Ukraine Daily

Saturday, October 1

Russia’s war against Ukraine

A pedestrian walks in a yard of a destroyed apartment building in the town of Sviatohirsk, Donetsk region, on September 30, 2022, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by ANATOLII STEPANOV/AFP via Getty Images)

Kuleba: ‘Nothing changes for Ukraine’ following Russia’s illegal annexations. Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Ukraine will “continue liberating our land and our people, restoring our territorial integrity” despite Russia’s condemned actions. He noted that, in trying to annex Ukraine’s Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson oblasts, “Putin tries to grab territories he doesn’t even physically control on the ground.”

Defense Ministry: Ukraine liberates Drobysheve, Donetsk Oblast. Ukraine’s 81st Airborne Brigade liberated the village of Drobysheve on Sept. 30, according to Ukraine’s Defense Ministry. “The future of the world is no longer decided in the Kremlin,” the statement read.

Russian state-controlled media: Putin signs decree on routine autumn conscription. Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on Sept. 30 authorizing routine autumn conscription for men aged 18 to 27, calling 120,000 people for military service, according to Russian state-controlled media TASS. Russia’s Defense Ministry reportedly claims that the decision is “not in any way related” to Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine.

US sees no signs yet that Russia will use nuclear weapons. U.S. State Secretary Antony Blinken said on Sept. 30 that, despite Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “loose talk” about the use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine, the U.S. has not seen Russia “take these actions.”

US Official: Ukraine’s NATO bid ‘should be taken up at a different time.’ U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said that the U.S. supports an “open-door policy” on joining the military alliance but added that Ukraine’s NATO membership “should be taken up at a different time.” “Right now, our view is that the best way for us to support Ukraine is through practical, on-the-ground support in Ukraine and that the process in Brussels should be taken up at a different time,” Sullivan said.

Russia vetoes UN resolution condemning illegal annexation of Ukrainian oblasts. Russia vetoed a UN Security Council resolution, introduced by the U.S. and Albania, condemning Russia’s illegal annexation of Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, Luhansk, and Kherson oblasts. Of the 15 member states, 10 voted in favour, Russia opposed, while China, Gabon, India and Brazil abstained.

On Sept. 21, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin announced what he called “partial mobilization.” Russia aims to draft at least 300,000 new soldiers. The Kyiv Independent’s video journalist Iryna Matviyishyn explains why the mobilization doesn’t appear to be “partial” as Putin claims, and what it could mean for Ukraine.

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Ukraine war latest: Russian strike kills 30 as Moscow declares biggest land grab in Europe since World War II. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sept. 30 declared the illegal annexation of swathes of Ukrainian lands it occupies in the east and the south, signaling a major escalation of the eight-year-old war.

Photo: Dmytro Smolienko / Ukrinform/Future Publishing via Getty Images

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Life under occupation: ’I was forced to vote in sham referendum at gunpoint.’ Mariupol resident Oleksandr, 53, had just entered a hardware store when Russian soldiers suddenly came up to him and took him outside.

Photo: Stringer/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

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The human cost of Russia’s war

Update: Death toll rises to 30 in Russia’s attack on Zaporizhzhia. National Police Chief Ihor Klymenko said an 11-year-old girl and a 14-year-old boy are among those killed in Russia’s attack earlier on Sept. 30. Klymenko said 88 people were injured, including a three-year-old girl. Russian troops launched a missile attack on a line of civilian cars on the way out of the regional center, according to Zaporizhzhia Oblast Governor Oleksandr Starukh.

Russia’s attacks kill 8 **in Donetsk Oblast, injures 7 in Kharkiv Oblast.**In the past 24 hours, Russian forces have killed eight civilians and injured 17 in Donetsk Oblast, not including Mariupol and Volnovakha, according to Pavlo Kyrylenko, the oblast governor. Russian troops have also shelled Kharkiv Oblast, wounding seven people, and targeted a residential area in the city of Dnipro.

Update: Russian missile attack on Dnipro kills 3 people. Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Governor Valentyn Reznichenko reported that a third person has been found dead under the rubble after the Russian missile attack on a transport facility earlier on Sept. 30. The attack also injured five people.

International response

NYT: Pentagon to set up new command to arm, train Ukrainian soldiers. The U.S. Defense Department plans to establish a new command based in Germany that will coordinate the equipment and training of Ukraine’s military, the New York Times reported, citing U.S. military and administration officials. “The proposal would streamline a training and assistance system that was created on the fly after the Russian invasion in February,” wrote the NYT.

Finland shuts border for Russian tourists. The Finnish government made the announcement on Sept. 30, cutting off the last easily accessible route for Russians with Schengen tourist visas into Europe. “The entry of Russian citizens in tourist purposes into Finland endangers Finland’s international relations,” Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto said at a conference. Finland also cited Russia’s full-scale war, its sham “referendums” in Ukraine, and the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines as reasons for its decision. Earlier this month, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, and Poland imposed entry restrictions for Russian citizens.

EU says ‘stricter assessment’ required for Russians wanting tourist visas. The European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson said on Sept. 30 that EU member states should be careful in assessing visa applications amid the escalating security threat by Russia. “Member states need to do a very thorough security assessment and, if a person could be a security threat or be a threat towards the international relations for some of the member states, this person should not be issued a visa,” she said, as quoted by Reuters.

UK, Canada impose sanctions on Russia following its sham ‘referendums,’ annexation attempt. In response to Russia’s illegal annexation attempt of Ukraine’s Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts, the U.K. will ban the export of almost 700 goods “crucial to Russia’s industrial and technology capabilities,” as well as bar access to key western services. Canada has imposed sanctions on Russian proxies in Ukraine’s occupied territories and 43 Russian oligarchs and their families.

CNN: G7 foreign ministers to impose economic costs on Russia for annexation of Ukrainian oblasts. The G7 foreign ministers of the U.S., Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the U.K., Japan, and the EU High Representative said they will “never recognize these purported annexations, nor the sham ‘referenda’ conducted at gunpoint,” reports CNN. The joint statement said new economic costs will be imposed on those who provide “political or economic support” to Russia’s recent actions.

US announces new economic sanctions against Russia. In response to Russia’s sham “referendums” and illegal annexation of four Ukrainian oblasts, the U.S. is imposing new restrictions on hundreds of top Russian officials and their families. Sanctions will also target companies created outside of Russia in an attempt to help Russian military suppliers evade sanctions.

Lithuania to buy kamikaze drones for Ukraine. Lithuania’s Defense Ministry signed an agreement with Poland’s largest private defense company WB Group to purchase 37 kamikaze drones and a launcher for Ukraine on Sept. 30. The drones are expected to reach Ukraine in October or November, reports Delfi media outlet.

NYT: Biden signs bill providing $12.3 billion in aid for Ukraine. President Joe Biden signed into law a bill that provides Ukraine with $12.3 billion in economic and military aid, the New York Times reported.

In other news

Reuters: Leaks from Nord Stream pipelines may be ‘largest emission event ever detected.’ According to Manfredi Caltagirone, the UN Environment Programme acting head, the damage to the Nord Stream pipelines has most likely caused the “largest emission” of methane ever recorded, reports Reuters. Experts have not yet confirmed the amount of methane released from the damaged pipelines. “This is the most wasteful way to generate emissions,” Caltagirone said.

Diia business support center restored in Bucha, Kyiv Oblast. The Diia.Business center has reopened in the city of Bucha, which was liberated on March 31, according to the Digital Transformation Ministry. It will assist Bucha residents in business recovery, relocation, and arrangement of export activities. The center in Bucha was working online after the building had been captured and damaged by the Russian military at the beginning of Russia’s full-scale war.

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Denys Krasnikov, Dinara Khalilova, Teah Pelechaty, Natalia Datskevych, Anastasiya Gordiychuk, and Lucy Minicozzi-Wheeland.

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