In another illegal act, Putin recognized the occupied Ukrainian territories of Cherson and Zaporizhia as independent states. The boss of the nuclear power plant in Zaporizhia is said to have been kidnapped by Russians. You can find all the latest news about the war in Ukraine in the ticker.

8:41 a.m .: The head of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, which is occupied by Russian troops, Ihor Murashov, has been kidnapped by Moscow troops, according to Ukrainian information. This was announced by the President of the operating company Enerhoatom, Petro Kotin, on Saturday. The general director of Europe’s largest nuclear power plant was stopped the day before by a Russian patrol at the Enerhodar nuclear power plant site, dragged out of the car and taken to an unknown location, blindfolded. There was initially no explanation from the Russian side. Russia has occupied the nuclear power plant since early March.

“There is no information about his fate,” Kotin said on the Telegram news channel. He accused Russia of nuclear terrorism against the management and employees of the power plant. Murashov, who bears the main responsibility for the safe functioning and nuclear safety of the plant, must be released immediately. Kotin also called on the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, to campaign for Murashov’s release.

Saturday, October 1st, 5:02 a.m.: Kremlin chief Putin had just sealed the annexation of four Ukrainian regions when Kyiv announced new military successes. Russian troops are said to be surrounded in Donetsk. A few hours after Russia annexed several areas, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi announced the successes of his army in the east of the country. “Everyone has heard what is happening in Lyman,” said Zelenskyj in a video speech on Saturday night, with a view of the strategically important small town in the Donetsk region, which has just been incorporated into Moscow. Previously, the Donetsk occupation chief Denis Puschilin had already admitted the almost complete encirclement of Russian troops in Lyman by Ukrainian soldiers.

More than seven months after the start of the war, Russian President Vladimir Putin annexed the Ukrainian regions of Luhansk, Cherson and Zaporizhia in addition to Donetsk on Friday. Internationally, this illegal step is not recognized.

The USA announced new sanctions against Russia in view of the recent escalation by Moscow. Ukraine itself is hoping for an accelerated admission process to NATO. On Friday evening there were air alerts in all parts of the attacked country. Saturday is the 220th day of the war.

1:15 p.m.: A civilian car convoy traveling to visit relatives fleeing Russian-held territories in Ukraine was fired upon by Moscow forces near the town of Zaporizhia. At least 25 people died.

Footage posted to social media showed a horrifying scene with the dead and injured lying on a road on the south-eastern outskirts. In video taken from a nearby building, a sobbing woman can be heard repeatedly saying, “There are dead people there: “There are dead people there.” Other images include at least one crater showing cars, who took the full force of the explosion.

10:29 a.m .: According to Ukrainian information, 25 people were killed in a rocket attack on a civilian car convoy in the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhia on Friday. Another 28 people were injured, according to the governor of the Zaporizhia regional administration, Olexander Starukh. Staruch blamed Russian troops for the attack. The information cannot be verified independently.

The convoy was shot at as it was leaving the city to enter the area occupied by Russian troops. People would have wanted to pick up relatives there and bring help. Rescue workers and paramedics are on site, Staruch said.

On the other hand, the head of the Russian occupation administration for the Zaporizhia region, Vladimir Rogov, accused Ukrainian troops of shelling the convoy on his Telegram channel. According to the Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Office, 25 people were killed and around 50 injured. According to Zelensky, 16 rockets were fired at Zaporizhia and the surrounding area

10.20 a.m .: According to British military experts, the Russian invasion troops in Ukraine lack bandages and other medical products on the battlefield. That’s according to the UK Defense Ministry’s daily intelligence update on the Ukraine war on Friday.

Accordingly, newly mobilized reservists were instructed to bring their own first-aid kit, noting that menstrual items were a cost-effective solution. “The lack of confidence in adequate medical care among Russian troops almost certainly contributes to declining morale and an unwillingness to participate in offensive operations (…), the statement said.

Friday, September 30, 12:10 a.m.: In another illegal act, Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized the occupied Ukrainian territories of Cherson and Zaporizhia as independent states. The corresponding decrees of the head of the Kremlin were published in Moscow on Friday night (local time). According to Moscow’s internationally criticized approach, the decrees are a prerequisite for the regions to be able to apply for admission to the Russian Federation this Friday. In mock referendums, the areas had previously voted on joining Russia.

On February 21, Putin had already recognized the independence of Ukraine’s Luhansk and Donetsk regions, which call themselves “People’s Republics”. All four areas are applying to join Russia, which Putin wants to formalize at a ceremony in the Kremlin this Friday. The annexations are not recognized internationally, they are considered a breach of international law, which Ukraine does not want to accept.

The Ukrainian leadership has demanded more heavy weapons from the West in order to liberate their territories. Putin had already stressed that the regions would be under the protection of nuclear power Russia in the future. An attack on the territories will be treated like an attack on Russia. The country will use all available means to defend itself, Putin said.

Russia’s actions are internationally recognized as a crime against Ukraine’s territorial integrity. No state recognizes that.

5:23 p.m .: Russia is apparently intensifying the use of Iranian “Kamikaze” combat drones. The Kremlin is now estimated to have stationed hundreds of weapons in Crimea and other occupied areas in the south of the country. This is reported by the British “Guardian”. The drones are currently to be used in the southern port city of Odessa and in nearby Mykolaiv. Iran may have supplied “several hundred” of these combat drones to Russia, a spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force recently suggested. Accordingly, Russia would increasingly rely on the drones, the report said.

The presence of the combat drones would change Kiev’s operational plans, military experts have already said. In mid-September, the British Ministry of Defense found that Russia was using the Iranian drones. US expert Scott Crino sees the drone as a “strong counterweight” to the Himar missiles that the US is supplying to Ukraine. The special thing about the drones: They are small, fly at low altitudes and are therefore difficult to spot. On Tuesday, Ukrainian forces said they had successfully shot down three more Iranian kamikaze drones that had been attacking the Mykolaiv region.

12.07 p.m .: Russian President Putin apparently wants to announce the annexation of four Ukrainian regions tomorrow at 2 p.m. CEST. These are said to be Donetsk, Luhansk, Cherson and Zaporizhia.

In the past few days, the Russian occupiers have held mock referendums in all four regions. According to Russian information, the “results”, which are not recognized worldwide, were clearly in favor of an annexation.

9.50 a.m .: According to the Finnish media, the Finnish government is closing the border for Russians tonight. This is reported by the Finnish newspaper “HS”. Accordingly, the government will decide on details at noon. However, Russian citizens can continue to enter the country for unspecified “special reasons”. As “HS” writes, the regulation effectively applies to tourists. The regulation will probably particularly affect those men who are currently trying to flee from Putin’s mobilization.

According to the report, initial estimates are that the number of Russians entering Finland will fall by half as a result. Recently, there had been long traffic jams at Finnish-Russian border crossings. On some days there was double the usual border traffic.

Thursday, September 29, 2022, 7.45 a.m .: While the Russian leadership does not want to decide on the accession of the occupied territories to the Russian Federation until next week after the mock referendums in Ukraine that were rushed through, Kyiv is meanwhile showing neither of the alleged voting results of the Referendums still intimidated by nuclear threats from the Russian leadership. On Wednesday, the Ukrainian army made further gains and is now threatening to encircle larger Russian troops. President Volodomyr Zelenskyj calls on the Russian soldiers to flee. This Thursday is the 218th day of the war.

Currently, Russian troops are on the defensive. In the north of Donetsk, for example, they are apparently threatened with encirclement by the Ukrainian army. Russian war reporters on Wednesday reported on successful Ukrainian advances northeast and east of the small town of Lyman. Should the settlement of Torske be recaptured, the Russians are threatened with cutting off the routes from Lyman to Kreminna and Swatowe in the Luhansk region. The streets are already under fire from Ukrainian artillery.

According to Ukrainian sources, at least one other place on the east side of the Oskil River near the city of Kupjansk in the Kharkiv region has been recaptured with Kivscharivka. This means that the Kiev troops are also advancing on the Luhansk region, which Moscow reported as “completely liberated” in the summer.

8:40 p.m .: In the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk, Russian troops are apparently threatened with encirclement by the Ukrainian army. Russian war reporters on Wednesday reported on successful Ukrainian advances northeast and east of the small town of Lyman. Russian occupiers have been in the city since the end of May. Now the Ukrainian troops have probably managed to break through the Russian front again.

The last lines of communication from the city of 20,000 to the Russian-controlled region have been within range of the Ukrainian troops and their artillery for several days. Most recently, the Ukrainians recaptured several villages and settlements outside the city.

Should the settlement of Torske be recaptured, the Russians are threatened with cutting off the routes from Lyman to Kreminna and Swatowe in the Luhansk region. The streets are already under fire from Ukrainian artillery. According to Ukrainian sources, at least one other place on the east side of the Oskil River near the city of Kupjansk in the Kharkiv region has been recaptured with Kivscharivka. The Ukrainian forces have already crossed the river in several places.

You can read more reports on the Ukraine conflict on the following pages.