September 30, 2023
Ukraine war in the live ticker
+++ 05:39 Attack on infrastructure – partial evacuation in western Ukraine +++
Authorities in the western Ukrainian region of Vinnytsia are ordering a partial evacuation following Russian attacks. “At this time there is no need for a general evacuation, other than the immediate area of the attack,” the city’s website says. According to the region’s governor, an infrastructure facility was damaged by a Russian attack. It is unclear which target was hit and which weapon was used. There have previously been reports of drone operations in the Vinnytsia region.
+++ 04:36 Power supply interrupted – Russia reports attack in border region +++
The governor of the Russian region of Bryansk, which borders Ukraine, Alexander Bogomaz, blames Ukraine for an attack on the village of Pogar. He does not say which targets were supposed to have been attacked. The local power supply was interrupted and nothing was known about anyone injured. In recent weeks, Russian officials have repeatedly reported drone attacks on Bryansk.
+++ 02:05 Putin: Annexed regions declare their loyalty to Russia +++
According to Kremlin boss Putin, residents of Moscow-controlled regions in Ukraine are in favor of joining Russia. “As they did a year ago in the historic referendums, the people once again affirmed that they stand with Russia,” Putin claimed in a video just over four minutes long on the occasion of the first anniversary of Russia’s controversial announcement that it would annex parts of Ukraine. On September 30, 2022, parts of four Ukrainian regions – Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia – were formally annexed to Russia following referendums that Moscow said were overwhelmingly in favor. Western countries reject this as meaningless and illegal annexation.
+++ 23:48 Orban: Don’t know how big the territory of Ukraine is +++
Hungarian President Viktor Orban expresses skepticism that the European Union will hold accession negotiations with Ukraine in the foreseeable future – and justifies this, among other things, with doubts about its national borders as determined by international law. “When we discuss the future of Ukraine in Brussels in the fall, we will not be able to avoid the question of whether we can seriously consider the membership of such a country,” Orban said on state radio. “Can we start negotiations with a country that is in a territorial war? We do not know how large this country’s territory is, since it is still at war, and we do not know how large its population is, since they is on the run,” said the president.
+++ 22:22 Russian blogger sentenced to prison and professional ban +++
A Russian blogger has been sentenced to more than eight years in prison for spreading “false information” about Moscow’s war of aggression in Ukraine, according to a court. Alexander Nozdrinov was “sentenced to eight years and six months in prison in a general penal colony,” explains the court in the Russian city of Krasnodar. The 38-year-old was also banned from working in the media for four years. Nozdrinov ran a small YouTube channel. In March 2022, he was arrested after investigators accused him of posting a photo of destroyed buildings with the caption “Ukrainian cities after the arrival of liberators.” Nozdrinov’s wife strongly denied the publication of the photo.
+++ 21:28 Ukraine wants to build its own anti-aircraft systems +++
Ukraine, which was attacked by Russia, is planning to build its own anti-aircraft systems. This fundamental decision will be implemented very soon, says the head of the presidential office in Kiev, Andriy Yermak. “We will soon have specialists who will develop a plan for our own production of everything we need, primarily air defense weapons.” At the same time, the country needs additional medium- and long-range foreign air defense systems such as IRIS-T, NASAMS or Patriot, says Yuri Ihnat, spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force. Only then will it be possible to protect the country from Russian cruise missiles and aircraft. Ukraine only has a few Soviet-designed anti-aircraft systems left, and ammunition for them is also running low.
+++ 21:06 Stoltenberg confident about Polish military aid +++
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg is confident that Poland will find ways to continue to provide military support to Ukraine despite differences of opinion. The neighboring country said last week that it would only carry out previously agreed arms deliveries to Ukraine and instead concentrate on rebuilding its own weapons stocks. NATO member Poland is actually considered one of Ukraine’s most loyal allies in the war with Russia. But relations between the two countries have deteriorated following Poland’s decision to extend the import ban on Ukrainian grain.
+++ 20:28 British impose sanctions after Russian “sham elections” in Ukraine +++
Britain announces new sanctions against nearly a dozen senior Russian officials and the country’s election commission following “sham elections” in Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories. The 11 Russians and the electoral commission “acted directly to undermine Ukraine and threaten its territorial integrity” with the elections and referendums held this month and in October 2022, the British Foreign Office said. The so-called elections are criticized by Ukraine and its Western allies as “sham elections”. Those sanctioned face foreign asset freezes and travel restrictions.
+++ 19:59 One year of annexation of Ukrainian territories: Thousands celebrate in Moscow +++
On Moscow’s iconic Red Square, scores of people celebrated the first anniversary of Russia’s illegal annexation of four Ukrainian regions. Thousands of people gathered in the Russian capital for a concert to mark Russia’s annexation of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia and Kherson a year ago. Many waved Russian flags, sang and chanted: “Russia” while a large screen advertised the slogan “One Country, One Family, One Russia.” Russia declared the annexation of the four Ukrainian regions last year despite strong condemnation from Western states, but to this day does not fully control any of the regions.
You can read more about the events of the previous day here.