John Thys | AFP | Getty Images Three NATO member countries have yet to sign ratification protocols for Finland and Sweden to join the military alliance. Of NATO’s 30 member countries, Hungary, Slovakia and Turkey are the latest countries to grant membership to Sweden and Finland. In May, both nations began the formal process of applying to NATO as Russia’s war in Ukraine raged. All 30 members of the alliance must ratify countries’ entry into the group. Last month, US President Joe Biden signed ratification documents after a 95-1 vote in the Senate for Finland and Sweden to join NATO. — Amanda Macias
Senior Chinese diplomat presses Ukraine’s foreign minister for ‘peaceful settlement’
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi at a meeting in Bali on July 9, 2022. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Monday that the South China Sea is not a “safari park” for countries outside the region or a “battle arena”. for the great powers to compete in. Stephanie Reynolds | Afp | Getty Images Senior Chinese diplomat Wang Yi told Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba that all efforts that contribute to a peaceful settlement of the Ukrainian crisis should be supported, state media reported Friday. “The sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries must be respected,” he said on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, adding that China always stands by peace. Both diplomats last spoke to each other in April. — Reuters
The world’s largest yacht with ties to a Russian oligarch is being taken to Germany by authorities
The world’s largest superyacht with links to Russian billionaire and business tycoon Alisher Usmanov has been towed to a dock in Bremen, Germany. The stunning superyacht was initially restrained from its mooring by German authorities on March 3. Usmanov has been targeted by the US and its allies following coordinated global sanctions on Russian elites with ties to the Kremlin following Russia’s February 24 invasion of Ukraine. The yacht, named Dilbar after Usmanov’s mother, spans over 500 feet and is equipped with two helipads and the largest indoor pool ever installed on a private yacht. The Ministry of Finance estimates that the current value of Usmanov’s yacht is about $735 million. — Amanda Macias
436 bodies were exhumed from a mass grave. 30 show signs of torture, Ukraine says
Searchers carry a body bag in a forest near Izyum, eastern Ukraine, on September 23, 2022, where Ukrainian searchers have discovered more than 440 graves after Russian forces recaptured the town, bringing new allegations of war atrocities. Sergey Bobok | Afp | Getty Images Ukrainian officials said 436 bodies have been exhumed from a mass grave in the eastern city of Izium, 30 of which show visible signs of torture. The site was found shortly after Ukrainian forces recaptured the area, which had been held by Russian forces for about six months. Three additional mass graves have been found in areas retaken during a swift counteroffensive by Ukrainian forces in the northeastern region of Kharkiv, regional governor Oleh Synyehubov and police chief Volodymyr Tymoshko told reporters. Many mass graves were uncovered earlier this year by Ukrainian authorities around cities and towns that had been taken over by Russian troops. Moscow rejects accusations that its forces are behind the deaths. — Natasha Toorak
Long queues form at Russia’s border as many try to escape the mobilization
Long lines of cars are piling up at Russia’s border with its neighbors, several news agencies reported, as many Russians try to leave the country after President Vladimir Putin called on Wednesday for a “partial” mobilization to fight in Ukraine. Some men have been waiting for up to 24 hours as European governments debate whether to allow fugitive Russians into their countries. “I’ve been waiting in my car since Thursday afternoon,” said one man at the Russia-Georgia border, according to The Guardian. “Everybody’s worried that the border will be closed until we get anywhere near it,” he said. Videos posted on social media show some men using bicycles and scooters to block traffic. As of Thursday, more than 1,300 people had been arrested in Russia for protesting Putin’s mobilization order. — Natasha Toorak
Putin even more entrenched in Ukrainian corner after threats of nuclear war, experts say
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks to the media after the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) leaders’ summit in Samarkand on September 16, 2022. Sergei Bobylyov | AFP | Getty Images Russian President Vladimir Putin’s renewed nuclear threats have raised fears that his plans for escalation in Ukraine may not be limited to mobilizing more troops. While he has issued apocalyptic threats against the West in the past, Putin’s thinly veiled warnings in a rare national address on Wednesday showed he was willing to raise the risk of nuclear conflict to avoid an embarrassing military defeat. Whether Kyiv and its allies should now be more concerned about the threat was up for debate, analysts said. Read the full story from NBC News. — NBC NEWS
UN lists nearly 6,000 dead in Ukraine since war began, but total death toll likely higher
A volunteer places a cross on the grave of one of the fifteen unidentified people killed by Russian troops, amid Russia’s continued offensive in Ukraine, during a burial ceremony in the town of Bucha, Kyiv region, Ukraine, September 2, 2022. Vladyslav Musiienko Reuters The United Nations has confirmed 5,916 civilian deaths and 8,616 injuries in Ukraine since Russia invaded its former Soviet neighbor on February 24. The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said the death toll in Ukraine is likely higher because the armed conflict may delay reporting of deaths. The international body said most of the civilian casualties recorded were caused by the use of explosive weapons with a wide impact area, including shelling by heavy artillery and multiple launch rocket systems, as well as rockets and airstrikes. — Amanda Macias
China ‘affirms respect for Ukraine’s territorial integrity’, says Ukrainian Kuleba
China has expressed its respect for Ukraine’s territorial integrity, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba tweeted after meeting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi during the UN General Assembly in New York. “I met with State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi to discuss relations between Ukraine and China. My counterpart confirmed China’s respect for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as its rejection of the use of force as a means of resolution disputes,” Kuleba wrote. Chinese media quoted Wang as saying that all efforts for a peaceful solution to the conflict in Ukraine should be supported. China’s stance on the war has been described by analysts as a careful balancing act, never abandoning its alliance with Russia while also expressing its opposition to the conflict in Ukraine. — Natasha Toorak
Russian forces have forcibly expelled up to 1.6 million Ukrainians, US official says
Russian forces have forcibly deported between 900,000 and 1.6 million Ukrainians to Russia, the US ambassador to the UN Human Rights Council said. “Multiple sources report that Russian authorities have interrogated, arrested and forcibly deported between 900,000 and 1.6 million Ukrainian citizens,” Michele Taylor told the UN Council, calling on its members to investigate “the growing evidence of Russian operations filtering, forced deportations and disappearances’. Ukraine and Western governments have accused Russian forces of forcibly transporting Ukrainian nationals to “infiltration camps” and then transporting them to Russia. Moscow has rejected the accusations, calling them “fantasy”. The forced deportation of civilians from one country to another is considered a war crime by the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross. — Natasha Toorak
Ukrainian mayor urges residents of Russian-held regions not to cooperate with referendums
A boy wearing a T-shirt with the letter “Z”, the tactical insignia of Russian troops in Ukraine, and holding a flag of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR) – the breakaway region of eastern Ukraine – stands at the entrance to the embassy DNR in Moscow on September 23, 2022, as Moscow-controlled regions of Ukraine vote in annexation referendums that Kyiv and its allies say are illegal and illegal. Alexander Nemenov Afp | Getty Images The Ukrainian-elected mayor of the city of Melitopol is urging those in the Russian-occupied areas of the country not to participate in the so-called “referendums” held by the Russian authorities. “We call on the residents of the occupied territories not to participate in the mock referendum in any way,” Ivan Fedorov wrote via Telegram. “To participate in this is to support the bloody plan to escalate the war against Ukraine, to voluntarily become part of a closed totalitarian society, to take part in the responsibility for war crimes, to agree to the mobilization of men aged 16-55 to replenish the cannons of the Russian Army, to commit a criminal offence.” “Do not open the door to rioters. Do not go to the polling stations. Completely ignore the entire election process. Stay as far as possible from Russian military and enemy equipment. Our heroic armed forces of Ukraine will definitely liberate all occupied territories from racism,” Federov said, adding, “more importantly, taking part in a fake referendum is the worst betrayal.” —…
