The number of Russians arriving at the border with Finland has “intensified overnight”, a Finnish official said, after Vladimir Putin ordered the country to be partially mobilized for the war in Ukraine. The Kremlin insisted reports of military-age men leaving were “exaggerated” and a Finnish border guard chief said the numbers arriving at the sprawling border were still small compared to pre-pandemic levels. However, most flights from Moscow seemed to either sell out or jump in at over £4,000. It came as police arrested more than 1,300 people in protests held in at least 39 cities across Russia in response to Mr Putin’s order to prepare up to 300,000 military reservists for service in his country’s war. Building on Putin’s dramatic nuclear threat on Wednesday as he announced four referendums on joining Russia in occupied Ukrainian territories, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev warned that Moscow could regularly use nuclear weapons to defend any newly annexed territories.
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Voices | Britain needs a strategy to stand by Ukraine – for as long as it takes
Writing in The Independent, Labour’s shadow defense secretary John Healy warned that Vladimir Putin’s announcements yesterday “show he believes he can still bully the West into accepting long-term Russian retention of illegally occupied Ukrainian territory”. He writes: “The challenge for our Western leadership is to show that we will stand with Ukraine for the long term and stand up to such intimidation.” A long-term strategy will reassure Ukrainians and send a clear message to Putin that Britain will stand by Ukraine for as long as necessary to deter Russian aggression. This is the best response to Russia’s latest escalation of rhetoric and the best way we can help ensure that Ukraine wins and Putin’s invasion truly fails.” You can read his entire thought here:
Opinion: Britain needs a strategy to stand by Ukraine – for as long as it takes
This is the best response to Russia’s latest escalation of rhetoric, and the best way we can help ensure that Ukraine wins and Putin’s invasion truly fails. Andy Gregory22 September 2022 16:07 1663858287
Watch: Liz Truss tells UN Putin is ‘trying to justify his disastrous failures’
Liz Truss pledged the UK would continue to support Ukraine during a speech to the UN general assembly, warning that “we cannot give up on tackling the crisis”. “No one is threatening Russia, yet as we meet here this afternoon, barbaric weapons are being used in Ukraine to kill and maim people,” the prime minister said. “Rape is used as an instrument of war and families are torn apart. “And this morning we saw Putin trying to justify his disastrous failures.” Liz Truss pledges UK support to Ukraine during UN speech Andy Gregory22 September 2022 15:51 1663856921
Putin’s ‘sword’ designed to ‘dissuade the West from supporting Ukraine’
Pressed in the Commons about Vladimir Putin’s nuclear threats, UK Defense Secretary James Hippie described it as “the act of a desperate man who knows he can’t do it”. Asked if the UK believed Mr Putin was bluffing, the minister said: “The government’s accurate intelligence assessment is not something that should be shared with Parliament.” But he added: “We think it’s appalling and we think it’s designed to try to drive a wedge into the cohesion of the Western alliance and prevent us from supporting Ukraine at a time when Ukrainian troops seem to have the upper hand.” Asked about Nato’s response if Russia uses one of its weapons, Mr Heappey said: “I’m not going to discuss nuclear doctrine in the dispatch box.” Andy Gregory22 September 2022 15:28 1663855976
Estimated 25,000 Russians killed in Putin’s war, UK defense secretary says
The UK believes 25,000 Russians have been killed in Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine. Speaking in the Commons earlier, Defense Secretary James Heappey told MPs that Russia “lacks sufficient manpower in the field to achieve its objectives”, adding: “Not only do Russian casualties continue to mount, with around 25,000 Russians dead, but and tens of thousands have been injured and tens of thousands more have already left. “Russia’s war machine is now severely depleted with more than 3,000 armored and protected vehicles destroyed, more than 400 artillery pieces decimated and dozens of fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters and UAVs downed. “Seven months into the conflict, Russia does not have sufficient manpower on the ground to achieve any of its objectives, and Moscow’s mood is rapidly changing.” Pressed on Vladimir Putin’s nuclear threats, Mr Heappey described it as a “nuclear rattle” before noting it was “the act of a desperate man who knows this is not working for him”. Andy Gregory22 September 2022 15:12 1663855669
Analysis | How the Western Allies helped free Britons captured in Ukraine
Months of secret international negotiations are behind the release of captured British and Ukrainian fighters this week, the biggest prisoner swap of the war so far. A Western official told the Independent that “it became very clear that the Russians were very keen to get Medvedchuk as part of any deal, they were quite adamant,” adding: “It seemed Putin felt he had a duty to get him out. “There was a lot of talk in Kyiv about this. They obviously saw him as an important bargaining chip.” Our global affairs editor Kim Sengupta has the full report here:
How the Western Allies helped free Britons captured in Ukraine
Saudi Crown Prince and Others Played Role in Key Prisoner Swap, Kim Sengupta Explains Andy Gregory22 September 2022 15:07 1663851881
Putin’s dramatic moves “prompt” Germany to continue supporting Ukraine
Russia’s partial mobilization and planned referendums in occupied parts of Ukraine will not reduce Germany’s military support for Kyiv, the country’s defense minister said. “Rather, this reaction of Putin to Ukraine’s successes pushes us to continue to support Ukraine and send this clear message,” Christine Lambrecht said in Berlin after a meeting with her French counterpart. Andy Gregory22 September 2022 14:04 1663851341
Teenager among six dead in Donetsk market strike
A teenager was among at least six civilians killed in a rocket attack on the separatist-held city center of Donetsk, Russian-backed authorities say. Both sides have blamed each other for the strike at a covered market in the center of the regional capital of Donetsk, which is set to hold a so-called referendum on joining Russia. “The Ukrainian army is shelling the center of Donetsk,” the military headquarters of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic said on social media. A Reuters reporter at the scene saw the body of a teenager and four others, along with several injured civilians. “According to the information received, six people were killed and six people were injured,” Alexei Kulemzin, the Russian mayor of Donetsk, said in a post on his Telegram channel. Andy Gregory22 September 2022 13:55 1663850501
Zelensky hails ‘superheroes’ freed in Russian prisoner swap
Volodymyr Zelenskiy hailed “superhero” Ukrainian commanders, including those who led the defense of Mariupol, who were freed by Russia as part of a huge and unexpected prisoner swap. Under the terms of the deal, which Turkey helped broker, 215 Ukrainians – most captured after the port city fell – were released on Wednesday. In return, Ukraine sent back 55 Russians and Ukrainians in favor of Moscow. “Five superheroes were exchanged for 55 of them who deserve neither compassion nor pity,” Zelensky said in his nightly speech, hailing the wider release as “a victory for the country.” Andy Gregory22 September 2022 13:41 1663849661
EU ‘will need common position on Russians fleeing war’
The European Union will need to establish a common position on entry requests by Russians fleeing Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine, the bloc’s executive has said. However, member states should assess requests on a case-by-case basis, taking into account fundamental rights law and the asylum procedure, the European Commission said. “There were protests in many cities across Russia,” Commission spokesman Peter Stano told a news conference. “This shows that Russians are voting with their feet.” “We as the European Union, in principle, stand in solidarity with the Russian citizens who have the courage and the courage to show their opposition to what the regime is doing, especially when it comes to this illegal war in Ukraine,” he added. Andy Gregory22 September 2022 13:27 1663848761
Baltic states deny asylum to Russians fleeing Putin’s war
The three Baltic states have said they are unwilling to automatically offer asylum to Russians fleeing Vladimir Putin’s partial military mobilization, instead hoping that resentment of the Kremlin will grow in Russia. In Latvia, Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics said his country would not issue humanitarian or other visas to Russians seeking to avoid mobilization, citing security reasons. “We must not give in to (Mr Putin’s) blackmail and we must support Ukraine as much as we can. Russia today is as dangerous to Europe and world peace as Nazi Germany was in the last century,” Mr Rinkevics said, according to the Baltic News Service (BNS). Meanwhile, Lithuanian Defense Minister Arvydas Anusauskas said “army conscription is not enough” as a reason for Russians to be granted asylum in his country, which borders the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad, telling the Associated…
