September 22, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

A bipartisan group of lawmakers asked the Pentagon to send advanced drones to Ukraine in a letter sent to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on Sept. 21 and obtained by CNN.

“Ukraine could better confront Russian threats" with advanced Unmanned Aircraft Systems, or drones, “like the MQ-1C Gray Eagle or the MQ-9A Reaper,” a group of 17 bipartisan lawmakers wrote in the letter to Austin.

Lawmakers stressed in the letter that it is important to complete the assessment of whether to send MQ-1C Gray Eagle drones “in a timely manner.”

“While important, thorough risk assessment and mitigation should not come at the expense of Ukrainian lives,” the lawmakers wrote.

The Wall Street Journal first reported the letter. 

The Pentagon is aware of Ukraine’s request for MQ-1C Gray Eagle drones, Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters during a briefing at the Pentagon Thursday.

The US has, throughout the conflict, given Ukraine other weapons that include intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities like Puma drones, ScanEagle drones, Switchblade drones and Phoenix Ghost drones, Ryder said. 

“We continue to maintain a robust dialogue with Ukraine and the international community about what we, the international community, can do to support Ukraine, but that’s where we’re at, at this point,” Ryder added.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba blasted Russia's top diplomat on Thursday for "inappropriate slang" after he called Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky "a son of a b*tch."

Although Kuleba didn't directly mention anyone by name, his comments came after his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, spoke at a UN Security Council meeting. In his speech, Lavrov attacked the Ukrainian president with a series of dismissive insults while making outlandish claims about who was responsible for the war in Ukraine. 

In response, Kuleba described Russia as shameless. "Russian diplomats are directly complicit because their lies incite these crimes and cover them up," he said.

He added, "The Russians are confident that they can get away with anything and they are entitled to do anything they want.

Kuleba said Ukraine was not worried about any increase in Russian troop numbers following a partial mobilization this week. 

"Putin announced mobilization but what he really announced before the whole world was his defeat. You can draft 300 or 500,000 people, but you will never win this war." 

Kuleba urged UN member states to help his country fight Russian aggression and win justice by holding Russia accountable for its invasion of Ukraine, echoing remarks Wednesday by Zelensky in his UN address.

NATO on Thursday condemned plans to hold referendums in Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine, calling them a “sham” that the alliance will not recognize.  

"We condemn in the strongest possible terms the plan to hold so-called 'referenda' on joining the Russian Federation in the Ukrainian regions partly controlled by the Russian military,” the North Atlanta Council, NATO's principle decision-making body, said in a statement.  

The referendums were called suddenly at the beginning of this week by pro-Russian officials in occupied regions of Ukraine. They will ask the people of the occupied areas whether they wish to join the Russian Federation.  

“These lands are Ukraine. We call on all states to reject Russia’s blatant attempts at territorial conquest,” according to the statement.

The council also accused Russia of escalating its "illegal war" by ordering what Russian President Vladimir Putin called a "partial mobilization" of its military.

"We continue to reject Russia’s irresponsible nuclear rhetoric," it added, referring to Putin's speech on Wednesday in which he threatened the use of nuclear weapons and warned he was "not bluffing." 

"NATO Allies remain resolute in providing political and practical support to Ukraine as it continues to defend itself against Russia’s aggression," the council said.  

The Defense Department said that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s rhetoric threatening the possible use of a nuclear weapon would not affect the aid the US is providing to Ukraine.

Putin on Wednesday spoke about the possibility of using nuclear weapons. "The territorial integrity of our homeland, our independence and freedom will be ensured, I will emphasize this again, with all the means at our disposal. And those who try to blackmail us with nuclear weapons should know that the prevailing winds can turn in their direction," he said.

Ryder said that Putin’s threats would not affect discussions on the kinds of lethal aid the US would provide.

“We will continue to have those conversations and we’ll continue to think through not only what they need in the medium to long term, but also what they need now,” said Ryder. “So I don’t see those conversations being impacted by this situation.”

Voting begins Friday in referendums called in four regions of Ukraine that are occupied by Russian forces and their militia allies. 

The votes take place over five days through Sept. 27, and in Donetsk and Kherson regions, in-person voting will only take place on the last day. 

Observers say it seems unlikely that such a rushed process, in areas where many voters live close to the front lines of the conflict, can be successful or fair. Additionally, because of widespread internal displacement since the beginning of the conflict, voting databases are likely out of date. In Kherson, for example, Ukrainian officials have said that about half the pre-war population have left.

The plans have been condemned by both the government of Ukraine and its allies in the West as "illegitimate" and "a sham." The European Union has said it won't recognize the results and has indicated it is preparing a new package of sanctions against Russia. 

In Donetsk, the question will only be presented in Russian. The chair of the People's Council — an unelected body — in the self-declared Donetsk People's Republic, Vladimir Bidyovka, called Russian is the "state language."

The questions on the ballot vary slightly depending on the region. 

The Central Election Commission of Russia said it will take part in monitoring the referendums in all four areas.

In both Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia regions, local authorities have urged people to vote from home, saying that ballot boxes can be brought to them. A video from the Luhansk election commission says, "You can vote directly from home! From 23 to 27 September you can vote at home."

Ahead of the votes, pro-Russian authorities are trying to enthuse voters. Russian state news agency RIA Novosti showed a poster being distributed in Luhansk, which read "Russia is the future." 

"We are united by a 1,000-year history," it says. "For centuries, we were part of the same great country. The break-up of the state was a huge political disaster. ... It's time to restore historical justice."

Social media videos show the first phase of Russia's partial mobilization getting underway in several Russian regions, especially in the Caucasus and the Russian Far East.

Telegram videos showed one newly mobilized group of men awaiting transport, purportedly in Amginskiy Uliss in the region of Yakutiya, a vast Siberian territory — where the caption on one video read, “50 mobilized guys are going to the special operation zone."

Still in the Russian Far East, in the city of Neryungri, a community video channel posted video of families saying goodbye to a large group of men, as they board buses. The video shows a woman crying and hugging her husband goodbye, while he reaches for his daughter’s hand from the bus window.

Neryungri is six time zones east of Ukraine.

CNN has not been able independently to geolocate or date all the videos posted. 

The republic of Buryatia has already supplied hundreds of volunteers to the conflict in Ukraine. The central Asian region may be about to send many more. According to a community Telegram channel called The People of Baikal, "they might mobilize up to 6-7 thousand people in Buryatia. The authorities do not name the exact number."

"Buses with mobilized people are arriving in Ulan-Ude [Buryatia's capital] in the morning. The men are taken to the assembly point of the Military Commissariat...," it said.

The channel, which has just under 5,000 subscribers, describes itself as independent. It quotes a local official as saying, “we were given a verbal order to raise the mobilized from their beds, put them in cars and immediately bring them to the military registration and enlistment office."

It's not possible to verify the channel's reporting. 

In Dagestan in the Caucasus, a furious argument broke out at one enlistment office, according to one video. A woman said her son had been fighting since February. Told by a man that she should not have sent him, she replied, " Your grandfather fought so that you could live," to which the man responded: “Back then it was war, right now it is politics.”

Much nearer the Ukrainian border, a crowd was gathered near the city of Belgorod to see off a batch of newly mobilized men. As they get on a bus, a boy shouts out, "Bye, Daddy!” and starts crying.

Other moves are underway to increase the flow of troops.

The Human Rights Council of Russia has proposed that immigrants from central Asian countries who have had Russian citizenship for less than 10 years will undergo compulsory military service in Russia for a year, according to the Russian news agency TASS.

Ukraine and the United Kingdom — as well other European countries — have been formally invited to attend the first meeting of the “European Political Community” in the Czech capital Prague on Oct. 6, a senior European Union official told journalists in Brussels Thursday.   

“The European Political Community constitutes a platform for political coordination for European countries across the continent,” the senior official said. 

The aim of the high-level meeting is to foster “political dialogue and cooperation to address issues of common interest so as to strengthen the security, stability and prosperity of the European continent,” the official said. 

At the summit, a series of roundtable discussions are planned to cover “peace and security, energy and climate, the economic situation, migration and mobility.” 

All of the EU’s 27 member states and the European Free Trade Association countries of Norway, Lichtenstein, Iceland and Switzerland have been invited, alongside neighboring non-EU countries, including Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Turkey, Serbia, Ukraine and the UK. 

The EPC will not replace current institutions and doesn’t plan to create new ones for now, the official added. 

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Thursday dismissed Western condemnation of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, instead accusing Ukraine of being the country violating international law.

Speaking to the United Nations Security Council session on Ukraine, Lavrov claimed Ukrainian forces made "illegal" attacks on the "peaceful citizens of Donbas."

He also accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the "Kyiv regime" of "racist" and "anti-Russian" motivated aggression.

Lavrov claimed Zelensky made "Russo-phobic" comments in an August interview and that they motivated people living in Russian occupied areas of Ukraine to hold referendums on the prospect of joining Russia.

"I think the decisions that have been adopted by a whole range of the regions of Ukraine about conducting referendums are the result of his [Zelensky's] comments," Lavrov said.

Lavrov also condemned the "cynical" way Western nations are supplying weapons to Ukraine and said the "policy means the direct involvement of the West in the conflict and makes them a party to the conflict."  

In his speech, Lavrov claimed the West was primarily motivated to supplying weapons to Ukraine in order to "drag out the fighting as long as possible in spite of the victims and destruction in order to wear down and weaken Russia." 

Lavrov ended his speech by dismissing the legitimacy of the International Criminal Court, "We have no confidence in the work of his body,” he said, adding, “and we don't expect anything more from this institution or a whole range of other international institutions." 

"Everything I've said today simply confirms that the decision to conduct the 'special military operation' was inevitable," Lavrov added.

Some context on those referendums: This week, Russian-appointed leaders in the occupied regions of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia and the self-declared Luhansk People’s Republic and Donetsk People’s Republic all said they planned to hold “votes” beginning Friday.

The expected referendums run counter to international law upholding Ukraine’s sovereignty. Ukrainian officials dismissed the announcement as a “sham” stemming from the “fear of defeat.”

US ambassador to Ukraine Bridget A. Brink echoed that sentiment on Twitter Wednesday.

A US official criticized Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov for only being at the United Nations Security Council meeting on Ukraine for a short time and skipping the Russian criticism from Western diplomats.

"Lavrov apparently couldn’t bear to hear the clear and repeated messages of condemnation of Russia’s war against Ukraine. He walked into the chamber just before his speaking slot and left shortly after," the US official said. 

The official said it was a sign of Russian weakness. 

CNN has reached out to Russian officials to explain why Lavrov was only in the chamber for his own remarks.