Ukraine has discovered more mass burial sites in the northeastern town of Izyum which Kyiv recaptured from Russia this month, Volodymyr Zelensky said.
“They found two more mass graves, big graves with hundreds of people,” the Ukrainian president said, as he called for further international sanctions against Vladimir Putin’s regime over potential war crimes.
Russia did not immediately respond to Mr Zelensky’s claim but has repeatedly denied committing atrocities during its invasion of Ukraine.
Ukrainian authorities earlier this month launched an investigation into a large burial site discovered next to a cemetery in Izyum after the months-long Russian occupation of the Kharkiv Oblast town.
The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor previously declared Ukraine a “crime scene” after visiting found a mass burial site in Bucha near Kyiv after Russian troops fled in April.
Meanwhile, firce opposition to Vladimir Putin’s mobilisation order continues. In Russia’s Muslim-majority southern region of Dagestan, police clashed with protesters on Sunday, leading to the detention of at least 100 people.
Key Points
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Gunman opens fire at draft office in Russia
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Putin’s nuke threat is no bluff – Zelensky
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Russian vote counters ‘take ballot boxes door-to-door’
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Putin to meet key ally Lukashenko later
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Russians fleeing to Finland boost border crossings by 80%
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Children among hundreds arrested in Russia in anti-war protests
Moldova could revoke citizenship for Russian fighters
11:49 , Liam James
Moldova may revoke the citizenship of its nationals who go to fight for Russia in Ukraine after being called up because they also hold Russian passports, pro-Western president Maia Sandu said.
Russia launched a “partial” mobilisation last week to reinforce its troops in Ukraine, and there are 200,000 people with dual Moldovan-Russian citizenship who live in the breakaway Moldovan region of Transdniestria.
Ms Sandu said Moldova was holding consultations with Moscow to prevent cases of its citizens being called up.
Russia has had peacekeeping troops stationed in Transdniestria since the early 1990s when an armed conflict saw pro-Russian separatists wrest most of the region from Moldovan control.
School shooting in Russia kills nine
11:30 , Liam James
A gunman on Monday morning killed nine people and wounded 20 others in a school in central Russia, authorities said.
Russia‘s Investigative Committee said in an online statement that two guards, two teachers and five students were killed in the shooting in a school in Izhevsk, a city about 596 miles east of Moscow in the Udmurtia region.
Governor of Udmurtia Alexander Brechalov said in a video statement that the still unidentified gunman shot himself. The governor said Udmurtia would be in official mourning until Thursday.
The school, named No 88, educated children from ages 5 to 18. It has been evacuated and area around it has been fenced off, the governor said.
No details about the gunman or his motives have been released. Izhevsk, a city of 640,000, is located west of the Ural mountains in central Russia.
Russia fires on Odesa, claims military target
11:08 , Liam James
Two drones launched by Russian forces into the Odesa region in Ukraine hit military objects causing a fire and the detonation of ammunition, the south command of Ukraine’s forces said this morning.
“As a result of a large-scale fire and the detonation of ammunition, the evacuation of the civilian population was organised,” the command said in statement on the Telegram.
“Preliminarily, there have been no casualties.”
Moscow sources claim that Russia hit Ukraine’s Operational Command South (UOCS) headquarters in Odesa with Shahed-136 drones, according to the Institute for the Study of War.
UOCS is leading Ukraine’s southern counteroffensive against Russia, which has made slow progress towards the captured city of Kherson since launching three weeks ago.
Odesa, Ukraine’s biggest commercial port, has been a prime target of Russia’s throughout the war.
UN pushes for joint talks over occupied Ukraine power plant
10:49 , Liam James
UN atomic watchdog chief Rafael Grossi said he is ready to hold talks in Ukraine and Russia this week on setting up a protection zone at the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine that he often says is needed urgently.
“There is a plan on the table to do it. Last week I had an opportunity to start consultations with Ukraine and with the Russian Federation … and I am ready to continue these consultations in both countries this week,” Mr Grossi told a meeting of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) member states.
An IAEA team has been at the power plant for three weeks after repeated shelling nearby raised fears of a nuclear accident. Shelling has continued at the site, causing further damage to power lines and threatening essential safety functions, the IAEA said.
Russian troops occupy Zaporizhzhia and Moscow blames Ukraine for reckless attacks. Ukraine accuses Russia of the same.
Freed British POW thanks Russian officials who ‘saw common sense’
10:30 , Liam James
One of five Britons released from captivity by Russian-backed forces thanked those responsible for freeing them and expressed gratitude that “someone saw common sense.”
Shaun Pinner, who was sentenced to death by the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) with Aiden Aslin, 28, appeared on Good Morning Britain on Monday after being freed in a Saudi-brokered prisoner swap on Wednesday.
“We’re thankful for whoever decided to let us go in Russia and the DPR. Thank you that someone saw common sense.
“It’s a very bitter pill to swallow after all the treatment we had, but we are thankful.”
Russians fleeing to Finland boost border crossings by 80%
10:11 , Liam James
Almost 17,000 Russians crossed the border into Finland during the weekend, an 80 per cent rise from a week earlier, Finnish authorities said today, as the influx of people continued in the wake of Russia’s announcement of military mobilisation.
The border traffic had somewhat calmed early this morning but remained busier than in the previous weeks, Captain Taneli Repo at Finland’s southeastern border authority told Reuters.
“The queues continue to be a bit longer than they’ve usually been since the pandemic,” he said.
Wednesday’s announcement of Russia’s first public mobilisation since World War Two, to shore up its faltering Ukraine war, has triggered a rush for the border, the arrest of protesters and unease in the wider population.
Young Russian men who spoke to Reuters after crossing into Finland via the Vaalimaa border station last week, some three hours by car from Russia’s second-largest city St Petersburg, said they left out of fear of being drafted for the war.
Putin to meet key ally Lukashenko later
09:49 , Liam James
Vladimir Putin will meet his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko, a key ally in Russia’s war in Ukraine, later today in Moscow, Belarus state media reported.
Russia and Belarus are close allies, with Russia having used bases in Belarus as a staging post for its troops, aircraft and equipment in the invasion of Ukraine. Belarus has also hosted fruitless peace talks between Ukrainian and Russian officials.
Mr Lukashenko denied Belarus would mobilise troops for Russia’s war after rumours spread last week that he was planning new measures in light of Mr Putin’s draft announcement last week.
Western powers said Mr Putin’s mobilisation of Russia’s army reserves, the first draft since World War II, showed he was getting desperate. His draft order accompanied a threat of nuclear attacks if Russia’s territory is not respected.
Ukraine finds two new mass graves after driving Russia out
09:30 , Liam James
Ukraine has discovered two more mass burial sites containing the bodies of hundreds of people in the northeastern town of Izium, which Kyiv recaptured from Russia this month, Volodymyr Zelensky said.
Russian authorities did not immediately comment on the Ukrainian president’s assertion about the discovery of the sites. Moscow regularly denies committing atrocities in the war in Ukraine or targeting civilians.
“Today I received more information … They found two more mass graves, big graves with hundreds of people… We’re talking about [the] little town of Izium,” Mr Zelensky said in an interview with CBS.
“The sanctions need to continue. These sanctions will have political impact, as well as financial impact.”
After the months-long Russian occupation, Ukrainian authorities uncovered a large burial site next to a cemetery in a wooded area in Izium earlier this month, and launched an investigation into the circumstances of the deaths.
Ukraine had previously found a mass burial site in Bucha near Kyiv after Russian troops fled in April.
Russian media report 75% turnout at referendums
09:11 , Liam James
Russia’s state-owned Tass news agency has reported that referendums on Moscow’s territorial claims in in eastern Ukraine have garnered enough votes to be considered legitimate.
Moscow-backed officials in four Ukrainian regions partly occupied by Russia – Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk and Donetsk – are holding votes to claim legitimate control over the territories.
The referendums have been dismissed internationally as shams and Ukrainian officials have reported that Russians are using coercive tactics including collecting votes door-to-door at gunpoint in order to get the result Moscow desires.
Tass today reports that the referendums can be considered legitimate in three of the regions as voter turnout has surpassed 50 per cent.
Nuclear attacks would have ‘catastrophic consequences’ for Russia, says US
08:47 , Liam James
The United States warned on Sunday of “catastrophic consequences” if Moscow uses nuclear weapons in Ukraine, after Russia’s foreign minister said regions holding widely-criticised referendums would get full protection if annexed by Moscow.
US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said the United States would respond to any Russian use of nuclear weapons against Ukraine and had spelled out to Moscow the “catastrophic consequences” it would face.
“If Russia crosses this line, there will be catastrophic consequences for Russia,”Mr Sullivan told NBC. “The United States will respond decisively.”
The latest US warning followed a thinly veiled nuclear threat made on Wednesday by Vladimir Putin, who said Russia would use any weapons to defend its territory.
Russia is currently seeking to formalise its claim to territory in Ukraine through the use of sham referendums which Nato and other countries have refused to recognise.
Scores arrested in anti-war protests in Russia’s Dagestan
08:27 , Liam James
At least 100 people were detained at a protest opposing the mobilisation in the southern Russian region of Dagestan, underscoring the anger with Vladimir Putin’s order to send hundreds of thousands more people to fight in Ukraine.
Public anger against Russia’s first military mobilisation since World War II has appeared to be particularly strong in poor ethnic minority regions like Dagestan, a Muslim-majority region located on the shores of the Caspian Sea in the mountainous north Caucasus.
The independent OVD-Info protest monitoring group said at least 100 people were detained in the regional capital Makhachkala.
Dozens of videos posted on social media showed confrontations with police as protesters shouted “no to war!”
The below video, posted by Ukraine’s minister of internal affairs, showed a group of women chasing away a police officer. The Independent has been unable to verify the footage.
Footage shows shooting at Russian draft centre
08:08 , Liam James
A shooting at a Russian draft centre appears to have been captured on video.
The gunman, who in another video published on social media is seen identifying himself to police officers as 25-year-old Ruslan Zinin, opened fire at a draft office in the town of Ust-Ilimsk.
The below footage of the shooting shows him firing at least one shot inside the draft office. The Independent could not verify the footage.
Video of a Russian man opening fire and killing the military commandant in a draft centre in the city of Úst-Ilimsk in Irkutsk region. The military commandant was the head of the local draft committee. He has died, according to reports. pic.twitter.com/knnWNJxE9Y
— Andrew Roth (@Andrew__Roth) September 26, 2022
Gunman opens fire at draft office in Russia amid backlash to Putin’s mobilisation
07:53 , Liam James
A gunman has been detained after opening fire at a draft office in Russia’s Irkutsk region on Monday, the local governor said.
The gunman, who in a video published on social media is seen identifying himself to police officers as 25-year-old Ruslan Zinin, opened fire at a draft office in the town of Ust-Ilimsk. A separate video of the shooting shows him firing at least one shot inside the draft office.
Gunman opens fire at draft office in Russia amid backlash to Putin’s mobilisation
Russian vote counters take ballot boxes door-to-door, says Luhansk governor
07:30 , Liam James
Voting in sham referendums in Ukraine aimed at annexing territory to Russia enters a fourth day.
The votes in four eastern Ukrainian regions partially occupied by Russians saw Moscow-backed officials carry ballot boxes from door to door, accompanied by security officials, said Luhansk’s regional governor Serhiy Gaidai.
The governor said residents’ names were taken down if they failed to vote correctly or refused to cast a ballot.
“A woman walks down the street with what looks like a karaoke microphone telling everyone to take part in the referendum,” he added in an interview posted online.
“Representatives of the occupation forces are going from apartment to apartment with ballot boxes. This is a secret ballot, right?”
Nato and several non-affiliated countries, including formerly Soviet Kazakhstan, have said they will not recognise the results of ther referendums. Russia’s parliament could move to formalise the annexations within days.
Zelensky asks Russians to back off from military mobilisation: ‘Not candy wrappers, real people’
07:07 , Arpan Rai
Volodymyr Zelensky urged people in Russia to not give into the military mobilisation orders in his nightly address.
“These are not candy wrappers – these are real people,” Mr Zelensky said and added that people should fight to ensure their children are not sent to Ukraine to die.
“We see that people, in particular, in Dagestan, began to fight for their lives. We see that they are beginning to understand that this is a question of their lives. Why should their husbands, brothers, sons die in this war? In a war that one man wants. In a war against our people, on our land. He does not send his children to war,” Mr Zelensky said last night.
Urging people to not participate in the war, he added: “…If you come to take the lives of our children – I will tell you as a father – we will not let you go alive.”
“I want to emphasise once again: there is a way out. Do not submit to criminal mobilization. Flee. Or surrender to Ukrainian captivity at the first opportunity. I urge all our friends in the information field to spread this appeal,” he added.
Ex-Russian ally Kazakhstan says won’t recognise referendums in eastern Ukraine
06:51 , Arpan Rai
One of Russia’s close ex-Soviet partners Kazakhstan has said it will not recognise the possible annexation of Ukraine‘s eastern regions by Russia in referendums orchestrated by Moscow held there, its foreign ministry said today.
“As for the holding of referendums … Kazakhstan proceeds from the principles of territorial integrity of states, their sovereign equivalence and peaceful coexistence,” ministry spokesman Aibek Smadiyarov said.
Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has urged for the resolution of the Ukrainian conflict in line with the United Nations charter.
“We reconfirm our readiness to provide all possible assistance to the establishment of a political dialogue,” Smadiyarov said.
“At the same time, our country believes that maintaining stability at either regional or global level is the most important goal.”
Russian men called up by Putin in latest mobilisation reach military bases – MoD
06:27 , Arpan Rai
The initial tranches of men called up under Russia’s partial mobilisation have started arriving at military bases, the British defence ministry said today, confirming that many tens of thousands of call-up papers by Moscow have already been issued.
But the MoD added that Russia will now face an administrative and logistical challenge to provide training for the troops.
“Unlike most western armies, the Russian military provides low-level, initial training to soldiers within their designated operational units, rather than in dedicated training establishments,” the British MoD said in its latest intelligence update.
It explained: “Typically, one battalion within each Russian brigade will remain in garrison if the other two deploy and can provide a cadre of instructors to train new recruits or augmentees.”
However, Russia has deployed many of these third battalions to Ukraine, it said.
Many of the drafted troops will not have had any military experience for some years, the British defence ministry said.
“The lack of military trainers, and the haste with which Russia has started the mobilisation, suggests that many of the drafted troops will deploy to the front line with minimal relevant preparation. They are likely to suffer a high attrition rate,” the ministry warned.
Children among hundreds arrested in Russia after second wave of anti-war protests
06:18 , Arpan Rai
The latest arrests in Russia of hundreds of people include some children as protests persist against president Vladimir Putin’s military mobilisation order.
Police descended on campaigners, arresting hundreds in several cities in the nationwide demonstrations.
More than 700 people were detained, including over 300 in Moscow and nearly 150 in St Petersburg, according to OVD-Info, an independent website that monitors political arrests in Russia. Some of those arrested were minors, OVD-Info said.
Read the full story here:
Children among hundreds arrested in Russia after second wave of anti-war protests
Russian drones hit military objects in Odesa, says Ukraine
06:11 , Arpan Rai
Two drones launched by Russia struck military objects in Ukraine’s Odesa causing a blaze, the Ukrainian military said.
“As a result of a large-scale fire and the detonation of ammunition, the evacuation of the civilian population was organised,” the Ukrainian military’s southern command said in a statement on Telegram.
“Preliminarily, there have been no casualties.”
43 Russian soldiers killed, five ammunition depots destroyed in Ukraine
06:10 , Arpan Rai
A total of 43 Russian soldiers have been killed in the last 24 hours, Ukraine’s southern operational command said in the latest war update today.
The Ukrainian fighters also destroyed three Russian tanks, five ammunition depots, a self-propelled artillery system, and nine armoured vehicles on Sunday, it added, reported The Kyiv Independent.
Heavy fighting along Ukrainian frontline, says Zelensky
05:41 , Arpan Rai
Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed heavy fighting along the frontlines in Ukraine in his address last night.
“Fierce fighting takes place in many sections of the front with a total length of more than 2,000 kilometres. This is the Donetsk region, this is our Kharkiv region, Kherson region, as well as Mykolaiv and Zaporizhzhia regions,” Mr Zelensky said.
He added that Ukraine is seeing positive results in several directions.
“And no matter what happens this week in Russia, no matter what steps the terrorist state plans – political or military – the tasks of our state, the tasks of Ukraine, cannot change: we are fighting for life and freedom for all Ukrainians,” he added.
It comes after days of Ukrainian counterattacking gains in the eastern region, where its troops reclaimed a significant portion of the territory held by Russian soldiers.
Nearly 1.5 million Ukrainians held back in Russia unable to return home
05:28 , Arpan Rai
Close to 1.5 million Ukrainian nationals including a majority of women and children are unable to return to their country, Ukrainian deputy minister for European integration Olga Stefanishyna said yesterday.
She added that these Ukrainian citizens have fallen off the grid as their relatives cannot contact them.
“Today, more than ever, it is important to use all available international instruments to protect fundamental human rights and double our joint efforts to prevent the violent exploitation of Ukrainian citizens,” the top Ukrainian official said during an event on the sidelines of the UN general assembly.
Putin not bluffing about using nukes, says Zelensky
05:05 , Arpan Rai
Volodymyr Zelensky has said Ukraine no longer perceives the nuclear threat from Vladimir Putin as a bluff, given the numerous attacks in regions where nuclear power plants are situated.
Mr Zelensky had previously accused Russia of nuclear blackmail.
“Look, maybe yesterday it was bluff. Now, it could be a reality. Let’s look, what is a contemporary use of nuclear weapons or nuclear blackmail?” he told the CBS news channel.
He accused Mr Putin of targeting and occupying the besieged country’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and the city of Enerhodar which has “six of the size of Chernobyl nuclear plants”.
“This nuclear station has six blocks. And on top of that, a few days ago, apart from this station, he- blackmails, he continues his blackmail related to us exporting electricity to Europe,” he added.
Citing Russia’s latest attack on the country’s southern nuclear power plant, he said: “The missile hit the area that was 300 metres from the nuclear plant. The nuclear plant lost all the windows and doors, etc. So, he wants to scare the whole world.”
“These are the first steps of his nuclear blackmail. I don’t think he’s bluffing. I think the world is deterring it and containing this threat,” Mr Zelensky said, calling for more pressure on the Russian leader to stop the invasion.
04:37 , Arpan Rai
Good morning, welcome to our coverage of the Ukraine war on Monday, 26 September.
