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☆ Russians are calling up the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense asking how to surrender, Ukraine says
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A hotline set up to allow Russian soldiers to surrender is already getting calls, Ukraine claims. Andrii Yusov, spokesperson for the department, said during a televised briefing on Monday that there had been a strong response to the "I Want to Live" hotline, according to Ukrainian newspaper Ukrainska Pravda. The hotline was announced by Ukraine's Ministry of Defense on September 19, two days before Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the mobilization of reservists to the battlefield. Putin had earlier promised that he would not take this step, which brings the reality of the war to Russians accustomed to civilian life. The hotline echoes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's assurances that surrendered soldiers will be treated according to international humanitarian law.

☆ Putin's draft is a 'recipe for slaughter' in Ukraine because he's sending Russians with little to no training to war, former US general says
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( John Haltiwanger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Retired Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling said in a Washington Post op-ed Putin's draft is a "recipe for slaughter." "They will not be prepared for what they will encounter," said Hertling, former commander of the US Army in Europe. Sending new recruits, poorly trained Russian reservists and untrained civilians into Ukraine is a recipe for slaughter. Hertling said that as commander of the US Army in Europe, he visited Russia several times and observed how the Russian army trained its conscripts. "Having watched the Russian army during the first seven months of its campaign in Ukraine, I cannot say I'm surprised by any of their setbacks.

☆ After sham referendums, Russia could annex more of Ukraine by the end of the week; Russian conscripts set off to war
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Tuesday is the final day of voting in a series of referendums on joining Russia. The votes, widely seen as rigged and illegitimate, are likely to pave the way for Russia to announce it has annexed more of Ukraine by the end of the week, analysts say. There have been multiple reports of votes being staged and coercion and aggression being used to force people living in Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine to vote in favor of joining Russia. Russian men are continuing to try to flee President Vladimir Putin's military mobilization, with more reports of resistance to the draft and footage emerging of queues at the border with Georgia. The number cited for the mobilization — 300,000 — is nearly double the size of the initial invasion force.

☆ Holiday in Montenegro becomes escape from call-up for Russians
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Alexander and his wife Svetlana walk on Jaz beach near Budva, Montenegro, September 26, 2022. REUTERS/Stevo VasiljevicBUDVA, Montenegro, Sept 27 (Reuters) - When Alexander and his wife Svetlana arrived for a two-week vacation in Montenegro, they planned to return home to Russia. But President Vladimir Putin's announcement last week ordering a mobilisation of reservists for the war in Ukraine has thrown their lives into disarray. I am afraid we will have no friends left in Russia," Alexander said. Maxim, 48, a physician, was also vacationing in Montenegro when he heard about mobilisation at home.

☆ New poll signals Americans are growing tired of supporting Ukraine as the war against Russia drags on
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( John Haltiwanger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

A new poll suggests Americans are growing weary as the US supports Ukraine in its war against Russia. The poll found that a majority of Americans want the US to pursue diplomatic negotiations to end the war ASAP. "Americans recognize what many in Washington don't: Russia's war in Ukraine is more likely to end at the negotiating table than on the battlefield. Meanwhile, the poll showed that only four-in-10 Americans somewhat or strongly support the US providing aid to Ukraine at current levels if this occurs. The US has provided over $15 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since Russia launched its unprovoked war in late February.

☆ White House: U.S. welcomes Russians seeking asylum
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON, Sept 27 (Reuters) - The United States welcomes Russians seeking asylum from President Vladimir Putin's "unpopular" war, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Tuesday. "We believe that regardless of their nationality, they may apply for asylum in the United States and have their claim educated on a case by case basis," she said. Earlier in the day, an ally of President Putin issued a stark new nuclear warning to Ukraine and the West as Russia began releasing results of referendums it bills as a prelude to it annexing four Ukrainian regions. https://reut.rs/3dHE4K9Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Steve Holland and Nandita Bose in WashingtonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Russia's Medvedev raises spectre of nuclear strike on Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Maxim ShemetovSept 27 (Reuters) - One of President Vladimir Putin's allies on Tuesday explicitly raised the spectre of a nuclear strike on Ukraine, saying that the U.S.-led military alliance would still stay out of the conflict for fear of a nuclear apocalypse. According to Russia's nuclear doctrine, the president may use nuclear weapons if the state faces an existential threat, including from conventional weapons. Around 90% of the world's nuclear warheads are held by Russia and the United States, who remain by far the world's biggest nuclear powers. Russia has the right to use nuclear weapons if necessary," Medvedev said, adding that it would do so "in predetermined cases" and in strict compliance with state policy. Medvedev, who cast himself as a liberalising president from 2008-2012, has regularly issued hawkish statements about the war in Ukraine.

Giorgia Meloni, a nationalist accused by political rivals and experts of spreading white supremacist ideas, was on Monday set to become Italy's first far-right leader since World War II. The results confirm her party’s rise from a radical fringe group to the driving force in right-wing Italian politics. Meloni, who would be Italy's first female leader, and the Brothers of Italy advocate naval blockades to stop unauthorized migration from Africa. Giorgia Meloni, leader of the Brothers of Italy, in Rome on Monday. Brothers of Italy leader Giorgia Meloni casts her vote at a polling station in Rome on Sunday.

☆ Russians flee to Georgia after Putin's mobilisation order
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The Georgian capital Tbilisi had already seen an influx of around 40,000 Russians since Moscow invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, according to government statistics. There, they hired a local driver to take them through the border checkpoints and after 24 hours they arrived in Tbilisi. The exact number of people who have left Russia since Putin announced what he called a "partial mobilisation" last Wednesday is unclear. LOCAL RESENTMENTRussians already in Tbilisi saw Putin's mobilisation decree as further vindication of their decisions to flee. More than 200 men who were detained at anti-war protests in Moscow last week were issued draft summons, state media reported.

☆ Putin's new troops will suffer heavily in Ukraine as they will have basically no training, UK intel says
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( Sophia Ankel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The first Russian conscripts have arrived at military bases, a UK intelligence briefing said. Putin's new troops will be provided with "low-level initial training," the intel briefing said. As a result, they will suffer a "high attrition rate" in Ukraine, it added. His announcement was largely seen as a sign of the failure of Russia's military in Ukraine so far. "Even if they [Russian conscripts] don't have motivation, they'll have a gun."

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterEU leaders gave mixed messages ahead of a meeting of their ambassadors in Brussels on Monday, with another one planned for Tuesday. Russia invaded Ukraine - a former Soviet republic that now wants to join the EU - on Feb.24 by air, land and sea. More than 2,000 people have been detained across Russia for protests at the draft, says independent monitoring group OVD-Info. On Monday, senior Russian lawmaker Sergei Tsekov told RIA news agency that Russia itself should bar draft-age people from leaving. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by John Chalmers, Sabine Siebold, Charlotte Van Campenhout, Writing by Gabriela Baczynska; Editing by Andrew HeavensOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Mysterious fires and explosions at sensitive Russian sites are hints of a hallmark mission for special-operations units
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( Stavros Atlamazoglou | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Some may be the work of Russians opposed to Putin; others show signs of military special operations. In a matter of a days this month, Ukrainian forces managed to liberate more territory than the Russian military captured and held over six months of war. For months now, sensitive sites and important facilities throughout Russia have been hit by mysterious fires and explosions, hinting at a sabotage campaign that is the hallmark of special-operations forces. Smoke and flames rise at a Russian military base in Crimea after explosions there on August 9. Stavros Atlamazoglou is a defense journalist specializing in special operations, a Hellenic Army veteran (national service with the 575th Marine Battalion and Army HQ), and a Johns Hopkins University graduate.

☆ Ukraine annexation votes to end amid Russian mobilisation exodus
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( Tom Balmforth | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

A man walks with his bicycle past banners informing about a referendum on the joining of Russian-controlled regions of Ukraine to Russia, in the Russian-controlled city of Melitopol in the Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine September 26, 2022. The mobilisation has also seen the first sustained criticism of the authorities within state-controlled media since the war began. Over the weekend, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Russia would defend any territory it annexes using any weapons in its arsenal. Even traditional Russian allies such as Serbia and Kazakhstan have said they will not recognise the annexation votes. When it held a referendum in Crimea after seizing that peninsula in 2014, it declared 97% of people had voted for annexation.

☆ U.S. warns of Putin against using nuclear weapons as Russians flee to avoid reservist call up
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailU.S. warns of Putin against using nuclear weapons as Russians flee to avoid reservist call upNBC's Jay Gray joins Shep Smith to report on the latest news from Ukraine, including the 'sham' referenda Russia is holding in annexed parts of the country and the lengths Russians are going to in order to avoid President Vladimir Putin's reservist call up.

☆ U.S. warns of 'horrific' consequences if Russia uses nuclear weapons in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Washington responded to Russian President Vladimir Putin's veiled threat of using nuclear weapons, warning of serious consequences and that the U.S. response would be "decisive." "The consequences would be horrific," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said during an interview. The number cited for the mobilization — 300,000 — is nearly double the size of the initial invasion force. Anti-mobilization protests appear to be continuing, with reports of standoffs with authorities and several arrests in Russia's North Caucasus region of Dagestan. Western and Ukrainian officials are condemning the referendums as a sham that will allow Putin to annex the territories and then use them to justify threatening anyone trying to retake them with nuclear weapons.

☆ Putin has escaped to his secret palace in a forest amid anti-draft protests in Russian cities, report says
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-25 | by ( Joshua Zitser | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Vladimir Putin has escaped to his secret palace amid anti-draft protests in Russia, per a report. An image of a bedroom inside Vladimir Putin's purported secret palace. An image from inside Vladimir Putin's purported secret palace. An image showing the outside of Vladimir Putin's palace. Police officers detain a protester during the unsanctioned rally in Moscow, Russia, on September 24, 2022.

☆ Winter's approach sets the clock ticking for Ukraine and Russia
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-25 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

A destroyed Russian tank is seen as Ukrainian serviceman rides a tractor and tows a Russian military vehicle, amid Russia's invasion on Ukraine, near the village of Dolyna in Kharkiv region, Ukraine September 23, 2022. Russia, meanwhile, pressed on with its call-up of hundreds of thousands of men to throw into the seven-month war, seeking to reverse its recent losses. The Russian mobilization — its first such call-up since World War II — is sparking protests in Russian cities, with fresh demonstrations Sunday. It is also opening splits in Europe about whether fighting-age Russian men fleeing in droves should be welcomed or turned away. For Ukrainian and Russian military planners, the clock is ticking, with the approach of winter expected to make fighting more complicated.

☆ Police clash with people opposed to mobilisation in Russia's Dagestan
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Sept 25 (Reuters) - Police clashed on Sunday with people opposed to the mobilisation in the southern Russian region of Dagestan, underscoring the level of discontent with President Vladimir Putin's decision to send hundreds of thousands more men to fight in Ukraine. Russia's first military mobilisation since World War Two, announced by Putin on Wednesday, has triggered protests in dozens of cities across the country. Public anger 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. There have been several reports from across Russia of people with no military service or parents of young children being called up in the draft - despite guarantees from Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu they would be excluded. Earlier on Sunday Russia's two most senior lawmakers - key Putin allies - also addressed public concerns about mobilisation, acknowledging "excesses" had stoked public anger.

☆ Putin allies express concern over mobilisation 'excesses'
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with Governor of the Novgorod region Andrei Nikitin in the city of Veliky Novgorod, Russia, September 21, 2022. Sputnik/Gavriil Grigorov/Pool via REUTERS/File PhotoSept 25 (Reuters) - Russia's two most senior lawmakers on Sunday addressed a string of complaints about Russia's mobilisation drive, ordering regional officials to get a handle on the situation and swiftly solve the "excesses" that have stoked public anger. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterRussia's top two parliamentarians, both close Putin allies, explicitly addressed public anger at the way the mobilisation drive was unfolding. Vyacheslav Volodin, speaker of the State Duma, Russia's lower chamber, also expressed concern in a separate post. The Kremlin has twice denied it actually plans to draft more than one million, following two separate reports in independent Russian media outlets.

☆ British PM Truss tells allies to stand firm on Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Stefan Rousseau/Pool via REUTERSLONDON, Sept 25 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Liz Truss said allies should stand firm on Ukraine and ignore Russian President Vladimir Putin's "sabre-rattling", as she seeks to mend fences with democratic powers in the face of increasing threats around the world. Truss, who met U.S. President Joe Biden and France's Emmanuel Macron on her first foreign trip as prime minister to New York last week, called on like-minded democracies to be firm against "autocratic regimes". Truss said Putin was escalating his invasion of Ukraine was because he wasn't winning and had made a strategic mistake. Truss, who became prime minister earlier this month, has taken a hard line against Russia and China. "I'm determined that we make the special relationship even more special over the coming years."

☆ Zelenskyy urges Russian conscripts to 'sabotage' military operations and offers protections to those who surrender: 'It is better to surrender to Ukrainian captivity than to be killed by the strikes o
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-25 | by ( Taiyler Simone Mitchell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Russian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is seeking aid from Russian conscripts. He's urged them to "sabotage" Russian forces and report intel to Ukrainian forces. Russian President Vladimir Putin's mobilization effort impacts 300,000 reservists — many of whom are going to great lengths to avoid being drafted. The mobilization effort comes after Ukrainian forces reclaimed much of Kharkiv, pushing Russian troops to hide amongst locals or retreat. In a Saturday address, Zelenskyy urged Russian forces to surrender, guaranteeing their safety.

☆ Finland says traffic on border with Russia remains busy
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Cars queue to cross the border from Russia to Finland at the Nuijamaa border check point in Lappeenranta, Finland, September 22, 2022. Lauri Heino/Lehtikuva/via REUTERSRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterVAALIMAA, Finland, Sept 23 (Reuters) - Traffic into Finland across its southeastern border with Russia was busy on Friday, the border guard told Reuters, adding that the number of Russians who entered the previous day was more than double the number who arrived the week before. Finland is considering barring most Russians from entering as traffic arriving from its eastern neighbour "intensified" on Thursday following President Vladimir Putin's order for a partial military mobilisation. "This morning it remains busy ... maybe increasing a little bit from yesterday," a spokesperson for the border guard said early on Friday. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Essi Lehto and Anna Ringstrom, writing by Stine Jacobsen, editing by Terje Solsvik, Robert BirselOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Former NATO commander says he's not losing 'a lot of sleep' over Putin's nuclear threats as the Russian leader ups the ante in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-23 | by ( John Haltiwanger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A former NATO commander said he's not losing "a lot of sleep" over Putin's nuclear threats. "I don't see Putin deciding to use a nuclear weapon," Stavridis said. The US has for months privately warned Russia there would be serious consequences if it employs a nuclear weapon, according to a Washington Post report. But Stavridis said he's not losing "a lot of sleep" over Putin's nuclear rhetoric. And in reference to Putin's nuclear threat, Daalder asserted that "anyone who finds it necessary to say that he's not bluffing most likely is."

☆ Australia seeks stable ties with 'great power' China, minister says
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong speaks during a news conference on the sidelines of the 77th United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York City, New York, U.S., September 20, 2022. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/SYDNEY, Sept 23 (Reuters) - Australia is aiming for a stable relationship with China despite differences in particular on trade, Australia's foreign minister said, as she called on China to use its influence as a great power to help end the war in Ukraine. "China is a great power ... We encourage China as a P5 member with a special responsibility to uphold the U.N. charter to use its influence to end the war," she said. Wong said in her talks with Wang Yi she had raised the issue of Australian journalist Cheng Lei and blogger Yang Hengjun, who have been detained in China and face espionage charges. Thursday's meeting with Wang Yi, the second in three months, comes as the recently elected Labor government looks to rebuild ties after a sharp deterioration during the term of the previous conservative government.

☆ Rouble surges, stocks fall as Russia holds Ukraine referendums
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Dado RuvicSummarySummary Companies This content was produced in Russia where the law restricts coverage of Russian military operations in Ukraine. Sept 23 (Reuters) - The Russian rouble surged to new multi-week highs on Friday while stocks fell in volatile trade as Moscow mobilises some 300,000 extra troops for the conflict in Ukraine. But Russian stocks were deep in the red as markets remain jittery over how Russia's mobilisation drive will affect the conflict. Russian shares have seen heightened volatility all week in response to the mobilisation order and as Moscow stages referendums in four regions of Ukraine on joining Russia. For Russian equities guide seeFor Russian treasury bonds seeRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Jake Cordell.

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