 Russia: More than 10,000 volunteers for the fight in Ukraine +++
In the first 24 hours of the partial mobilization, Russia said it had about 10,000 volunteers for the fight in Ukraine. They reported without waiting for draft papers, state news agencies report, citing the Russian General Staff.
+++ 20:47 NATO countries condemn mock referendums planned by Russia +++
The 30 NATO countries deny the validity of the planned mock referendums in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories and condemn the corresponding plans in the strongest possible terms. “Sham referendums in the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia and Kherson have no legitimacy and constitute a blatant violation of the UN Charter,” says a statement from the North Atlantic Council of 30 member states. “NATO allies will not recognize their illegal and unlawful annexation.” At the same time, the statement calls on other countries to reject Russian attempts to conquer territory as well.
You can read earlier developments relating to the Ukraine war here.