Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief: "We will destroy anyone who enters our country with weapons"
Created: 09/22/2022, 05:02
By: Sandra Kathe, Helena Gries, Karolin Schäfer, Stefan Krieger, Christian Stör
Vladimir Putin orders an immediate partial mobilization in Russia.
In doing so, he creates new facts in the Ukraine war.
The news ticker.
Partial mobilization:
300,000 Russian reservists are to be mobilized.
Sham referendums in occupied territories:
Russia wants to forestall a counter-offensive.
Editor
's note: You can read all the news about the Ukraine conflict in this news ticker.
Some of the information comes from warring factions in the Ukraine war and cannot be checked directly and independently.
+++ 9:20 p.m .:
After the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj, the head of the country’s armed forces was now unimpressed by Putin’s announcement of partial mobilization.
"No statement by the military or political leadership of the aggressor has any impact on our willingness to fight for our freedom," Valery Zalushny, commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, said in a statement on the social media platform Facebook.
"The enemy's large-scale offensive" would not have terrified the people fighting for their country in Ukraine, but only allowed them to grow closer together.
Russia's new plans would not change that.
Zalushnyi announced that his people will continue to fight: "We will destroy anyone who enters our country with weapons - whether of their own free will or as a result of mobilization."
According to the supreme commander of the Ukrainian military, Valeriy Saluschnyj, the Russian partial mobilization cannot harm the fighting spirit in the country.
(Iconic photo) © Anatolii Stepanov/AFP
Ukraine war: Lithuania and US support Ukraine with kamikaze drones
+++ 19:25:
Both the United States and the Baltic state of Lithuania have announced that they will support Ukraine with the delivery of so-called kamikaze drones.
According to reports from the news portal
Ukrainska Pravda
, the US Department of Defense has confirmed that Ukraine would soon receive another shipment of weapons from the United States.
There are also military drones of the type Switchblade 600 worth a total of 2.2 million US dollars.
Manufacturer is the US company AeroVironment.
Lithuania has also announced plans to deliver 37 kamikaze drones from a Polish manufacturer to the Ukrainian army in October or November.
The delivery will be financed from a Lithuanian fundraising campaign for Ukraine.
Ukraine war: Putin wants to 'drown Ukraine in the blood of his own soldiers'
+++ 3.30 p.m .:
The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj has also commented on the announced partial mobilization in Russia.
This move would show that Moscow has problems with its military personnel.
“We already know they mobilized cadets, guys who couldn't fight.
Those cadets fell.
They couldn't even finish their education," said Selenskyj in an interview with
Bild
.
They came to Ukraine to die.
Russian President Vladimir Putin needs "an army worth millions," but sees "that his units are simply running away," Zelenskyy said.
Putin wants to “drown Ukraine in blood, but also in the blood of his own soldiers.”
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News about the Ukraine war: Klitschko calls for "radical annihilation".
+++ 2.40 p.m .:
After the renewed nuclear threat from Russian President Vladimir Putin, Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko called on what he saw as the “civilized world” to “radically destroy evil”.
"The mobilization announced by Putin and the nuclear threats will not help the aggressor in his quest to subjugate and destroy Ukraine and Ukrainians," the 50-year-old said in a statement on Wednesday.
The "tyrant" Putin has started processes in Russia that would ruin him himself.
It was no longer time to talk about "any illusory peace negotiations," emphasized the ex-boxing world champion.
News about the Ukraine war: Opposition calls for protests
+++ 1:45 p.m .:
Russia’s opposition calls for protests against the partial mobilization ordered by Vladimir Putin.
"Thousands of Russian men - our fathers, brothers and husbands - will be thrown into the meat grinder of war," the anti-war movement Vesna said.
She appeals to the people of Russia to take to the streets in large cities to protest.
One of the best known opponents of Putin, Alexej Navalny, spoke up from prison.
In a video message recorded and released by his lawyers, he said: "It is clear that this criminal war is getting worse, more intense, and Putin is trying to involve as many as he possibly can."
News about the Ukraine war: Partial mobilization in Russia – Putin creates new facts
+++ 12.10 p.m .:
Almost seven months after the start of the Ukraine war, Vladimir Putin ordered an immediate partial mobilization of his own armed forces in a TV speech (see update from 08.55 a.m.).
According to Putin, the partial mobilization means that reservists will be drafted.
He assured them that they would have the same status and pay as the current contract soldiers, and they would receive military training before going to the front.
Kyiv reacted with mockery to Putin's ordered partial mobilization.
"Is everything still going according to plan or not?" Asked Presidential Advisor Mykhailo Podoliak on Twitter.
The war planned for “three days” has already lasted 210 days.
The Russians, who demanded Ukraine's annihilation, have now received mobilization, closed borders, blocked accounts and prison sentences for deserters, among other things.
"Life has a wonderful sense of humor," concluded Podoljak.
News on the Ukraine war: Kyiv punishes voting
+++ 11.45 a.m .:
Against the background of the upcoming sham referendums in the Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine, the leadership in Kiev has warned their compatriots against a vote.
"Any participation in the 'referendums' is considered a violation of Ukraine's territorial integrity," Presidential Advisor Mykhailo Podoliak wrote on Twitter.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry had previously declared the organization of the sham referendums to be punishable in a statement.
Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Wereshchuk also called for people to ignore the vote - "and thus help the army and themselves".
Anyone who applies for a Russian passport faces up to 15 years in prison, she said on Ukrainian television.
+++ 11.20 a.m .:
The first reactions to the Russian partial mobilization also come from Ukraine.
This is how Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko posted his response to Telegram.
"The mobilization and nuclear threat announced by Putin will not help the aggressor in his quest to conquer and destroy Ukraine and the Ukrainians," Klitschko said.
“The tyrant has now set in motion the processes that will bury him in his country.
And the civilized world must finally understand that evil must be eradicated from the ground up, and not speak of any illusory 'peace negotiations'.”
News about the Ukraine war: Habeck sharply criticizes partial mobilization
+++ 11.00 a.m .:
Vice-Chancellor Robert Habeck (Greens) sharply criticized Russia’s decision to partially mobilize (see update from 08.55 a.m.) its armed forces.
That was a "bad and wrong step," said the Federal Minister of Economics in Berlin.
The federal government is currently deliberating on an answer to this decision by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In this context, Habeck again promised Ukraine full support from Germany.
British Defense Minister Ben Wallace also sees the announced partial mobilization as a sign that "his invasion is failing".
Wallace continued: "No amount of threats and no amount of propaganda can hide the fact that Ukraine is winning this war, the international community is united, and Russia will become a global outlaw."
News about the Ukraine war: Russia wants to forestall a counter-offensive
+++ 10.30 a.m .:
According to British military experts, the Kremlin wants to forestall a counterattack by Kiev with the planned mock referendums in occupied Ukrainian territories.
This emerges from the daily intelligence update on the Ukraine war from the Ministry of Defense in London.
"This rush is likely driven by fears of an imminent attack and greater security after formal incorporation into Russia," the statement said.
+++ 9.15 a.m
.: Kremlin chief Putin said in a speech to the nation that the United States would plan military steps on Russian soil.
Russians can rest assured that Russia's territorial integrity will be defended "with every means at our disposal," Putin added, according to
ntv.
“Russia has modern weapons of destruction.
I don't bluff."
Ukraine war news: Russia orders partial mobilization
+++ 8:55 a.m .:
Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced a “partial mobilization” of Russians of military age.
He supports the Defense Ministry's proposal to mobilize reservists who have already served and "have relevant experience," Putin said in a recorded televised address on Wednesday.
A corresponding decree has already been signed.
According to the Ministry of Defense, 300,000 reservists are to be mobilized.
+++ 8.20 a.m .:
Almost seven months after the start of the war against Ukraine, Russia has ordered a partial mobilization of its own armed forces.
He made this decision based on a proposal from the Defense Ministry and signed the decree, Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin said in a televised speech.
Partial mobilization will begin this Wednesday.
News on the Ukraine war: Donetsk and Kherson bosses ask Putin for help
Update from Wednesday, September 21, 6:35 a.m .:
The Moscow-backed separatist areas of Donetsk and Luhansk and the Donetsk and Zaporizhia regions conquered in the war are planning referendums from September 23rd to 27th.
They announced this on Tuesday.
The heads of administration in Donetsk and Kherson approached Putin directly.
They asked him to support joining Russia.
"This event will restore historical justice," said Donetsk separatist leader Denis Puschilin.
It is difficult to say how many people are in the parts of Ukraine controlled by Moscow.
The population there has been severely decimated since February through death, flight or deportation to Russia.
According to estimates, Moscow still occupies more than a sixth of Ukraine's territory, including Crimea, despite the Ukrainian counter-offensive.
News on the Ukraine war: "The threat can only be averted with violence"
+++ 9:05 p.m .:
In the event of a large annexation of Ukrainian areas by Russia, the Estonian President considers a debate about further deliveries of heavy weapons such as battle tanks necessary.
An attempted incorporation of the "people's republics" of Luhansk and Donetsk in eastern Ukraine and the Kherson region "probably also changes the situation in Europe and the understanding of what we should do," said Head of State Alar Karis of the German Press Agency.
He stressed that Ukraine wanted tanks.
There must also be further EU sanctions against Moscow.
When asked about Germany's role in the conflict, which was often criticized as hesitant, Karis said: "I think we can all do much, much more."
News about the Ukraine war: Foreign Ministry threatens Russia
+++ 6.25 p.m .:
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has announced that it will hold the organizers behind the announced pseudo-referendums in the Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine accountable and will not recognize any borders that have changed after the referendums.
The votes are sham referendums because they are being held without Ukraine's consent, under martial law and not according to democratic principles.
Free work by international independent observers is also not possible.
The ministry threatened Russia that the Russian leadership would be held "severely responsible for organized terrorism, war crimes and crimes against humanity on Ukrainian soil."
Kyiv called on the international community to impose stronger sanctions on Moscow.
In addition, Russia should be declared a “state that finances terrorism”.
News on the Ukraine war: Russia is pushing for referendums in eastern Ukraine: "The enemy is afraid"
+++ 4.55 p.m .:
Ukraine has now reacted drastically to the “referendums” announced by the Russian occupation authorities and has sharpened the tone significantly.
The head of the Ukrainian presidential office, Andriy Yermak, announced a violent reaction.
“Ukraine will settle the Russian question.
The threat can only be averted with violence,” he explained in the Messenger service Telegram.
This threatens a severe escalation of the war in Ukraine.
+++ 4:20 p.m .:
Ukraine initially reacted calmly to the “referendums” announced by Russia and the Russian occupation authorities in the occupied areas in the east and south of the country.
"Neither the pseudo-referendums nor the hybrid mobilization will change anything," Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba wrote on Twitter on Tuesday.
Ukraine will continue to liberate its territory no matter what is said in Russia.
The head of the presidential office in Kyiv, Andriy Yermak, spoke of "naive blackmail" and "fear-mongering".
“This is what the fear of defeat (of the Russian troops) looks like.
The enemy is afraid and manipulates in a primitive way,” wrote the 50-year-old on the Telegram news channel.
News about the Ukraine war: In Zaporizhia, too, a vote is to be taken on accession
The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense compared the events with the annexation of Austria to Nazi Germany in 1938. "They expect the results of 1938. Instead they will get Hitler's result of 1945," the military wrote on Twitter.
+++ 3.50 p.m .:
In the occupied part of the southern Ukrainian region of Zaporizhia, the Russian military administration also wants to vote on accession to Russia, as in Luhansk, Donetsk and Cherson.
According to the head of the military administration, Vladimir Rogov, the “referendum” will only take place in the parts of Zaporizhia controlled by Moscow.
Everything is ready, "in the next few days" can be voted on, said Rogow.
News about the Ukraine war: Will there be Russian mobilization?
+++ 3.40 p.m .:
The Russian parliament has made legislative changes in urgent proceedings that could indicate possible preparation for the imposition of martial law in the country.
For example, the Duma determined on Tuesday that times of “mobilization” and “state of war” are particularly prone to crime.
Among other things, criminal law was tightened in the second and final reading, according to which the prison sentences for voluntarily becoming prisoners of war and for looting are significantly increased.
Independent observers close to the Kremlin saw this as a possible preparation by the Kremlin for the declaration of a state of war and a mobilization.
In view of the war in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Moscow hadn't even really started there.
The State Duma also passed a law that would allow foreigners who enlist in the military to become Russian citizens more quickly.
Ukraine-News: Cherson is also preparing a referendum
+++ 2.50 p.m .:
At the same time as the self-proclaimed People’s Republics of Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine, the contested Cherson region in the south also wants to vote on joining Russia.
The sham referendum is to be held from September 23 to 27, according to the occupying power.
News on the Ukraine war: Kyiv reports advance in Luhansk
+++ 9.15 a.m .:
According to their own statements, the Ukrainian armed forces have advanced further in the Luhansk region.
Governor Serhiy Hajday wrote in the Messenger service Telegram that Ukrainian troops had regained complete control over the Luhansk village of Bilohorivka and were preparing to fight to recapture the entire province.
It will be fought for every inch: "The enemy is preparing his defense.
So we won't just march in.” .
Update from Tuesday, September 20,
6:40 a.m.: President Selenskyj wants to bring a complaint about the Russian war of aggression to the UN General Assembly of the United Nations in New York.
"There will be important signals from our state," he announced in a speech on Monday evening.
The Ukrainian head of state is scheduled to speak via video link on Wednesday.
Ukraine-News: Kyiv is planning another counter-offensive
First report from September 19:
Kiev/Moscow – In the Ukraine war, the Ukrainian armed forces pose major problems for the Russian invaders with their counter-offensive.
Now the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj announced new attacks on the occupied territory in Ukraine.
"Perhaps it seems to some of you that after a series of victories there has been silence, but it is not silence," Zelenskyy said in his daily video address.
Rather, this is the preparation for the next offensive, the goal of which is the recapture of Mariupol, Melitopol and Cherson.
According to Zelenskyy, Ukraine will not only focus on the areas it controlled before the Russian attack in February.
The 44-year-old announced that the territories of the Moscow-backed separatists in the east of the country and cities in Crimea, which had been annexed by Russia since 2014, would also be recaptured.
"All of Ukraine must be free." (with agencies)
