Russian forces pushed from Lyman are moving to Kreminna "to hold the line," senior US military official
From CNN's Michael Conte and Oren Liebermann
Russian forces driven from the strategic eastern Ukrainian city of Lyman in Donetsk region have moved back towards the town of Kreminna to the east “to hold the line,” according to a senior US military official.
The official called the liberation of Lyman by Ukrainian forces a “significant operational accomplishment” as it was being used by Russian forces as a “logistics hub” in a background call with reporters.
“It impacts the ability to resupply forces along the forward line of troops … in the Kharkiv region along down near Bakhmut and as far south as Kherson,” the official said.
4:40 p.m. ET, October 3, 2022
Brittney Griner's appeal hearing set for Oct. 25, Russian court says
From CNN's Uliana Pavlova
American women’s basketball star Brittney Griner, leaves the courtroom in Khimki outside Moscow, Russia, on August 4. (Kirill Kudryavtsev/Pool/AFP/Getty Images)
A Moscow regional court has set Oct. 25 as an appeal date for American women’s basketball star Brittney Griner, court records show.
An appeal hearing will be heard at the Khimki city court in Moscow region.
She was arrested with less than 1 gram of cannabis oil in her luggage at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo International Airport on Feb. 17.
3:44 p.m. ET, October 3, 2022
Authorities in Russia's Leningrad region canceled 100 conscriptions, state media says
From CNN's Katharina Krebs in London
Authorities in Russia's Leningrad region have canceled 100 conscriptions, according to the press service of the regional government, Russian state media RIA Novosti reported on Monday.
"A total of 100 decisions on mobilization measures have been canceled in the Leningrad Region. Of these, 76 — because of age, 1 — because of the number of minor children, 2 —because of the need to care for relatives with disabilities, 11 — due to limited fitness", according to the press service as quoted by RIA.
By decree of President Vladimir Putin, a partial mobilization has been ongoing in Russia since Sept. 21. Two senior Russian lawmakers on Sunday said that the mobilization should be carried out “in accordance with the law,” following reports of “erroneous incidents of mobilizing citizens.”
3:42 p.m. ET, October 3, 2022
UK at "significant risk" of gas supply shortage this winter due to war in Ukraine, energy regulator says
From CNN's Katharina Krebs and Chris Liakos
The UK may enter a "gas supply emergency" in winter due to the war in Ukraine, UK’s energy regulator Ofgem said on Monday.
Ofgem made the comments in response to a request by energy company SSE, who are worried that in case of a gas supply emergency, they will run out of money if they are hit with large penalties for not being able to deliver electricity.
“Due to the war in Ukraine and gas shortages in Europe, there is a significant risk that gas shortages could occur during the winter 2022/23 in Great Britain (‘GB’). As a result, there is a possibility that GB could enter into a Gas Supply Emergency,” Ofgem said in a letter.
“This winter is likely to be more challenging than previous ones due to the Russian disruption of gas supplies to Europe," an Ofgem spokesperson told CNN Monday.
“Britain is in a good position with little direct import of gas from Russia; our own domestic gas production; reliable supplies from Norway; and the second-largest port capacity in Europe to import liquified gas. Nevertheless, we need to be prepared for all scenarios this winter,” the Ofgem spokesperson added.
Ofgem said that they are putting in place sensible contingency measures “to ensure that the UK energy system is fully prepared for this winter.”
2:12 p.m. ET, October 3, 2022
France wants to "make the cost of war unbearable for Russia," prime minister says
From CNN’s Pierre Meilhan
French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne delivers a government statement on the war in Ukraine and the consequences for France, at the National Assembly in Paris, France, on Monday. (Benoit Tessier/Reuters)
French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne told lawmakers on Monday that although the war in Ukraine will last, France is ready and wants to "make the cost of war unbearable for Russia."
During her address before France’s lower house of parliament, Borne emphasized that “Russia is likely to go further into illegality and escalation,"and that France “will not weaken, neither in the face of the Russian aggressor nor to protect the French (people). The war in Ukraine will last but we are ready, the resistance of the Ukrainian people obliges us, we will be up to it."
France has provided more than 200 million euros ($195 million) in aid to Ukraine and 2,500 tons of material have been delivered, according to the prime minister.
Borne added that “the sanctions against Russia are working. The facts are there: the Russian economy is suffocating."
France’s goal in the conflict is demilitarization and the country is “determined that the crimes committed by Russia will be documented, tried and punished," Borne said.
Prior to Borne's speech, the members of parliament paid a tribute to the Ukrainian ambassador to France Vadym Omelchenko, who was attending the session.
1:35 p.m. ET, October 3, 2022
Russia removes Western Military District commander following losses in Ukraine's Kharkiv region, records show
From CNN's Uliana Pavlova
Russian authorities removed the commander of the country's Western Military District (WMD), according records from the country’s Unified State Registry published Monday.
The Unified State Registry, which functions as a state government registry of all registered legal entitles, has listed Col. Gen. Roman Berdnikov as the new commander of Russia’s Western Military District. The announcement comes as Russian forces have pulled out from many parts of eastern Ukraine.
The WMD, based in the western part of Russia, is one of five military districts in the country's military. It played a significant role in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Berdnikov replaces Col. Gen. Alexander Zhuravlyov, who has also been a commander in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region where Russian forces suffered heavy losses in past weeks. Bednikov’s appointment comes on the heels of the Russian forces retreat from the strategic eastern city of Lyman, in the eastern Donetsk region.
More on the former commander: Zhuravlyov, who is known for overseeing one of the most brutal chapters of Syria’s war, also oversaw a rocket artillery brigade, whom CNN identified as the brigade that launched cluster munitions attack in residential districts of Kharkiv in late February, during the early days of the war.
Russian officials have criticized the country’s military leadership following the retreat in Lyman. Russian lawmaker and former army commander, Andrei Gurulev, said he could not explain this “surrender” from a military point of view, speaking on air in Soloviev Live, a pro-Kremlin TV channel on Saturday.
Berdnikov graduated from the Kyiv Suvorov Military School in 1991 and from the Moscow Higher Combined Arms Command School in 1995.
The Russian Ministry of Defense has yet to confirm the leadership change at the Western Military District.
1:55 p.m. ET, October 3, 2022
What Ukraine's recent successes in the east could mean for the war, according to a CNN military analyst
Retired US Air Force Col. Cedric Leighton told CNN Monday that the Ukrainian government's reported offer to the Biden administration of basically providing veto power over their list of intended Russian targets in a bid for long-range rockets is due in part to the "amazing success" that Ukraine has had recently in the war.
Leighton, a CNN military analyst, pointed to Ukraine's recent success in retaking the key eastern city of Lyman and other northern parts of the country as evidence that the Ukrainian military has "momentum" in the war.
"When you look at what's going on in the northeastern part of the country, this is Lyman, the area just liberated. See how far Ukrainians have already extended themselves into this area?" Leighton said on CNN.
He added that this success means Ukraine "can make even further asks" of the Biden administration in terms of weapons systems and other needs to "prosecute the war effort even further into Russian-controlled territory."
More on this: In an effort to overcome the US government's resistance to providing it with a new set of powerful, long-range rocket systems, the Ukrainian government is now offering the US full and ongoing visibility into their list of intended Russian targets, multiple officials familiar with the discussions tell CNN.
The remarkable transparency essentially gives the US veto power over Ukrainian targeting of Russia and is meant to convince the administration that providing the critical weapons would not lead to strikes inside Russian territory, which the US fears would escalate the war and draw it directly into a conflict with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Watch Leighton's analysis:
CNN's Alex Marquardt contributed reporting to this post.
12:26 p.m. ET, October 3, 2022
EU summons Russian ambassadors following "illegal" annexation of Ukrainian territories
From CNN's Chris Liakos
European Commission Lead Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Peter Stano speaks during a conference in Brussels, Belgium, on March 5. (Dursun Aydemir/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
The European Union has summoned in a "coordinated manner” the Russian ambassadors in EU member states following Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision last week to annex Ukrainian regions, an EU spokesperson told CNN Monday.
“In response to latest steps by Russia escalating even more its aggression against Ukraine – with sham referenda and illegal annexation of the Ukrainian territories – the EU summoned in coordinated manner the Russian ambassadors in the EU member states and to the EU institutions,” Peter Stano, the EU’s spokesperson for foreign affairs and security policy, told CNN.
Stano said the move aims to “convey strong condemnation of these actions” and demand the “immediate halt to steps undermining Ukraine’s territorial integrity and violating UN Charter and international law.”
The summoning started on Friday last week, according to Stano. The Russian ambassador to the EU was summoned in Brussels Monday afternoon, he added.
1:09 p.m. ET, October 3, 2022
Director of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia power plant has been released, UN nuclear watchdog says
From CNN’s Chris Liakos and Pierre Meilhan
The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear power plant in Enerhodar, Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Ukraine, on September 11. (Getty Images)
Ihor Murashov, the director general of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, has returned to his family safely following his detention, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Monday.
“I welcome the release of Ihor Murashov, Director General of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant; I have received confirmation that Mr Murashov has returned to his family safely,” IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said via Twitter.
Ukraine's foreign minister said on Twitter Sunday that he spoke with Grossi and that he assured him the "IAEA spares no effort to ensure the release of ZNPP director abducted by Russia."
The IAEA said in a statement Sunday it “had been informed that Mr Murashov was in temporary detention.”
In a statement Monday, Herman Halushchenko, the minister of energy of Ukraine, said Murashov had been "held in Russian captivity for three days."
"The pressure on the staff of Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant reaches incredible scale. Even the presence of IAEA observers at the station does not stop the Russians. Now Ihor Murashov has been returned," he said. The official said the "civilized world must stop the Russian terror at ZNPP!"
More background: Murashov had been detainedby a Russian patrol, the president of state nuclear company Energoatom, Petro Kotin, said in a statement on Saturday, and the official was in his vehicle on his way from the plant when he was “stopped, he was taken out of the car, and with his eyes blindfolded he was driven in an unknown direction."
Kotin and Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs called on Russia to release him.
Zaporizhzhia, the largest nuclear complex of its kind in Europe, was seized by Russian forces at the start of the war.
The plant and the area around it, including the nearby city of Enerhodar, have endured persistent shelling that has raised fears of a nuclear accident through the interruption of the power supply to the plant. Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of acts of nuclear terrorism.
