Putin address is postponed until tomorrow morning, Russian media reports
Andrew Roth
Vladimir Putin’s big speech on new annexations of Ukrainian territory has been postponed until tomorrow morning, Russian media are reporting. Putin’s televised address to the Russian public has reportedly been rescheduled to 8AM Moscow time. Forbes Russia citing two sources in the Kremlin administration said the speech would be broadcast “when the Far East wakes up.” It isn’t clear why the speech was postponed. Analysts have suggested that the speech may also serve to announce a partial mobilisation in Russia. Pro-Kremlin pundits have told their readers to go to bed. “Tomorrow!” posted TV presenter Vladimir Soloviev.
That’s it for the Ukraine Live Blog today. Here is a reminder of what has happened so far:
Putin postponed a planned address to the Russian nation today to tomorrow morning, reported Russian media. The planned speech was going to cover new annexations of Ukrainian territory.
The proxy Russian authorities in four occupied areas of Ukraine – Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia – have all announced on Tuesday their intentions to hold referendums between 23-27 September on joining the Russian Federation.
The White House rejected Russia’s plans to hold referenda in parts of Ukraine, adding that Moscow may be making the move to recruit troops in those areas after suffering extensive losses on the battlefield.
Several world leadershave said they will not recognize any referenda or new annexations of Ukrainian territory, with French president Emmanuel Macron calling the plan a “parody”.
Other world leaders have condemned the planned referenda from Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories about joining the Russian nation.
Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau called the referenda “unacceptable”, adding that Canada would never recognize any such territories as part of Russia, reported Reuters.
“Canada denounces Russia’s planned ‘referendums’ in occupied regions of Ukraine. We will never recognize them,” posted Trudeau to Twitter.
Canada denounces Russia’s planned “referendums” in occupied regions of Ukraine. We will never recognize them. This is a blatant violation of international law. It is a further escalation of war. And it is unacceptable.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell also said that the EU strongly condemns Russia’s plans to hold referenda, reported Reuters.
“Russia, its political leadership, and all those involved in these ‘referenda’ and other violations of international law in Ukraine will be held accountable, and additional restrictive measures against Russia would be considered,” Borrell said.
Here’s more analysis from the Guardian’s Andrew Roth on if Vladimir Putin is willing to risk a nuclear war versus admitting defeat in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine:
Vladimir Putin has backed himself into a corner in Ukraine. And true to form, the Russian leader is ready to escalate, perhaps up to the brink of nuclear war, rather than admit defeat.
Seven months after Putin launched his invasion, Russian troops have been driven back in the Kharkiv region, and Ukrainian forces are advancing in Luhansk and squeezing his troops and supply lines in Kherson.
It is not impossible that Russia could lose territories that it has held since 2014 if Putin’s forces cannot stop Ukraine’s counteroffensive.
Facing humiliation, Putin has issued a new threat: holding “referenda” in the regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, which could lead to them being annexed by Russia by early next week.
Putin address is postponed until tomorrow morning, Russian media reports
Andrew Roth
Vladimir Putin’s big speech on new annexations of Ukrainian territory has been postponed until tomorrow morning, Russian media are reporting. Putin’s televised address to the Russian public has reportedly been rescheduled to 8AM Moscow time. Forbes Russia citing two sources in the Kremlin administration said the speech would be broadcast “when the Far East wakes up.” It isn’t clear why the speech was postponed. Analysts have suggested that the speech may also serve to announce a partial mobilisation in Russia. Pro-Kremlin pundits have told their readers to go to bed. “Tomorrow!” posted TV presenter Vladimir Soloviev.
Biden will nominate diplomat Lynne Tracy as the US ambassador to Russia, announced the White House today, reported Reuters.
Tracy currently serves as U.S. ambassador to Armenia. The U.S. ambassador post in Russia has been vacant since Sept. 4, when envoy John Sullivan concluded his tenure there amid soaring bilateral tensions due to Moscow’s war in Ukraine.
US president Joe Biden will speak tomorrow at the United Nations General Assembly against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, saying that the invasion violates the UN’s 1945 charter, reports Reuters.
On Wednesday, Biden will first meet with UK prime minister Liz Truss and then join in on a summit about collecting pledges to help nations battle diseases.
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan has said that Wednesday’s speech will not be used to argue that Russia should be removed as a member of the UN Security Council, where it's one of five permanent members.
Sullivan said Biden will urge all nations to recognize that Russia’s war against Ukraine is a violation of the U.N.’s 1945 charter.
In other news, Turkish lenders have suspended the use of the Russian payment system Mir, says a senior US administration official, with other banks soon to follow.
A senior U.S. administration official on Tuesday said steps Turkish lenders Isbank and Denizbank took to suspend the use of Russian payment system Mir make a lot of sense, and added that the United States expects more banks will cut off Mir over sanctions risk.
“The steps these banks took make a lot of sense. Cutting off Mir is one of the best ways to protect a bank from the sanctions risk that comes from doing business with Russia. We expect more banks to cut off Mir because they don*t want to risk being on the wrong side of the coalition*s sanctions,” the official said on condition of anonymity.
We are currently waiting on Vladimir Putin to address the Russian nation.
In the meantime, international leaders are chiming in on recognizing referendums from Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories about joining the Russian nation.
French president Emmanuel Macron has said that the international community will not recognize such referendums, calling the plans “a parody” and “cynical”.
“If the Donbas referendum idea wasn’t so tragic it would be funny,” Macron told reporters in New York, reported Reuters.
“I think what was announced by Russia is a parody,” Macon said. “This is cynicism, and obviously it won’t be recognized by the international community.”
Referendums planned in Russian-occupied Ukrainian regions on joining #Russia will not be recognized by the international community, said Emmanuel Macron and called the plans "cynical" and "a parody."
The proxy Russian authorities in four occupied areas of Ukraine – Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia – have all announced on Tuesday their intentions to hold referendums between 23-27 September on joining the Russian Federation. The sudden rush to hold a vote comes as Ukraine’s counteroffensive has reclaimed territory in the east of the country, including a small symbolic toehold in the Luhansk region, which had been totally under the control of Russian proxies.
Any referendums on joining Russia in Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories would destroy any remaining window for talks between Kyiv and Moscow, Ukrainian publication Liga.net cited the Ukrainian president’s office spokesman as saying on Tuesday. “Without the referendums, there is still the smallest chance for a diplomatic solution. After the referendums - no,” Liga.net quoted Serhiy Nykyforov as saying.
The White House rejected Russia’s plans to hold referenda in parts of Ukraine and said Moscow may be making the move to recruit troops in those areas after suffering extensive losses on the battlefield. Jake Sullivan, President Joe Biden’s national security adviser, called the referenda an affront to principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity.
With Germany’s gas storage facilities now at just over 90% capacity, Robert Habeck, the economy minister, has said Germany now stands “a good chance” of getting through the winter. Germany is ahead of its goal to have the subterranean stores 95% full by the start of November.
Russian president Vladimir Putin has condemned what he described as US efforts to preserve its global domination, saying they are doomed to fail. Speaking while receiving credentials from foreign ambassadors to Moscow, Putin said: “The objective development toward a multi-polar world faces resistance of those who try to preserve their hegemony in global affairs and control everything - Latin America, Europe, Asia and Africa.”
Ukraine has recaptured a village close to the eastern city of Lysychansk, in a small but symbolic victory that means Russia no longer has full control of the Luhansk region, one of Russian president Vladimir Putin’s key war aims. Luhansk’s governor, Serhiy Haidai, said Ukraine’s armed forces were in “complete control” of Bilohorivka. “It’s a suburb of Lysychansk. Soon we will drive these scumbags out of there with a broom,” he said. “Step by step, centimetre by centimetre, we will liberate our entire land from the invaders.”
The pace of Ukrainian forces’ advance in the north-east had thrown Russian forces into a “panic”, Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said in his nightly address. Zelenskiy said he was now focused on “speed” in liberated areas. “The speed at which our troops are moving. The speed in restoring normal life,” he said.
Ukrainian forensic experts have so far exhumed 146 bodies, mostly of civilians, at the mass burial site near Izium in eastern Ukraine, the regional governor said on Monday. Oleh Synehubov, governor of the Kharkiv region, said the exhumed bodies included two children. The Kremlin has denied allegations that Russian forces had committed war crimes in Ukraine’s Kharkiv province.
The pro-Russian separatist self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) has said 10 civilians were killed and 15 wounded overnight by shelling from Ukrainian forces on the territory that the DPR occupies. Officials of the similarly self-proclaimed separatist Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR) have informed the Russian news agency Tass that seven people were killed, including three children, in the village of Krasnorichenske, which it occupies.
Ukraine’s armed forces have sunk a barge carrying Russian troops and equipment across the Dnieper River near Nova Kakhovka in the Kherson region, the Kyiv Independent reports.
Security fears have almost certainly led Russia’s Black Sea Fleet to relocate its Kilo-class submarines from Sevastopol in Crimea to Novorossiysk in southern Russia, the UK Ministry of Defence says in its latest intelligence briefing on the war.
That’s it from me, Tom Ambrose, for today. My colleague Gloria Oladipo will be along shortly to continue bringing you all the latest news lines from Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Well, it’s 6.20pm UK time and still no sign of Vladimir Putin arriving to give his address to the Russian nation. The wait goes on, it seems.
Meanwhile, Joe Biden is heading for the United Nations summit in New York “with the wind at his back”, and will deliver a firm rebuke of Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, national security adviser Jake Sullivan is telling reporters at the White House.
He’s speaking at the daily press briefing and outlining what the president will be talking about in his address to the UN general assembly on Wednesday morning, as well as taking a dig at world leaders who won’t be there:
We’re making historic investments at home; our alliances are stronger than they’ve been in modern memory; our robust, united support for Ukraine has helped the Ukrainians push back against Russian aggression; and we’re leading the world in response to the most significant transnational challenges that the world faces from global health to global food security to global supply chains to tackling the climate crisis.
Meanwhile, our competitors are facing increasingly strong headwinds, and neither President Xi [Jinping of China] nor [Russian] President [Vladimir] Putin are even showing up to this global gathering.
Putin to give address after four occupied areas of Ukraine announce ‘vote’ on joining Russia
The Russian president Vladimir Putin will be giving an address at 6pm UK time this evening, when he expected to address today’s news that parts of Ukraine held by Russian troops will hold referendums on joining Russia.
We will bring you all the news lines from that as it happens.
The White House rejected Russia’s plans to hold referenda in parts of Ukraine and said Moscow may be making the move to recruit troops in those areas after suffering extensive losses on the battlefield.
Jake Sullivan, President Joe Biden’s national security adviser, called the referenda an affront to principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity.
He said Biden, at his speech on Wednesday at the United Nations General Assembly, will issue a “firm rebuke” to Russia for its war against Ukraine.
Ukraine says Russian referendums will destroy possibility of talks
Any referendums on joining Russia in Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories would destroy any remaining window for talks between Kyiv and Moscow, Ukrainian publication Liga.net cited the Ukrainian president’s office spokesman as saying on Tuesday.
“Without the referendums, there is still the smallest chance for a diplomatic solution. After the referendums - no,” Liga.net quoted Serhiy Nykyforov as saying.
He made the comments in response to Russian-installed officials in four occupied Ukrainian regions announcing plans for referendums over the next week on formally joining Russia, Reuters reported.
