Ukraine war – live: Ukrainians helping stage Russia referendums ‘to face treason charges’

Ukrainians helping stage Russia-backed referendums to annexe large swathes of the country will face treason charges and at least five years in jail, said an advisor to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky.

“We have lists of names of people who have been involved in some way,” presidential adviser Mikhailo Podolyak told Swiss newspaper Blick.

“We are talking about hundreds of collaborators. They will be prosecuted for treason. They face prison sentences of at least five years.”

Mr Podolyak said Ukrainians who were forced to vote would not be punished. The comments came as nearly four million people in Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, are being asked to participate in referendums on joining Russia.

Ukraine and western nations dismissed it as a sham. None of the provinces are fully under Moscow’s control and fighting has been underway with Ukrainian forces reporting more advances since they routed Russian troops in a fifth province, Kharkiv, earlier this month.

Russia’s call-up of some 300,000 reservists has been the first sustained protest since the invasion began, with one monitoring group estimating at least 2,000 peopl arrested so far. All public criticism of Russia’s “special military operation” is banned.

Key points

• Ukrainians involved in Russian-backed referendums to face treason charges

• Heavy fighting as annexation vote in Ukraine enters final day

• Russian conscription sparks protests

• Russia detains Japanese consul on spying charge

• Military situation in Donetsk ‘particularly severe’, says Zelensky

Voting in Russian-help regions of Ukraine to end Tuesday

09:10 , Thomas Kingsley

The final day of voting was taken place in Russian-held regions of Ukraine Tuesday, a referendum that is expected to serve as a pretext for their annexation by Moscow but that is rejected as a sham by Kyiv and its Western allies.

The five-day voting, in which residents are asked whether they want their regions to become part of Russia, has been anything but free or fair. Tens of thousands of residents had already fled the regions amid the war, and images shared by those who remained showed armed Russian troops going door-to-door to pressure Ukrainians into voting.

The balloting on Tuesday was held at polling stations.

The Kremlin is expected to move immediately to absorb the regions once the voting is over, with President Vlaidmir Putin expected to declare their incorporation into Russia later this week.

Russian media also speculated that Putin may follow up on last week's order of partial mobilization by declaring martial law and shutting the nation's borders for all men of fighting age.

Putin may announce ‘sham referendum’ result on Friday

08:51 , Thomas Kingsley

Russian president Vladimir Putin is likely to announce the accession of occupied regions of Ukraine to the Russian Federation during his address to parliament on 30 September, the British Ministry of Defence said on Tuesday.

The referendums currently underway within these territories are scheduled to conclude on 27 September, the Defence Ministry said in its daily briefing on Twitter.

"Russia's leaders almost certainly hope that any accession announcement will be seen as a vindication of the special military operation and will consolidate patriotic support for the conflict", it said.

Sweden issues warning of two gas leaks on Nord Stream 1 pipeline

08:30 , Namita Singh

Sweden’s Maritime Authority said it had issued a warning of two leaks on the Russian-owned Nord Stream 1 pipeline in Swedish and Danish waters, shortly after a leak on the nearby Nord Stream 2 project was discovered.

“There are two leaks on Nord Stream 1 - one in Swedish economic zone and one in Danish economic zone. They are very near each other,” a Swedish Maritime Administration (SMA) spokesperson told Reuters.

The leaks were located northeast of the Danish island Bornholm, the spokesperson said. It was not immediately clear what had caused the leaks.

“We are keeping extra watch to make sure no ship comes too close to the site,” a second SMA spokesperson said.

Yesterday, Danish authorities asked ships to steer clear of a five nautical mile radius southeast off Bornholm after a gas leak from the defunct Nord Stream 2 pipeline drained into the Baltic Sea.

Reuters

'We are not afraid': Russians flee to Mongolia to evade Ukraine mobilisation

08:10 , Namita Singh

Thousands of Russians have fled into Mongolia across its northern frontier in a bid to evade conscription to Ukraine, putting further pressure on the government in Ulaanbaatar and its efforts to distance itself from the conflict.

“My country has started partial mobilisation and I think it is negatively affecting society,” said one. “We waited a very long time at the Russian side of the border: about 16 hours.”

Suren Bat-Tur, the owner of a guesthouse in the capital Ulaanbaatar that normally caters for backpackers, has also been helping his friends in Buryatia to escape the draft.The guesthouse has filled up with Russians since Putin’s mobilisation order, and Bat-Tur said he has already turned away dozens of requests for beds.

“I wanted to help them, it has been very difficult,” said Bat-Tur. “Now they are looking for work in construction or agriculture so they have something to do while they are here.”

One newly-arrived guest, who identified himself as Aleksey, said he crossed into Mongolia last weekend, leaving behind his wife and three children. He arrived at the border late at night on a tourist bus packed with other young Russians.

“There were a lot of young people, a lot of people trying to get away from Putin,” he said.

Aleksey, 40, a construction worker, planned to stay in Mongolia until the situation in Russia improves, and said he would do whatever it takes to avoid the war.“We are not afraid, but why do we have to fight in Ukraine, why?”

Pressure drops in second Russia gas pipeline, German economy ministry says

07:51 , Namita Singh

The Nord Stream 1 pipeline from Russia to Europe has reported a drop in pressure, only hours after a leak was reported in the Nord Stream 2 pipeline in the Baltic Sea off Denmark, the German economy ministry said.

“We are investigating this incident as well, together with the authorities concerned and the Federal Network Agency,” the ministry said in a statement.

“We currently do not know the reason for the drop in pressure.”

Both pipelines carry natural gas from Russia to Europe. While the Nord Stream 2 pipeline has never operated, Nord Stream 1 had been carrying gas to Germany until earlier this month, when Russian energy giant Gazprom cut off the supply, claiming there was a need for urgent maintenance work to repair key components.

Despite not delivering gas to Europe, both pipelines have still been filled with gas, German news agency DPA reported.

Gazprom’s citing of technical problems as the reason for reducing gas flows through Nord Stream 1 have been rejected by German officials as a cover for a political power play following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

AP

Japan protests Russia’s expulsion of official, denies spying

07:48 , Namita Singh

Japan protested to Russia today over the detention of a Japanese consulate official on espionage allegations, denying the allegations and accusing Russian authorities of abusive interrogation.

The official was detained on 22 September and interrogated with his eyes covered, his hands and head pressed and immobilized, Japan’s foreign ministry said, prompting it to lodge a protest and to demand an apology.

Yesterday, Russia’s foreign ministry notified Japan’s embassy in Moscow that the official had been declared “persona non grata,” or an undesirable person, on grounds he conducted illegal espionage activity and it ordered him to leave the country within 48 hours.

“The alleged illegal activity insisted by the Russian side is completely groundless,” chief cabinet secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters.

Read more in this report:

Japan protests Russia's expulsion of official, denies spying

Putin likely to announce accession of occupied regions of Ukrain on 30 September, says UK

07:47 , Namita Singh

Russian president Vladimir Putin is likely to announce the accession of occupied regions of Ukraine to the Russian Federation during his address to parliament on 30 September, the British Ministry of Defence said today.

The referendums currently underway within these territories are scheduled to conclude on 27 September, the Defence Ministry said in its daily briefing on Twitter.

British Ministry of Defence

Ukrainians involved in Russian-backed referendums face treason charges

07:20 , Namita Singh

Ukrainians who help Russian-backed referendums to annexe large swathes of the country will face treason charges and at least five years in jail, Ukraine’s presidential adviser said, as voting in four regions entered its last day.

“We have lists of names of people who have been involved in some way,” presidential adviser Mikhailo Podolyak said in an interview with Swiss newspaper Blick.

“We are talking about hundreds of collaborators. They will be prosecuted for treason. They face prison sentences of at least five years.”

Mr Podolyak said Ukrainians who were forced to vote would not be punished. Ukrainians officials have reported ballot boxes being taken door to door and residents being coerced into voting in front of Russian-backed security.

Moscow hopes to annex the provinces of Kherson, Luhansk, Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia, in the east and south, which make up about 15 per cent of Ukraine.

Putin ‘deeply mourns’ death of 11 Russian school children, killed by gunman wearing swastika T-shirt

07:15 , Namita Singh

At least 15 people have been killed after a gunman with a swastika on his T-shirt opened fire at a school in the western Russian city of Izhevsk.

Among the dead were 11 children, said police. Two teachers and two security guards were also killed.

Another 24 people were injured, including 22 children, Russia’s Investigative Committee, which handles major crimes, said, amid fears the death toll could climb higher.

The gunman later killed himself, said the committee, who also revealed the details about what he was wearing.

David Harding reports:

Putin ‘mourns’ death of 7 schoolchildren, killed by gunman wearing swastika T-shirt

UN meeting produces sense that a ‘new epoch’ is arriving

06:57 , Namita Singh

The war in Ukraine and its global fallout transfixed the meeting of world leaders at the UN General Assembly this year. When it wasn’t out front, it lurked in the background of virtually every speech.

There were near-unanimous calls for an end to the seven-month war, with rich and poor countries decrying the fallout from the conflict — widespread shortages and rising prices not only for food but for energy, inflation hitting the cost of living everywhere, and growing global inequality.

The speeches and side meetings produced no breakthroughs toward peace, but they did put the top diplomats from Russia and Ukraine in the same room for the first time in many months, however briefly.

And UN food chief David Beasley sounded an alarm that the war, on top of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, has left 50 million people in 45 countries “knocking on famine’s door.” He warned of starvation, destabilization of nations, riots, and mass migration if help doesn’t arrive quickly.

Read more in this report:

UN meeting produces sense that a 'new epoch' is arriving

Russian military recruiter shot amid fear of Ukraine call-up

06:51 , Namita Singh

A young man shot a Russian military officer at close range at an enlistment office yesterday, an unusually bold attack reflecting resistance to Russian president Vladimir Putin’s efforts to mobilize hundreds of thousands of more men to wage war on Ukraine.

The shooting comes after scattered arson attacks on enlistment offices and protests in Russian cities against the military call-up that have resulted in at least 2,000 arrests. Russia is seeking to bolster its military as its Ukraine offensive has bogged down.

In the attack in the Siberian city of Ust-Ilimsk, 25-year-old resident Ruslan Zinin walked into the enlistment office saying “no one will go to fight” and “we will all go home now,” according to local media.

He was arrested and officials vowed tough punishment. Authorities said the military commandant was in intensive care. A witness quoted by a local news site said Mr Zinin was in a roomful of people called up to fight and troops from his region were heading to military bases the next day.

Protests also flared up in Dagestan, one of Russia’s poorer regions in the North Caucasus. Local media reported that “several hundred” demonstrators took to the streets today in its capital, Makhachkala. Videos circulated online showing dozens of protesters tussling with the police sent to disperse them.AP

Russia gives citizenship to ex-NSA contractor Edward Snowden

06:40 , Namita Singh

Russia yesterday granted citizenship to former American intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, who fled prosecution after he revealed highly classified US surveillance programmes to capture communications and data from around the world.

A decree signed by Russian president Vladimir Putin listed him as one of 75 foreign citizens listed as being granted Russian citizenship. After fleeing the US in 2013, he was granted permanent Russian residency in 2020 and said at the time that he planned to apply for Russian citizenship without renouncing his US citizenship.

Ties between Washington and Moscow are already at their lowest point in decades following Mr Putin’s decision to launch what the Kremlin has dubbed a “special military operation” in Ukraine.

While Snowden, 39, is considered by supporters to be a righteous whistleblower who wanted to protect American civil liberties, US intelligence officials have accused him of putting US personnel at risk and damaging national security. He currently faces charges in the United States that could result in decades in prison.

“Our position has not changed,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said yesterday. “Mr Snowden should return to the United States where he should face justice as any other American citizen would.”

Mr Snowden becomes a Russian citizen as Moscow is mobilising reservists to go to Ukraine. In Russia, almost every man is considered a reservist until age 65, and officials on Monday stressed that men with dual citizenship are also eligible for the military call-up.

Top guard to Uruguay president detained in Russian passport scheme

06:22 , Namita Singh

Uruguay’s police arrested the head of the president’s personal security detail yesterday at the presidential residence for allegedly participating in a scheme to help possibly hundreds of Russian nationals illegally obtain Uruguayan passports.

President Luis Lacalle Pou’s security chief Alejandro Astesiano was being investigated for participating in a criminal ring that created fake Russian birth certificates that claimed Uruguayan parents, said prosecutor Gabriela Fossati.

The goal was for the Russians to be able to obtain passports and other official identity documents, she said. “We’re talking about dozens of people, hundreds,” said Ms Fossati.Many Russians have been leaving their country since Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February.

The accused used contacts that allowed him to process the required documentation to acquire passports for the Russians, reported local media citing police sources.

News of his arrest appeared to have left the president shaken.

“I’m as surprised as you all are,” the president said at a news conference he abruptly called on Monday in the capital Montevideo. “I’m sick,” he added.

Lacalle Pou promised that prosecutors and police working on the case will be independent, and he denied other reports that Mr Astesiano had a criminal record.

Military situation in Donetsk ‘particularly severe’, says Zelensky

06:17 , Namita Singh

President Volodymyr Zelensky described the military situation in Donetsk as “particularly severe.”

“We are doing everything to contain enemy activity. This is our No 1 goal right now because Donbas is still the No 1 goal for the occupiers,” he said, referring to the wider region that encompasses Donetsk and Luhansk.

Russia carried out at least five attacks on targets in the Odesa region using Iranian drones in the last few days, according to the regional administration.

Russian missiles hit the airport in Kriviy Rih, the Ukrainian president’s home town in central Ukraine, destroying infrastructure and making the airport unusable, Valentyn Reznichenko, governor of the Dnipropetrovsk region, said on Telegram.

More US funding looks to be on the way as negotiators of a stop-gap spending bill in Congress have agreed to include nearly $12bn in new military and economic aid to Ukraine, according to sources.

Russia detains Japanese consul on spying charge

05:55 , Namita Singh

Russia’s FSB security agency said on Monday it had detained a Japanese consul in Russia’s Pacific port city of Vladivostok for suspected espionage and ordered him to leave the country.

The consul was released after a few hours of detention by the Russian agency. Tokyo has lodged a “strong protest” about the detention and signalled it may retaliate, Japan’s chief cabinet secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told media today.

The FSB said the consul, Motoki Tatsunori, was declared persona non grata after he was caught “red-handed” receiving secret information on the effects of Western sanctions on the economic situation in Russia’s far east.

It said the classified information, which also concerned Russia’s cooperation with an unnamed Asia-Pacific country, had been obtained in return for a “monetary reward”.Moscow has protested to Tokyo over the consul’s actions through diplomatic channels, it said.

Japan’s top government spokesperson said Moscow took the consul into custody in an “intimidating manner” blindfolding and restraining him, which was “a clear violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations”.

“The detained consul was not engaging in any illegal activity,” Mr Matsuno said, adding the Japanese deputy foreign minister told the Russian ambassador to Japan that Tokyo “needs to take equivalent steps” and demanded a formal apology from Moscow.

Russian conscription sparks protests

05:45 , Namita Singh

In Russia, the call-up of some 300,000 reservists has led to the first sustained protests since the invasion began, with one monitoring group estimating at least 2,000 people have been arrested so far. All public criticism of Russia’s “special military operation” is banned.

Flights out of Russia have sold out and cars have clogged border checkpoints, with reports of a 48-hour queue at the sole road border to Georgia, the rare pro-western neighbour that allows Russian citizens to enter without a visa.

Asked about the prospect of the border being shut, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday: “I don’t know anything about this. At the moment, no decisions have been taken on this.”

Russia counts millions of former conscripts as official reservists. The authorities have not spelled out precisely who is due to be called up, as that part of the president’s order is classified.

The mobilisation has also seen the first sustained criticism of the authorities within state-controlled media since the war began.

But Sergei Tsekov, a senior lawmaker who represents Russian-annexed Crimea in Russia’s upper house of parliament, told RIA news agency: “Everyone who is of conscription age should be banned from travelling abroad in the current situation.”

Two exiled news sites - Meduza and Novaya Gazeta Europe - both reported that the authorities were planning to ban men from leaving, citing unidentified officials.

Heavy fighting as annexation vote in Ukraine enters final day

05:35 , Namita Singh

Ukrainian and Russian forces were locked in heavy fighting in different parts of Ukraine today as Russian-organised referendums in four regions Moscow hopes to annex drew to a close.

Moscow hopes to annex the provinces of Kherson, Luhansk, Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia, in the east and south, which make up about 15 per cent of Ukraine.

None of the provinces are fully under Moscow’s control and fighting has been underway along the entire front line, with Ukrainian forces reporting more advances since they routed Russian troops in a fifth province, Kharkiv, earlier this month.

Russian president Vladimir Putin has issued a veiled threat to use nuclear weapons to protect Russian soil, which would include the four provinces if annexed.

Voting on whether to join Russia began on Friday in the regions and is due to end on Tuesday, with the Russian parliament possibly approving the annexation within days.

Kyiv and the west have dismissed the referendums as a sham and pledged not to recognise the results.

04:56 , Namita Singh

Welcome to The Independent’s blog on the war in Ukraine for Tuesday, 27 September 2022.