September 30, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

US President Joe Biden reiterated that the US does not recognize Russia's claimed annexation of four Ukrainian territories, directly addressing Russian President Vladimir Putin at one point when saying the US will "defend every single inch of NATO territory."

"America and its allies are not going — let me emphasize — are not going to be intimidated, are not going to be intimidated by Putin and his reckless words and threats," Biden said from the White House.

"Putin's actions are a sign he is struggling," citing the "sham referenda" and "this routine he put on this morning" when announcing his annexation claims for four Ukrainian regions.

"The United States is never going to recognize this. And quite frankly, the world is not going to recognize it either. He can't seize his neighbor's territory and get away with it, as simple as that," Biden said during White House remarks.

The US will continue to provide military equipment for Ukraine's defense, plus an additional $13 billion more from Congress, Biden said.

NATO military assets in the Baltic and North Seas are collecting information to help in the investigation into who and what caused the explosions near the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines earlier this week, according to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

They are also monitoring “critical energy infrastructure,” Stoltenberg said during a news conference in Brussels Friday.

Stoltenberg said NATO allies are both collecting new information and reviewing information they’ve collected over the last few weeks and months to see “whether we are able to discover something connected to the attacks.”

The military presence in the Baltic and North Seas is both “to send a message of deterrence, to collect and monitor, collect data and monitor the infrastructure and then share information and step up resilience,” Stoltenberg said.

Ukrainian officials say at least 30 people have been killed and 88 injured in an attack by Russian forces on a civilian convoy leaving the city of Zaporizhzhia.

"The enemy launched a rocket attack on a civilian humanitarian convoy on the way out of Zaporizhzhia," Oleksandr Starukh, head of the Zaporizhzhia regional military administration, said on Telegram:

Images and video from the scene show wrecked vehicles and some bodies on the road.

Among the dead are an 11-year-old girl and 14-year-old boy, according to Ihor Klymenko, head of Ukraine’s National Police.

Ivan Fedorov, mayor of the occupied city of Melitopol, said on Telegram: "People leave Zaporizhzhia every day to support their relatives, deliver vital medicines to the civilian population and return back.

Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the president's office, says that a total of 16 missiles were launched by Russian forces at the area where the civilian convoy was struck.

Tymoshenko said on Telegram: "According to preliminary information, 16 missiles were launched using the S-300 missile system. Twenty-three dead and 28 wounded." 

"Four missile strikes were launched in the area of the auto market, as well as at the point of concentration of vehicles and citizens for departure/entry to/from the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine. There was a column of vehicles with civilians on their way to the temporarily occupied territory to pick up their relatives," Tymoshenko said.

Russian forces frequently use S-300 missiles in the Ukrainian conflict.

French President Emmanuel Macron condemned Russia’s “illegal” move to annex four Ukrainian regions, describing the act as a “serious violation of international law and Ukrainian sovereignty” in a tweet Friday. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin's annexation announcement has sparked sharp rebuke from multiple Western leaders, with the US saying earlier Friday that it was announcing sanctions in coordination with G7 allies. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday that his country is applying “under an accelerated procedure” to become a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

He signed Ukraine’s application together with Speaker of the Parliament Ruslan Stefanchuk and Prime Minister Denys Shmygal.

“It is here, in Ukraine, that the values of our Euro-Atlantic community have obtained real vital energy,” Zelensky said in a pre-recorded video message. “The strength of the nation that fights for freedom, and the strength of the nations that help in this fight.”

He said that “de facto,” Ukraine had already “completed our path” to NATO.

Zelensky said that he understood that accession would require consensus of NATO members.

“And therefore, while this is happening, we offer to implement our proposals regarding security guarantees for Ukraine and all of Europe in accordance with the Kyiv Security Compact, which was developed and presented to our partners.”

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Friday that member states of the alliance support Ukraine's “right to choose its own path” after Zelensky made the announcement.

And Stoltenberg cautioned that any decision on membership has to be taken by all 30 members of the alliance.

“NATO allies, when they met at the NATO Summit in Madrid, stated also very clearly that we support Ukraine’s right to choose its own path, to decide what kind of security arrangements it wants to be a part of,” Stoltenberg told a news conference.

"Every democracy in Europe has the right to apply for NATO membership, and NATO allies respect that right and we have stated again and again that NATO's door remains open. And we have demonstrated that over the last [few] years,” he said.

 CNN’s Sharon Braithwaite and Arnaud Siad contributed reporting to this post.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday that the United States has not seen Russia actually take steps that suggest it would use nuclear weapons in the war against Ukraine, but reiterated that the US takes Russian President Vladimir Putin’s nuclear saber-rattling “very seriously.”

“We are looking very carefully to see if Russia is actually doing anything that suggests that they are contemplating the use of nuclear weapons. To date, we've not seen them take these actions,” Blinken said at a news conference at the US State Department.

“But we also know that Russia is engaged in horrific, horrific brutalization of Ukraine, and so the threats that they make, we take very seriously,” he continued.

On the Nord Stream leaks: Blinken also said he had “nothing to say” in response to Putin’s “absurd allegation” that “Anglo-Saxons” sabotaged the Nord Stream pipelines.

“We will get to the bottom of what happened. We'll share that information as soon as we have it, but I don't want to get ahead of the investigation that’s ongoing,” Blinken said at a news conference alongside his Canadian counterpart, Melanie Joly.

The G7 foreign ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States and the High Representative of the European Union said Friday they will impose additional economic costs on Russia over the annexation of Ukrainian territories.

The G7 foreign ministers condemned "in the strongest possible terms of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and its continued violations of Ukraine’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and Independence," they said in a joint statement.

"We will impose further economic costs on Russia, and on individuals and entities — inside and outside of Russia —that provide political or economic support to these violations of international law," they said.

What the US is saying: The country said earlier Friday that it was announcing sanctions in coordination with G7 allies. 

A Biden administration official said the US is “targeting additional Russian government officials and leaders, their family members, Russian and Belarusian military officials, and defense procurement networks, including international suppliers supporting Russia’s military-industrial complex” through announcements from the Departments of Treasury, Commerce and State. 

Norway is increasing preparedness and controls along the Russian-Norwegian border after it said Russian President Vladimir Putin’s "partial mobilization" order on Sept. 21 increased the likelihood of illegal border crossings, Oslo said in a statement Friday.

The Norwegian government said its armed forces garrisoned in the area of Sør-Varanger are monitoring the Russia-Norway border and announced it would station a police helicopter with sensors to detect potential illegal crossings along its 198-kilometer (123-mile) border with Russia.

Oslo also said it was ready to follow Finland’s lead in barring Russian tourist visa holders from entering the country but was waiting to see its implementation.

More than 50,000 Russians have entered Finland after Putin’s mobilization order last week, Finland's border guard said Wednesday. 

Mehl added that the government is in close talks with Norway’s police and customs regarding the situation at the border.

The mobilization of more troops and the annexation of parts of Ukraine is an escalation of Russia's war in the country, according to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

The actions constitute “the most serious escalation of the conflict since Moscow invaded Ukraine in February,” Stoltenberg said on Friday.

“None of this shows strength. It shows weakness,” he said.

“It is an admission that the war is not going to plan, and that Putin has utterly failed in his strategic objectives,” he added.

Stoltenberg also said that NATO will continue providing support to Ukraine “for as long as it takes.”

“If Russia stops fighting, there will be peace. If Ukraine stops fighting, it will cease to exist as an independent, sovereign nation in Europe,” he said.

“NATO reaffirms our unwavering support for Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity,” he added.