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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
World
Johana Bhuiyan, Maya Yang, Léonie Chao-Fong, Martin Belam and Tess McClure

Zelenskiy lays out peace formula as arrests at Russia anti-war protests pass 1,000 – as it happened

United Nations Ukraine Joe Biden United States Moscow Vladimir Putin Volodymyr Zelenksyy

We are pausing our live coverage of the Ukraine war for the time being. Thanks for following along. Our full report on the day’s events can be found here:

Summary

That’s it for me in New York. Here’s what happened so far:

  • In a wide-ranging and impassioned televised speech at the UN on Wednesday, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy called on the international community to adopt a five-point formula to achieve peace and security. The five points include punishment for crimes of aggression, protection of life, restoration of security and territorial integrity, security guarantees and determination of Ukraine to continue defending itself.

  • Zelenskiy also named and shamed the seven countries that voted against allowing him to deliver his UN address by video: Belarus, Cuba, Eritrea, North Korea, Nicaragua, Russia and Syria.

  • World leaders are responding to Vladimir Putin’s calls for military mobilization. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has called for a “rallying cry from the world” and Canada Prime Minster Justin Trudeau said the threats were “unacceptable.”

  • Russia and has released 215 prisoners to Ukraine in exchange for 55 of its own prisoners including close Putin ally Viktor Medvedchuk. It is the largest prisoner exchange since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Some of the Ukrainian fighters were captured after a protracted battle for the port city of Mariupol earlier this year, public broadcaster Suspline said on Wednesday.

  • The commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian armed forces said on Wednesday that no statement from Russia’s leaders will change Ukrainians’ willingness to defend their country. “Hundreds of thousands of men and women protect their native land, their homes, their children, and the future of Ukraine,” the commander, Valery Zaluzhnyi, wrote in a statement on Facebook.

  • The security service of Ukraine has released a recording of an intercepted call by a Russian soldier in which he appears to complain about the setbacks faced by Russian troops in recent months. “Locals hate us here. Ours rape local women,” the soldier appeared to say into the phone, adding that there was little to no chance of him returning home anytime soon.

  • Ivan Fedorov, the mayor of Russian-occupied Melitipol, in Ukraine, has urged local men to evacuate the city amid mobilization orders from Russia, the Kyiv Independent reports.

  • Over 1,000 protesters have been arrested in anti-mobilization rallies that are taking place throughout Russia. According to OVD-Info, more than 1,178 people have been detained in 38 cities across Russia, with the majority of the detainees being in Moscow and St Petersburg.

  • Finland said on Wednesday it is working on a federal strategy to “limit or completely prevent” tourism from Russia following the invasion of Ukraine. “This national solution may include new legislation, which would be adopted very quickly,” foreign minister Pekka Haavisto told a press conference.

  • North Korea has denied US State Department claims that the country was preparing to sell weapons to Russia.

New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern has called for a “rallying cry from the world” in response to Putin’s threats to use nuclear weapons and announcement of a draft to fuel the invasion of Ukraine.

“What we need here is a rallying cry from the world, what is happening here is illegal, it’s immoral,” she said.

“This whole false narrative around liberating Ukraine, you don’t attack, and you don’t threaten use of nuclear weapons over a country you claim to be liberating.”

Ardern spoke to reporters in New York, where she is attending the UN general assembly. She also met with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, to share condolences for a mass grave discovered in Ukraine and offer New Zealand’s ongoing support.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Russia’s nuclear threats are unacceptable, according to Reuters.

“Canada condemns Putin’s irresponsible escalation of the war, his partial military mobilisation, his nuclear threats, as well as Russia’s rushed referendums to try to annex parts of Ukraine are unacceptable,” Trudeau said to reporters in New York on Wednesday.

Trudeau also earlier tweeted that he spoke to Moldova President Maia Sandu about how to support Ukrainian refugees and ensure security in the region.

As part of the prisoner exchange that freed Vladimir Putin’s right hand man, Viktor Medvedchuk, Ukraine also received 215 prisoners of war, according to AFP.

Russia received 55 of its own prisoners as part of that exchange.

The released prisoners will stay in Turkey “in total security and in comfortable conditions”, Zelenskiy said in his daily address. Among them were five Britons and two Americans, he said.

This was the largest prisoner exchange since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February.

Updated

At the end of his impassioned televised speech at the United Nations on Wednesday, Zelenskiy took the time to call out the seven countries that voted against allowing him to deliver his speech over video: Belarus, Cuba, Eritrea, North Korea, Nicaragua, Russia and Syria. 101 countries voted in favor of allowing the video address.

Updated

North Korea is denying selling weapons to Russia, Reuters is reporting.

“Recently, the US and other hostile forces talked about the ‘violation of a resolution’ of the UNSC [UN security council], spreading a ‘rumor of arms dealings’ between the DPRK [Democratic People’s Republic of Korea] and Russia … We have never exported weapons or ammunition to Russia before and we will not plan to export them,” said the Korean Central news agency, a state news service.

Earlier this month, the US state department said that Russia was in the process of purchasing “millions of rockets and artillery shells from North Korea for use in Ukraine”.

In the statement, North Korea warned the US to “keep its mouth shut” and stop circulating such rumors, which seem to be “aimed at tarnishing [the country’s] image”.

Read more

Updated

Hi there, Johana Bhuiyan taking over from Maya.

In a major prisoner swap, Viktor Medvedchuk, Vladimir Putin’s closest Ukraine ally, who was captured in April, has been exchanged for commanders of the Azovstal defenders, the Ukrainian presidential adviser Andriy Yermak confirmed.

The Kremlin initially rejected offers to release Medvedchuk in exchange for Ukranian prisoners of war in April.

Here’s more on that initial exchange from my colleague Julian Borger’s April story:

The Kremlin shrugged off the exchange offer, and warned Ukrainian leaders to “watch out”, threatening them with abduction in response. Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “Medvedchuk is not a Russian citizen. He has nothing to do with the special military operation. We don’t know if he wants anything to do with it at all.”

Russia’s former president and deputy chairman of its security council, Dmitry Medvedev, warned of reprisals for the arrest.

“Those freaks who call themselves the Ukrainian authorities say that they want to beat testimony out of Viktor Medvedchuk, ‘quickly and fairly’, convict him and then exchange him for prisoners,” Medvedev said. “These people should watch out and lock the doors well at night to make sure they do not become the people who are going to be exchanged themselves.”

Medvedchuk grew rich from Russian oil interests and his proximity to the Kremlin.

Putin and Medvedev’s wife are godparents to his daughter, and Medvedchuk’s coalition, Opposition Platform – For Life, pursued a pro-Moscow agenda until he was charged with treason in May 2021, accused of selling military secrets to Russia and exploiting the natural resources of Crimea under Russian occupation. He denied wrongdoing and was under house arrest before fleeing during the first days of the invasion.

Updated

Summary

It’s slightly past 1am in Kyiv. Here’s where things stand:

  • In a wide-ranging and impassioned televised speech at the UN on Wednesday, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy called on the international community to adopt a five-point formula to achieve peace and security. The five points include punishment for crimes of aggression, protection of life, restoration of security and territorial integrity, security guarantees and determination of Ukraine to continue defending itself.

  • Russia has released some of the Ukrainian fighters it took prisoner after a protracted battle for the port city of Mariupol earlier this year, public broadcaster Suspline said on Wednesday.

  • The commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian armed forces said on Wednesday that no statement from Russia’s leaders will change Ukrainians’ willingness to defend their country. “Hundreds of thousands of men and women protect their native land, their homes, their children, and the future of Ukraine,” the commander, Valery Zaluzhnyi, wrote in a statement on Facebook.

  • The security service of Ukraine has released a recording of an intercepted call by a Russian soldier in which he appears to complain about the setbacks faced by Russian troops in recent months. “Locals hate us here. Ours rape local women,” the soldier appeared to say into the phone, adding that there was little to no chance of him returning home anytime soon.

  • Ivan Fedorov, the mayor of Russian-occupied Melitipol, in Ukraine, has urged local men to evacuate the city amid mobilization orders from Russia, the Kyiv Independent reports.

  • Over 1,000 protesters have been arrested in anti-mobilization rallies that are taking place throughout Russia. According to OVD-Info, more than 1,178 people have been detained in 38 cities across Russia, with the majority of the detainees being in Moscow and St Petersburg.

  • Finland said on Wednesday it is working on a federal strategy to “limit or completely prevent” tourism from Russia following the invasion of Ukraine. “This national solution may include new legislation, which would be adopted very quickly,” foreign minister Pekka Haavisto told a press conference.

Updated

In a wide-ranging and impassioned televised speech at the UN on Wednesday, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy called on the international community to adopt a 5-point formula to achieve peace and security.

Zelenskiy, who addressed the General Assembly in a pre-recorded video, laid out a “formula for peace” that includes the following measures:

1) Punishment for crimes of aggression including sanctions and the stripping away of veto rights

2) Protection of life as he cited the mass graves of tortured bodies found in Bucha and Izium

3) Restoration of security and territorial integrity, noting that Russia’s attempts at targeting nuclear facilities in Ukraine is going to impact “all of you…because none of you will find a vaccine against radiation sickness”

4) Security and safety guarantees

5) Determination for Ukraine to continue defending itself against Russian aggression

Zelenskiy concluded his speech by calling out the the countries that voted alongside Russia to oppose Ukraine’s request to deliver a remote address as traditional UN procedures only allow in-person participants to deliver addresses.

101 countries voted in favor of the televised address while 19 abstained.

Referring to the possibility of peace talks between Ukraine and Russia, Zelenskiy said, “As for the talks between Ukraine and Russia, probably you have heard different words from Russia about the talks, as if they were ready for them… They talk about the talks but announce military mobilization. They talk about the talks but announce psuedo-referendums.”

In contrast, Zelenskiy reaffirmed that Ukraine is prepared for peace talks but only for “true, honest, fair peace.”

His speech was met with a standing ovation.

Updated

“We are ready for peace, but true, honest and fair peace,” the Ukrainian president added.

Updated

Neutrality “is not in our formula”, Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in his address as he criticizes countries that have adopted positions of neutrality in the midst of the war, saying that they are hindering attempts to achieve peace and security.

“Our formula [for peace] is universal and unites the north and the south of the world … it encourages the representation of those who remain unheard,” he adds.

Updated

Other conditions for peace outlined by Volodymyr Zelenskiy include punishment for Russian aggression, restoration of Ukraine’s security and territorial integrity and security guarantees.

“This is a war for life,” he says as he calls for a special tribunal to hold Russia responsible for its crimes.

Updated

Zelenskiy is calling for a ban on Russia from voting in international bodies and exercising its UN security council veto.

“So long as the aggressor is a party to decision-making in the international organizations, he must be isolated from them,” Volodymyr Zelenskiy says.

Updated

The president continues to call for accountability of Russian forces and the Russian government for its invasion of Ukraine.

Volodymyr Zelenskiy calls for “punishment for the crime of aggression, punishment for the violation of borders and territorial integrity. Punishment that must stay in place until the internationally recognized borders are restored.”

Updated

“Sanctions against the aggressor are part of the peace formula,” Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenksiy says as he outlines a “formula” in his address to achieve peace in Ukraine.

Updated

Volodymyr Zelenskiy addresses UN

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy is speaking virtually to the UN general assembly in New York.

“Ukraine wants peace. Europe wants peace. The world wants peace. And we have seen who is the only one who wants war. There is only one entity among all UN member states who would say now if he could interrupt my speech that he is happy with this war, with his war,” he said.

Updated

Russia has released some of the Ukrainian fighters it took prisoner after a protracted battle for the port city of Mariupol earlier this year, public broadcaster Suspline said on Wednesday.

Reuters reports:

Suspline, citing the Azov battalion unit that did much of the fighting, said an exchange had happened near the northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv.

It gave no details.

The Telegram account of Andriy Biletsky, original founder of the Azov battalion, showed him giving a victory sign with the caption “In service” as he held one of the captives.

Reuters was not immediately able to verify when the photo had been taken. Earlier in the day, Saudi Arabia said Russia had released 10 foreign prisoners of war captured in Ukraine following mediation by Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Last month, the head of the Russian-backed separatist administration in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk said a trial of captured Azov personnel would take place by the end of the summer.

After fighting for weeks from the bunkers and tunnels below Mariupol’s giant the steel works, hundreds of Azov fighters surrendered in May to Russian-backed forces.

The commander in chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said on Wednesday that no statement from Russia’s leaders will deter Ukrainians’ willingness to defend their country.

“Hundreds of thousands of men and women protect their native land, their homes, their children, and the future of Ukraine,” the commander, Valery Zaluzhnyi, wrote in a statement on Facebook. “We will destroy everyone who comes to our land with weapons - whether voluntarily or by mobilization.

The Security Service of Ukraine has released a recording of an intercepted call by a Russian soldier in which he appears to complain about the setbacks faced by Russian troops in recent months.

“Locals hate us here. Ours rape local women,” the soldier appeared to say into the phone, adding that there is little to no chance of him returning home anytime soon.

Ivan Fedorov, the mayor of Russian-occupied Melitipol, in Ukraine has urged local men to evacuate the city amid mobilization orders from Russia, the Kyiv Independent reports.

Arrests at anti-war protest in Moscow pass 1,000

Over 1,000 protesters have been arrested in anti-mobilization rallies that are taking place throughout Russia.

According to OVD-Info, more than 1,178 people have been detained in 38 cities across Russia, with the majority of the detainees being in Moscow and St. Petersburg.

The protests come amid Russian president Vladimir Putin’s order on Wednesday for a partial mobilization as Russian forces face a series of setbacks in their invasion of Ukraine.

Updated

Protestors have gathered outside the Russian embassy in Warsaw, Poland to protest against Russia’s partial mobilization order.

Finland said Wednesday it is working on a federal strategy to “limit or completely prevent” tourism from Russia following the invasion of Ukraine.

“This national solution may include new legislation, which would be adopted very quickly,” foreign minister Pekka Haavisto told a press conference, Agence France-Presse reports.

Since Russia’s Covid-19 restrictions expired in July, there has been a boom in Russian travellers and a rising backlash in Europe against allowing in Russian tourists while the war continues.

Finland has significantly reduced tourist visas for Russians in September but tourists continue to enter the country via visas issued by other EU countries in the Schengen borderless travel area.

“Finland does not want to be a country that is a transit country for Schengen visas issued by other countries either,” Haavisto said.

According to a poll published by Finnish daily Ilta-Sanomat on Wednesday, around 70 percent of Finns want their country to stop issuing tourist visas to Russians.

Finland has been calling for an EU decision to limit visas for Russians, but Haavisto noted, “It cannot be guaranteened that this move would happen very quickly.”

Summary of the day so far

It is just past 9pm in Kyiv. Here’s where we stand:

  • Five British nationals held by pro-Russian forces in eastern Ukraine have been safely returned, the UK’s prime minister Liz Truss has said. Among those released was Aiden Aslin, a British-Ukrainian former care worker from Nottinghamshire who was a Ukrainian marine captured in Mariupol, Aslin’s MP Robert Jenrick confirmed.

  • The Saudi foreign ministry said Russia had released 10 foreign prisoners of war captured in Ukraine following mediation by the crown prince Mohammed bin Salman. US citizens Alexander Drueke and Andy Tai Ngoc Huynh were among those released.

  • Joe Biden has denounced Vladimir Putin’s threats to use nuclear weapons as “reckless” and “irresponsible” and called Russia’s planned annexation of more regions of Ukraine as “an extremely significant violation” of the UN charter. The US president was speaking to the UN general assembly where he sought to galvanise the outrage of UN member states at the threat which Putin’s actions and “imperial ambitions” posed to the founding values of the UN.

  • Earlier on Wednesday, Vladimir Putin announced a partial mobilisation in Russia in a significant escalation that places the country’s people and economy on a wartime footing. In a highly anticipated televised address, Putin said the “partial mobilisation” was a direct response to the dangers posed by the west. According to the decree, the contracts of soldiers fighting in Ukraine will also be extended until the end of the partial mobilisation period.

  • The Russian president also threatened nuclear retaliation, saying that Moscow had “lots of weapons to reply” to what he called western threats on Russian territory. Putin added: “It’s not a bluff.” Ukrainian officials responded by calling on world leaders to warn Putin that any attempt to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine would result in catastrophic consequences for Russia.

  • Russia’s defence minister Sergei Shoigu said 300,000 Russians would be called up as part of the mobilisation that will apply to “those with previous military experience”. The Russian government will announce “very soon” which categories of citizens will be exempted from the mobilisation of reservists to serve in Ukraine, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.

  • Putin’s decision to announce a partial mobilisation sent shockwaves across Russia, with the war set to enter the household of many families across the country. Hundreds of protesters have been arrested after taking to the streets following the Russian president’s speech. In Russia’s third-largest city Novosibirsk, video published to social media showed a protester shouting “I don’t want to die for Putin or for you!” Google searches for “how to break an arm” reportedly surged in Russia.

  • Putin’s speech was swiftly condemned by western leaders. Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg criticised the Russian leader for using “dangerous and reckless” nuclear rhetoric. Germany’s chancellor Olaf Scholz described the announcement as an “act of desperation”. A European Commission spokesperson said Putin was making a “very dangerous nuclear gamble” and must “stop such reckless behaviour”. Putin’s announcement is a “clear admission” his invasion of Ukraine is failing, Downing Street said. The British Foreign Office minister Gillian Keegan called the Russian president’s speech an “obvious escalation”.

  • Lithuania’s defence minister Arvydas Anušauskas has said the country is to put its rapid reaction force on high alert, as the mobilisation will also occur on its border with the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad. Latvia’s foreign minister Edgars Rinkēvičs said his country will not offer refuge to any Russians fleeing Moscow’s mobilisation of troops.

  • Britain’s prime minister, Liz Truss, and European Commission president, Ursula Von der Leyen, said Putin’s speech on Wednesday was “a statement of weakness”. In a joint statement following a meeting between the pair in New York, they said Putin’s calls for partial mobilisation were “a sign that Russia’s invasion is failing”.

  • Nearly all flights out of Russia were sold out just hours after Putin declared a partial mobilisation of reservists. Flights from Moscow to the capitals of Georgia, Turkey and Armenia, all destinations that allow Russians to enter without a visa, were sold out within minutes of Putin’s announcement, according to flight sales data. Direct flights from Moscow to Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan also became unavailable.

  • The Russian stock market tumbled after Putin’s speech. The Russian president’s announcement sent the Moscow stock exchange’s MOEX index plunging by as much as 10%, marking a second day in falling stocks. On Tuesday, the rouble-denominated MOEX index fell by 8.7% to hit its lowest point since 16 August.

  • Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan have warned their citizens against participating in the war in Ukraine after Moscow passed a decree that guaranteed Russian citizenship to foreigners who signed a contract with the Russian armed forces. On Tuesday, Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin opened a military recruitment centre for foreign citizens – a move widely seen as an attempt to lure migrant workers from Central Asia, to whom a Russian passport is often seen as a prized possession, to fight in Ukraine.

  • Putin’s televised address to the nation came a day after Russian-controlled regions in eastern and southern Ukraine announced plans to hold “referendums” this weekend on becoming part of Russia. In his speech on Wednesday, Putin said he would support the votes scheduled for this weekend to join Russia in the parts of Ukraine’s Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions that are under its control.

  • Russia fired a series of long-range missiles at Ukraine’s second city Kharkiv early on Wednesday, hours after the Kremlin announced plans to annex Ukrainian territory and to carry out a partial mobilisation. Explosions were heard across Kharkiv at around 2am. At least one missile struck a high-rise apartment in the western Zalutino district. Ten residents were injured.

  • Biden’s speech on Wednesday morning will be followed a few hours later by a video address delivered by the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

  • Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said there was a shrinking likelihood of holding talks with Vladimir Putin to end the war, adding that it could only happen if the Russian leader withdrew his forces from Ukrainian territory. In an interview with Bild TV, the Ukrainian president urged the west not to be blackmailed by Putin’s threat of nuclear retaliation, and warned that to do so would invite Russia to attempt to take more territory.

Updated

More than 700 anti-war protesters detained in Russia

More than 700 people have been detained in dozens of cities in Russia for protesting against Vladimir Putin’s partial mobilisation of Russian citizens, according to the independent monitoring group OVD-Info.

Hundreds of people have been arrested in St Petersburg and Moscow while photographs have emerged of police using batons against protesters.

Updated

EU foreign ministers will hold an emergency meeting in New York later today after Vladimir Putin ordered the mobilisation of hundreds of thousands of Russians to fight in Ukraine, Reuters is citing diplomats as saying.

Russia has released US citizens Alexander Drueke, 39, and Andy Tai Ngoc Huynh, 27, in a prisoner exchange, a family representative told Reuters.

The pair, both from Alabama, were captured in June while fighting in eastern Ukraine. They were believed to be the first US citizens confirmed captured by Russia’s forces when they were reported missing in mid-June.

Ukrainian officials have called on world leaders to issue a firm warning to the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, making it clear that any attempt to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine would result in catastrophic consequences for Russia.

Mykhailo Podolyak, a senior aide to Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, in an interview at the presidential administration in Kyiv:

The other nuclear states need to say very firmly that as soon as Russia even thinks of carrying out nuclear strikes on foreign territory – in this case the territory of Ukraine – there will be swift retaliatory nuclear strikes to destroy the nuclear launch sites in Russia.

Mykhailo Podolyak said letting Russia get away with nuclear threats would erode the long-standing principle that nuclear weapons can only be used as a defensive weapon.
Mykhailo Podolyak said letting Russia get away with nuclear threats would erode the long-standing principle that nuclear weapons can only be used as a defensive weapon. Photograph: Kemal Aslan/Reuters

On Wednesday, Russian television aired an address by Putin in which he demonstratively played the nuclear card. The Russian president also announced “referendums” in four partially occupied regions of Ukraine, on the question of the territories joining Russia, and declared partial mobilisation.

Since February, Putin has made nuclear threats several times, but Wednesday’s was the most clear and explicit to date, and has left analysts scrambling to determine whether the possibility Putin could resort to nukes is real or just a bluff.

“I think the analytical capacity of Putin’s circle is very low at the moment – they don’t understand all the risks of what they are doing and where it has already brought the Russian Federation,” said Podolyak. “It’s hard to make predictions when a person is completely irrational.”

Read the full story by Shaun Walker and Luke Harding:

The Guardian’s Moscow correspondent Andrew Roth is covering the anti-war protests in the central Arbat area in the Russian capital, following Vladimir Putin’s announcement of a partial mobilisation of reservists:

Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan have warned their citizens against participating in the war in Ukraine after Moscow passed a decree that guaranteed Russian citizenship to foreigners who signed a contract with the Russian armed forces.

On Tuesday, Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin opened a military recruitment centre for foreign citizens at Sakharovo migration centre located in Moscow’s suburbs.

The move was widely seen as an attempt to lure migrant workers from Central Asia, to whom a Russian passport is often seen as a prized possession, to fight in Ukraine.

According to Russian government statistics, 4.5m workers from Uzbekistan, 2.4m from Tajikistan, and 920,000 from Kyrgyzstan were working in Russia in 2021.

Russia’s war in Ukraine has unnerved Central Asia, as the leaders of the five nations have been wary of endorsing Russian president Vladimir Putin’s aggression.

Aiden Aslin among Britons released

Among the five Britons captured in Ukraine who have now been released is Aiden Aslin, Aslin’s MP Robert Jenrick has confirmed.

Aslin, a British-Ukrainian former care worker from Nottinghamshire who was a Ukrainian marine, was captured by Russian forces in the besieged city of Mariupol in April.

He was sentenced to death in June by a Russian proxy court in eastern Ukraine for “mercenary activities” and “terrorism” by a court that is not internationally recognised, following a trial in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), a pro-Russia quasi-state.

The Saudi foreign ministry earlier said Russia had released 10 foreign prisoners of war captured in Ukraine following a mediation by its crown prince Mohammed bin Salman.

The released prisoners include American, British, Croatian, Moroccan and Swedish nationals, the ministry said in a statement, adding that a plane carrying the prisoners landed in the kingdom. The ministry did not identify the prisoners.

Aslin’s release “brings to an end months of agonising uncertainty” for his family, Jenrick wrote in a series of tweets.

As they are united as a family once more, they can finally be at peace.

Jenrick added that he was “deeply grateful” for the work undertaken by the Ukrainian government, the Saudi crown prince, as well as Britain’s prime minister Liz Truss and foreign secretary James Cleverly in bringing the “horrific” ordeal to a close.

Updated

Five British nationals held by Russian-backed forces in Ukraine released, UK prime minister Liz Truss says

Five British nationals held by pro-Russian forces in eastern Ukraine have been safely returned, the UK’s prime minister Liz Truss has said.

Updated

Speaking at the UN general assembly for the first time as US president, Joe Biden said Russia’s war on Ukraine was about “extinguishing Ukraine’s right to exist as a state”.

Biden’s speech comes as Putin announced partial mobilisation in Russia and signalled his willingness to use nuclear weapons.

In a highly anticipated speech after Putin’s announcements, Biden said:

Ukraine has the same rights that belong to every sovereign nation. We will stand in solidarity with Ukraine who will stand in solidarity against Russia’s aggression, period.

Protests break out in Russia against Putin's mobilisation orders

More than 200 people have been arrested at demonstrations across Russia against Vladimir Putin’s partial mobilisation of Russian citizens, according to reports.

Our Moscow correspondent Andrew Roth reports from the capital:

Updated

Vladimir Putin’s threat to use nuclear weapons is a “bluster” and “hides a genuine weakness” in the Russian position in its war against Ukraine, a former Nato secretary general has said.

Speaking to the BBC, Lord Robertson of Port Ellen said:

I think we are going to hear the rhetoric stepped up, because on the battlefield they don’t seem to be able to make the progress that they claim.

“A lot” has changed in terms of Russia’s relationship with the west since he was Nato chief, he said.

It’s a much more dangerous world when somebody so mercurial as President Putin can be taking these kind of life and death decisions for his country, and indeed for the world.”

Britain’s prime minister, Liz Truss, and European Commission president, Ursula Von der Leyen, have released a joint statement following a meeting at the UN general assembly in New York today.

Liz Truss holds a bilateral meeting with Ursula Von Der Leyen in New York.
Liz Truss holds a bilateral meeting with Ursula Von Der Leyen in New York. Photograph: Reuters

The pair “strongly condemned” Russia’s actions in Ukraine and agreed that Vladimir Putin’s calls for partial mobilisation were “a sign that Russia’s invasion is failing”, the statement read, describing the Russian leader’s speech as “a statement of weakness”.

The statement continued:

They recognised the courage and bravery of the Ukrainian people and underscored their joint commitment to sustaining support for Ukraine in its struggle as long as it takes.

The pair also discussed UK-EU relations including energy, food security and the Northern Ireland protocol, it added.

Updated

Biden warns Putin nuclear war ‘cannot be won and must never be fought’

In his speech to the UN general assembly, Joe Biden accused Russia of “shamelessly” violating the core tenets of UN membership by invading Ukraine and said Moscow was making “irresponsible” threats to use nuclear weapons.

Biden urged countries to recommit to strengthening the nuclear non-proliferation regime through diplomacy, adding:

A nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought.

The US president said no one had threatened Russia, despite its claims to the contrary, and that only Russia had sought conflict.

Updated

Google searches for “how to break an arm” reportedly surged in Russia after Vladimir Putin announced an immediate partial mobilisation of citizens to fight in Ukraine.

Russia has released 10 prisoners of war captured in Ukraine, including at least one Briton, according to a Saudi official.

The released prisoners include American, British, Swedish, Croatian and Moroccan nationals, the official said.

The release came following mediation by the Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, the official said, adding that a plane carrying the prisoners had landed in the kingdom.

Britain’s prime minister, Liz Truss, met with her Ukrainian counterpart, Denys Shmyhal, and the country’s first lady, Olena Zelenska, in New York to reaffirm the UK’s support for Ukraine.

Truss tweeted about the meeting:

As did Shmyhal, who said he had congratulated Truss on her appointment and said the pair had discussed deepening cooperation for Ukraine’s victory and reconstruction.

Updated

More than 100 protesters detained in Russia after Putin announces partial mobilisation

Dozens of people have been detained across Russia for protesting against Vladimir Putin’s partial mobilisation of Russian citizens.

At least 109 protesters have been detained across the country so far, according to the independent OVD-Info police monitor.

In the Siberian city of Irkutsk, at least 10 of 60 protesters who gathered at a central square were detained, according to local activists, the Moscow Times reports.

In Russia’s third-largest city Novosibirsk, video published to social media showed a protester shouting “I don’t want to die for Putin or for you!”

From the Wall Street Journal’s Matthew Luxmoore:

The Guardian’s Russia affairs correspondent Pjotr Sauer writes for us today about Vladimir Putin’s speech, which marks the biggest escalation of the war in Ukraine and raises fears of unprecedented disaster.

“This is not a bluff.”

The message from Vladimir Putin’s ominous morning speech, which marked the biggest escalation of the Ukraine war since the invasion on 24 February, was clear: Russia is willing to use nuclear weapons if Ukraine continues its offensive operations.

While the longtime Russian leader has previously flirted with the grim prospect of using nuclear weapons, experts say his latest statements went further, raising fears around the world of an unprecedented nuclear disaster.

Addressing the nation on Wednesday, Putin confirmed he was planning to annex four partly occupied regions of southern and western Ukraine after this weekend’s Kremlin-orchestrated “referendums”.

He added that he was prepared to use “all means” to defend the “territorial integrity” of the Russian-occupied lands and their people.

“Putin’s statements go beyond the Russian nuclear doctrine, which only suggests Russian first use in a conventional war when the very existence of the state is threatened,” said Andrey Baklitskiy, a senior researcher in the Weapons of Mass Destruction and other Strategic Weapons Programme at the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research.

Ukraine, which has been making rapid military gains over the past few weeks, has stressed that it will continue its efforts to liberate occupied lands, with Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, stating on Wednesday that referendums will “act step by step to liberate our country”.

This means Putin’s resolve will probably be tested in the coming week.

Read the full story here:

Britain’s foreign secretary James Cleverly has said the UK will never recognise the results of “sham referendums” held in occupied Ukraine.

Vladimir Putin’s “referendum playbook” was a “blatant sham designed to seize Ukraine’s land”, Cleverly wrote on Twitter.

He added:

Any votes held at the barrel of a gun cannot be free or fair.

We will never recognise the results of any sham referendums or attempts to annex Ukraine’s sovereign territory.

Cleverly is expected to condemn Russian aggression in Ukraine when he meets his Moscow counterpart Sergey Lavrov at a UN security council meeting in New York on Thursday.

Biden references the mass graves recently discovered in Izium, which he said “showed signs of torture”.

Now we see attacks on schools, railway stations, hospitals... even more horrifying evidence of Russia’s war crimes.

The US wants the war to end on “just terms”, the US president continues, “terms we all signed up for, that you cannot seize a nation’s territory by choice”.

The only country standing in the way of that is Russia, he says.

He says Putin has made “reckless” nuclear threats and describes the plans to hold “referendums” in Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine as a “sham”.

Biden: ‘Brutal, needless’ war in Ukraine ‘chosen by one man’

The US president Joe Biden is addressing the UN general assembly where he described the “brutal needless” war in Ukraine as one that was “chosen by one man” – Vladimir Putin.

US President Joe Biden addresses the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly.
US President Joe Biden addresses the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly. Photograph: Timothy A Clary/AFP/Getty Images

Putin “shamelessly violated” the core tenets of the UN charter by ordering his troops to invade Ukraine, Biden said in his first speech to the UN since Russia invaded its neighbour in February.

Biden said:

This war is about extinguishing Ukraine’s right to exist as a state, plain and simple, and Ukraine’s right to exist as a people. Wherever you are, wherever you live, whatever you believe… That should make your blood run cold.

A country “cannot seize a nation’s territory by force”, he continued.

Ukraine has the same rights belong to every sovereign nation. We will stand in solidarity with Ukraine who will stand in solidarity against Russia’s aggression, period.

Updated

Summary of the day so far

It is just past 6pm in Kyiv. Here’s where we stand:

  • Vladimir Putin has announced a partial mobilisation in Russia in a significant escalation that places the country’s people and economy on a wartime footing. In a highly anticipated televised address, Putin said the “partial mobilisation” was a direct response to the dangers posed by the west. According to the decree signed by Putin on Wednesday, the contracts of soldiers fighting in Ukraine will also be extended until the end of the partial mobilisation period.

  • The Russian president also threatened nuclear retaliation, saying that Moscow had “lots of weapons to reply” to what he called western threats on Russian territory. He added: “It’s not a bluff.”

  • Shortly after Putin’s announcement, the country’s defence ministry, Sergei Shoigu, said 300,000 Russians would be called up as part of the mobilisation that will apply to “those with previous military experience”. The Russian government will announce “very soon” which categories of citizens will be exempted from the mobilisation of reservists to serve in Ukraine, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.

  • Putin’s speech was swiftly condemned by western leaders. Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg criticised the Russian leader for using “dangerous and reckless” nuclear rhetoric. Germany’s chancellor Olaf Scholz described the announcement as an “act of desperation”. A European Commission spokesperson said Putin was making a “very dangerous nuclear gamble” and must “stop such reckless behaviour”. Putin’s announcement is a “clear admission” his invasion of Ukraine is failing, Downing Street said. The British Foreign Office minister Gillian Keegan called the Russian president’s speech an “obvious escalation”.

  • Lithuania’s defence minister Arvydas Anušauskas has said the country is to put its rapid reaction force on high alert, as the mobilisation will also occur on its border with the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad. “Since the Russian military mobilisation will also be carried out in the Kaliningrad region, ie in our neighbourhood, Lithuania cannot just watch,” Anušauskas said. Latvia’s foreign minister Edgars Rinkēvičs said his country will not offer refuge to any Russians fleeing Moscow’s mobilisation of troops.

  • Putin’s decision to announce a partial mobilisation sent shockwaves across Russia, with the war set to enter the household of many families across the country. The Russian anti-war movement Vesna has called for demonstrations in cities and towns across Russia at 7pm local time (16:00 GMT) on Wednesday in protest against mobilisation. “You don’t have to die for Putin. You are needed in Russia by those who love you. For the authorities, you are just cannon fodder, where you will be squandered without any meaning or purpose,” Vesna said in a statement.

  • Nearly all flights out of Russia were sold out just hours after Putin declared a partial mobilisation of reservists. Flights from Moscow to the capitals of Georgia, Turkey and Armenia, all destinations that allow Russians to enter without a visa, were sold out within minutes of Putin’s announcement, according to flight sales data. Direct flights from Moscow to Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan also became unavailable.

  • The Russian stock market tumbled after Putin’s speech. The Russian president’s announcement sent the Moscow stock exchange’s MOEX index plunging by as much as 10%, marking a second day in falling stocks. On Tuesday, the rouble-denominated MOEX index fell by 8.7% to hit its lowest point since 16 August.

  • Putin’s televised address to the nation came a day after Russian-controlled regions in eastern and southern Ukraine announced plans to hold “referendums” this weekend on becoming part of Russia. In his speech on Wednesday, Putin said he would support the votes scheduled for this weekend to join Russia in the parts of Ukraine’s Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions that are under its control. Kremlin’s plans to annex four regions are likely to further escalate the war following Ukrainian recent successes on the battlefield.

  • Russia fired a series of long-range missiles at Ukraine’s second city Kharkiv early on Wednesday, hours after the Kremlin announced plans to annex Ukrainian territory and to carry out a partial mobilisation. Explosions were heard across Kharkiv at around 2am. At least one missile struck a high-rise apartment in the western Zalutino district. Ten residents were injured.

  • Joe Biden will use his speech at the UN to rally the world to stand firm in the face of Russian plans to hold referendums in occupied parts of Ukraine and possibly introduce widespread conscription. Biden’s speech on Wednesday morning will be followed a few hours later by a video address delivered by the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

  • Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said there was a shrinking likelihood of holding talks with Vladimir Putin to end the war, adding that it could only happen if the Russian leader withdrew his forces from Ukrainian territory. In an interview with Bild TV, the Ukrainian president urged the west not to be blackmailed by Putin’s threat of nuclear retaliation, and warned that to do so would invite Russia to attempt to take more territory.

  • Ukraine’s prime minister Denys Shmyhal has met with new British prime minister Liz Truss at the Ukrainian Institute of America in New York. Truss said she reaffirmed Britain’s “steadfast support” for the Ukrainian people, while her foreign secretary James Cleverly is expected to condemn Russia’s aggression in Ukraine when he meets his Moscow counterpart Sergey Lavrov at the UN security council on Thursday.

Hello everyone. It’s Léonie Chao-Fong still with you today with all the latest from Ukraine. Feel free to get in touch on Twitter or via email.

Updated

Locals wait in line for bread, candles and food provided by aid workers in Balakliia in Kharkiv region.
Locals wait in line for bread, candles and food provided by aid workers in Balakliia in Kharkiv region. Photograph: Ümit Bektaş/Reuters
Bread, candles and food were provided by aid workers as there is no electricity in Balakliia, recently liberated by Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Bread, candles and food were provided by aid workers in Balakliia, recently liberated by Ukrainian armed forces. Photograph: Ümit Bektaş/Reuters
Locals charge their mobile phones with the electricity provided from a generator in front of a shop as there is no electricity in Balakliia.
Locals charge their mobile phones with the electricity provided from a generator in front of a shop as there is no electricity in Balakliia. Photograph: Ümit Bektaş/Reuters

Updated

Germany’s chancellor Olaf Scholz has described Vladimir Putin’s order for a partial mobilisation and holding of “referendums” as an “act of desperation”.

Speaking on the sidelines of the UN general assembly, Scholz insisted Russia “cannot win this criminal war” in Ukraine and that Putin “with his most recent decision makes everything much worse”.

Putin had “from the start completely underestimated Ukrainians’ will to resist” as well as its allies’ “unity and desperation”, Scholz added.

He said “sham referendums” in Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine would never be accepted by the international community.

Scholz added:

In the world in which we live, the law must win out over force and force can never be stronger than the law.

Updated

US president Joe Biden will not use his speech at the UN today to directly address Vladimir Putin’s announcement ordering an immediate partial mobilisation of Russian reservists, according to a US official.

Biden is scheduled to speak at the first United Nations general assembly since Russia invaded Ukraine at 10.35am local time (14:35 GMT), just hours after Putin announced in a speech an escalation in his war effort in Ukraine.

Instead of countering Putin’s speech, Biden will focus on reiterating US support for Ukraine and the ways his administration will continue that effort, CNN reports.

The American president plans to deliver “a call to the world to continue to stand against the naked aggression that we’ve seen these past several months”, his national security adviser said.

For more live updates from the US, head over to our US politics blog. I will continue here with developments from Ukraine, and the top lines that emerge from Biden’s speech.

Updated

Vladimir Putin’s declaration of a partial mobilisation shows he still refuses to understand Ukraine, Britain’s ambassador to Ukraine, Melinda Simmons, said.

Writing on Twitter, Simmons said:

Partial mobilisation and sham referenda don’t change that essential weakness.

Updated

Ireland has announced it has filed a formal intervention at the international court of justice (ICJ) in relation to allegations by Russia of genocide in Ukraine as grounds for war.

It has been lodged as a third party in the case taken by Ukraine against the Russian Federation under the genocide convention.

In its application to the ICJ, Ukraine argued that Russia falsely claimed that acts of genocide have occurred in the Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts of Ukraine, and used this as a basis to recognise the self-proclaimed “Donetsk People’s Republic” and “Luhansk People’s Republic”, and to invade Ukraine.

Ireland’s intervention argues that the ICJ does have jurisdiction in this case and that the use of force by Russia on the pretext of a false allegation of genocide in Ukraine is a serious violation of the genocide convention.

Ireland’s foreign minister Simon Coveney said:

As an elected member of the UN security council, we have consistently condemned Russian aggression, co-sponsoring a landmark resolution at the general assembly denouncing the invasion as illegal, unjustified, and unprovoked. Ireland’s intervention in this case is a further demonstration of our determination to ensure accountability.

Updated

Ukraine’s prime minister Denys Shmyhal has met with new British prime minister Liz Truss at the Ukrainian Institute of America in New York.

Liz Truss and Denys Shmyhal in New York, where they are attending the 77th United Nations General Assembly.
Liz Truss and Denys Shmyhal in New York, where they are attending the 77th United Nations general assembly. Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/AP

Ukrainian first lady, Olena Zelenska, was also there.

The British prime minister Liz Truss (left), with the Ukrainian first lady, Olena Zelenska, at the Ukrainian Institute of America, where they viewed an exhibition illustrating atrocities taking place in Ukraine
The British prime minister Liz Truss (left), with the Ukrainian first lady, Olena Zelenska, at the Ukrainian Institute of America, where they viewed an exhibition illustrating atrocities taking place in Ukraine. Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/AP

Updated

Zelenskiy: peace talks can only happen if Putin withdraws forces from Ukraine

Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said there was a shrinking likelihood of holding talks with Vladimir Putin to end the war, adding that it could only happen if the Russian leader withdrew his forces from Ukrainian territory.

Zelenskiy said that Ukraine had no influence on when Putin’s rule in Russia would end but wanted to speak to Moscow from a position of strength.

Reuters reports the Ukrainian president was speaking via a translator in an interview with Germany’s Bild TV. He also repeated calls for Germany to supply weapons and air defence systems to Ukraine, saying they were needed to save lives.

Nato's Stoltenberg: Putin using 'dangerous and reckless' nuclear rhetoric

Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg has criticised Vladimir Putin for using “dangerous and reckless” nuclear rhetoric.

Reuters reports Stoltenberg said nuclear war must never be fought, and that Putin’s speech indicated that the war was not going along to his plans, and that his words were an escalation but not a surprise. The Nato leader said Putin had miscalculated in Ukraine and made a mistake. Arguing that Russian troops are ill-equipped and lack proper command and control, Stoltenberg said that the presence of more troops would inevitably escalate the conflict.

He promised that Nato will make sure there is no misunderstanding in Moscow about the seriousness of using nuclear weapons. He stated that so far Nato had not observed any changes in Russia’s nuclear posture. Six months ago, just three days after the latest Russian invasion of Ukraine commenced, Putin order his nuclear forces onto high alert.

During an interview with Reuters editor in chief Alessandra Galloni he added that Nato has provided unprecedented support to Ukraine, and was in close dialogue with the defence industries to ramp up the production of weapons and ammunition.

Stoltenberg also said that he hopes that the war in Ukraine will end at the negotiating table, but that it has to be an acceptable outcome to Kyiv.

Updated

Keir Giles, who works with the Russia and Eurasia programme of Chatham House, writes for the Guardian today that Putin’s speech is admitting his previous threats were hollow. He argues:

For long-term Russia watchers, the most striking aspect of Putin’s speech was how little his claims about Ukraine and the world had moved on since his last major speech at the launch of his invasion in February. The central myth that the west wants to destroy Russia has now been embellished with the notion that the country has been threatened with western weapons of mass destruction. But otherwise, it was as though the collision with reality Russia’s military has experienced over the past six months had had no impact at all on Putin’s outlook.

The speech was primarily for a domestic audience, one that is preconditioned to accept, or at least tolerate, the looking-glass version of the world that Putin presents. But it also contained the familiar nudge and wink nuclear half-threats, designed to give western leaders the excuse they may be looking for to slacken support for Ukraine. Even here, though, there was an edge of desperation. “It’s not a bluff,” said Putin – a recognition that all his previous threats against the west, nuclear and non-nuclear, have been shown to be hollow as successive Russian “red lines” have evaporated in the face of western determination.

The speech is a further recognition that Russia has been unable to win on the battlefield – so, to defeat Ukraine, it has to win elsewhere. That win, Putin hopes, will come through undermining Ukraine’s international support. It’s a dare to the west and a play for the fearful among western leaders – especially those who read Russian nuclear intent from Moscow’s propaganda rather than from its doctrine.

Read more here: Keir Giles – Putin is admitting his previous threats were hollow by saying ‘this is not a bluff’

Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskiy has urged the west not to be blackmailed by Vladimir Putin’s threat of nuclear retaliation, warning that to do so would invite Russia to attempt to take more territory.

In an interview with Bild TV, Zelenskiy said:

I don’t believe that he [Putin] will use these weapons. I don’t think the world will allow him to use these weapons.

He accused Putin of wanting to “drown Ukraine in blood, including in the blood of his own soldiers”.

Updated

German police have raided several properties understood to belong to the Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov, including his villa on Tegernsee lake in the southern state of Bavaria, on suspicion of money laundering and violations of EU sanctions.

A special unit consisting of over 250 police officers on Wednesday morning searched properties registered to a Russian citizen at three addresses in the municipality of Rottach-Egern in Upper Bavaria, the Munich state prosecutor said in a statement.

Reports by the news magazine Der Spiegel and the broadcaster Bayrischer Rundfunk identified the individual as Usmanov, an ally of the Russian president, Vladimir Putin.

German police outside the lakeside residence of Alisher Usmanov in Bavaria.
German police outside the lakeside residence of Alisher Usmanov in Bavaria. Photograph: Louisa Off/Reuters

In the operation, which was still ongoing on Wednesday morning, properties were also raided in the southern state of Baden-Württemberg, and Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein in northern Germany.

Usmanov, an early Facebook investor who made his fortune in mining and sports, has been hit with sanctions and asset freezes by the European Union, the US, the UK and Switzerland over Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Read the full story here:

The EU will remain “steadfast” in its support of Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression, European Council president Charles Michel said.

Writing on Twitter, Michel said there was “only one aggressor” in the war in Ukraine after Vladimir Putin warned the west he was not bluffing when he said he would be ready to use nuclear weapons to defend Russia.

Protests have already begun to take place in Russia in response to Vladimir Putin’s announcement of a partial mobilisation of reservists.

From the Wall Street Journal’s Matthew Luxmoore:

The Russian anti-war movement Vesna has called for demonstrations in cities and towns across Russia at 7pm local time (16:00 GMT) today in protest against mobilisation.

In an appeal on its website, organisers said:

We call on the Russian military in units and at the frontline to refuse to participate in the ‘special operation’ or to surrender as soon as possible.

The statement continued:

You don’t have to die for Putin. You are needed in Russia by those who love you. For the authorities, you are just cannon fodder, where you will be squandered without any meaning or purpose.

The Russian government will announce “very soon” which categories of citizens will be exempted from the mobilisation of reservists to serve in Ukraine, the Kremlin said.

In his regular briefing with reporters, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Moscow would shortly determine which citizens would be allowed to defer a call-up in the new draft.

Asked about the possibility of border closures to prevent Russian citizens from evading the mobilisation, Peskov replied:

I can’t answer that question … There are provisions for this in the current laws.

Updated

Australia’s foreign affairs minister Penny Wong has condemned Vladimir Putin’s threats of nuclear retaliation and demanded Russia stop its “illegal, immoral” war against Ukraine.

Putin earlier today said Russia had “lots of weapons to reply” to what he called western threats on Russian territory and added that he was not bluffing.

Writing on Twitter, Wong said:

Australia condemns President Putin’s threats to use “all means” at his disposal. Claims of defending Russia’s territorial integrity are untrue.

Russia fired a series of long-range missiles at Ukraine’s second city Kharkiv early on Wednesday, hours after the Kremlin announced plans to annex Ukrainian territory and to carry out a partial mobilisation.

Explosions were heard across Kharkiv at around 2am. At least one missile struck a high-rise apartment in the western Zalutino district. It gouged a hole out of the top of the building and blew out windows in apartments facing onto a grassy square.

Ten residents were injured. It was unclear what Russia was trying to hit. An electricity sub-station targeted last week was several kilometres away. “There was a loud explosion. It was like a firework. I was in shock. I haven’t really come to my senses,” Raisa Nikolaivena, a 61-year-old pensioner said.

She added:

We are peaceful people, small people. It was quiet here up until this moment. Obviously this is Putin’s fault. He’s a terrorist and a criminal.

The emergency services sealed off the area. Municipal workers swept away debris and chopped down trees damaged in the blast. There was a sound of sawing as carpenters cut rectangles of plywood to be used to replace broken glass.

A building destroyed following a Russian missile strike in Kharkiv.
A building destroyed following a Russian missile strike in Kharkiv. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Kharkiv has been bombarded regularly since the start of Russia’s invasion in February. The city is now out of artillery range, following Ukraine’s stunning counter-offensive earlier this month. Russian troops abandoned their positions and retreated across the border.

Another resident, Yevgeniy Subota, said it was almost certainly a S-300 long-range missile that had crashed into his building. “Our balcony looks like chaos. The glass and a door blew in,” he said. “We will repair it. And it looks like nobody died.”

What did he make of Putin’s threat to use nuclear weapons in the event of his defeat in Ukraine?

It’s bluff. We don’t believe it. There would be a reaction from the US. He’s just trying to scare us.

A residential building hit by a missile attack in Kharkiv.
A residential building hit by a missile attack in Kharkiv. Photograph: Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP/Getty Images

Updated

Partial mobilisation of Russia’s reservists 'clear admission' invasion of Ukraine failing, UK says

Vladimir Putin’s announcement of partial mobilisation of Russia’s military reservists is a “clear admission” his invasion of Ukraine is failing, Downing Street has said.

Britain will continue to support Ukraine in the face of “this assault on their sovereignty”, a No 10 spokesperson said.

She said:

Putin’s speech this morning and his move to mobilise the Russian population are a clear admission that his invasion is failing.

The UK alongside our international partners stand united in condemning the Russian government’s reprehensible actions.

Updated

Nearly all flights leaving Russia sell out after Putin announcement

Nearly all flights out of Russia were sold out just hours after Vladimir Putin declared a partial mobilisation of reservists.

Google Trends data showed a spike in searches for Aviasales, Russia’s most popular website for buying flights, after Putin’s announcement sparked fears that some men of fighting age would not be allowed to leave the country.

Flights from Moscow to the capitals of Georgia, Turkey and Armenia, all destinations that allow Russians to enter without a visa, were sold out within minutes of Putin’s announcement, according to Aviasales data.

Within hours, direct flights from Moscow to Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan had also stopped showing up on the website. Some routes with stopovers, including from Moscow to Tbilisi, were also unavailable.

The cheapest flights from Moscow to Dubai were costing more than 300,000 roubles (£4,320) – about five times the average monthly wage.

Updated

Russian missiles struck residential buildings in Ukraine’s second city Kharkiv overnight, trapping civilians in their homes and wounding at least one person.

Kharkiv mayor Igor Terekhov said four projectiles had struck the Kholodnogorsky district, hitting two housing blocks, a building site and some civil infrastructure.

In one block, 10 residents were trapped until rescuers could arrive, he said.

A roof of a residential building damaged after shelling in Kharkiv.
A roof of a residential building damaged after shelling in Kharkiv. Photograph: Sergey Bobok/AFP/Getty Images
Municipal workers remove the debris from the top of a residential building hit by a missile attack in Kharkiv.
Municipal workers remove the debris from the top of a residential building hit by a missile attack in Kharkiv. Photograph: Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP/Getty Images
lyubov Prokofjevna, 85, speaks on the phone in her damaged apartment in Kharkiv.
lyubov Prokofjevna, 85, speaks on the phone in her damaged apartment in Kharkiv. Photograph: Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP/Getty Images

The Russian stock market tumbled after Vladimir Putin ordered his country’s partial mobilisation and threatened the west with nuclear retaliation.

Putin’s announcement sent the Moscow stock exchange’s MOEX index plunging by as much as 10%, marking a second day in falling stocks.

On Tuesday, the rouble-denominated MOEX index fell by 8.7% to hit its lowest point since 16 August.

The pro-Kremlin analyst Sergei Markov has defended Vladimir Putin’s partial mobilisation and blamed Boris Johnson and Liz Truss for the war in Ukraine.

Russia “has no reason to use technical nuclear weapons against Ukrainians”, Markov, a former member of the Russian state Duma for Putin’s party, United Russia, as well as a former adviser to the president, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

He said:

Ukrainians are our brothers but Ukraine is occupied by western countries and it’s western countries fighting against the Russian army using Ukrainian soldiers as slaves. [This] was the main idea of Vladimir Putin’s [address], that’s why we need to have this partial mobilisation.

“Everybody in the world now is thinking of nuclear war”, Markov went on to say, adding that such an escalation could be a result of the “crazy behaviour” of US president Joe Biden and former and current UK prime ministers, Johnson and Truss.

He added:

Biden, Johnson and Truss are fully responsible for the war in Ukraine.

Updated

The Estonian prime minister Kaja Kallas, one of the hardline opponents of Vladimir Putin, urged the west not to waver in the face of Putin’s nuclear blackmail.

She said :

This is the first time that the Kremlin leadership has spoken after the counteroffensive of Ukraine. They need to show that they are taking the initiative. If Russia cannot win conventionally, they threaten with nuclear weapons and look for ways to demonstrate a political victory.

President Putin’s speech was meant to scare the international community. As for nuclear threats, the aim is the same as it has been so far – it is to fuel fear and terrorise the wider publics. The Kremlin is blackmailing the international community and wants to scare us and deter us from helping Ukraine. Europe will not tire; we will continue to defend and uphold the principles of European security and international law.

Nato is a defensive alliance and a nuclear alliance. Unlike Russia, we don’t threaten the world with nuclear catastrophe. Threatening with nukes belongs to the arsenal of a pariah state. This is completely irresponsible and unacceptable.

Putin making a 'very dangerous nuclear gamble', says EU

Vladimir Putin is making a “very dangerous nuclear gamble” and must “stop such reckless behaviour”, an EU executive has warned.

European Commission spokesperson Peter Stano added that the “sham, illegal referenda” planned in Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia this weekend would not be recognised.

Stano told reporters:

Putin is doing a nuclear gamble. He’s using the nuclear element as part of his arsenal of terror, it’s unacceptable.

EU member states have held discussions on how to respond to the latest developments in Russia’s war in Ukraine, he continued, warning Moscow that there would be “consequences from our part”.

Updated

In a national address on Wednesday, Russian president Vladimir Putin said Russia will be mobilising further troops for the war in Ukraine.

He claimed that the west is using the threat of nuclear weapons to blackmail Russia, and that “those who try to blackmail us with nuclear weapons should know that the weathervane can turn and point towards them”.

Putin also said Russia would give its full support to the referendums announced for this weekend in Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia to join the Russian Federation.

The jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has accused Vladimir Putin of trying to “smear hundreds of thousands of people” in a “criminal war” after the Russian president announced a partial mobilisation.

In a video message from jail recorded and published by his lawyers, Navalny said partial mobilisation would lead to “massive tragedy”.

Navalny, who is serving more than a decade in prison in a series of cases that appear designed to keep him behind bars indefinitely, said:

This will result in a massive tragedy, in a massive amount of deaths … in order to keep his personal power, Putin went into a neighbouring country, killed people there and is now sending a huge quantity of Russian citizens into this war.

He added:

It is clear that the criminal war is getting worse, deepening, and Putin is trying to involve as many people as possible in this. He wants to smear hundreds of thousands of people in this blood.

Hello everyone. I’m Léonie Chao-Fong and I’ll be bringing you all the latest developments on the Russia-Ukraine war. Feel free to drop me a message if you have anything to flag, you can reach me on Twitter or via email.

Updated

Summary of the day so far …

  • Vladimir Putin has announced a partial mobilisation in Russia in a significant escalation that places the country’s people and economy on a wartime footing.

  • The president also threatened nuclear retaliation, saying that Russia had “lots of weapons to reply” to what he called western threats on Russian territory and added that he was not bluffing. In a highly anticipated televised address, Putin said the “partial mobilisation” was a direct response to the dangers posed by the west, which “wants to destroy our country”, and claimed the west had tried to “turn Ukraine’s people into cannon fodder”.

  • “Military service will apply only to citizens who are in the reserve, especially those who have served in the armed forces, have certain military professions and relevant experience,” Putin said. Shortly after the president’s announcement, the country’s defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, said 300,000 Russians “with previous military experience” would be called up. According to the decree signed by Putin on Wednesday, the contracts of soldiers fighting in Ukraine will be extended until the end of the partial mobilisation period.

  • Shoigu also announced that Russia had officially lost 5,937 personnel in the “special military operation” in Ukraine since it invaded on 24 February. The latest claimed casualty figure for pro-Russian forces by the Ukrainian armed forces is nearly ten times that number, at just over 55,000.

  • The Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said Putin’s decision to announce a partial mobilisation was a “predictable step” that highlights that the war was not going according to the Kremlin’s plan.

  • Putin’s speech was also swiftly condemned by western leaders. Germany’s vice-chancellor, Robert Habeck, said Russia’s decision to announce a partial mobilisation was “another bad and wrong step from Russia”. British defence secretary Ben Wallace said: “Putin’s breaking of his own promises not to mobilise parts of the population and the illegal annexation of parts of Ukraine are an admission that his invasion is failing.”

  • Putin’s decision to announce a partial mobilisation sent shockwaves across Russia. Since the start of the invasion, the Russian president has sought to shield his population from the grim realities of war, with the Kremlin eager to cultivate a sense of normality on the streets of Moscow and other major cities. But with the decision to announce a partial mobilisation and the call-up of 300,000 mostly young Russian men, the war will now enter the household of many families across the country.

  • Lithuania’s defence minister Arvydas Anušauskas has said the country is to put its rapid reaction force on high alert, as the mobilisation will also occur on its border with the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad.

  • Latvia’s foreign minister Edgars Rinkēvičs said the country will not offer refuge to any Russians fleeing Moscow’s mobilisation of troops.

  • Putin also said Russia would give its full support to the referendums announced for this weekend in Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia to join the Russian Federation. He accused the west of starting a war against Russia in Ukraine in 2014. “In its aggressive anti-Russian policy the west has crossed all lines,” the Russian president said.

  • The proxy Russian authorities in four occupied areas of Ukraine had announced on Tuesday their intentions to hold referendums between 23-27 September on joining the Russian Federation.

  • Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy, speaking in a video address released early on Wednesday, said in relation to the referendums: “Our position does not change according to this noise or any other announcement”. Kyiv said the “sham” referendums were meaningless and vowed to “eliminate” threats posed by Russia, saying its forces would keep retaking territory regardless of what Moscow or its proxies announced. Zelenskiy will speak to the UN general assembly by video-link on Wednesday.

That is it, from me, Martin Belam in London for now. I will be back later on. Léonie Chao-Fong will be here shortly to take you through the rest of the days developments and reaction to Vladimir Putin’s announcement this morning.

Poland’s prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki has reiterated his country’s support for Ukraine. Reuters reports he told the media:

We will do all we can with our allies, so that Nato supports Ukraine even more so that it can defend itself. The reports about partial mobilisation have been confirmed. Russia will attempt to destroy Ukraine and grab some of its territory. We can’t allow for that.

Morawiecki was attending military drills the Polish army held with US and British allies in eastern Poland.

Finland’s defence minister, Antti Kaikkonen said, has said the country is closely monitoring the situation in neighbouring Russia.

“Regarding Finland’s surroundings, I can say that the military situation is stable and calm,” Reuters reports Kaikkonen said. He added: “Our defence forces are well-prepared and the situation is closely monitored.”

Earlier this year, Finland applied to join the Nato alliance.

Updated

Russian proxy authority says occupied areas of Mykolaiv region to be incorporated into Kherson before referendum – reports

The Russian-installed administration of southern Ukraine’s Kherson province said parts of the neighbouring Mykolaiv region that are under the control of Russian forces would be incorporated into Kherson province, Russia’s Tass news agency reported.

Reuters notes the decision would mean the incorporated region also voting in the proposed referendum this weekend on being annexed by Russia.

Russian defence minister: losses in Ukraine reach 5,937

The Tass news agency is reporting in Russia that defence minister Sergei Shoigu has said on the Russia-24 TV channel that Russia has officially lost nearly 6,000 people during its so-called “special military operation” in Ukraine, which began on 24 February. It quotes him saying:

I can’t help but say that we haven’t talked about this for a long time: about our losses. Our losses in the special operation amounted to 5,937 people.

He also claimed that 90% of those injured during the invasion had been able to return to duty thanks to the work of doctors.

The figure of 5,937 people is in stark contrast to the figure claimed by the general staff of the armed forces of Ukraine. In its daily operation briefing today it claimed to have killed 300 enemy combatants in the last 24 hours alone, taking the total figure of people it says it has killed to 55,100.

Neither figure has been independently confirmed. The figure given by the Ukrainian side is likely to be an estimate, and may include volunteers and forces of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic and Luhansk People’s Republic, which Russia is unlikely to include in its official military losses data.

Updated

From our China desk:

Within minutes of Putin’s statement, thousands of comments poured into China’s Twitter-like platform, Weibo and became the secon-highest trending topic.

China’s response to the invasion has been in stark contrast to that of the west. The two countries’ leaders have declared an unlimited partnership, and while not explicit, China’s support for Russia appears to be growing. Information control and a rising sense of nationalism and anti-western sentiment has also fostered domestic Chinese support for Putin’s actions.

Among the comments on Tuesday, many were amazed by Putin’s determination to go “all in” for the war, and supported his decision. Others said American hegemony must come to an end and this was a perfect opportunity. Some suggested that if Russia lost this war, China would be left alone as the next target to be singled out by the west.

“The situation doesn’t look optimistic, foreign affairs don’t matter, the key is that if Russia has fallen, and the west will only be left with China to deal with, then our life will definitely be more difficult by then,” said one.

“From our country’s standpoint, we need a Russia that is not strong but not down!” said another, suggesting some unease with a potential power struggle between Russia and China.

Only a few comments viewed by the Guardian empathised with the Ukrainian side and hoped that the war wouldn’t escalate to another level. A short time later replies to those comments were no longer visible.

Updated

Maria Avdeeva, who describes herself on social media as a “disinformation and security expert fighting for Ukraine”, is another person who has appeared in the media in the UK this morning following the moves to hold referendums in eastern Ukraine and Vladimir Putin’s announcement of a partial mobilisation in Russia. She told viewers of Sky News that the results of the votes would be faked. She said:

Well, Ukraine has announced that this is illegal for every resident, they are Ukrainian citizens, to take part in the referendum.

There is no doubt that this will be staged, the results are already faked, and Russia will announce that like 90% of the population there voted in favour of joining Russia, because they don’t even make poll stations, they already have said that people will be able to vote from home.

This is clearly just a fake referendum to give grounds, to so-called legitimise the occupation and put these territories into the sphere of legal influence of Russia. To put the laws of the Russia in charge of the territories that are temporarily occupied, and make these people obligatory fighting for Russia, or voting in favour of Russian decisions, and to do what they have already done in Crimea.

Helen Davidson reports for us from Taipei on Chinese reaction to this morning’s announcement by Vladimir Putin:

China’s ministry of foreign affairs has been asked about Putin’s declaration at its daily press conference today. Spokesperson Wang Wenbin told reporters China’s position on the Ukraine issue “has always been clear”.

“We have always maintained that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries should be respected, the purposes and principles of the UN charter should be observed, the legitimate security concerns of all countries should be taken seriously, and all efforts conducive to the peaceful resolution of crises should be supported.”

China’s stance on Russia’s invasion has not been clear, and has been of key concern to the west and security analysts. Since it began Beijing has refused to condemn the invasion, while also presenting itself as a peacemaker. Cybermonitoring groups have found China actors assisted with the spread of Russian disinformation and propaganda, and there were major concerns that China would supply weapons. It has not, but has helped with drone parts and other supplies, and bought a lot of the gas that Europe won’t.

Some officials have recently been quite supportive of Russia. Li Zhanshu, China’s third highest ranking official, recently told Russian lawmakers that China fully understood and supported Russia’s core interests and concerns, and that Russia “took the action that should be taken”.

Back in February, weeks before the attack, Xi Jinping and Putin announced a limitless partnership. Last week, on the sidelines of a multilateral summit in Uzbekistan, Putin told Xi that Russia understood China had “questions and concerns” about the Ukraine war, and he would answer them.

Updated

Lithuania’s defence minister Arvydas Anušauskas has said the country is to put its rapid reaction force on high alert. He tweeted to say:

As Russia’s military mobilisation will also take place near our borders, (Kaliningrad region), Lithuania’s rapid reaction force is being put on high alert to prevent any provocation from Russia.

The Russian exclave of Kaliningrad sites between Lithuania and Poland on the Baltic coastline.

Updated

Reuters reports that European Union member Latvia, which borders Russia, has said it will not offer refuge to any Russians fleeing Moscow’s mobilisation of troops. Latvian foreign minister Edgars Rinkēvičs made the announcement in a tweet on Wednesday, citing security concerns.

Updated

Over the last few weeks, my colleagues Laurence Topham and Luke Harding have produced a three-part video series looking specifically at Vladimir Putin’s life and motivations.

Part one examined Putin’s unlikely path to the Russian presidency – from KGB agent to Kremlin operator – and part two looked at the rise of a “mafia state” under his leadership.

Both of those are well worth a watch, but today in particular if you haven’t seen it you might want to dip into part three. That specifically examined why Putin has been so obsessed with Ukraine, and it chronicles the key historical events that led to the invasion, from the Euromaidan protests to the annexation of Crimea, and Putin’s belief that Russians and Ukrainians are “one people”.

Updated

Vitali Klitschko, the mayor of Kyiv, has posted to Telegram his response to Vladimir Putin’s words this morning. He writes:

The mobilisation and nuclear threats announced by Putin will not help the aggressor in his quest to conquer and destroy Ukraine and Ukrainians. The tyrant finally launched the processes that will bury him in his country. And the civilised world must finally understand that evil must be eradicated from the roots, and not talk about some illusory “peace negotiations”.

The Dutch prime minister, Mark Rutte, has added his voice to the chorus of western leaders commenting on Vladimir Putin’s earlier announcement of partial mobilisations and threats over nuclear weapons. Reuters reports Rutte told Dutch broadcaster NOS:

The mobilisation, calling for referenda in the Donetsk, it is all a sign of panic. His rhetoric on nuclear weapons is something we have heard many times before, and it leaves us cold. It is all part of the rhetoric we know. I would advise to remain calm.

Updated

Bridget Brink, the US ambassador to Ukraine, said Russia has shown weakness by announcing a mobilisation of its military reserves and setting out referenda in Russia-occupied territories in Ukraine, Reuters reports.

“Sham referenda and mobilisation are signs of weakness, of Russian failure,” Brink said on Twitter. “The United States will never recognise Russia’s claim to purportedly annexed Ukrainian territory.”

Updated

The proxy Russian authority of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic in occupied eastern Ukraine has claimed that overnight seven civilians were injured on territory that it occupies by shelling from Ukrainian forces. The claims have not been independently verified.

UK defence secretary: Putin's partial mobilisation 'an admission invasion is failing'

The UK’s defence secretary Ben Wallace has issued a statement in response to Vladimir Putin’s address this morning. The Conservative minister said:

President Putin’s breaking of his own promises not to mobilise parts of the population and the illegal annexation of parts of Ukraine are an admission that his invasion is failing.

He and his defence minister have sent tens of thousands of their own citizens to their deaths, ill-equipped and badly led.

No amount of threats and propaganda can hide the fact that Ukraine is winning this war, the international community are united and Russia is becoming a global pariah.

Updated

The Czech prime minister, Petr Fiala, has tweeted to say:

The partial mobilisation announced by Vladimir Putin is an attempt to further escalate the war launched by Russia in Ukraine and further proof that Russia is the only aggressor. Aid to Ukraine is needed and we must continue to do so in our own interest.

Vladimir Putin’s decision to announce a partial mobilisation has sent shockwaves across Russia on Wednesday morning.

Since the start of the war, the Russian president has sought to shield his population from the grim realities of his war, with the Kremlin eager to cultivate a sense of normality on the streets of Moscow and other major cities.

Many responded to these efforts, with polls consistently showing that the average Russian was quickly turning away from the war.

But with the decision to announce a partial mobilisation and the call-up of 300,000 mostly young Russian men, the war will now enter the household of many families across the country.

The partial mobilisation will also be seen as a major admission of the Kremlin’s military failures in Ukraine.

For months, the Kremlin pledged that it wasn’t going to resort to such measures, insisting that the so-called “special military operation” was going to plan.

The decision to mobilise will be welcomed by the pro-war bloggers and ultra-nationalist figures who have become some of Putin’s fiercest critics over the last few weeks following Russia’s swift retreat from the Kharkiv region in Ukraine.

Updated

China’s foreign ministry has urged all parties to engage in dialogue and consultation and find a way to address the security concerns of all parties after Russian president Vladimir Putin warned the west over what he described as “nuclear blackmail”.

Reuters reports Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said China’s position on Ukraine is consistent and clear at a regular media briefing.

Updated

Vladimir Putin has given a national address in which he has announced the partial mobilisation of troops in Russia. He said his forces were facing western military operations on the frontline in Ukraine and military reserves would be called up as a result. Putin also said Russia would give its “full support” to referendums on being annexed by Russia due to be held this weekend by the Russian proxy authorities in occupied Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. Here is a video clip of the Russian president’s speech:

Updated

The partial mobilisation of troops ordered by Russia is a further escalation of the conflict in Ukraine to which the German government is considering its response, Germany’s vice chancellor has said.

Reuters reports Robert Habeck said it was “another bad and wrong step from Russia, which of course we will discuss and consult on politically regarding how to respond”.

Updated

Putin on nuclear weapons: 'This is not a bluff'

Here is what Russian president Vladimir Putin said earlier about nuclear weapons:

Nuclear blackmail has also been used. We are talking not only about the shelling of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant – encouraged by the west – which threatens to cause a nuclear catastrophe, but also about statements from senior representatives of Nato countries about the possibility and permissibility of using weapons of mass destruction against Russia: nuclear weapons.

I would like to remind those who make such statements about Russia that our country also possesses various means of destruction, and in some cases they are more modern than those of Nato countries. When the territorial integrity of our country is threatened, we, of course, will use all the means at our disposal to protect Russia and our people.

This is not a bluff. And those who try to blackmail us with nuclear weapons should know that the weathervane can turn and point towards them.

Updated

In the UK, Jonathan Reynolds, the opposition Labour party’s spokesperson for business, has been interviewed on Sky News, where he has said that the referendums being proposed for the weekend in occupied areas of Ukraine have “no legitimacy”.

He told viewers:

I think the claim that Russia made, and has made consistently, towards Ukraine that these are people who wish to be part of Russia, or be sympathetic, or break away from any Kyiv-orientated government is completely contradicted by the treatment of Ukrainians by Russian forces during this conflict. So I see no legitimacy in the claims that [Putin] is making in regards to the eastern side of Ukraine.

Russia’s mobilisation was a predictable step that will prove extremely unpopular and underscores that the war is not going according to Moscow’s plan, Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak has told Reuters.

Podolyak said in a text message to the news agency that Vladimir Putin was trying to shift the blame for starting an “unprovoked war” and Russia’s worsening economic situation on to the west.

Updated

Here is a reminder of the geography and current status of the areas where Russia’s proxy authorities are proposing that referendums on joining the Russian Federation are to be held at the weekend.

About 60% of Donetsk oblast is under the control of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), which has existed since 2014. To the north-east, the similarly self-proclaimed and largely unrecognised Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR) has control of the whole region, although in recent days Ukrainian forces had gained a symbolic toehold back having pushed in through Kharkiv from the west. Russia, Syria and North Korea are the only UN member states to recognise the DPR and LPR as legitimate authorities.

In the south of Ukraine, Russian forces do not have full control of the territory of either Kherson or Zaporizhzhia, where Russian-installed authorities are also proposing to conduct votes.

The RIA Novosti news agency in Russia is carrying a small snippet of defence minister Sergei Shoigu’s separate speech about the Russian partial mobilisation that Vladimir Putin has announced. It reports Shoigu explained “mobilisation is necessary to control the 1,000km line of contact, as well as the liberated territories”.

Updated

Andriy Yermak, head of the office of the president of Ukraine, has just tweeted a picture of a video conference he said he held with members of the intelligence committee of the US House of Representatives. Yermak writes:

For over six months of a full-scale war against Ukraine, Russia was unable to achieve its goal. It happened thanks to the Ukrainian nation’s courage, and our international partners’ aid.

Updated

What is partial mobilisation?

Reuters is providing some snap quotes from Russia’s defence minister on what the partial mobilisation entails. It reports he has said:

  • It applies to those with previous military experience.

  • People who served as conscripts or students are not being called up.

  • People called up will receive training before being deployed.

  • Russia has huge resources, 25 million people, of whom 300,000 reserves will be called up.

More details soon …

Updated

The former British ambassador to Russia, Sir Tony Brenton, has been speaking on Sky News in the UK. He said that until now Russia had not fully mobilised because “Putin was worried about the effects on Russian public opinion”.

However, the setbacks in the field had changed the calculus. Brenton said:

What Putin has now announced is the mobilisation, which he’s been refusing to do since the war began and has now accepted the advice of his military and has come back to the nuclear threat in the context of alleged nuclear threats from the west. Now, I don’t know whether he believes that or not, but it is obviously a very significant step up in rhetoric.

On the weekend’s proposed referendums, he said:

Referendums in these circumstances are obviously not very honest things, and the outcome is pretty clear that they will say yes, we in the west will say that these are fake referenda and will resist them. But if Putin wants to proceed to annex these provinces, these referendums will give him the pretext to do so.

Asked what impact it would have Putin’s speech today would have in Ukraine, he said the Ukrainians have good reason to continue be confident following their progress on the ground. However, he said the impact on the Russian public may be more significant – the “special operation” becomes closer to being a real war, one that Russian leaders will be under even more pressure not to lose.

Updated

Going back to the words of Vladimir Putin for a minute, he said early in his speech: “The aim of the west is to weaken and destroy Russia. They are openly saying that in 1991 they managed to destroy the Soviet Union and now is the time for Russia itself. That Russia will fall into many areas that are fighting themselves. They had those plans for a long time.”

He said of the west that “they made the Ukrainian people cannon fodder and pushed them into the war”, and that they were “using the army against the civilian population, and organising the genocide and blockade and terror against the people who refused to acknowledge Ukrainian power is a result of the military coup”.

Updated

Our Moscow correspondent Andrew Roth reports that Russian soldiers will be having their contracts extended indefinitely as part of the partial mobilisation.

My colleague Luke Harding has just spoken to the BBC’s Today programme live from Kharkiv. He said of Putin’s speech:

It’s the usual kind of grudge list of accusations, and it is strange that more than six months into this conflict, Vladimir Putin is still living in a parallel reality, where really Russia didn’t invade Ukraine, but Ukraine threatened Russia. It is kind of upside down land.

I think we know what is coming next. That there will be a “referendum” in the territories of Ukraine which Russia occupies. And I think this is a kind of classic escalation. It is a Putin move where he says this is now Russia, and if Ukraine tries to seize back these territories, then, essentially, Moscow can do whatever it wants up to and including nuclear weapons. I think it is a bluff, but it is quite a quite a potent bluff.

Asked what other options Putin has, Harding said:

You have to understand the context, which is, where I am, in Kharkiv, the Ukrainian armed forces have just liberated territory about half the size of Wales and in more than 300 settlements they’ve been sort of pulverised and destroyed.

What’s clear, having been talking to people who have been under Russian occupation, is that there’s extremely limited support now for Russia in these occupied territories. And any kind of vote will be entirely fake. I mean, the paradox is that with his invasion, Putin has really kind of consolidated Ukraine as a state, and whatever differences that were there have kind of melted away.

Updated

UK Foreign Office minister accuses Putin of 'a rewriting of history'

The Conservative MP Gillian Keegan, who was recently appointed a minister of state at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, has immediately accused the Russian president of “a rewriting of history” in a television interview on Sky News in the first response from the British government to Putin’s speech.

“Some of the language is quite concerning and obviously we should aim for calm,” she said. She urged Russian people to “look beyond your own media”.

“Let’s be clear,” she said, “there are Putin’s lies.”

“It is Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine,” she add. “And of course, we will still stand by Ukraine as well, with all of our Nato allies.”

She said of Putin’s threat to use nuclear weapons: “It is something that we should take very seriously because, you know, we’re not in control. I’m not sure he’s in control either. Really, I mean, this is obviously an escalation.”

Updated

Russian president Vladimir Putin announces 'partial mobilisation' of Russia

Vladimir Putin has given a national address in which he has announced the partial mobilisation of forces in Russia. He said that the army was facing the military operations of the collective west on a frontline of over 1,000km in Ukraine. Those in the military reserves would be called up.

Putin also said Russia would give its full support to the referendums announced for this weekend in Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia to join the Russian Federation. He accused the west of starting a war against Russia in Ukraine in 2014.

“In its aggressive anti-Russian policy the west has crossed all lines,” the Russian president said. He accused the west of planning to destroy Russia and use nuclear blackmail.

Putin said he would use “all means available to us” and that those who are trying to use nuclear blackmail against Russia will find the tables can be turned against them. He explicitly said “I’m not bluffing.”

Updated

Putin says the Russian army is acting as a military frontline of more than 1,000km facing the whole military operation of the collective west. For the defence of our motherland, Putin says he supports a “partial mobilisation, I stress it is partial mobilisation”. Only those who are currently in reserve will be conscripted. The decree of partial mobilisation has been signed.

Updated

Putin is now talking about the referendums, saying that Russia will do all it can to ensure safe conditions for the referendums for people to be able to express their will.

Putin has said that the Ukrainian army has been trained by Nato and is actually commanded by foreign commanders. He said the politics of terror and intimidation against Russia had intensified.

Putin is saying that they need volunteers fighting alongside the professional Russian army to be treated the same way including with payments and social guarantees.

Putin said people in the Donbas were being held hostage by Kyiv. He described the people fighting alongside the Russian army as “true patriots”.

Putin says a pre-emptive military operation was the only option possible because the west refused to have a peaceful solution to “the Donbas problem” and claiming the right to use nuclear weapons.

Russian president Vladimir Putin is currently speaking to the Russian people. He has started with a string of accusations against western countries, saying there have been many years of “total hatred” against Russia. He accuse the west of starting a war against Russia in Ukraine in 2014.

Updated

The UK Ministry of Defence has said in its latest intelligence update that the referenda in Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia may have been brought forward amid “significant pressure” on Russian civilian and military leadership over the last two weeks.

Measures including the referendums and extended punishments for defaulting soldiers “have highly likely been brought forwards due to public criticism and mark a further development in Russia’s strategy”, the ministry said.

Updated

There’s still no confirmation of when Vladimir Putin will begin his big speech on annexations of Ukrainian territory. The prime-time televised address was postponed without explanation last night, with some Russian media figures reporting it was rescheduled to around 8AM Moscow time.
Forbes Russia, citing two sources in the Kremlin administration said the speech would be broadcast “when the Far East wakes up.”
There’s been a lot of speculation about the speech – analysts have suggested that the speech may also serve to announce a partial mobilisation in Russia.
In a press conference after a summit of Asian leaders last week, Putin had threatened escalation: “We are, indeed, responding rather restrainedly, but that’s for the time being,” Putin said. “If the situation continues to develop in this way, the answer will be more serious.”

Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said the US will never recognise Russian claims to any annexed parts of Ukraine, even if the referenda are held.

“If Russia does stage these sham “referenda”, the United States and the international community will never recognize Russia’s claims to any purportedly-annexed parts of Ukraine. We continue to stand with the people of Ukraine,” he said.


Welcome

Welcome back to our live coverage of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. I’m Tess McClure and will be liveblogging this morning. At 7.45am Kyiv time, these are the latest developments.

  • The proxy Russian authorities in four occupied areas of Ukraine – Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia – announced on Tuesday their intentions to hold referendums between 23-27 September on joining the Russian Federation, a move that could sharply escalate the war.

  • Russia president Vladimir Putin is expected to address the Russian nation this morning. He is expected to make the televised speech, covering new annexations of Ukrainian territory, at 7am UK time.

  • Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy, speaking in a video address released early on Wednesday, said in relation to the referendums: “Our position does not change according to this noise or any other announcement”. Kyiv said the “sham” referendums were meaningless and vowed to “eliminate” threats posed by Russia, saying its forces would keep retaking territory regardless of what Moscow or its proxies announced. Zelenskiy will speak to the UN general assembly by video-link on Wednesday.

  • The White House rejected Russia’s plans to hold the referendums, adding that 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 referendums an affront to principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity.

  • Several world leaders have said they will not recognise any referendums or new annexations of Ukrainian territory, with French president Emmanuel Macron calling the plan a “parody”.

  • 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.

  • 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.”

  • With Germany’s gas storage facilities now at just over 90% capacity, Robert Habeck, the economy minister, 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.

  • The general staff of Ukraine’s armed forces said on Tuesday evening that its operations in Donetsk near the towns of Bakhmut and Avdiivka caused Russia to suffer “significant losses”. But Russia shelled those towns and dozens more in north-eastern and southern Ukraine, the general staff said.

  • US senators on Tuesday proposed that Biden’s administration use secondary sanctions on international banks to strengthen a price cap G7 countries plan to impose on Russian oil. Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen and Republican Senator Pat Toomey announced a framework for legislation to impose the secondary sanctions, which would target financial institutions involved in trade finance, insurance, reinsurance and brokerage of Russia oil and petroleum products sold at prices exceeding the cap.

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