Volodymyr Zelensky rules out talks with Russia if land is annexed
Vladimir Putin may try to pin the blame for future Russian losses in eastern Ukraine on a recently appointed commander, observers said.
Russian media reported that Lieutenant-General Roman Berdnikov had been appointed to head a Russian military division operating in Kharkiv Oblast, where Mr Putin’s forces had lost almost all of their territory to a Ukrainian counteroffensive launched at the start of September.
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said Mr Putin may have made the appointment in order to have a scapegoat for future losses in the region.
He may also be trying to redirect mounting criticism for the Russian loss of land in Kharkiv and the strategically significant Donetsk city of Lyman, the ISW said, adding that the fury has loosened the Kremlin’s hold on information in Russian nationalist circles.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky has ruled out holding talks with Vladimir Putin and has signed a decree, declaring any talks between Kyiv and the Russian leader “impossible.”
Russia says it called up more than 200,000 troops for Ukraine war
Russia has drafted more than 200,000 people to fight in Ukraine less than a fortnight after president Vladimir Putin announced the partial mobilisation of recruits (David Harding writes).
Defence minister Sergei Shoigu made the claim while speaking at a consultation with military figures.
“As of today, more than 200,000 people have entered the army,” said Shoigu.
He added that those volunteering to fight should not be turned away without a “serious reason” and that new units were receiving instruction at 80 training ranges and six training centres, according to a defence ministry posting on Telegram.
When Mr Putin announced the partial mobilisation last month – at the same time as advances by Ukraine in the south and east of the country – Shoigu announced that he planned to enlist 300,000 men with previous military experience to bolster Russia’s invasion.
Putin may pin blame for Russian losses on new commander
Vladimir Putin may try to pin the blame for future Russian losses in eastern Ukraine on a recently appointed commander, observers said.
Russian outlet RBK, citing sources within the Russian regime, reported on Monday that Lieutenant-General Roman Berdnikov had been installed as commander of the Western Military District, which had been operating in Kharkiv Oblast in recent months.
Mr Putin’s forces have lost almost all of their territory in Kharkiv to a Ukrainian counteroffensive launched at the start of September.
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said Mr Putin may have made the appointment in order to have a scapegoat for future losses in the region.
He may also be trying to redirect mounting criticism for the Russian loss of land in Kharkiv and the strategically significant Donetsk city of Lyman, the ISW said, adding that the fury has loosened the Kremlin’s hold on information in Russian nationalist circles.
Pentagon ‘can’t corroborate’ reports of Russian nuclear movement
A senior Pentagon official said she had no information to corroborate reports suggesting Russia might be moving tactical nuclear weapons by rail, and added the US military had not seen anything to change its own nuclear posture.
“I don’t have anything else but the open source reports,” said Laura Cooper, a deputy assistant secretary of defense focusing on Russia and Ukraine. The Pentagon closely monitors Russia’s nuclear forces, a core part of its mission since the Cold War.
Ms Cooper was responding to a report in The Times on Monday that said Russia had moved a train thought to be linked to a unit of the defence ministry that was responsible for nuclear munitions.
The report also said Nato had warned members that Vladimir Putin was set to demonstrate his willingness to use nuclear weapons by carrying out a nuclear test on Ukraine’s border.
Navalny allies plan to regroup as Kremlin struggles to stem dissent
Top allies of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny announced Tuesday that they would reestablish a network of groups across Russia, saying the time was right because the government has been weakened by questions about the war in Ukraine.
“The sleeping majority woke up, Putin himself woke him up,” said Ivan Zhdanov, former director of Navalny’s Foundation for Fighting Corruption, in a YouTube video posted by Navalny’s closest ally and top strategist, Leonid Volkov.
“It’s time for us to restore our network to fight mobilisation and war,” Mr Zhdanov said. Russia ordered a partial mobilisation on 21 September to beef up its troops in Ukraine.
Mr Zhdanov and Mr Volkov said the new network would operate as a “partisan underground,” and participants would remain anonymous for their safety.
Mr Navalny has been jailed in Russia since January 2021 on charges widely seen as politically motivated. Many of his close associates have left Russia, and his group’s political infrastructure – the anti-corruption foundation and a network of regional offices – was destroyed in 2021 after being labeled extremist.
Russian losses evident in liberated Ukrainian city – AP
An account from recently liberated Lyman here from Associated Press reporters:
The bodies of Russian soldiers were lying in the streets of Lyman on Tuesday following their comrades’ retreat that marked the latest defeat for Moscow even as Russia’s upper house of parliament rubber-stamped the annexation of Ukrainian regions.
Russian troops pulled back from the key eastern city over the weekend to avoid being encircled by Ukrainian forces. The city’s liberation gave Ukraine a key vantage point for pressing its offensive deeper into Russian-held territories.
The Ukrainian military collected the bodies of their comrades after fierce battles for control of Lyman, a key logistics and transport hub, but did not immediately remove those of the Russians.
“We fight for our land, for our children, so that our people can live better, but all this comes at a very high price,” said a Ukrainian soldier who goes by the nom de guerre Rud.
Lyman residents emerged from basements where they had hidden during the battle for control of the city and built bonfires for cooking. The city has had no water, electricity or gas since May.
Ukraine advance on Russia ‘major, rapid’, says Zelensky
Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Ukraine’s military had made major, rapid advances against Russian forces and freed from occupation dozens of towns in the south and east of the country.
“The Ukrainian army is advancing in quite a rapid and powerful manner in the south of the country within the context of the current defence operation,” Mr Zelensky said in his nightly video address earlier.
“This week alone, since the Russian pseudo-referendum, dozens of population centres have been liberated. These are in Kherson, Kharkiv, Luhansk and Donetsk regions all together.”
Zelensky signs decree ruling out negotiations with Putin
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky today signed a decree formally declaring that any talks between Kyiv and President Vladimir Putin were “impossible.”
Speaking on Friday, he said: “He [Putin] does not know what dignity and honesty are. Therefore, we are ready for a dialogue with Russia, but with another president of Russia.”
Talks between the two leaders were floated in August by Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan but were not agreed to by the warring parties.
Russia says it called up more than 200,000 troops for Ukraine war
Russia has drafted more than 200,000 people to fight in Ukraine less than a fortnight after president Vladimir Putin announced the partial mobilisation of recruits (David Harding writes).
Defence minister Sergei Shoigu made the claim while speaking at a consultation with military figures.
“As of today, more than 200,000 people have entered the army,” said Shoigu.
He added that those volunteering to fight should not be turned away without a “serious reason” and that new units were receiving instruction at 80 training ranges and six training centres, according to a defence ministry posting on Telegram.
When Mr Putin announced the partial mobilisation last month – at the same time as advances by Ukraine in the south and east of the country – Shoigu announced that he planned to enlist 300,000 men with previous military experience to bolster Russia’s invasion.
Moscow’s announcement comes as Ukraine captures more territory
Pentagon ‘can’t corroborate’ reports of Russian nuclear movement
A senior Pentagon official said she had no information to corroborate reports suggesting Russia might be moving tactical nuclear weapons by rail, and added the US military had not seen anything to change its own nuclear posture.
“I don’t have anything else but the open source reports,” said Laura Cooper, a deputy assistant secretary of defense focusing on Russia and Ukraine. The Pentagon closely monitors Russia’s nuclear forces, a core part of its mission since the Cold War.
Ms Cooper was responding to a report in The Times on Monday that said Russia had moved a train thought to be linked to a unit of the defence ministry that was responsible for nuclear munitions.
The report also said Nato had warned members that Vladimir Putin was set to demonstrate his willingness to use nuclear weapons by carrying out a nuclear test on Ukraine’s border.
Don’t give in to Russian threats, says Estonian PM after Musk tweets
Estonia’s prime minister said the West must not give in to Russia’s nuclear threats or premature peace proposals, the day after Elon Musk caused a stir with his suggestion for a route to peace in the seven-month war.
Kaja Kallas, who has led the government of one of Russia’s Nato member neighbours since last year, told the Associated Press in an interview that “very dangerous” calls for negotiations and peace in Ukraine have come from “very prominent people” lately.
Mr Musk argued that Russia should be allowed to keep the Crimean Peninsula that it seized in 2014. The four regions Russia annexed following Kremlin-orchestrated "referendums" last month should hold repeat votes organised by the United Nations, he said.