Prepared by Sofia Oliynyk, Maryana Zaviyska, Anna Dovha
Pseudo-referenda.
September 27 marked the end of voting in so-called referendums in the four occupied regions of Ukraine. Vladimir Putin could announce the annexation of occupied regions within a few days, the UK’s defence ministry said. Meanwhile, Kazakhstan, one of Russia’s close ex-Soviet partners, will not recognise the possible annexation of Ukraine’s eastern regions by Russia through referendums held there, Reuters reported.
Due to the pseudo-referenduma in the occupied territories, the Russian occupiers forbade residents of Enerhodar to leave the territory of the city. Special control is applied to operational shift workers of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. Also, on the streets there are patrols of the military forces of the Russian Federation. The voting forms for the so-called ‘referendum’ are distributed to all onlookers on the streets. Armed Russian occupiers force people to vote for Russia with the use of weapons. Everyone who dared to ‘vote’ against joining the Russian Federation is threatened with ‘mobilization’. In addition, the Russian occupiers staged a fake vote at a pseudo-referendum in Energodar with people pretending to be workers of the ZNPP.
Partial mobilization.
Due to the partial mobilization announced by the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, the number of calls from Russian citizens to the Ukrainian hotline regarding the surrender of Russian fighters has increased.
In Russia, there is a significant disproportion regarding the conscription of men for the war against Ukraine against the background of the announced partial mobilization. In particular, the representatives of intelligentsia and indigenous peoples living on Russian territory receive the largest number of summonses. In accordance with this, the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that the Russian Federation is using mobilization to destroy representatives of the indigenous peoples of the temporarily occupied Ukrainian Autonomous Republic of Crimea, the Caucasus, Siberia, and other territories of Russia. ‘This is another element of Russia’s genocidal policy, another reason for the immediate and harsh reaction of the whole world,’ he said.
In the occupied Crimea, more than 200 illegal summons were sent to people who do not fit the criteria for mobilization. In general, the occupation administration has already mobilized 60000 people in Crimea. Moreover, summonses are distributed en masse in places where Crimean Tatars live.
Cities under attack.
Kharkiv region. On September 26, 5 districts of the region were attacked. In Pervomaisk, the Russian occupiers launched a missile attack on a civilian infrastructure facility. In addition, critical infrastructure was damaged and 2 private houses were completely destroyed. A 15 year-old girl was killed. Also, 7 dead people were found under the rubble. In Kupiansk, as a result of shelling, a church school, an outbuilding, and a shop burned down and 5 people were injured. On the morning of September 27, Dvorichna settlement was shelled. As a result, one person was killed.
Mykolaiv region. On the night of September 26, the Russian military attacked the village of Khrystofivka. As a result, 10 private houses and a school were damaged. In the morning the Russian invaders shelled Mykolaiv. An industrial zone on the outskirts of the city was under attack. On the same day, the city of Ochakiv was shelled. No casualties were reported. The next night on September 27, the Russian invaders shelled Mykolaiv. As a result of the shelling, a number of civilian objects in the city center, including residential buildings, shops, and the water supply network were damaged and the warehouse was destroyed. Also, at night the artillery strikes on the water zone of Ochakiv were made. The village of Vesniane was also attacked. As a result, private houses, civil infrastructure, garages and cars were damaged. Meanwhile, the settlements located on the demarcation line remain under constant fire.
Dnipropetrovsk region. At night on September 26, the Nikopol district was under attack. Particularly in Nikopol, almost 40 private houses, more than 20 farm buildings, cars, 30 panels of a solar station, a transformer substation and power lines were damaged. At night, the Russian occupiers fired at Kryvy Rih. The infrastructure of the airport in the city was destroyed. Further use of the airport and equipment is impossible. At night on September 27, the Russian invaders shelled the Nikopol district again. In Nikopol, 30 private houses, farm buildings, and cars were damaged. In Marhanets, 10 private houses, a children’s and youth sports school, a public square, a gas pipeline and power lines were damaged. As a result of the shelling, one house was set on fire.
Zaporizhzhia region. On September 26 and 27, the Russian invaders launched missile attacks on the city center of Zaporizhzhia and the settlement of the Zaporizhzhia district. As a result, the infrastructure facilities were destroyed. No casualties were reported.
Odessa region. At night on September 26, the Russian invaders attacked the region with kamikaze drones. Two drones hit a military infrastructure facility. As a result of a large-scale fire and the detonation of ammunition, the evacuation of the civilian population was organized.
Foreign policy.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria calls for refraining from traveling to the Russian Federation and recommends that Bulgarian citizens in the Russian Federation consider the possibility of leaving the country as soon as possible, using currently available means of transport for this purpose in connection with the complicated situation. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Estonia has published a similar warning, as well as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland. Due to Russian military activities, they advise Estonian and Polish citizens not to travel to Russia unless absolutely necessary and to completely avoid travel to areas bordering Ukraine.
Poland has banned Russian citizens from entering the country through air and sea checkpoints.
War crimes prosecution.
A mission of French specialists has arrived in Ukraine to help Ukrainian colleagues with documentation of crimes in the Izyum area. The team of the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General on Sexual Violence in Conflicts, Pramila Patten, will investigate sexual crimes committed by the Russian military on the territory of Ukraine during the war. An office has already been created for this purpose, and soon the office of the UN Secretary General’s special representative will be opened in Kyiv.
Human rights.
Russia did not grant the UN access to places of detention of Ukrainian prisoners of war.
As of September 25, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights recorded 14 844 cases of death or injury of civilians in Ukraine since the beginning of the full-scale invasion: 5 996 killed and 8 848 wounded.
Olga Stefanishyna, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, reported that about 1.5 million citizens of Ukraine, most of whom are women and children, were forcibly deported to the Russian Federation without the opportunity to return home, and their relatives to establish contact with them.
Food security.
Russia’s military has damaged, destroyed or taken control of nearly 16% of Ukraine’s grain storage facilities since the latest invasion began in February, Share America reported.
Energy security.
Russian energy company Gazprom warned that Ukrainian Naftogaz’s lawsuit could lead to a ban on transactions by the Russian Federation. This could mean stopping gas transit through Ukraine. Gazprom categorically rejects all demands of Naftogaz.
The opening ceremony of the Baltic Pipe gas pipeline with a capacity of 10 billion cubic meters per year from Norway to Poland was held in Gdansk. Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki stated that the pipeline would end the era of Russian dominance.
Representatives of Denmark and Sweden reported the discovery of leaks on the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and her Swedish counterpart Magdalena Andersson both said on Tuesday that leaks in the Nord Stream pipelines were “deliberate” and not accidental in nature, DW reported.
The Khmelnytsky Nuclear Power Plant was successfully inspected by the International Atomic Energy Agency within the framework of the Agreement between Ukraine and the IAEA in connection with the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. Meanwhile, Poland’s Minister of Climate and Environment, Anna Moskwa, said that on behalf of her country, she will call for Russia to be expelled from the International Atomic Energy Agency if its troops do not leave the Zaporizhzhya NPP.
Sanctions.
During a meeting in Vienna of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said that Hungary staunchly opposed European Union sanctions on the Russian nuclear industry.
On September 27, Ukraine completely prohibited the export of goods to the Russian Federation.
New Zealand imposed financial and travel sanctions as part of coordinated action with other countries against 19 more ‘members of Putin’s inner circle’.
Mobility.
Ukraine terminated the agreement on air traffic with Syria that was signed in 1993. Turkish Airlines has canceled flights to Belarus and part of Russia until the end of 2022. The company is suspending flights to Minsk, Sochi, Rostov and Yekaterinburg until December 31. However, Turkish Airlines continues to fly to and from Moscow.
Sport.
The Ukrainian Gymnastics Federation refused to participate in the Congress of the International Gymnastics Federation in 2022 due to the possible presence of representatives of Russia and Belarus. For the same reason, Norway will not be represented at the Congress.
Media.
17 journalists and bloggers were killed during the full-scale invasion, according to a report by the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine.
Recent polls.
The Kyiv International Institute of Sociology conducted a survey of the perception of the contribution of the West support to the recent successes of the Ukrainian Army. According to the survey, 80% of Ukrainians believe that the success of the Ukrainian army is a joint result of the actions of Ukraine and the West.
Reading corner.
- How Ukraine and Valeriy Zaluzhny Turned the Tide of the War | Time – The TIME magazine dedicated the cover page of the new issue to Valery Zaluzhny, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The only interview since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion Zaluzhny gave to TIME. ‘Yet when the history of the war in Ukraine is written, Zaluzhny is likely to occupy a prominent role. He was part of the Ukrainian brass who spent years transforming the country’s military from a clunky Soviet model into a modern fighting force. Hardened by years of battling Russia on the eastern front, he was among a new generation of Ukrainian leaders who learned to be flexible and delegate decisions to commanders on the ground.’
Statistics.
- General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine announced the total estimated losses of the Russian military as of 10 a.m., September 28, 2022: personnel – around 58150, tanks ‒ 2312, APV ‒ 4889, artillery systems – 1381, MLRS – 331, anti-aircraft warfare systems – 175, fixed-wing aircraft – 262, helicopters – 224, operational-tactical level UAV – 989, cruise missiles –242, boats and light speed boats – 15, soft-skinned vehicles and fuel tankers – 3742, special equipment – 131.
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