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Promotional materials for the union with Russia are being distributed in Luhansk
Photo: IMAGO/Valery Melnikov / IMAGO/SNA
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Turkey condemns sham referendums in Russian-held territories
9:28 a.m.:
Turkey has also condemned the sham referendums announced by Russia and the Russian occupation authorities in the occupied territories of Ukraine.
"We are concerned about attempts to hold unilateral referendums in some regions of Ukraine," the Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday evening.
Such "illegitimate facts" would not be recognized by the international community.
"On the contrary, they will complicate efforts to revive the diplomatic process and deepen instability." Turkey stands for the "territorial integrity, independence and sovereignty" of Ukraine.
Turkey is a NATO member and maintains close ties with Ukraine, but is also considered a close partner of Russia.
Nevertheless, Ankara has repeatedly criticized the Russian annexation of the Crimean peninsula in 2014 – also because the Crimean Tatar Muslim minority has historically had close ties to its southern neighbor on the Black Sea.
Votes in occupied areas of Ukraine on joining Russia are scheduled to be held September 23-27.
They are viewed worldwide as illegal under international law.
London sees Russia's new troops 'uncombatable for months'
9.12 a.m .:
Britain doubts Russia's ability to partially mobilize 300,000 reservists for the war against Ukraine.
"Russia will probably have to contend with logistical and administrative challenges even just to muster the 300,000 soldiers," said the Ministry of Defense in London, citing intelligence findings on Twitter.
The Russian military leadership will probably try to set up new units with the levied troops.
But these were "probably not able to fight for months," it said.
The ministry saw the partial mobilization as a sign of Russian weakness: "The step is practically an admission that Russia has exhausted its supply of willing volunteers for the fight in Ukraine." The conscriptions are also likely to be very unpopular among the population, it said.
In the hope of generating much-needed fighting power, President Vladimir Putin is taking “a considerable political risk”.
Orbán wants to lift EU sanctions against Russia
8.45 a.m.:
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has told his ruling party Fidesz that the sanctions imposed on Russia by the European Union should be lifted.
This was reported by the pro-government daily “Magyar Nemzet” on Wednesday evening.
Government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs confirmed the statements in an email to the Reuters news agency.
Orbán, a harsh critic of EU sanctions against Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine, made the comments at a closed-door meeting of his party members on Wednesday.
The »Magyar Nemzet« quotes Orbán that the EU sanctions have driven up gas prices and inflation.
If these measures were lifted, gas prices would immediately fall by 50 percent and inflation would also fall.
Without sanctions, Europe can regain strength and avoid an impending recession, Orbán is quoted as saying.
In doing so, the Hungarian reiterated his earlier stance that the sanctions were hurting Europe more than Russia.
On his Facebook page, Orbán posted from the party assembly: "The Brussels sanctions have plunged Europe into an energy crisis."
G7 want to give Ukraine more support
8.43 a.m .:
The foreign ministers of the seven leading industrial nations (G7) want to jointly increase their support for Ukraine.
"We reaffirm the cooperation of the G7 countries in supporting Ukraine and ensuring food and energy security," said Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi at a press conference in New York.
As part of additional sanctions against Russia, Japan will, among other things, ban the export of products that could be used for chemical weapons to Russia.
EU foreign ministers agree on eighth package of sanctions against Russia
8.40 a.m .:
So far, the sanctions imposed on Russia have not been able to stop the war in Ukraine.
With the partial mobilization, the Kremlin has reached a new level of escalation - and the EU is reacting.
Read the entire text here.
According to Finnish border guards, traffic on the border with Russia is increasing slightly
8.32 a.m .:
Traffic on Finland’s eastern border with Russia “increased” during the night, said the Finnish border guard early in the morning, but added that the situation was under control.
Finland is closely monitoring the situation in neighboring Russia after President Vladimir Putin ordered the mobilization of the military, Finland's Defense Minister Antti Kaikkonen said.
However, the number of people crossing the border on Wednesday was lower than at the weekend, said the head of the Finnish Border Guard's international affairs department, Matti Pitkaniitty.
He said 4,824 Russians crossed the eastern border into Finland on Wednesday, up from 3,133 the previous week.
Pitkaniitty told Reuters that border guards were on standby at nine checkpoints.
The partial mobilization massively restricts the freedom of Russians to travel.
In the SPIEGEL video interview, military expert Carlo Masala said he expected those who could afford it to leave Russia.
You can watch the interview here.
That happened at night: North Korea does not want to supply Russians with weapons, Frank-Walter Steinmeier fears further escalations
8.23 a.m .:
The Ukrainian President addressed the UN in impressive words via video – there was a standing ovation.
The Federal President sees no good signs for the progress of this war.
And: Kyiv and Moscow exchange prisoners.
Read what happened that night here.
mgo/AFP/dpa/Reuters