US responds to what it calls Russia’s ‘fraudulent’ annexation

The US has seen evidence that Iranian drones that Russia is using in the ongoing conflict in Ukraine have had “numerous failures” on the battlefield, Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Sasha Baker told reporters during a briefing Friday.

“We have seen some evidence already that the UAVs associated with the transfer from Iran have already experienced numerous failures on the battleground, on the battlefield. in Ukraine,” Baker said.

Baker said these drones don’t represent a big technological step for Russia in the conflict.

“I think that the idea that they represent some technological leap ahead, frankly, we’re just not seeing borne out in the data,” Baker added.

More background: In late August, the US assessed Russia was in possession of weapons-capable Iranian drones, Biden administration officials told CNN. The Russians picked up the drones from an Iranian airfield and transported them back to Russia in cargo planes in mid-August, the officials said. Russian officials began training on the drones in Iran in July, CNN reported,   

Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania said Friday they “fully support welcoming Ukraine into NATO as soon as possible.”

Their respective foreign ministers — Urmas Reinsalu, Edgars Rinkēvičs and Gabrielius Landsbergis — shared similar messages on their Twitter accounts.

“Ukraine’s inspirational bravery can only strengthen our alliance,” they all said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday that his country is applying “under an accelerated procedure” to become a member of the defense alliance.

The situation for pro-Russian forces in the Ukrainian town of Lyman is “grave,” the head of the self-declared Donetsk People’s Republic said on Friday.

“The situation remains grave,” Denis Pushilin said, quoted by the DPR’s official Telegram channel. “Our forces are withstanding the onslaught, reinforcements are being brought up”

Pushilin was in Moscow on Friday to attend Russian President Vladimir Putin’s claimed annexation of four partially occupied Ukrainian regions, including Donetsk, where Lyman is located.

Lyman has been almost entirely encircled by Ukrainian forces.

Ukrainian forces on Friday claimed control over the village of Drobysheve in the eastern Donetsk region, the settlement that neighbors Russian-occupied Lyman.

“The future of the world is no longer decided in the Kremlin,” the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said on Twitter.

Drobysheve is just about 5 kilometers (3 miles) to the north of Lyman. In a video, Ukrainian forces are seen celebrating, holding a Ukrainian flag in the town center.

“Today, on September 30, the AFU, namely the 81st Independent Airmobile Brigade, liberated Drobyshevo. Glory to Ukraine! Glory to the Heroes!” the defense ministry said.

Lyman has now been almost entirely encircled by Ukrainian forces. Denis Pushilin, head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic – which today in Moscow claimed to have joined the Russian Federation – said Friday that the situation in Lyman “remains grave.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia will be victorious during a celebratory concert at the Red Square in Moscow on Friday after he declared the annexation of four regions of Ukraine. 

“We have become stronger because we are together. With us is the truth, and indeed, the power! And that means victory! Victory will be ours!” Putin said.

Putin gave a speech following the claimed annexation of the Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk and Donetsk regions in eastern Ukraine. 

“For decades, they tried to eradicate the historical consciousness of these people, to destroy their traditions, to forbid them to speak in their native language, to forbid their culture. Nothing worked,” he said. 

“And that’s why we say Russia not only opens the doors of our native home for our brothers and sisters, it opens its heart to them. Welcome home!” Putin said to the cheering crowd. 

After the speech, Putin was joined on stage by the four Russia-appointed leaders of the four regions: Denis Pushilin, Leonid Pasechnik, Yevgeny Balitsky and Vladimir Saldo. Together, they sang the Russian national anthem joined by a choir of artists from Russia and annexed regions who performed at the concert as the crowd waved Russian flags. 

How Ukraine and Western nations are reacting: Members of the G7 – Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States – and the European Union have vowed to never recognize Russian sovereignty over the regions and to impose sanctions on Russia.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky called the move a “farce” in a pre-recorded video statement released shortly after Putin’s speech and vowed that “the entire territory of our country will be liberated.”

A view of the disturbance in the water above the gas leak in the Baltic Sea seen on Thursday, September 29.

US President Joe Biden said the leaks found in the Nord Stream gas pipeline were a “deliberate act of sabotage.”

He also accused the Russians of spreading “disinformation and lies.”

“We’re going to work with our allies to get to the bottom of precisely what happened. And at my direction, I’ve already begun to help our allies enhance the protection of this critical infrastructure,” he told reporters Friday.

He also committed to investigating what happened.

“At the appropriate moment, when things calm down, we’re going to be sending divers down to find out exactly what happened. We don’t know that yet exactly,” he said, adding that he is not going to “listen to what Putin is saying.”

“What he’s saying, we know is not true,” he said.

Some background: The pipelines were created to funnel gas from Russia into the European Union, and were controversial long before Russia waged war on Ukraine, largely because of fears around European reliance on Russian energy. On Monday, leaks were discovered, prompting investigations by European authorities that determined powerful underwater explosions had occurred just before the pipelines burst in several places.

US President Joe BIden delivers remarks from the Roosevelt Room at the White House on Friday, September 30.

US President Joe Biden reiterated that the US does not recognize Russia’s claimed annexation of four Ukrainian territories, directly addressing Russian President Vladimir Putin at one point when saying the US will “defend every single inch of NATO territory.”

“America and its allies are not going — let me emphasize — are not going to be intimidated, are not going to be intimidated by Putin and his reckless words and threats,” Biden said from the White House.

“Putin’s actions are a sign he is struggling,” citing the “sham referenda” and “this routine he put on this morning” when announcing his annexation claims for four Ukrainian regions.

“The United States is never going to recognize this. And quite frankly, the world is not going to recognize it either. He can’t seize his neighbor’s territory and get away with it, as simple as that,” Biden said during White House remarks.

The US will continue to provide military equipment for Ukraine’s defense, plus an additional $13 billion more from Congress, Biden said.

“America’s fully prepared with our NATO allies to defend every single inch of NATO territory — every single inch — so Mr. Putin, don’t misunderstand what I’m saying. Every inch,” Biden said.  

NATO military assets in the Baltic and North Seas are collecting information to help in the investigation into who and what caused the explosions near the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines earlier this week, according to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

They are also monitoring “critical energy infrastructure,” Stoltenberg said during a news conference in Brussels Friday.

Stoltenberg said NATO allies are both collecting new information and reviewing information they’ve collected over the last few weeks and months to see “whether we are able to discover something connected to the attacks.”

The military presence in the Baltic and North Seas is both “to send a message of deterrence, to collect and monitor, collect data and monitor the infrastructure and then share information and step up resilience,” Stoltenberg said.

Humanitarian convoy struck by Russian forces in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, on September 30.

Ukrainian officials say at least 30 people have been killed and 88 injured in an attack by Russian forces on a civilian convoy leaving the city of Zaporizhzhia.

“The enemy launched a rocket attack on a civilian humanitarian convoy on the way out of Zaporizhzhia,” Oleksandr Starukh, head of the Zaporizhzhia regional military administration, said on Telegram:

“People were in line to leave for the temporarily occupied territory, to pick up their relatives, to deliver aid.”

Images and video from the scene show wrecked vehicles and some bodies on the road.

Among the dead are an 11-year-old girl and 14-year-old boy, according to Ihor Klymenko, head of Ukraine’s National Police.

Ivan Fedorov, mayor of the occupied city of Melitopol, said on Telegram: “People leave Zaporizhzhia every day to support their relatives, deliver vital medicines to the civilian population and return back.

A crater left by a Russian missile strike in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, on September 30.

Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the president’s office, says that a total of 16 missiles were launched by Russian forces at the area where the civilian convoy was struck.

Tymoshenko said on Telegram: “According to preliminary information, 16 missiles were launched using the S-300 missile system. Twenty-three dead and 28 wounded.” 

“Four missile strikes were launched in the area of the auto market, as well as at the point of concentration of vehicles and citizens for departure/entry to/from the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine. There was a column of vehicles with civilians on their way to the temporarily occupied territory to pick up their relatives,” Tymoshenko said.

Russian forces frequently use S-300 missiles in the Ukrainian conflict.

French President Emmanuel Macron condemned Russia’s “illegal” move to annex four Ukrainian regions, describing the act as a “serious violation of international law and Ukrainian sovereignty” in a tweet Friday. 

“France opposes this and will continue to stand alongside Ukraine to confront Russian aggression and allow Ukraine to recover its full sovereignty over all of its territory,” he wrote.

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s annexation announcement has sparked sharp rebuke from multiple Western leaders, with the US saying earlier Friday that it was announcing sanctions in coordination with G7 allies. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, center, together with Speaker of the Parliament Ruslan Stefanchuk and Prime Minister Denys Shmygal are applying “under an accelerated procedure” for Ukraine to become a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday that his country is applying “under an accelerated procedure” to become a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

He signed Ukraine’s application together with Speaker of the Parliament Ruslan Stefanchuk and Prime Minister Denys Shmygal.

“It is here, in Ukraine, that the values of our Euro-Atlantic community have obtained real vital energy,” Zelensky said in a pre-recorded video message. “The strength of the nation that fights for freedom, and the strength of the nations that help in this fight.”

He said that “de facto,” Ukraine had already “completed our path” to NATO.

“Today, Ukraine is applying to make it de jure. Under a procedure consistent with our significance for the protection of our entire community, under an accelerated procedure,” he said.

Zelensky said that he understood that accession would require consensus of NATO members.

“And therefore, while this is happening, we offer to implement our proposals regarding security guarantees for Ukraine and all of Europe in accordance with the Kyiv Security Compact, which was developed and presented to our partners.”

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Friday that member states of the alliance support Ukraine’s “right to choose its own path” after Zelensky made the announcement.

And Stoltenberg cautioned that any decision on membership has to be taken by all 30 members of the alliance.

“NATO allies, when they met at the NATO Summit in Madrid, stated also very clearly that we support Ukraine’s right to choose its own path, to decide what kind of security arrangements it wants to be a part of,” Stoltenberg told a news conference.

“Every democracy in Europe has the right to apply for NATO membership, and NATO allies respect that right and we have stated again and again that NATO’s door remains open. And we have demonstrated that over the last [few] years,” he said.

 CNN’s Sharon Braithwaite and Arnaud Siad contributed reporting to this post.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a press conference at the State Department in Washington, DC, on September 30.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday that the United States has not seen Russia actually take steps that suggest it would use nuclear weapons in the war against Ukraine, but reiterated that the US takes Russian President Vladimir Putin’s nuclear saber-rattling “very seriously.”

“We are looking very carefully to see if Russia is actually doing anything that suggests that they are contemplating the use of nuclear weapons. To date, we’ve not seen them take these actions,” Blinken said at a news conference at the US State Department.

“But we also know that Russia is engaged in horrific, horrific brutalization of Ukraine, and so the threats that they make, we take very seriously,” he continued.

“As to President Putin’s intent, I’m not going to speculate on what’s in his mind, I can just tell you that we plan against every possible scenario, including this one,” Blinken said.

On the Nord Stream leaks: Blinken also said he had “nothing to say” in response to Putin’s “absurd allegation” that “Anglo-Saxons” sabotaged the Nord Stream pipelines.

“We will get to the bottom of what happened. We’ll share that information as soon as we have it, but I don’t want to get ahead of the investigation that’s ongoing,” Blinken said at a news conference alongside his Canadian counterpart, Melanie Joly.

The G7 foreign ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States and the High Representative of the European Union said Friday they will impose additional economic costs on Russia over the annexation of Ukrainian territories.

The G7 foreign ministers condemned “in the strongest possible terms of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and its continued violations of Ukraine’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and Independence,” they said in a joint statement.

“We will never recognize these purported annexations, nor the sham ‘referenda’ conducted at gunpoint,” they said.

“We will impose further economic costs on Russia, and on individuals and entities — inside and outside of Russia —that provide political or economic support to these violations of international law,” they said.

What the US is saying: The country said earlier Friday that it was announcing sanctions in coordination with G7 allies. 

A Biden administration official said the US is “targeting additional Russian government officials and leaders, their family members, Russian and Belarusian military officials, and defense procurement networks, including international suppliers supporting Russia’s military-industrial complex” through announcements from the Departments of Treasury, Commerce and State. 

Norway is increasing preparedness and controls along the Russian-Norwegian border after it said Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “partial mobilization” order on Sept. 21 increased the likelihood of illegal border crossings, Oslo said in a statement Friday.

The Norwegian government said its armed forces garrisoned in the area of Sør-Varanger are monitoring the Russia-Norway border and announced it would station a police helicopter with sensors to detect potential illegal crossings along its 198-kilometer (123-mile) border with Russia.

Oslo also said it was ready to follow Finland’s lead in barring Russian tourist visa holders from entering the country but was waiting to see its implementation.

More than 50,000 Russians have entered Finland after Putin’s mobilization order last week, Finland’s border guard said Wednesday. 

“We will quickly close the border if this becomes necessary, and changes may be made at short notice. Few people have arrived in Norway, compared with Finland, and the situation is different here,” Norway’s Minister of Justice and Public Security Emilie Enger Mehl said.

Mehl added that the government is in close talks with Norway’s police and customs regarding the situation at the border.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg speaks during a news conference at the Alliance’s headquarters in Brussels, Belgium on September 30.

The mobilization of more troops and the annexation of parts of Ukraine is an escalation of Russia’s war in the country, according to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

The actions constitute “the most serious escalation of the conflict since Moscow invaded Ukraine in February,” Stoltenberg said on Friday.

“Putin has mobilized hundreds of thousands of more troops, engaged in irresponsible nuclear saber rattling and now illegally annexed more Ukrainian territory. Together, this represents the most serious escalation since the start of the war,” Stoltenberg said in a news conference.

“None of this shows strength. It shows weakness,” he said.

“It is an admission that the war is not going to plan, and that Putin has utterly failed in his strategic objectives,” he added.

Stoltenberg also said that NATO will continue providing support to Ukraine “for as long as it takes.”

“If Russia stops fighting, there will be peace. If Ukraine stops fighting, it will cease to exist as an independent, sovereign nation in Europe,” he said.

“NATO reaffirms our unwavering support for Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity,” he added.

Igor Girkin speaks during a press conference in Moscow, Russia, on Tuesday.

In scathing remarks on his Telegram channel, a pro-Russian propagandist and former defense official in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic slammed the “unprofessionalism of the command.”

Igor Girkin said that Ukraine’s effective encirclement of Russian forces in the eastern Donetsk town of Lyman had the potential to “turn into a huge moral blow to our army and, on the contrary, into a huge moral success for the AFU,” referring to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Girkin was defense minister of the DPR during the war in 2014 and is now a pro-Russian propagandist and military analyst.

“With a greater degree of probability I assume a real cretinism and unprofessionalism of the command,” he said on his official Telegram channel. “Inescapable in an environment where no one is responsible for all the numerous and regularly repeated failures, except the outright ‘shooters.’”

He said that Ukraine outmanned Russian and pro-Russian forces three to four times, and that Russia’s superiority in artillery and aviation would not help enough in the wooded and rugged terrain.

“Why the withdrawal from Lyman was not secured in advance by introducing forces into the ‘corridor’ sufficient to hold it and cover the withdrawal – I have no answer to that,” he added.

He said that if Russian forces are not able to withdraw from Lyman, “a relatively insignificant tactical defeat” would turn into “a huge moral success” for Ukraine.

Girkin also speculated that it was “quite probable” that Ukraine’s offensive near Lyman is a diversionary tactic, meant to mask a Ukrainian push on the southern front, in the Zaporizhzhia region.

“Unlike the Lyman area, a breakthrough of the enemy somewhere near Polahy or south of Ugledar threatens to destroy the front and to surround our entire Kherson grouping, to lead the enemy to the Crimean Isthmus and – as a result – to the strategic defeat of the RF [Russian Federation] Armed Forces with unpredictable general consequences,” he said.

The United Kingdom said it will implement services sanctions and an export ban that target “Russian economic vulnerabilities” following Russian President Vladimir Putin’s annexation of Ukrainian regions, the UK Foreign Office said on Friday.

“Under new sanctions Russia will lose access to major western services that Russia depends on, including: IT consultancy, architectural services, engineering services, and transactional legal advisory services for certain commercial activity,” the office said.

“UK also bans the export of nearly 700 goods that are crucial to Russia’s industrial and technological capabilities,” it added.

The Foreign Secretary summoned Russian Ambassador Andrey Kelin to protest “in the strongest terms” against the annexation of sovereign Ukrainian territory.

“The UK is moving in lockstep with international partners to target key sectors of the Russian economy. The new measures will ramp up economic pressure on the Russian regime by targeting vulnerabilities and disrupting crucial supply chains,” the Foreign Office added.

The UK has also sanctioned Elvira Nabiullina, the governor of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, according to the Foreign Office.

“In her role, Nabiullina has been instrumental in steering the Russian economy through the Russian regime’s illegal war against Ukraine and extending the ruble into the Ukrainian territories that are temporarily controlled by Russia. Nabiullina has been sanctioned and is personally subject to an asset freeze and travel ban,” it said.

The US also announced sanctions on Nabiullina.

“The UK utterly condemns Putin’s announcement of the illegal annexation of Ukrainian territory. We will never recognise the results of these sham referendums or any annexation of Ukrainian territory,” Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said in a statement.

“The Russian regime must be held to account for this abhorrent violation of international law. That’s why we are working with our international partners to ramp up the economic pressure through new targeted services bans,” he added.

“What happens in Ukraine matters to us all, and the UK will do everything possible to assist their fight for freedom,” he concluded.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the annexation of four regions of Ukraine — Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson — which was roundly condemned by leaders around the world. The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe said it “will only lead to greater escalation of conflict.”

Catch up here on the latest developments:

Putin’s announcement: Russia said it would annex nearly a fifth of Ukraine in a blatant violation of international law, following so-called referendums in regions occupied by Russian forces.

Putin attempted to claim that the referendums reflected the will of “millions” of people, despite reports from the ground suggesting that voting took place essentially – and in some cases, literally – at gunpoint. Western leaders have slammed the polls, saying that they in no way met internationally recognized standards of free and fair elections.

Widespread condemnation: Putin’s announcement sparked immediate sharp rebuke from Ukrainian and Western leaders.

• Zelensky: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky vowed on Friday that the entire territory of Ukraine would be liberated from Russian control, calling the annexation of some Ukrainian regions a “farce.” Meanwhile, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that “nothing changes for Ukraine: we continue liberating our land and our people, restoring our territorial integrity.”
• Biden: United States President Joe Biden said the US “condemns Russia’s Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that “nothing changes for Ukraine: we continue liberating our land and our people, restoring our territorial integrity.”fraudulent attempt today to annex sovereign Ukrainian territory. Russia is violating international law, trampling on the United Nations Charter, and showing its contempt for peaceful nations everywhere.” He added that those actions have “no legitimacy” and the US will continue to “always honor Ukraine’s internationally recognized borders.” The US also announced new sanctions on Russia.
• EU: The European Union said it “will never” recognize the Kremlin’s “illegal annexation,” describing the move as a “further violation of Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity.” The bloc said it will also step up sanctions against Moscow and provide Ukraine with support “for as long as it takes.”

Here’s what the latest map of control looks like:

Ukrainian military looks to circle Donetsk town: The Ukrainian military said that its troops are trying to complete the encirclement of Russian forces in the Lyman area of Donetsk. Lyman has been occupied by Russian forces for several months. In the last two weeks, Ukrainian forces have advanced from the north, south and west, gradually tightening their grip on the area. 

NATO application: Zelensky said Friday that his country is applying “under an accelerated procedure” to become a member of NATO. He added that he understood that accession would require consensus of NATO members.

Zaporizhzhia attack: Ukrainian officials said at least 23 people were killed in an attack by Russia on a civilian convoy leaving the city of Zaporizhzhia. Zelensky said the Russian forces who carried out the attack are “downright terrorists.”

Secretary of State for Defence Ben Wallace leaves Downing Street after attending a weekly cabinet meeting on March 8, in London, England.

UK Defense Minister Ben Wallace said he met with Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov this week to discuss the ongoing war, according to a news release issued by the UK Defense Ministry on Friday. 

The release stated that the two ministers met to discuss “the Armed Forces of Ukraine’s ongoing offensive to recapture and liberate territory seized in Putin’s illegal war.” 

“They spoke about how UK equipment has been brought to bear on the battlefield, along with the effectiveness of soldiers trained by the UK and other partners … and what further support the UK can provide,” the release continued. 

The UK has also “committed to donating more than 120 logistics vehicles” and has “trained more than 27,000 members of the Armed Forces of Ukraine since 2015, including thousands of new recruits in the UK this year, with help from allies and partners,” according to the release. 

“The UK is one of the leading donors of military aid to Ukraine, committing £2.3 billion in 2022,” the release said.   

On Thursday, Wallace tweeted about the visit.

And on Friday, Reznikov tweeted that “every visit of @BWallaceMP to [Ukraine] brings good news to the battlefield,” including a video of a M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System firing.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky vowed on Friday that the entire territory of Ukraine would be liberated from Russian control, calling Russian President Vladimir Putin’s annexation of some Ukrainian regions a “farce.”

“The entire territory of our country will be liberated from this enemy – the enemy not only of Ukraine, but also of life itself, humanity, law and truth,” Zelensky said in a pre-recorded address released on Friday afternoon.

“Russia already knows this. It feels our power. It sees that it is here, in Ukraine, that we prove the strength of our values. And that is why it is in a hurry, organizes this farce with the attempted annexation, tries to steal something that does not belong to it, wants to rewrite history and redraw borders with murders, torture, blackmail and lies,” he said.

“Ukraine will not allow that,” he added.

He said peace will be restored only by “ousting the occupiers.”

Zelensky added that while Ukraine was ready for dialogue with Russia, negotiation on “equal, honest, decent and fair terms” was impossible with Putin, so talks would only be possible “with another president of Russia.”

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Friday also said that Putin’s claimed annexations of Ukrainian territory change “nothing.”

“Nothing changes for Ukraine: we continue liberating our land and our people, restoring our territorial integrity,” Kuleba said in a statement on Twitter.

“By attempting to annex Ukraine’s Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, Putin tries to grab territories he doesn’t even physically control on the ground,” he said.

US President Joe Biden sharply condemned Russia’s annexation of Ukrainian territory in a statement Friday.

“The United States condemns Russia’s fraudulent attempt today to annex sovereign Ukrainian territory. Russia is violating international law, trampling on the United Nations Charter, and showing its contempt for peaceful nations everywhere,” Biden said, adding that those actions have “no legitimacy” and will continue to “always honor Ukraine’s internationally recognized borders.”

Touting the new sanctions announced Friday, Biden added that the US “will rally the international community to both denounce these moves and to hold Russia accountable.” 

“I urge all members of the international community to reject Russia’s illegal attempts at annexation and to stand with the people of Ukraine for as long as it takes,” he said.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken attends a joint news conference at the State Department in Washington, U.S., on September 16.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced a slew of visa restrictions and sanctions in response to Moscow’s “sham” referendums and annexation of four regions of Ukraine on Friday.

“United States unequivocally rejects Russia’s fraudulent attempt to change Ukraine’s internationally recognized borders,” he said.

In a statement, the top US diplomat said the State Department is imposing visa restrictions “on 910 individuals, including members of the Russian Federation military, Belarusian military officials, and Russia’s proxies for violating Ukraine’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, and political independence.”

“The Department is also designating Russian national, Ochur-Suge Mongush, for his involvement in a gross violation of human rights perpetrated against a Ukrainian prisoner of war,” Blinken said. “Under this authority, Mongush and his immediate family members are ineligible for entry into the United States.”

Blinken said the US is “issuing a clear warning supported by G7 Leaders: We will hold to account any individual, entity, or country that provides political or economic support for Russia’s illegal attempts to change the status of Ukrainian territory.”

He said the Treasury and Commerce Departments “are releasing new guidance on heightened sanctions and export control risks for entities and individuals inside or outside Russia that support Russia’s sham referenda, purported annexation, and occupation of part of Ukraine.”

Blinken added that the State Department is joining the Treasury Department “in targeting family members of Russia’s National Security Council by designating Olga Sergeevna Sobyanina and Anna Sergeevna Ershova pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 14024 for being the adult children of Moscow mayor and Russian Security Council member Sergey Sobyanin, a person whose property and interests in property are blocked under E.O. 14024.”

“We will continue the United States’ powerful, coordinated efforts to hold Russia to account, cut Russia’s military off from global commerce and severely limit its ability to sustain its aggression and project power,” Blinken said.

The US is imposing what it describes as “swift and severe costs” on Russia after President Vladimir Putin announced the annexation of regions of Ukraine following what the West casts as “sham referenda,” including the targeting of a key figure in Russia’s economy. 

Putin signed documents on Friday to formally begin the process of annexing four regions of Ukraine during a ceremony in the Kremlin, a clear violation of international law amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that began seven months ago.

In response, the US is announcing sanctions in coordination with G7 allies. 

The US, a Biden administration official said, is “targeting additional Russian government officials and leaders, their family members, Russian and Belarusian military officials, and defense procurement networks, including international suppliers supporting Russia’s military-industrial complex” through announcements from the Departments of Treasury, Commerce and State. 

That includes sanctions from the Treasury on a key player in keeping the Russian economy afloat: Elvira Sakhipzadovna Nabiullina, an economist who has been leading Russia’s central bank since 2013.

More background: Putin has spent years building up his defenses, amassing hundreds of billions in foreign currency reserves, bringing much of Russia’s industrial base under state control and selling Russia’s vast energy resources to the world. US officials grudgingly acknowledge that Nabiullina has done an effective job managing Russia through this initial phase of the sanctions, just as she did in 2014 after Putin’s Crimea annexation triggered a much less severe round of sanctions from the West. 

This time, Nabiullina has deftly raised interest rates, imposed capital controls, and sought holes and workarounds to float an economy under siege. 

“A good central banker can do things to buoy the currency,” one senior US official said earlier this year. “They have a very good central banker. We knew that then; we know it now.”

Among Biden administration officials, Nabiullina is seen as perhaps the most effective of all of Putin’s top lieutenants. 

The US is also placing sanctions on relatives of members of Russia’s National Security Council, visa restrictions on Ochur-Suge Mongush for human rights violations, sanctions on 14 international suppliers for Russia’s military supply chains and adding 57 new entities to Commerce’s Entity List for export controls, the officials said. 

Red paint sprayed on façade of Russian Consulate in New York City on September 30.

Red paint sprayed on the façade of the Russian Consulate building on New York City’s Upper East Side was discovered by authorities Friday in what police are investigating as a “possible bias incident.”

The discovery comes on the same day Russian President Vladimir Putin signed documents to formally begin the process of annexing regions of Ukraine during a ceremony in the Kremlin.

A police spokesperson said there was no messaging or words in the red paint on the building, based on preliminary information. 

Police say they responded to a 911 call of criminal mischief just after 1 a.m. ET Friday and discovered the paint sprayed on the consulate, which is located on East 91st Street. 

CNN is reaching out to the consulate.

EU commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson addresses a press conference at EU headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, on September 6.

The European Commission presented proposals for EU member states to further tighten visa restrictions for Russian citizens on Friday.

It recommended that an EU tourist visa should not be issued to Russian citizens applying from outside of Russia, European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson announced at a news conference.

She called Russia’s annexation of Ukrainian territory, “an escalation of the security threat towards European Union.”

“In the guidelines we say that member states should not accept Schengen visa applications from citizens of the Russian Federation that are present in a third country,” Johansson said.

“When it comes to Russian citizens that just want to come to the EU because they don’t want to stay in Russia anymore, this stricter approach has to be applied,” she added. 

The EU is also asking for stricter security checks at its borders for Russians trying to enter with a valid Schengen visa.

“Just having a valid visa is not enough, is not sufficient to be let into the EU,” Johansson said. 

It is up to the member states to decide on their visa policies. The proposal will now be submitted to the European Council for approval. 

More on the proposals: Johansson recommended restrictions should not apply to certain exceptions: including applicants for humanitarian reasons, family reasons, independent journalists and dissidents. 

She also emphasized this new guideline won’t impact Russians who want to apply for a long-term EU visa, such as asylum. It’s only targeting tourist visas. 

Finland, one of the few EU countries that shares a border with Russia, announced on Thursday that it would close its borders to Russians with a tourist visa.

So far the EU has yet to see a wave of Russian asylum seekers, with around 20 to 30 asylum applications per day this last week, according to Johansson. 

Johansson also vowed further actions from the EU following the “illegal annexation of the four Ukrainian regions” by Russia.

Ukrainian policemen check cars damaged by a missile strike on a road near Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, on September 30.

The European Union’s top diplomat has condemned Russian shelling on a civilian convoy in Zaporizhzhia early Friday, calling the bombardment a “heinous attack.”

“Another heinous attack by Russia on civilians: this time a humanitarian convoy bringing vital help to people living in the non-government controlled areas of Zaporizhzhia,” Josep Borrell tweeted Friday.

The EU “condemns this appalling attack in the strongest possible terms. Those responsible will be held accountable,” Borrell added.

The missile attack in the southeastern Ukrainian city killed at least 25 people and left 50 more injured, including children, according to Ukrainian authorities.

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe on Friday condemned Russia’s annexation of Ukrainian territory, calling it a “blatant violation of the fundamental rules of international law, OSCE principles, and the UN Charter.”

Russia is one of 57 participating states in the OSCE, which until earlier this year ran a monitoring mission in eastern Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “unacceptable” action on Friday “eviscerates the principle of territorial integrity, which is at the core of the OSCE’s founding principles and the international order,” the statement read.

“This action by the Russian Federation, which includes military mobilization and irresponsible nuclear threats, will only lead to greater escalation of conflict, putting further millions of lives at risk and causing more senseless human suffering,” it said.

Friday’s OSCE statement was signed by the OSCE Chairman-in-Office and Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau, OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Margareta Cederfelt, OSCE Secretary General Helga Maria Schmid and OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Secretary General Roberto Montella.

Kyiv and its Western allies have vociferously condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin’s annexation of four Ukrainian occupied regions, following a ceremony at the Kremlin on Friday.

Putin said the regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia will become part of Russia “forever” during his speech in Moscow, after so-called referendums held by Russian-backed officials in eastern and southern Ukraine. The votes are illegal under international law and have been dismissed by Ukraine and Western nations as “a sham.”

The European Union said it “will never” recognize the Kremlin’s “illegal annexation,” describing the move as a “further violation of Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity.” The bloc said it will also step up sanctions against Moscow and provide Ukraine with support “for as long as it takes.”

EU Council President Charles Michel dismissed Moscow’s annexation, while EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Putin’s illegal annexation “won’t change anything.”

“All territories illegally occupied by Russian invaders are Ukrainian land and will always be part of this sovereign nation,” she tweeted Friday.

Latvian Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš said the country “strongly rejects the illegal annexation by Russia,” calling the move “a shameless violation of Ukrainian sovereignty.”

Lithuania’s President Gitanas Nausėda said in a post on Twitter that “Russia is undermining rules-based international order,” describing Moscow’s annexation of occupied Ukrainian regions as “null” and “void.”

Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo tweeted Russia is “putting global security at risk.”

The Finnish government said it “strongly condemns” the Kremlin’s actions, according to a statement on its official website.

Prior to the Kremlin ceremony, other top government officials leveled stinging criticism at Moscow’s plans.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said in a call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday that the move was a “violation of international law” and must not be allowed, according to a statement from the prime minister’s office.

Kishida told Zelensky that Japan would work closely with the G7 to consider further sanctions in light of Russia’s move toward annexation, according to the statement.

On Wednesday, Spain’s foreign ministry said the country “categorically rejects any action or decision that may be taken by the Russian authorities aimed at the illegal annexation of those territories.”

The Ukrainian military said that its troops are trying to complete the encirclement of Russian forces in the Lyman area of Donetsk.

Serhii Cherevatyi, spokesperson of the eastern grouping of Ukrainian forces, told CNN: 

“Our troops are trying to complete the encirclement of a group of Russian troops in the Lyman direction. The Russians want to get out of there. We hit them with all kinds of weapons.”

Lyman is a town east of Sloviansk that has been occupied by Russian forces for several months. In the last two weeks, Ukrainian forces have advanced from the north, south and west, gradually tightening their grip on the area. 

“In particular, almost all routes through which they supplied weapons, equipment and personnel were taken under our fire control,” Cherevatyi told CNN.

“There are many videos where the Ukrainian flag is installed. Only after stabilization measures — verification of the presence of enemy forces, mines, etc. — only then can we officially confirm” their liberation, he said. 

Cherevatyi said Russian units in the area — totaling some 5,000 men, according to various estimates — included what he called “more professional, motivated servicemen,” but added that “Ukrainian generals, hardened by eight years of war, Ukrainian staff officers, are much more skilled in planning such kind of operations.”

Russia will have to ask Ukraine to allow a Russian retreat from the town, a top Ukrainian official said on Friday.

“RF [Russian Forces] will have to ask for an exit from Lyman,” Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to the head of the office of the Ukrainian president, said on Twitter. “Only if, of course, those in Kremlin are concerned with their soldiers.”

“8 years ago, ru-military surrounded our [forces] near Ilovaisk,” he said, referring to a deadly 2014 battle between Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed separatists in the Donetsk region. “Our guys agreed to surrender without weapons. But Russia broke its word. The column was shot.”

The European Union has strongly rejected and condemned Russia’s annexations in Ukraine, and said it “will never recognise” the Kremlin’s “illegal annexation.” 

The bloc’s comments came as Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday formally signed a decree to annex nearly a fifth of Ukraine’s territory, in blatant violation of international law.

The ceremony at the Kremlin’s St. George’s Hall came following so-called referendums held by Russian-backed officials in eastern and southern Ukraine on joining Russia. The votes are illegal under international law and have been dismissed by Ukraine and Western nations as “a sham.”

“We firmly reject and unequivocally condemn the illegal annexation by Russia of Ukraine’s Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions,” a statement on behalf of the members of the European Council said on Friday.

“By wilfully undermining the rules-based international order and blatantly violating the fundamental rights of Ukraine to independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, core principles as enshrined in the UN Charter and international law, Russia is putting global security at risk.

“We do not and will never recognise the illegal ‘referenda’ that Russia has engineered as a pretext for this further violation of Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, nor their falsified and illegal results.”

The statement added: “These decisions are null and void and cannot produce any legal effect whatsoever. Crimea, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk and Luhansk are Ukraine. We call on all States and international organisations to unequivocally reject this illegal annexation,” the statement added.

The statement said the EU will strengthen sanctions on Russia and reiterated the bloc’s support for Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said four occupied Ukrainian regions will become part of Russia “forever,” during his Kremlin speech that announced the annexations.

“I want the Kyiv authorities and their real masters in the West to hear me. For everyone to remember. People living in Luhansk and Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia are becoming our citizens. Forever,” the Russian leader told guests in St. George’s Hall, the opulent Kremlin venue for the event.

The ceremony to assimilate four occupied regions, which make up almost a fifth of Ukraine’s territory, came after so-called referendums held by Russian-backed officials in eastern and southern Ukraine The votes are illegal under international law and have been dismissed by Ukraine and Western nations as “a sham.”

Putin said those taking part in what the Kremlin calls its “special operation” in Ukraine are “heroes.”

“There is nothing stronger than the determination of these people to return to their true historical fatherland,” he said.

He also called on Ukraine to “cease fire” immediately and “sit down at the negotiating table.”

“But we will not negotiate the choice of the people. It has been made. Russia will not betray it.”

Analysts have speculated that part of the reason Putin announced the annexations was to put pressure on the West to scale back its support for Kyiv.

In his speech, Putin also accused Western leaders of trying to “weaken and destroy” Russia, while giving his version of a Russian history lesson.

“The West has been looking for and continues to look for a new chance to weaken and destroy Russia, which they have always dreamed of splitting our state, pitting peoples against each other.”

He added that “the collapse of Western hegemony that has begun is irreversible.”

“It will no longer be like before,” Putin said. “The battlefield to which fate and history have called us is the battlefield for our people, for great historical Russia.”

President Volodymyr Zelensky has reassured Ukrainians that “everything will be Ukraine,” in a statement posted before Russian President Vladimir Putin began speaking in Moscow during a ceremony where he announced the Kremlin’s intention to annex nearly a fifth of Ukraine in blatant violation of international law.

Zelensky said that the officials heard reports from the frontline, “considered further plan for the liberation of our territories,” analyzed “the possible actions of the enemy in the near future,” and discussed the logistics of providing troops with weapons and ammunition.

While Putin was speaking, Andriy Yermak, the head of President Zelensky’s office, posted a brief comment on Telegram, saying: 

“We continue to work and liberate Ukrainian territories. We do not pay attention to those who should take pills. The army is working, Ukraine is united. Only forward.”

Yermak’s message came as Ukrainian forces closed in on Russian positions around Lyman in the eastern Donetsk region, one of the areas Putin said Russia would annex.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree to annex four areas of occupied Ukraine, which make up almost a fifth of Ukraine’s territory.

The documents were signed by Putin on behalf of the Russian Federation, plus the heads of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics and the leaders of the occupied parts of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions.

After the signing at the ceremony in the Kremlin on Friday, Putin shook hands with the Russian-backed leaders of the four regions. Later, the five men stood and listened to the Russian Federation’s national anthem.

Putin then reached for the hands of the four leaders and put them in a pile as is customary before a sporting event. There were chants of “Russia” in the room.

It comes following so-called referendums held by Russian-backed officials in eastern and southern Ukraine on joining Russia. The votes are illegal under international law and have been dismissed by Ukraine and Western nations as “a sham.” The EU’s chief diplomat Josep Borrell dismissed the ballots as “illegal referenda” earlier this week, while the White House has pledged not to recognize the results. 

Russia’s annexation of occupied Ukrainian territories comes swiftly after Putin announced the “partial mobilization” of Russian citizens amid Moscow’s faltering invasion. The strategy has been met with heated protests at home and tens of thousands of people have left the country.

Russian President Vladimir Putin gives a speech in Moscow on September 30.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is delivering a speech at an annexation ceremony in Moscow.

During the ceremony he is expected to sign documents formally annexing four areas of Ukraine — up to 18% of Ukrainian territory.

It comes following so-called referendums held by Russian-backed officials in eastern and southern Ukraine on joining Russia. The votes are illegal under international law and have been dismissed by Ukraine and Western nations as “a sham.”

Addressing attendees, Putin said those taking part in what the Kremlin calls its “special operation” in Ukraine are “heroes.”

“There is nothing stronger than the determination of these people to return to their true historical fatherland,” Putin said.

The head of the Russian-backed administration in occupied parts of Zaporizhzhia, Yevgeny Balitsky, has shared a photo of himself (far left) alongside (from left to right) Vladimir Saldo, Denis Pushilin, and Leonid Pasechnik, in Moscow on September 30.

Guests have arrived in Moscow ahead of an annexation ceremony hosted by President Vladimir Putin on Friday, with attendees including Russian-backed leaders from four occupied Ukrainian territories.

Yevgeny Balitsky, the head of the Russian-backed administration in occupied parts of Zaporizhzhia shared an image of himself alongside Vladimir Saldo, his counterpart in Kherson, Denis Pushilin, from the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, and Leonid Pasechnik from the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic.

Russian parliament deputies and government ministers are among the other guests, according to Russian state channel Russia 24. 

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin are in attendance.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, the chair of Russia’s Federation Council Valentina Matviyenko, as well as Ramzan Kadyrov, the pro-Kremlin leader of Russia’s Chechnya region have also arrived.

Tatyana Golikova, deputy prime minister of the Russian Federation, and former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who currently serves as deputy chair of Russia’s Security Council, are also there.

Members of the Russian Orthodox Church are at the event, according to the Russia 24 video. 

The ceremony follows so-called referendums held by Russian-backed officials in eastern and southern Ukraine on joining Russia. The votes are illegal under international law and have been dismissed by Ukraine and Western nations as “a sham.”

Putin will deliver a speech and meet with Russian-backed leaders of the four occupied regions on the sidelines of the ceremony, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Thursday.

Finnish border guard officers look at cars queueing at the Vaalimaa border crossing between Finland and the Russian Federation on September 30.

The entry of Russian citizens to Finland is closed only for tourist visa holders, but other types of trips are still possible, according to the Russian ambassador to Helsinki.

“From today, the Finns prohibit the entry of Russians for tourist purposes. Other trips are still allowed — these are visits to relatives, work, study, treatment, business trips and so on,” Pavel Kuznetsov said on Russian state TV channel Russia 24 on Friday. 

Finland’s government said on Thursday that the country will close its borders to Russian tourists starting Friday at midnight (local time) until further notice.

Following Russian President Vladimir Putin’s announcement earlier this month of “partial mobilization,” the country saw nationwide protests and an exodus of citizens fleeing the country.

Some context: On Sunday, 8,314 Russians entered Finland via the Finnish-Russian land border — double that of the previous Sunday, the border guard’s head of international affairs tweeted at the time.

Including Saturday’s numbers, 16,886 Russians arrived in total, with “many in transit to other countries,” Matti Pitkäniitty added.

Ukrainian troops said they have taken the village of Yampil in the eastern Donetsk region, a significant objective in their efforts to encircle Russian and pro-Russian forces in the town of Lyman.

“Yampil is ours,” a soldier said in a brief video posted by Ukrainian troops. He is standing in front of a building with a sign that says: “Yampil school complex.”

Pro-Russian Telegram channels have described a bleak situation for the approximately 2,000 remaining troops in the area.

One prominent channel with more than 800,000 subscribers commented on Friday that Russian Armed Forces “withdrew from Yampil to Lyman.”

“The Armed Forces of Ukraine managed to break through the defensive orders of the RF (Russian Federation) Armed Forces and force the Russian troops to retreat to the city (Lyman),” the channel, which goes by the name of Rybar, wrote.

“The Lyman defensive line has narrowed to the administrative boundaries of the city itself. If emergency measures are not taken in the near future to release the Lyman and transfer a significant part of the reserves, then the city, together with its defenders, will fall, and nothing will stop Ukrainian formations from developing an offensive deep into Russian territories,” Rybar added.

The head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic later conceded that Yampil and the nearby village of Drobysheve “are not fully under our control.”

Denis Pushilin called the news from Lyman “disturbing” in a Telegram post.

“Our guys are fighting, we are pulling up reserves, we must hold out, but the enemy has also deployed serious forces,” Pushilin added.

Russia will recognize the entirety of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics within their declared borders of 2014 as part of its territory, the Kremlin told CNN on Friday.

The laws of the self-declared republics state that their borders are those of the whole Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine. Ukrainian forces currently control about 40% of the eastern Donetsk region.

When asked if the territories of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) that are currently under Ukraine’s control will be considered as part of Russia as well, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “De jure yes. By joining the Russian Federation, a state that has been recognized by us within the boundaries of 2014 is joining.”

The territory of the DPR that is not currently controlled by the Russian army “will have to be liberated,” Peskov added.

Peskov could not immediately provide an answer about Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, the two other areas where so-called referendums were held, adding: “I need to confirm this.”

The announcements come after people in four occupied areas of Ukraine supposedly voted in huge numbers in favor of joining Russia, in five-day polls that were illegal under international law and dismissed by Kyiv and the West as a sham.

Some context: Russian President Vladimir Putin will preside over the start of the process to formally annex more Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine at the Kremlin on Friday. Agreements will be signed on absorbing the four occupied territories to the Russian Federation.

On Thursday, Putin signed decrees recognizing the independence of the occupied regions of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia — a necessary formality before they are annexed. 

Western leaders saw Putin’s decision to identify Donetsk and Luhansk in early February as an attack on Ukrainian sovereignty that served as a pretext for war. Days later, Moscow launched its military assault on Kyiv.

The Kremlin has reiterated that any attacks on Ukrainian territory annexed by Russia will be considered as acts of aggression against the country itself.

When asked whether, after annexation documents are signed, Russia would perceive attacks by Ukrainian forces on annexed territories as an act of aggression against Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “It won’t be anything else.”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov waits to watch the Victory Day military parade at Red Square in central Moscow, Russia, on May 9.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to sign documents formally annexing four areas of Ukraine — up to 18% of Ukrainian territory — at a ceremony in the Kremlin on Friday.

The ceremony follows so-called referendums held by Russian-backed authorities in Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia on joining Russia. The votes are illegal under international law and have been dismissed by Kyiv and Western leaders as “a sham.”

The four separate agreements on the admission of new territories to the Russian Federation will be signed in the Kremlin at a ceremony attended by Russian-installed heads of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics and of occupied parts of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions.

People walk between cars damaged by a missile strike on a road near Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, on September 30.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said the Russian forces who carried out a missile attack on an evacuation convoy in Zaporizhzhia are “downright terrorists.”

Russian shelling bombarded a civilian convoy leaving the city in southeastern Ukraine on Friday morning, with images from the scene showed battered vehicles strewn on the ground.

The number of people killed in the shelling has risen to 25 and about 50 people are injured, including children, according to the Prosecutor General’s office.

“The terrorist state fires missiles at the civilian population in Zaporizhzhia, the Mykolaiv region, the Dnipropetrovsk region. Hits Ukrainian regions with MLRS (Multiple Launch Rocket Systems) and drones,” Zelensky said on Telegram.

“The occupiers fired 16 missiles at Zaporizhzhia and surroundings this morning alone. This can only be done by downright terrorists, who should have no place in the civilized world.”

“People were in line to leave for the temporarily occupied territory, to pick up their relatives, to deliver aid,” Oleksandr Starukh, head of the Zaporizhzhia regional military administration, said earlier on Telegram.

The attack took place at 7:30 a.m. local time (12:30 a.m.) at a used car market where vehicles had gathered before proceeding to a crossing point into Russian-held territory further south. 

Handout image of Alexey Katerinichev

A Moscow-installed official in the southern Kherson region of Ukraine has been killed in a Ukrainian missile strike, according to Russian state media.

“On September 30, Alexey Katerinichev, First Deputy Head of the Military-Civilian Administration of the Kherson Region, tragically died while doing his duty,” a statement from Russia’s Ministry of Emergencies added.

Katerinichev was born in the Russian city of Rybinsk, in the Yaroslavl region, and took up the post in the Kherson region in August, Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported.

He was previously the first deputy head of the Leader Center for High Risk Rescue Operations and prior to that served in the Federal Border Service and the Federal Security Service, the Ministry of Emergencies statement said.

Katerinichev “organized the activities of the Operational Headquarters of the FSB of Russia in the Kaliningrad region. For his courage and heroism, he was repeatedly awarded military orders and medals,” the statement added.

Ukrainian authorities have not commented on the attack.

British Prime Minister Liz Truss attends her first Prime Minister’s Questions at the House of Commons in London, England, on September 7.

UK Prime Minister Liz Truss said the UK will “never accept” four occupied regions in Ukraine as anything other than Ukrainian territory, ahead of a Kremlin ceremony during which Russia is expected to formally annex the areas.

In recent days, Kremlin-backed authorities held referendums in Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia on joining Russia. The votes are illegal under international law and have been dismissed by Kyiv and Western leaders as “a sham.”

“We will never accept the regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia as anything other than Ukrainian territory,” Truss in a statement on Friday.

“Vladimir Putin has, once again, acted in violation of international law with clear disregard for the lives of the Ukrainian people he claims to represent.

“The UK will never ignore the sovereign will of those people and we will never accept the regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia as anything other than Ukrainian territory. 

“Putin cannot be allowed to alter international borders using brute force. We will ensure he loses this illegal war.” 

Russian cruise missiles have hit the depot of a transport company in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro, killing one person and setting fire to dozens of buses.

Valentyn Reznichenko, head of the Dnipropetrovsk regional military administration, said one person was killed and five were injured after Russian “Iskander” cruise missiles hit the city.

“Fifty-two buses were burnt, another 98 were damaged. Several high-rise buildings, a gymnasium, a store and administrative buildings were damaged,” Reznichenko said.

Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the President’s Office in Kyiv, said two missiles had hit the area.

Dagestan’s President Sergey Melikov attends a session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in Saint Petersburg on June 16.

The head of the Russian Republic of Dagestan expressed his anger in a video on Thursday toward draft officers who had been driving around the city of Derbent, calling on loudspeakers for “all male citizens to report to military enlistment offices.

“How could the Derbent draft officers ask people to report to the enlistment and registration office in such a manner?!” Dagestan’s President Sergey Melikov said in a video during a meeting of the Security Council of Dagestan.

“Who authorized them to drive around the city?!” he added.

During his tirade, he played a short video clip on his phone. The audio plays the following message: “Dear citizens of Derbent, all male citizens must immediately report to the Derbent enlistment office. You must have your passport and military identity card with you.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “partial mobilization” decree stipulated that reserve servicemen with previous military experience and men with professional experience required by the military would be called up. A total of 300,000 reservists are eligible to be drafted, according to the decree.

Some context: Since Putin’s declaration of a “partial mobilization” last week, hundreds of civilians have taken part in a wave of protests against the military mobilization in Dagestan, according to social media videos circulated online.

Protesters nationwide have accused the Russian military of drafting students, fathers and men whose age should exempt them from service.

On Thursday, Putin demanded that “mistakes” made during the partial mobilization be rectified.

“For example, fathers of multiple children or people suffering from chronic diseases or those who are already beyond the age of military service. It is necessary to consider each such case separately.”

“And if a mistake is made, then I repeat, it needs to be corrected. Return home those who were called up without a proper reason,” he continued.

Workers fix a banner reading “Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson – Russia!” on top of a construction installed in front of the State Historical Museum outside Red Square in central Moscow, Russia, on September 29.

Russia will on Friday begin formally annexing up to 18% of Ukrainian territory, with President Vladimir Putin expected to host a ceremony in the Kremlin to declare four occupied Ukrainian territories part of Russia.

The ceremony will take place on Friday at 3 p.m. local time (8 a.m. ET) in the Kremlin’s St. George’s Hall, Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. Putin will give a speech and meet with Russian-backed leaders of the four occupied regions on the sidelines of the ceremony, he added. 

The announcements come after people in four occupied areas of Ukraine supposedly voted in huge numbers in favor of joining Russia, in five-day polls that were illegal under international law and dismissed by Kyiv and the West as a sham.

The so-called referendums were organized by Russian-backed separatists in the self-declared Donetsk People’s Republic and Luhansk People’s Republic in the eastern Donbas region, where fighting has raged since rebels seized control of parts of Donetsk and Luhansk in 2014.

The other two areas to hold so-called referendums were Kherson and Zaporizhzhia in southern Ukraine. Russia has occupied the two regions since shortly after it invaded the country in late February. On Thursday, Putin signed decrees recognizing the two regions as independent.

Should Russia proceed to annex the territories, it would violate “everything the international community is meant to stand for,” United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said.

“Any decision to proceed with the annexation of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions of Ukraine would have no legal value and deserves to be condemned,” Guterres said. “It is a dangerous escalation. It has no place in the modern world. It must not be accepted.”

Meanwhile, the European Union on Wednesday proposed additional sanctions in retaliation for Moscow’s annexation plan, targeting “those involved in Russia’s occupation and illegal annexation of areas of Ukraine,” including “the proxy Russian authorities in Donetsk, Luhansk and Kherson and Zaporizhzhia and other Russian individuals who organized and facilitated the sham referenda in these four occupied territories of Ukraine.”

Read the full report.

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin holds a press conference in Prague on September 9.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said while there is “a lot of speculation” about who caused the explosions near the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines that funnel gas from Russia to Europe, “until a complete investigation is done, no one will really be able to determine for certain what happened.” 

Austin made the remarks in Hawaii after a bilateral meeting with the Philippine Senior Undersecretary and Officer in Charge of the Department of National Defense Jose Faustino Jnr

Austin spoke with Denmark’s Minister of Defense Morten Bødskov yesterday by phone. Austin said he offered Denmark “any assistance that the United States may provide.” 

Bødskov told Austin it “will be several days before he is able to get the right team in to look at the sites and try to really determine as best as possible what happened,” Austin said.

NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe General Christopher G. Cavoli in Izmir, Turkey on August 4.

The Pentagon is working to form a new command to coordinate arming and training Ukraine, according to two US officials, in an effort to streamline what was a largely ad hoc process rapidly created in the wake of Russia’s invasion.

The new command, to be based at Weisbaden in Germany, will fall under Gen. Christopher Cavoli, the commander of US European Command, which has led the multinational effort to train Ukrainian military forces on advanced Western weapons and deliver those weapons to the border with Ukraine, one official said. It is expected to be led by a 3-star general. 

But the US has been careful in how it discusses the plan, which the officials emphasized is not a major change to the current system of organizing and administering shipments. Officials are careful not to give Putin a reason to claim the US is party to the conflict, especially given the elevated rhetoric coming from the Kremlin about the threat of nuclear weapons usage. 

The New York Times was first to report about the new command.

The Biden administration has openly signaled its ongoing and long-term support for Ukraine. Since the beginning of Russia’s invasion in late-February, the US has committed more than $16 billion in security assistance to Ukraine. This week, the Pentagon announced another $1.1 billion in additional military aid to Ukraine, which a senior defense official called a “multiyear investment” in the country’s defenses.

Since the first weeks of the war, the US has looked for ways to quickly and effectively translate Ukrainian requests for different types of equipment into shipments of weapons, turning a process that normally takes weeks or more into a matter of days. 

As Ukrainian forces proved they could stand up to the Russian invasion, and as Russian President Vladimir Putin’s hopes for a quick victory turned into a bruising war, the number of countries willing to provide security assistance to Ukraine grew. 

The US and its allies and partners established the Ukraine Contact Group, consisting of more than 40 countries meeting monthly, to coordinate shipments of weapons and equipment into Ukraine. 

The new command will create a more formal structure within the military to manage the shipments, officials said. Its anticipated location in central Germany also places it close to many of the areas used by Western countries to train Ukrainian forces.

The command would also work closely with the International Donor Coordination Center, which has played a critical role in handling the logistics necessary to match the need for Ukrainian weapons with the available stocks of potential donor countries. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting via a video link in Moscow on September 29.

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed on Thursday decrees that recognize the independence of the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, parts of which have been occupied by Russia since shortly after it invaded Ukraine in late February.

The two decrees were published by Russian state news agency RIA Novosti and each says the recognition of independence is “taking into the account the will of the people” following referendums. The so-called referendums have been widely criticized as illegitimate and the United States has pledged not to recognize the results.

The decrees come into force from the date of publication according to RIA Novosti.

The West should have seen that Russian President Vladimir Putin was going to invade Ukraine, a Georgia official told CNN on Thursday.

“We have been anticipating this for a long time… Unfortunately, nobody listened to us in the 90s or in 2000s when we were saying that Georgia will not be the last country which Russia invades,” Nikoloz Samkharadze, chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee at the Georgian Parliament, told CNN’s Becky Anderson.

Russia recognized Georgia’s separatist-held regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent following a five-day war in August 2008.

Samkharadze said the reaction by the West to this and to the annexation of Crimea in 2014 emboldened Russia.    

“Russians thought that they have a free hand and they can do whatever they want in the post-soviet space, and that’s how we ended up in February 2022 when they invaded Ukraine and started a full scale war against Ukraine,” he said. 

A wife and husband from Maryland, United States, have been charged with conspiring to provide the Russian government with personal medical records from the US government and military, according to a newly unsealed federal indictment.

Anna Gabrielian, an anesthesiologist practicing in Baltimore, and her husband, Jamie Lee Henry, a major and doctor in the US Army, allegedly provided “individually identifiable health information,” which is protected under federal law, to an FBI undercover agent posing as a Russian government employee.

Gabrielian and Henry were arrested Thursday morning, according to the US Attorney’s office in the District of Maryland. After appearing in court, they were released on home detention with 24/7 location monitoring. Gabrielian also has a $500,000 unsecured bond.

According to the indictment, Gabrielian was contacted by the undercover agent – who claimed to be an employee of the Russian embassy – in August, after Gabrielian had reached out to the Russian embassy to offer her and her husband’s assistance to the Russian government several months earlier.

CNN is reaching out to the defendants. No attorneys have been listed in court records. 

Gabrielian and Henry both suggested that they provide the undercover agent with medical information from members of the US military and their families from Fort Bragg, where Henry was stationed as a staff internist, as well as from the medical institution where Gabrielian worked in Baltimore, the indictment alleges.

Henry, the indictment says, provided to the undercover agent during an August meeting the health records of a US Army officer, Department of Defense employee, and the spouses of three Army veterans, two of whom are deceased. The indictment also alleges that Gabrielian conspired to provide the medical information of “the spouse of a government employee and military veteran.”

Henry told the undercover agent that if the US were to declare war against Russia, “at that point, I’ll have some ethical issues I have to work through,” according to the indictment.

Read the full report here.

Foreign Minister of Finland Pekka Haavisto speaks during the Finnish Government’s press conference in Helsinki on September 29.

Finland will close its borders to Russian tourists from midnight Friday local time until further notice amid a record number of Russians crossing into the country following Moscow’s partial mobilization order, the government confirmed Thursday.

On September 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the immediate “partial mobilization” of citizens for its war in Ukraine.

Since then, there has been an exodus of citizens fleeing the country and thousands of Russians have entered neighboring Finland.

“The government deems that the Russian mobilization and the rapidly increasing volume of tourists arriving in Finland and transiting via Finland endanger Finland’s international position and international relations.” 

“The resolution aims to stop tourism and related transit from Russia altogether. It will drastically limit the capacity to receive visa applications in Russia,” the ministry added. 

“The resolution will not prevent traveling when it is deemed necessary for humanitarian reasons, for national interests or for meeting Finland’s international obligations.”

Some context: The announcement comes after Helsinki announced Wednesday it would “significantly” restrict the right of Russian tourists to enter the country or transit through when traveling to other parts of Europe’s Schengen area.

Finland’s border guard also said Wednesday that more than 50,000 Russians have entered Finland via the land border since September 21.

Last weekend saw a record number of Russians entering Finland via its land border, with 16,886 Russians arriving in total over Saturday and Sunday, according to the border guard’s head of international affairs, Matti Pitkaniitty.

Actor Mark Hamil attends the premiere of “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” in Los Angeles on December 16, 2019.

Mark Hamill – the actor who played Luke Skywalker in “Star Wars” – has been made an ambassador for Ukraine’s Army of Drones project.

His introduction as an ambassador took place during an online call on Thursday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who expressed his gratitude for Hamill’s support since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Hamill said, “In this long and unequal fight, Ukraine needs continuous additional support. That’s why I was honored President Zelensky asked me to become an ambassador for the Army of Drones.”

The Army of Drones project is a program of the fundraising platform UNITED24, Ukraine’s General Staff of the Armed Forces, the Ministry of Digital Transformation and the State Special Communications Service. It procures, repairs and replaces drones and trains their pilots.