Russia Declares Martial Law in Illegally Annexed Ukrainian Territories
Moscow declared martial law yesterday in four Ukrainian territories it recently annexed, giving Russia-installed authorities new powers to restrict freedom of movement and impose curfews (WaPo)
It also announced movement restrictions in eight Russian regions bordering Ukraine; Moscow last declared martial law during World War II (CNN)
It is unclear how well Moscow will be able to enforce the measures in the annexed regions, as it does not completely control all of them; Ukrainian forces have advanced in the annexed region of Kherson in recent days (AFP)
Separately, Ukraine warned citizens across the country to expect rolling blackouts of up to four hours today due to Russian attacks on its infrastructure (NYT)
Evacuation of Russia-Annexed Kherson Begins Amid Ukrainian Advance
A Russia-installed local leader said up to sixty thousand civilians would evacuate four towns in the region ahead of a new Ukrainian offensive (BBC)
Ukraine Announces Another Prisoner Swap
A prisoner swap between the countries led to the release of 108 Ukrainians and 110 Russians, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said (The Guardian)
Three Killed in Kyiv as Russia Unleashes Drone Strikes Across Ukraine
A fresh round of Russian drone strikes today targeted Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, the cities of Odesa and Mykolaiv, and the regions of Dnipropetrovsk and Sumy, Ukrainian officials said; in Kyiv, a strike on a residential building killed at least three people (NBC)
The drones carried explosives and appeared to be made by Iran, Ukrainian officials said; Tehran has denied sending drones to Moscow (NYT)
Russia has escalated its attacks on Ukrainian cities after suffering territorial losses in recent weeks (PBS)
The new strikes came as the European Union (EU) approved a two-year military training mission for Ukrainian troops; several North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and EU countries already have such missions (AP)
AP: Russian Adoptions of Ukrainian Children Include Deceit, Coercion
Amid the war in Ukraine, Russian forces have sent children to Russia and Russian-occupied territories without their consent, lied to them, and given them to Russian families, the Associated Press reported (AP)
At UN, Three-Quarters of Countries Condemn Russia’s Annexations in Ukraine
At the UN General Assembly yesterday, 143 countries voted to condemn Russia’s “attempted illegal annexation” of Ukrainian territories and demanded that Moscow “immediately, completely, and unconditionally withdraw all of its military forces” from Ukraine’s internationally recognized boundaries; thirty-five countries abstained from voting, including China, India, Pakistan, and South Africa, and five countries voted against the resolution (The Guardian)
Ahead of the vote, U.S. and European officials had lobbied countries such as India and South Africa to support the resolution; Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy celebrated the vote, saying Russia’s attempt at annexation “will never be recognized by free nations” (Politico)
In March, 141 countries voted in favor of a UN resolution condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine (Al Jazeera)
Ukraine’s Supporters Discuss Further Military Support Amid Russian Missile Barrage
As Russian missiles bombard Ukraine, officials from more than fifty countries are meeting on the sidelines of a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit in Brussels to discuss boosting Ukraine’s air defenses (Reuters)
Yesterday, Group of Seven (G7) countries pledged to provide military and diplomatic support to Ukraine for “as long as it takes” (BBC)
More than one hundred Russian missiles have struck Ukraine since Monday, killing at least twenty-six people (Reuters)
Yesterday, the director of the UN nuclear agency, Rafael Mariano Grossi, met with Russian President Vladimir Putin as part of efforts to prevent a disaster at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (AP)
Today, the plant lost all external power needed for its safety systems for the second time in five days, Grossi said; he has called for the establishment of a protection zone around the plant (Bloomberg)
Russian Missiles Strike Across Ukraine Following Bridge Attack
Russia launched its most extensive air strikes on Ukraine in months after a Russian bridge was bombed over the weekend; at least ten people were killed across Ukraine, including at least five people in the capital, Kyiv (FT)
Russian President Vladimir Putin called the strikes a retaliation for Ukraine’s “terrorist attack” on a bridge linking Russia to Crimea, the Ukrainian peninsula Moscow annexed in 2014. Ukraine has not claimed responsibility for the bridge attack; the Russian strikes hit at least ten Ukrainian cities, targeting infrastructure and civilian areas (NYT)
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg called the attacks “horrific and indiscriminate” (Reuters)
Meanwhile, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said he ordered troops to deploy alongside Russian fighters near Ukraine (Reuters)
U.S. Accuses Russian Mercenaries of Exploiting Africa to Fund Ukraine War
U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield said Wagner Group mercenaries are exploiting African natural resources to fund Russia’s war in Ukraine and its military endeavors elsewhere; Moscow rejected the charges as “anti-Russian rage” (Reuters)
Additionally, U.S. President Joe Biden warned of “the direct threat of the use [of a] nuclear weapon” if the war in Ukraine continues to escalate and said it would be difficult to avoid “Armageddon” if a tactical nuclear weapon is used (CNN)
U.S. Believes Ukrainian Officials Commissioned Russian Assassination
U.S. intelligence officials believe Ukraine authorized the August attack that killed the daughter of a prominent Russian nationalist, the New York Times reported; the U.S. officials reportedly admonished Ukrainian officials after the attack (NYT)
U.S. Announces Fresh Military Aid to Ukraine
Ukraine will receive $625 million worth of weapons from U.S. military stockpiles, including precision rocket launchers, precision-guided artillery rounds, and small arms ammunition (AFP)
Moscow: Residents of Occupied Ukraine Have One Month to Accept Russian Citizenship
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said residents of four Ukrainian regions annexed by Russia, including people who have fled, have one month to accept or reject Russian citizenship. A similar process occurred after Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 (Moscow Times)
Ukrainian Forces Recapture Eastern City of Lyman
Lyman is in Donetsk, one of the four eastern Ukrainian regions annexed by Russia on Friday (The Guardian)
Russian Strike In Zaporizhzhia Kills Twenty-Five Civilians
A Russian strike near the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia killed at least twenty-five civilians, Ukrainian officials said (WSJ)
Moscow Admits to Problems in Military Mobilization as Russians Protest, Flee Draft
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has admitted to errors in Russia’s ongoing military draft as protests against it erupt nationwide and men flee the country by the tens of thousands (NYT)
While Moscow originally said only men with military experience would be required to fight in Ukraine, draft officers have attempted to conscript a broader group; Peskov blamed local officials for the problems (FT)
Ethnic minorities appear to be disproportionately targeted in the draft (Moscow Times)
Yesterday, a man shot and wounded a recruitment officer at a draft office in Siberia (Reuters)
Since last Wednesday, an estimated 261,000 men have fled the country, independent Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta reported, citing official sources (Novaya Gazeta)
U.S. Warns Russia Against Using Nuclear Weapons
The United States warned Russia of “catastrophic consequences” if it were to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine, and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said the U.S. would respond “decisively”; a Kremlin official characterized its contact with Washington as “sporadic” (Reuters)
Referendums continued for a fourth day in the Russian-occupied territories of eastern and southern Ukraine; even Russia’s close partners Kazakhstan and Serbia have announced they would not recognize the outcomes of the pre-determined elections (Reuters)
Russia Stages Referendums in Occupied Eastern Ukraine
Amid strong condemnation by Ukrainian and Western leaders, voting began today in four occupied regions of Ukraine on whether to become part of Russia (NYT)
Voting is set to continue until Tuesday; the referendums are seen as a pretext for Russia to escalate its war in Ukraine and coincide with a Russian military mobilization (AP)
When a similar referendum was held in Crimea in 2014, Russia moved to annex the peninsula soon after (NYT)
Many residents have, in recent months, fled the regions where voting is taking place, and some who remain reported pressure from the Russian military to participate (NPR)
Of the four regions where referendums are being staged, Russia controls nearly all of Kherson and Luhansk but only parts of Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia (NYT)
Russia, Ukraine Swap Hundreds of Prisoners
Ukraine freed the leader of a banned pro-Russia party and fifty-five Russians, while Russia released more than two hundred Ukrainians, including fighters who had been captured in Mariupol earlier this year (Reuters)
Over 1,300 Protesters Arrested Following Russian Mobilization
The independent OVD-Info protest monitoring group said security forces detained more than 1,300 people, primarily in Moscow and St. Petersburg, protesting Russia’s first draft mobilization since World War II (Reuters)
Flights out of Russia have been selling out, while the head of international affairs for Finland’s border guards stated that crossings have intensified (Reuters)
Russia Releases Ten Prisoners As Part of Exchange With Ukraine
Russia transferred ten prisoners, including Amercian citizens, to Saudia Arabia as a part of an exchange with Ukraine; Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry claimed crown prince Mohammed bin Salman mediated the release (New York Times)
Putin Escalates Russian War Efforts With New Troop Mobilization
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a new mobilization of troops to fight in Ukraine in a televised address today; three hundred thousand reservists will be called up to fight, Russia’s defense minister said (FT)
Putin also hinted at his willingness to use nuclear weapons, saying Russia “will use all the means at its disposal” if its territorial integrity is threatened (Reuters)
Yesterday, the Russian parliament increased penalties for soldiers who surrender or refuse to fight and used the words “mobilization” and “martial law” to describe the conflict in Ukraine for the first time (RFE/RL)
Russian-Controlled Kherson Announces Referendum
Following similar announcements by the Russian-controlled regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, separatists from Kherson, in which Russian forces control 95 percent of the territory, will also hold a referendum on joining Russia later this week (Reuters)
Two Russian-Controlled Regions Announce Referendums on Joining Russia
Two Russian-controlled regions in eastern Ukraine, the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR) and the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), announced plans for a referendum on joining Russia; this could signify a significant escalation in Moscow’s tactics, as former president and deputy chairman of the Security Council Dmitry Medvedev claimed the de-facto annexation would enable Russia to use all necessary means to defend what it considers its legal territory (Reuters)
Poland and Baltic States Block Russian Tourists
Four out of the five EU member states bordering Russia began to block Russian tourists from entering their countries on Monday night, but Finland, the other bordering EU member state, argues the move could contravene the Schengen zone agreement (Reuters)
The European Union has not adopted a unified policy, and member states like Germany and France say the move is counterproductive (Washington Post)
Ukraine’s Recapture of Bilohorivka Undermines Putin’s Key War Aims
Ukrainian troops recaptured the town of Bilohorivka from Russian forces, meaning Russia no longer holds total control of the Luhansk region, a local official said (The Guardian)