Ukrainian forces are closing in on an occupied railroad hub in Donetsk, Russian-backed official says
From CNN's Tim Lister and Olga Voitovych
Rail infrastructure on fire after a shelling near the Lyman station in Lyman, eastern Ukraine, on April 28. (Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP/Getty Images)
Ukrainian forces continue to press closer to the occupied town of Lyman in the eastern Donetsk region, according to a Russian-backed leader there.
The railroad hub fell to Russian forces and their allied militia at the end of May, but the situation has grown "difficult" for the forces trying to hold the territory, said Alexander Petrikin, the pro-Russian head of the city administration.
"Today, September 29. The situation in the city is difficult. Ukrainian militants keep shelling Krasny Liman [Lyman in Ukrainian] and Krasny Liman district," Petrikin said in a short video on the vk.com social network.
Ukrainian forces have made gains to the south, west and north of Lyman — with just one road to the east still under control of the pro-Russian groups.
9:56 a.m. ET, September 29, 2022
EU readies new sanctions as Russia’s parliament plans to consider annexation of occupied Ukrainian regions
From CNN’s Jo Shelley in London and Anna Chernova
Russia’s two houses of parliament — the State Duma and Federation Council — will consider the annexation of occupied Ukrainian territories next week, as EU readies additional sanctions in retaliation for the plan.
Russian President Vladimir Putin will attend a ceremony on Friday where agreements for Russia to take over four Ukrainian territories will be signed, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told journalists on Thursday. The ceremony will start a legislative process in Moscow to annex Russian-occupied Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson - a move that would be illegal under international law.
Russia’s lower house of parliament, the State Duma, will meet on Oct. 3 and Oct. 4, its chairman, Vyacheslav Volodin, said according to RIA Novosti. The state news agency cited Volodin as saying that the State Duma’s schedule had been adjusted so the deputies could make legislative decisions based on the supposed results of the polls.
The Federation Council, Russia’s upper house, will consider the annexation of the occupied Ukrainian territories on Oct. 4, Andrey Klishas, chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Constitutional Legislation, said in a Telegram post on Thursday.
“The Federation Council can consider all issues related to the entry of new regions into Russia only after the signing of the relevant Treaties, and that is exactly what will be done at the next meeting of the Chamber on October 4,” he wrote.
Remember: The declared annexation comes after so-called referendums on Ukrainian territory on joining Russia — votes that were not observed by independent monitors and have been widely condemned by western governments as a “sham.”
The EU proposed a new package of sanctions against Russia on Wednesday, targeting "those involved in Russia occupation and illegal annexation of areas of Ukraine,” including “the proxy Russian authorities in Donetsk, Luhansk and Kherson and Zaporizhzhia and other Russian individuals who organized and facilitated the sham referenda in these four occupied territories of Ukraine."
9:23 a.m. ET, September 29, 2022
"Nobody knows what’s coming next": CNN speaks with Russians trying to cross the border amid draft fears
From CNN's Vasco Cotovio, Melissa Bell, Mark Esplin and Ekaterine Kadagishvili
Travellers walking on the road from Verkhni Lars customs checkpoint between Georgia and Russia on September 28, in Zemo Larsi, Georgia. (Daro Sulakauri/Getty Images)
With one bag in each hand and another on his back, Denis made his way up a hill on foot after crossing the border from Russia into Georgia.
“I’m just tired. That’s the only thing I feel,” the 27-year-old said as he tried to catch his breath.
Denis had just spent six days on the road, most of them just waiting in line to cross the border. He is one of the hundreds of thousands of Russians enduring a grueling marathon journey to leave their country.
Though women and children are among those crossing, most are fighting-age men who fear the possibility that they will be drafted to fight the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine. According to the Georgian Interior Ministry, at least 10,000 have been coming through the Lars border crossing daily.
Denis, who did not want to reveal his last name, said he chose to leave because of the uncertainty following Russian President Vladimir Putin’s announcement last week of a “partial mobilization” of citizens – despite his earlier emphasis that the military assault would only be fought by military professionals. Russian Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu said the military will conscript around 300,000 men with previous military experience, to go and fight in Ukraine.
Though the current draft should not apply to him, Denis fears that could change.
“How do I know what will happen in three years’ time? How do I know how long this will take?” he said.
“It is uncertain, and nobody knows what’s coming next," he told CNN.
His feeling is shared by many crossing the border into Georgia. They are teachers, doctors, taxi drivers, lawyers and builders – ordinary Russians who have no appetite for war. And although they say they don’t agree with the government, they believe there’s nothing they can do to force Putin to change course.
They’ve chosen instead to leave their homeland, despite the perilous journey. Denis said he spent days in his car without sufficient access to food and restrooms.
“When you’re there waiting, there is no toilet. You can’t get much to eat because everything is instantly sold out and nobody packed much food either because nobody expected it to take this long,” he said.
Another man CNN spoke to walked for 20 kilometers (12 miles) to get to Georgia, also fueled by concern that the draft might expand.
“It doesn’t apply to me today, but it may apply tomorrow,” the man said, speaking to CNN on the condition that he remain anonymous, because he fears Moscow’s far-reaching hand.
8:34 a.m. ET, September 29, 2022
If Western nations are dismissing the referendums, why is Russia annexing occupied Ukrainian territories?
From CNN's Nic Robertson and Jack Bantock
Russia's President Vladimir Putin reviews naval troops as he attends the main naval parade marking the Russian Navy Day, in St. Petersburg, Russia, on July 31. (Olga Maltseva/AFP/Getty Images)
Illegal "votes" mean the polls are contrary to international law, yet there are concerns that Russian President Vladimir Putin will use the annexation as a way to frame the ongoing Ukrainian counteroffensive as an attack on Russia itself and escalate the war.
According to former US ambassador Kurt Volker, Putin will use the annexation to maneuver Russia's future, more aggressive, strategy as one of self-defense.
"He's [Putin's] trying to create a situation in which he claims that now that they are an integral part of Russian territory, he's engaging in self defense by defending these territories, and therefore also implying that maybe he'll use nuclear weapons in self defense, which is part of their doctrine," Volker told CNN. "I think this is a stretch, after stretch, after stretch, and even his own military and own elites probably don't believe it, but it is what he's trying to orchestrate."
Though US officials have not seen indications Russia is planning to use nuclear weapons in the near term, they are more concerned about the possibility now than they were six or seven months ago, one official confirmed to CNN this week.
Volker himself is skeptical nuclear weapons would ever be used, given the "devastating" consequences the Russian military would face in response.
Russia never expected the occupied territories referendum to be accepted by the global community, according to the director general of the Russian International Affairs Council.
Andrey Kortunov believes that, given the similar international response to the Crimea referendum in 2014, Moscow is instead looking inwards to generate a positive response from the Russian population and validate their continuation of the conflict.
"Even closest partners and allies of Russia were hesitant to recognize the change of the legal status of Crimea," Kortunov told CNN.
"I suspect that his [Putin's] major goal would be to get some kind of recognition from his domestic audience. It's not clear whether the Russians are that eager to see the territory of the country expanded under the circumstances, because of course, the price they have to pay for that is pretty high.
"But I can imagine that in the Kremlin, they count on the patriotic feelings of the Russian population, and they believe that this acceptance of new regions into the Russian Federation would help the leadership to maintain a high approval rating, and also to make the society accept the costs associated with the special military operation."
8:58 a.m. ET, September 29, 2022
Russia will annex 4 occupied Ukrainian regions at ceremony on Friday, Putin spokesperson says
From CNN's Anna Chernova
The Kremlin will host a ceremony on Friday at which agreements will be signed on the annexation of occupied Ukrainian territories to the Russian Federation, President Vladimir Putin's spokesperson told reporters on Thursday.
Dmitry Peskov said the ceremony would take place on Friday at 3 p.m. local time (8 a.m. ET).
Putin will deliver a speech and meet with Russian-backed leaders of the four occupied regions on the sidelines of the ceremony, he added.
Separatist leaders from the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, and the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics all traveled to Moscow following the announcement of poll results.
The four territories, which together make up around 18% of Ukraine's territory, recently held Moscow-backed "referendums" on joining Russia. These have been widely condemned by Western leaders as a "sham."
Billboards proclaiming "Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson - Russia!" and giant video screens have been set up on Red Square, according to Reuters on Thursday.
Members of the lower house of the Russian parliament have also received invitations to Friday’s ceremony at the Kremlin, state news agency RIA Novosti reported, citing a post by Denis Parfyonov, a Communist Party deputy, on his Telegram channel.
A man casts his ballot during a referendum in Luhansk, eastern Ukraine, on September 27. (AP)
Some context: "Votes" for referendums on joining Russia, held in the four occupied areas from Friday to Tuesday, are contrary to international law and have been universally dismissed as "a sham" by Ukraine and Western nations, including US President Joe Biden.
Counts cited in Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia ranged from 87.05% approval to claims of nearly universal verdicts, yet such figures stand in stark contrast to reality. According to a CNN poll of Ukrainians in February, just before Russia’s invasion, no region in the country had more than one in five people supporting Ukrainian unification with Russia.
CNN’s Jo Shelley contributed reporting to this post.
8:17 a.m. ET, September 29, 2022
Finland will close borders to Russian tourists amid record crossings since partial mobilization order
From Jorge Engels and Allegra Goodwin
People entering Finland queue at the passport control area at the border checkpoint crossing in Vaalimaa, Finland, on the border with the Russian Federation on September 29. (Alessandro Rampazzo/AFP/Getty Images)
Finland will close its borders to Russian tourists from Friday midnight local time (5 p.m. ET) until further notice amid a record number of Russians crossing into the country following Moscow's partial mobilization order, the government confirmed Thursday.
Since then, there has been an exodus of citizens fleeing the country and thousands of Russians have entered neighboring Finland.
"The Russian invasion of Ukraine and the mobilization declared by Russia have changed the security situation in Europe," Finland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Thursday. "The Government deems that the Russian mobilization and the rapidly increasing volume of tourists arriving in Finland and transiting via Finland endanger Finland’s international position and international relations."
"The resolution aims to stop tourism and related transit from Russia altogether. It will drastically limit the capacity to receive visa applications in Russia," the ministry added.
"The resolution will not prevent travelling when it is deemed necessary for humanitarian reasons, for national interests or for meeting Finland’s international obligations."
Some context: The announcement comes after Helsinki announced Wednesday it would "significantly" restrict the right of Russian tourists to enter the country or as transit when travelling to other parts of the Schengen area.
Finland’s border guard also said Wednesday that more than 50,000 Russians have entered Finland via the land border since September 21.
Last weekend also saw a record number of Russians entering Finland via its land border, with 16,886 Russians arriving in total over Saturday and Sunday, according to the border guard’s head of international affairs, Matti Pitkaniitty.
10:23 a.m. ET, September 29, 2022
Nord Stream pipeline damage likely caused by "deliberate" acts of sabotage, says North Atlantic Council
From CNN's Eve Brennan
Information gathered on the damage to the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines in the Baltic Sea suggest "the result of deliberate, reckless, and irresponsible acts of sabotage," the North Atlantic Council said Thursday.
Damage to the pipelines is of "deep concern," the council said in a statement.
"These leaks are causing risks to shipping and substantial environmental damage. We support the investigations underway to determine the origin of the damage," the statement said. "We, as Allies, have committed to prepare for, deter and defend against the coercive use of energy and other hybrid tactics by state and non-state actors. Any deliberate attack against Allies’ critical infrastructure would be met with a united and determined response," it added.
More context: Earlier Thursday, Germany's ambassador to the UK said there was a "very strong indication" the pipeline leaks were acts of sabotage. US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan also labelled the leaks "apparent sabotage" in a tweet Tuesday.
European security officials observed Russian navy ships in the vicinity of leaks on Monday and Tuesday, according to Western intelligence officials and one other source. Senior Western officials have stopped short of attributing the attack to Russia or any nation.
What the Kremlin is saying: A Russian government spokesperson said Thursday that the leaks may have been the result of a "terrorist attack."
"The unprecedented nature of this event, it seems that this is a terrorist attack, possibly at the state level," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said during a daily call with journalists.
Asked about CNN's report on Russian submarines seen in the area of the Nord Stream disruptions, Peskov said: “This is the Baltic sea. There were far more aircraft, floating and other marine vehicles that belong to NATO countries seen there."
CNN's Anna Chernova, Allegra Goodwin and Radina Gigova contributed reporting to this post.
2:13 p.m. ET, September 29, 2022
Fourth leak in Nord Stream confirmed by Swedish coast guard
From CNN's Jorge Engels
A gas leak causes bubbles to rise to the surface of the sea in Sweden, on Thursday. (Swedish Coast Guard/Handout/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
A fourth leak in the Nord Stream pipelines was confirmed by Sweden's coast guard on Thursday.
"There are currently two gas leaks in Swedish waters, a larger leak above North Stream 1, and a smaller leak above North Stream 2. Two leaks have also been reported in Danish waters," Sweden’s coast guard said in a statement.
The coast guard added that one of its vessels near the pair of leaks in its home seas was reporting a "constant flow" of gas to the surface.
The confirmation comes after Germany's ambassador to the UK, Miguel Berger, said earlier Thursday that a fourth leak had been discovered.
The leaks in Swedish waters are approximately 1.8 kilometers (1 nautical mile or 1.1 miles) apart, with the distance from the smaller Swedish leak to the closest Danish leak being 4.6 kilometers (2.6 nautical miles), the coast guard said.
The statement concluded by specifying that the coast guard’s vessel is in possession of a remotely operated vehicle but not a submarine, which the Swedish Coast Guard said it neither owns nor operates.
3:40 a.m. ET, September 29, 2022
Pro-Russian separatist leaders involved in illegal referendums across Ukraine arrive in Moscow
From CNN's Olga Voitovych
Separatist leaders from Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics visit Moscow, Russia, on September 29. (Kirill Stremousov)
Some of the separatist leaders involved in carrying out sham referendums to secede from Ukraine and join Russia landed in Moscow Thursday, according to a photograph posted by Kirill Stremousov, the Russia-appointed deputy head of the Kherson regional military administration.
The votes – which are illegal under international law – were carried out in the self-declared republics of Donetsk and Luhansk in the east and parts of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia in the south.
“The historic plane with the leaders of the liberated territories landed in Moscow. We will become new subjects of the Russian Federation very soon,” the statement read, alongside a photograph of Stremousov with Denis Pushilin, Yevgeniy Balitskiy and Vladimir Saldo, some of the other Russian-backed officials involved in the so-called “referendums.”
The votes mirror the playbook used during Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, sparking fears they could become a false pretext for the Kremlin to illegally claim more territory in Ukraine and escalate its war effort.
Some context: On Wednesday, with all “votes” counted, Kremlin-backed authorities in the four Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine predictably claimed that residents had overwhelmingly agreed to become part of Russia.
The UK Ministry of Defense has said that “there is a realistic possibility” that Putin will use his address to Russia’s parliament on Friday to “formally announce the accession of the occupied regions of Ukraine to the Russian Federation.”
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov previously indicated that if the regions announced majorities in favor of joining Russia, the ratification process would be fast and they could become part of the Russian Federation “quite soon.”
Asked if that would mean any attempt by Ukraine to regain the territories would be regarded as an attack on Russian territory, Peskov said: “Of course.”
