WAR IN UKRAINE: October 1, 2022
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS: Day 220
Kuleba: ‘Nothing changes for Ukraine’ following Russia’s illegal annexations. Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Ukraine will “continue liberating our land and our people, restoring our territorial integrity” despite Russia’s condemned actions. He noted that, in trying to annex Ukraine’s Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson oblasts, “Putin tries to grab territories he doesn’t even physically control on the ground” - Kyiv Independent
Russian troops have withdrawn from the town of Lyman in eastern Ukraine to avoid being surrounded by Ukraine's army, the Russian Ministry of Defense said Saturday. "In connection with the creation of a threat of encirclement, allied troops were withdrawn from the settlement of Krasny Liman to more advantageous lines," the defense ministry said on social media platform Telegram - CNN
At a power panel on the Ukraine war and Europe’s response of experts and journalists Friday evening at London’s Conduit Club, I said the following: One of the most obscene aspects of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s illegal absorption of four occupied regions of Ukraine is that pro-Ukrainian residents could be subject to Russian conscription and forcibly sent to the frontline. Among the main take aways of Putin’s recent moves: people in the West don’t realize how serious this is. Sanctions tend to be more of a tool for leaders to claim action. People - especially here in the Ukraine have to prepare for possibly a war economy
The UN's nuclear watchdog, the IAEA, has confirmed with Moscow that Russian forces detained the chief of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant - a giant facility controlled by Russian troops, CNN reported. Ihor Murashov was "temporarily detained to answer questions", the watchdog told the Reuters news agency. Murashov was allegedly arrested as he drove away from the plant on Friday afternoon, then blindfolded and taken to an unknown location. The move prompted the UN to request "clarifications" from Russia.
Required reading…
Putin’s Newest Annexation Is Dire for Russia Too
His baldly illegitimate claim to four Ukrainian provinces shows contempt for the global order—and his own subjects.
Read the full analysis by Anne Applebaum in The Atlantic here