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For about seven months, Aleksey had been largely untouched by the war in Ukraine. Like many others in the big cities of Russia, he was able to continue working and living his life.

But that changed in mid-September, after Aleksey boarded a flight headed for his hometown of Ulan-Ude, the capital of the Republic of Buryatia, which sits around Lake Baikal in the Siberian region of Russia. (Aleksey is not his real name; CBC agreed to change his name to protect him from potential reprisals.)

Aleksey was going for a short trip to visit friends and family he hadn't seen since moving to the western side a few years ago. The roughly 6,000 kilometres between the two regions means planessometimes have a layover in countries south of the Russian border.

This was one of those flights, which meant Aleksey had to take his passport with him something for which he would later be extremely grateful.

That's because on Sept. 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a partial mobilization of 300,000 reservists young men who had previously gone through the country's mandatory conscription in order to continue the war in Ukraine.

While Putin declared the mobilization to be nationwide, those most affected are Russia's ethnic minorities among them, the people of Buryatia (referred to as Buryat).

Aleksey had spent a few days in Buryatia before Putin's televised address, hoping the president's decision wouldn't result in a mass conscription of his people.

"We still had the hope that this would all settle, the draft notices wouldn't come," said Aleksey.

But it wasn't worth the risk of waiting it out. That night, he and his friends quickly packed their bags and co-ordinated their escape. Aleksey's international flight to Buryatia meant he had his passport with him, making a last-minute departure from Russia feasible. The next day, he and his friends left.

But not all Buryat are as lucky.

The recent Russian mobilization comes as Ukraine reclaims an increasing percentage of its previously lost territory.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyytouted the army'srecent counteroffensive victory in Lyman on Saturday, as videos of Ukrainian soldiers taking down Russian flags and hoisting their ownbegan circulating.

Melissa Chakars, a professor at Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia and an expert on Buryatia and the Mongolian peoples of Russia, called the mobilization a "big shift in the war."

"[Putin] claimed that [drafting] was going to be spread throughout the regions so people were expecting that a certain percentage of people from each region [were] going to be taken," said Chakars.

She said that while people from the more central cities, especially Moscow and Saint Petersburg, hadbeen able to operate withoutmuch fear of the draft, Putin's mobilization announcement had "changed things."

Protests, which had largely dwindled since the early days of the invasion in February, erupted across the country and spurred an exodus of almost 300,000 Russians to neighbouring borders within five days of Putin's televised address, according to reporting done by Novaya Gazeta.Novaya Gazeta, whose editor-in-chief is Nobel Peace laureate Dmitry Muratov, was forced to cease operations in early September due to the war and is now operating in exile out of Riga, Latvia.

While Russian men in metropolitan areas were now being conscripted, the mobilization largely reinforced existing trends in terms of which populations provided the most fighters.

At the start of the war, reports indicated many men from Buryatia were sent to fight in the war. The region also suffered a significant number of casualties. By Sept. 23, 275 identified men from Buryatia had been killed in the war, according to an independent count by Mediazona and BBC News's Russian service.

The only Russian region with a higher casualty rate is the Republic of Dagestan, with 305 identified men killed in action. However, the total population of Dagestan is more than three million; Buryatia isless than a million.

While Buryat are indigenous to the region, with their own language, many of them never learn that language, and instead only speak Russian.

The reason for high drafting rates in the ethnic regions, especially Buryatia, is twofold.

First, the communities of Buryatia are largely clustered around Lake Baikal, and drafting men from more remote regions of the country means any potential opposition to the war would likely come far away from Moscow or Saint Petersburg, Chakars explained.

The other piece of the story is that these areas are typically quite low-income.

"Buryatia is one of the poorest regions in all of the Russian Federation. Traditionally, the military is a steady job," Chakars said.

Alexandra Garmazhapova, president of the antiwar organization Free Buryatia Foundation (FBF), said the distribution of draft notices in Buryatia late last month resembled more of a raid.

"People from different age groups were getting it, disabled people and even people that are no longer alive," she said. In at least one report, a man who died two years ago from COVID-19 received a draft notice.

"They are grabbing everyone they can and sending them to the war," Garmazhapova said. "This is not a partial mobilization, but a full mobilization."

According to reports, between 3,000 and 5,000 men were mobilized from Buryatia on the first day of the announcement.

One man had an officer and a teacher appear at his front door in the middle of the night between Sept. 21 and 22. He was served with the draft notice and forced to sign it, Garmazhapova said.

"The only reason he opened the door was because he thought it was his brother returning home from work," she said. "If he knew it wasn't his brother, he definitely wouldn't have opened the door."

Under current law, citizens are obligated to open the door to the police. Citizens are also legally required to report to conscription offices once they've been served and sign their draft notices. But some began refusing to open their doors.

Garmazhapova relates the story of another man who didn't open his door to officers who wanted to serve him with his notice. Eventuallytheyleft, and the man thought he had avoided being sent to the war.

WATCH | Russian men head for the borders to avoid the draft:

But while filling up his car at the gas station the next day, he saw a bus coming from his village filled with men who had been freshly drafted. The bus stopped at the gas station and the man was forcibly taken on board.

"Without his things, without his documents they took him," said Garmazhapova. "The car was left at the gas station and his relatives had to come and take the car back home. There are a lot of stories like this."

In a rare social media video, Yanina Nimaeva from Ulan-Ude addresses the leader of Buryatia, Alexei Tsydenov, on why her 38-year-old husband and the father of five children, who had never served in the army, was served with a draft notice.

Word of these events spurred many young men to pack their bags and head for the closest borders to Buryatia Mongolia and Kazakhstan.

Part of FBF's work was helping with the evacuation efforts, by co-ordinating transportation and bringingBuryat mento the borders. Once they have crossed over, representatives from the foundation have been helping the young men find room and board, food and work.

"It was very sad looking at themYou understand these are very young boys who didn't have plans to leave," said Garmazhapova, recounting how she has helpedmen get settled in Astana, Kazakhstan. She said their average age was between 20 and 22.

"It's almost as if you can visualize their parents just throwing their kids on the last train leaving, just to save them."

Many of the soldiers sent to the front lines of the 2014 war in Ukraine were also from Buryatia, notably a lot of tank operators.

As a result, Garmazhapovasaid many had gained notoriety as "Putin's Buryat warriors." A 2015 pro-Kremlin video featured a few Buryat speaking about their support for Putin and willingness to fight for him.

"Before, when people would ask what is Buryatia, or who are the Buryat, it would take a very long time to explain the place. We would have to explain that Buryatia is near Lake Baikal, close to Mongolia," said Garmazhapova.

"But now if you say you're Buryat, people immediately say, 'Those are the people that fight for Putin in Ukraine.' It's very negative and is an awful reputation."

She said the latest war has thrown Buryat soldiers "into the meatgrinder" once again.

FBF was established in March 2022 with the release of an antiwar video featuring Buryat from around the world that countered the idea that Buryat soldiers fought willingly for Putin.

"Unexpectedly, this video garnered a million views and Buryat [people] started to write to us: 'Oh god, finally somebody [else] said that I'm against the war. I thought I was the only one,'" said Garmazhapova.

FBFwas inundated with messages, first with support and then with pleas for help in getting soldiers out of the war. Mothers began writing to the organization asking how to cancel the military contracts of sons who were either on the front lines or getting ready to go there.

Garmazhapova said they were able to successfully help some soldiers cancel their contracts and return home. However, with mobilization, their most effective way to support the men was to help them settle into new homes outside Russia.

She hopes these men will one day be able to repay countries like Kazakhstan and Mongolia, which have given them a new home.

In the meantime, she is encouraging Buryat men to start learning Kazakh.

"Even the most basic phrases," Garmazhapova said, "is a sign of respect to their language."

View original post here:
Russian ethnic minorities bearing brunt of Russia's war mobilization in Ukraine - CBC News

From an elegant mansion in Kyivs government quarter, Tamila Tasheva is planning what the Ukrainian takeover of Crimea might look like.

Tasheva, president Volodymyr Zelenskiys top representative for Crimea, and her team spend their days discussing issues such as how many Ukrainian teachers or police should be sent to the peninsula if Kyiv regains control, and what else would be required to help reverse eight years of Russian rule.

No serious military analyst is suggesting that Ukraine is close to being in a position to regain Crimea, but the idea feels much less fanciful than it did a year ago.

This is moment X. Right now everything is happening in a way that it feels inevitable, said Tasheva. It may not happen tomorrow, but I think it will be much quicker than I thought a year ago.

Even as Russian President Vladimir Putin lays claim to more territory, with his attempted annexation of four Ukrainian regions on Friday, the mood in Kyiv is that a full victory ought to involve not just taking things back to how they were before the February invasion, but regaining all of Ukraines territory.

Before, Ukrainian officials said Crimea would be theirs again more out of hope than a firm belief it would actually happen. The same went for most western officials and diplomats, who privately suggested there was little chance of Kyiv ever restoring control.

Now, as Russia struggles on the battlefield in southern and eastern Ukraine, and cracks of dissent appear over president Putins unpopular mobilisation drive, some in Kyiv hope the writing is on the wall. Everything began with Crimea and everything will end with Crimea, said Zelenskiy, in an August speech.

The Crimea office was opened by Zelenskiy last year as part of a strategy known as the Crimea Platform, which is aimed at envisioning eventual Ukrainian control over the territory. Sculptures by Crimean artists dot the gardens: one emits the sounds of waves and dolphins to evoke the seaside resorts of the peninsula. Inside, large photographs of spectacular Crimean landscapes and activists jailed by Russian authorities hang from the walls. Tasheva, a former rights activist who is Crimean Tatar, has been in the role since April this year.

Ukrainian officials say targeting Crimea is key to stopping the Russian war machine in other parts of occupied Ukraine, and Kyiv appears to have done so several times in recent months, most notably in early August, when several explosions rocked the Saky airbase.

Crimea is the key base for their army reserves. Its where they have their bases for ammunition, hardware and soldiers, so of course destroying these bases is a major part of de-blockading our territory, said Mykhailo Podolyak, a senior aide to Zelenskiy.

He said the attitude of Kyivs western partners, particularly the US, had changed over the summer. Until the middle of the summer our partners really had doubts that Crimea could be a legitimate target. Now they accept that given the intensity of this war its absolutely a legitimate target, said Podolyak.

Currently Kyiv did not have enough Himars missiles to use on Crimea, said Podolyak, and the systems could not reach much of the peninsula from Ukrainian positions with their range in any case. So for now we are working mainly through diversionary groups, and using the local partisans, the local partisan mood has grown significantly in the past few months, he said.

The US has so far declined to deliver ATACMS systems that have an even longer range than Himars, but if it does, Crimea is likely to be one of the first targets. I think soon were going to see the Ukrainians pushing long-range rocket launchers into position to start hitting targets in Crimea, and this will really cause a problem for the Russians, it could make Crimea untenable for them, said Ben Hodges, formerly the commander of the US Army in Europe.

Inside the peninsula, Russian authorities have stepped up a crackdown on dissent, and Sergei Aksyonov, the Kremlin-installed leader of Crimea, went as far as to threaten that anyone who sang pro-Ukrainian songs would be prosecuted.

People who chant slogans, sing songs or nationalist hymns will be punished according to the criminal code, he said earlier this month, after six guests at a Crimean Tatar wedding were arrested when footage was shared of guests dancing to a song that calls for Ukraine to be freed from Muscovite shackles.

People who behave like this are traitors if you dont love our country then leave and go to the place you do love, said Aksyonov, who was a marginal local politician before Moscow installed him as leader in 2014.

Gauging the public mood in Crimea is difficult. Ukrainians say a number of surveys in recent years purporting to show that a majority of Crimeans are happy under Russian rule should be taken in the context of the Kremlins lack of tolerance of dissent and the exodus of large numbers of pro-Ukraine Crimeans after annexation. There is some anecdotal evidence that support for Russia could be waning.

Of course there are loads of people who are staunchly pro-Russian, but there are also many people who feel theyve been cheated over the past eight years, and feel increasingly uncomfortable with life under Moscow, said one Crimea resident who has fled the peninsula to escape Putins mobilisation decree.

In 2014 the Kremlin launched a lightning invasion of little green men, who wore no insignia and who Moscow initially denied were Russian special forces. Later, they disabled the TV stations, threatened Ukrainian military installations on the peninsula and co-opted much of the Ukrainian law enforcement, judicial and other infrastructure.

This will be one of many thorny issues for Ukraine should it ever win back control of Crimea. Who should face punishment for working with Russian authorities, and who should receive an amnesty?

Officials say that after so many years of occupation, that decision will be different from those that will have to be made in the territories occupied by Russia since the February invasion.

Crimea is a different case. Our laws will not have a retrospective aspect, said Iryna Vereshchuk, Ukraines deputy prime minister. People believed Russia was there for ever, and you could not function there without interacting with Russian authorities.

There are other tricky questions. Between 500,000 and 800,000 Russians have moved to the peninsula since 2014, according to Ukrainian estimates. Technically, they have all entered the territory of Ukraine illegally. Then there is the question of property transactions since 2014. Should Ukrainian law recognise any of them?

Tasheva said the important thing was to ensure that these issues were dealt with ahead of time, not on the hop. Back in 2014, Russia was ready to implement its rule in Crimea. We need to be ready too, she said.

Read more here:
It feels inevitable: Ukraine starts to believe it can win back Crimea - The Guardian

Staff and volunteers load a camel into a vehicle to be evacuated from Feldman Ecopark in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on May 4. The zoo has been shelled repeatedly during the Russian invasion. At least five staff or volunteers were killed and nearly 100 animals at the zoo died as of April. Carol Guzy for NPR hide caption

Staff and volunteers load a camel into a vehicle to be evacuated from Feldman Ecopark in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on May 4. The zoo has been shelled repeatedly during the Russian invasion. At least five staff or volunteers were killed and nearly 100 animals at the zoo died as of April.

Editor's note: This story contains graphic images.

DNIPRO, Ukraine When Russian forces invaded Ukraine in February, Petya Petrova didn't hesitate. She and a team of other German animal rights activists rushed to the Polish-Ukrainian border to help with what would become an unprecedented influx of refugees, many of them bringing animals.

"I was the first team member to arrive at the Polish border on Feb. 25 to welcome Ukrainians arriving with their pets," says the 34-year-old.

After a few months, the animal rights group she was with, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, pulled back from the border, calling its employees back to Germany. But Petrova didn't think that was the right thing to do.

"My whole existence was linked to this war and I started feeling very emotional about this conflict," she says.

So she quit her job, moved to Kyiv and started working full time to evacuate animals from areas of Ukraine under attack.

The Russian war in Ukraine has gone on almost seven months. Thousands of people have been killed and millions have been forced to leave their homes. But the war is also taking a huge toll on animals not just domestic pets, but also farm animals and wildlife.

A dead cow at the farm of 58-year-old Oleksandr Novikov, who says he lost 80 cows and 30 pigs during two months of Russian artillery shelling and occupation, in Vilkhivka, Ukraine, on May 14. Carol Guzy for NPR hide caption

A dead cow at the farm of 58-year-old Oleksandr Novikov, who says he lost 80 cows and 30 pigs during two months of Russian artillery shelling and occupation, in Vilkhivka, Ukraine, on May 14.

Petrova is just one among thousands of individuals, nonprofit organizations and even soldiers trying to help animals caught up in this conflict.

"The war is affecting animals just as it is affecting humans," Petrova tells NPR. "[Animals] are tired, they are stressed, and the prolonged distress is causing sickness and disease," she says. "Stray animals in the streets are unprotected from airstrikes and many shelters have been destroyed."

NPR caught up with Petrova just as she rescued three dogs and a 4-week-old kitten. They'd wandered into a Ukrainian military camp near the eastern city of Kramatorsk and soldiers brought the animals to her in vegetable boxes. Petrova took them to two shelters still operating in the city of Dnipro, in central Ukraine.

That day she says a missile flew right over her head the first one she's heard. It killed six civilians in Kramatorsk. Petrova pulled off the road and stopped her car.

"It's deep and unmistakable," she says, "and it was at that moment that it all really sunk in what's going on. It was very traumatizing."

Petrova is originally from Bulgaria, which was long dominated by the Soviet Union. That's why she feels a great solidarity with the Ukrainian people fellow members of the former Soviet bloc in their fight against Russia, she says. Helping save animals is her way to do her part in this war.

There are similar stories across Ukraine. Irina Ponomarenko is the director of a large animal shelter in Dnipro. She says most of the dogs they house these days are no longer strays but pets people were forced to abandon.

Glasha (left) and one of her puppies at an animal shelter in Dnipro on July 8. Glasha was at the site of an explosion after a rocket attack on Dnipro. She was found injured with a broken paw and numerous scratches. The next day, Glasha's puppies were pulled from under the rubble. They are in shock, and one has a hip fracture. Carol Guzy for NPR hide caption

Glasha (left) and one of her puppies at an animal shelter in Dnipro on July 8. Glasha was at the site of an explosion after a rocket attack on Dnipro. She was found injured with a broken paw and numerous scratches. The next day, Glasha's puppies were pulled from under the rubble. They are in shock, and one has a hip fracture.

"Often people fleeing the war are given just minutes to evacuate and they take the most valuable thing their animals," she says. "When they arrive their houses have often been destroyed, their cars have been shot at. They are confused and crying, their animals are often injured or sick because there are no animal clinics in the east any longer."

Ponomarenko says many people can't take their pets any further, especially the big dogs. But thanks to donations, her shelter is committed to keeping these animals safe until their owners can return for them.

The Feldman Ecopark in Kharkiv has had a heavy toll, with news reports of as many at least five people and nearly 100 animals dying in attacks or as a result of the conflict as of April.

Svitlana Vyshnevetska, 62, the ecopark's deputy director, says when it came under fire, she got down on her knees and told the animals she was sorry.

Svitlana Vyshnevetska, vice director at Feldman Ecopark, embraces a caracal in Kharkiv on May 2. Carol Guzy for NPR hide caption

Svitlana Vyshnevetska, vice director at Feldman Ecopark, embraces a caracal in Kharkiv on May 2.

Left: A monkey rescued from at Feldman Ecopark at a temporary shelter in Kharkiv on April 30. Right: Animal enclosures damaged by Russian shelling at the ecopark on May 4. Carol Guzy for NPR hide caption

Vishnevetska says staff and volunteers made heroic efforts to rescue animals from the zoo during frequent shelling.

Yevhen Zubchyk assists in the rescue of an ostrich at Feldman Ecopark on the outskirts of Kharkiv on May 5. Zubchyk was injured by shrapnel during Russian shelling later that day. Staff and volunteers made frequent trips to evacuate animals from the park as it was shelled by Russian forces. The rescued animals have been moved to other zoos around Ukraine. Carol Guzy for NPR hide caption

Yevhen Zubchyk assists in the rescue of an ostrich at Feldman Ecopark on the outskirts of Kharkiv on May 5. Zubchyk was injured by shrapnel during Russian shelling later that day. Staff and volunteers made frequent trips to evacuate animals from the park as it was shelled by Russian forces. The rescued animals have been moved to other zoos around Ukraine.

Volunteer veterinarian Tymofii Kharchenko assists in the rescue of llamas, in a field where a type of projectile is sticking in the ground, at Feldman Ecopark on May 4. Carol Guzy for NPR hide caption

Volunteer veterinarian Tymofii Kharchenko assists in the rescue of llamas, in a field where a type of projectile is sticking in the ground, at Feldman Ecopark on May 4.

"After every trip to the park, I said I would not go again. But I went anyway. The animals were waiting for us," she says.

"Ten years of work I put into that park. They were all groomed and fed. They were our family. And when you see the broken cages, the destruction the monkeys were hiding in the toilet it's devastating."

Tortoises and swans are loaded into a van for evacuation from Feldman Ecopark on May 2. Carol Guzy for NPR hide caption

Tortoises and swans are loaded into a van for evacuation from Feldman Ecopark on May 2.

Vyshnevetska says they were often forced to work without sedatives for the animals. The orangutans seemed to understand and took her hand. But more than a hundred animals perished, including orangutans, chimpanzees and kangaroos that died of heart failure.

Dead animals on the ground at Feldman Ecopark on May 4. Carol Guzy for NPR hide caption

Rescue efforts to save surviving animals continues, among the bodies of dead animals, at Feldman Ecopark on May 4. Carol Guzy for NPR hide caption

Rescue efforts to save surviving animals continues, among the bodies of dead animals, at Feldman Ecopark on May 4.

At least five employees were killed, including two found shot to death at close range in March. Vyshnevetska witnessed the shooting of a driver who worked at the park. She was also there when 15-year-old Denis Selevin, the son of two Ecopark employees, was fatally wounded.

Russian shelling at Feldman Ecopark on May 5. Zoo volunteer Denis Selevin, 15, was killed as rescuers were working to evacuate animals when the shelling began. Carol Guzy for NPR hide caption

Russian shelling at Feldman Ecopark on May 5. Zoo volunteer Denis Selevin, 15, was killed as rescuers were working to evacuate animals when the shelling began.

From left: Vitalii Ilchenko, Serhii Kolesnikov, Andrii Kharchenko and Oleksandr Kolomiiets rush away from Russian shelling that began while they were trying to rescue an ostrich from Feldman Ecopark on May 4. Carol Guzy for NPR hide caption

From left: Vitalii Ilchenko, Serhii Kolesnikov, Andrii Kharchenko and Oleksandr Kolomiiets rush away from Russian shelling that began while they were trying to rescue an ostrich from Feldman Ecopark on May 4.

They were crouched down hiding after coming under shelling and heard a child cry out.

"We went outside and saw Denis lying near the threshold of the door," she says. "When I saw him, I became hysterical."

Vyshnevetska says because of her training as a veterinarian, she knew his wounds were fatal. It took them a while to get him to the hospital because of the shelling. They injected him with morphine to ease his pain. He died on the way.

Denis Selevin, a 15-year-old volunteer at Feldman Ecopark, is rushed to hospital after being wounded by Russian shelling on May 5. He later died from his wounds at the hospital. Carol Guzy for NPR hide caption

Denis Selevin, a 15-year-old volunteer at Feldman Ecopark, is rushed to hospital after being wounded by Russian shelling on May 5. He later died from his wounds at the hospital.

Svetlana Selevina hits her husband, Vitalii Selevin, as the two react to the news of the death of their son, Denis Selevin, at a hospital in Kharkiv on May 5. Selevina was upset that her husband took Denis to volunteer with the animal rescue that day. Both they and their son were volunteers who frequently helped feed and care for the animals. Carol Guzy for NPR hide caption

Svetlana Selevina hits her husband, Vitalii Selevin, as the two react to the news of the death of their son, Denis Selevin, at a hospital in Kharkiv on May 5. Selevina was upset that her husband took Denis to volunteer with the animal rescue that day. Both they and their son were volunteers who frequently helped feed and care for the animals.

Svetlana Selevina and Vitalii Selevin embrace after hearing the news of the death of their son, Denis Selevin, at a hospital in Kharkiv on May 5. Carol Guzy for NPR hide caption

Svetlana Selevina and Vitalii Selevin embrace after hearing the news of the death of their son, Denis Selevin, at a hospital in Kharkiv on May 5.

Zoo worker Serhii Kolesnikov cries after learning of the death of Denis Selevin, a 15-year-old volunteer at Feldman Ecopark who was killed by Russian shelling as rescuers were evacuating animals from the park, at a hospital in Kharkiv on May 5. Carol Guzy for NPR hide caption

Zoo worker Serhii Kolesnikov cries after learning of the death of Denis Selevin, a 15-year-old volunteer at Feldman Ecopark who was killed by Russian shelling as rescuers were evacuating animals from the park, at a hospital in Kharkiv on May 5.

Two soldiers fighting for Russia were captured and taken to the hospital. One of them was a Kremlin-backed Ukrainian separatist.

Zoo worker Andrii Shalimov is restrained while trying to hit a captured Ukrainian separatist soldier, who was fighting for Russia, at a hospital in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on May 5. Two captured soldiers were brought to the same hospital where zoo volunteer Denis Selevin died, and the zoo workers took out their grief on the captives when they learned of Selevin's death. Carol Guzy for NPR hide caption

Zoo worker Andrii Shalimov is restrained while trying to hit a captured Ukrainian separatist soldier, who was fighting for Russia, at a hospital in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on May 5. Two captured soldiers were brought to the same hospital where zoo volunteer Denis Selevin died, and the zoo workers took out their grief on the captives when they learned of Selevin's death.

The boy's father, Vitalii Selevin, took off the soldier's blindfold to show his son's blood still on his own hands in a painfully poignant confrontation of war and innocence.

Vitalii Selevin shows his hands with his son's blood on them to a captured pro-Russia Ukrainian fighter, at a hospital in Kharkiv on May 5. Selevin's son Denis was killed by shelling. Carol Guzy for NPR hide caption

Vitalii Selevin shows his hands with his son's blood on them to a captured pro-Russia Ukrainian fighter, at a hospital in Kharkiv on May 5. Selevin's son Denis was killed by shelling.

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Photos: The fight to rescue animals in the Russia-Ukraine war : The Picture Show - NPR

Proxy Russian authorities in four occupied areas of Ukraine all announce referendums for joining Russia this weekend

The proxy Russian authorities in four occupied areas of Ukraine Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia have all announced on Tuesday their intentions to hold referendums between 23-27 September on joining the Russian Federation.

The sudden rush to hold a vote comes as Ukraines counteroffensive has reclaimed territory in the east of the country, including a small symbolic toehold in the Luhansk region, which had been totally under the control of Russian proxies.

Doubts have been cast on how effectively the occupying authorities will be able to organise referendums at such short notice, although preparations were previously being carried out.

According to Russian news agency RIA, in a direct appeal to Russian President Vladimir Putin, the self-proclaimed leader of the so-called Donetsk Peoples Republic Denis Pushilin said: I ask you to consider the issue of joining the Donetsk Peoples Republic into the Russian Federation as soon as possible in the event of a positive decision on the results of the referendum, which we have no doubts about.

Some Russian media outlets have reported that Putin may address the Russian nation later today on the topic, although this has not been confirmed by the Kremlin.

The move comes on the same day that Russias parliament, the Duma, voted to toughen punishments for desertion and insubordination in times of military mobilisation.

Updated at 09.57EDT

Key events

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Any referendums on joining Russia in Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories would destroy any remaining window for talks between Kyiv and Moscow, Ukrainian publication Liga.net cited the Ukrainian presidents office spokesman as saying on Tuesday.

Without the referendums, there is still the smallest chance for a diplomatic solution. After the referendums - no, Liga.net quoted Serhiy Nykyforov as saying.

He made the comments in response to Russian-installed officials in four occupied Ukrainian regions announcing plans for referendums over the next week on formally joining Russia, Reuters reported.

The inmates of penal colony No 8, in the Tambov region 300 miles south of Moscow, rushed to their cell windows when they heard the sound of a helicopter approaching on a late afternoon in July.

No one ever uses a chopper to get down here. We were curious what the big occasion was, recalled Ivan, one of the inmates.

Half an hour later, he and the others were ordered to report to the prisons main square where two heavily guarded men were waiting.

We couldnt believe our eyes, he would really come all the way to visit us, said Ivan, who is halfway through a 23-year sentence for murder and, like other inmates interviewed, asked to use a pseudonym out of concerns for his safety.

But there he was standing in front of us: Prigozhin, in the flesh, urging us to join the Wagner private military group and fight in Ukraine.

Four Russian-occupied regions in Ukraine have said they are planning to hold referendums on joining the Russian Federation in a series of coordinated announcements that could indicate the Kremlin has made a decision to formally annexe the territories.

Moscow may be betting that a formal annexation would help halt Russian territorial losses, after a successful Ukrainian counteroffensive that has reclaimed large portions of territory in Kharkiv region.

The occupied Donetsk and Luhansk regions have said they are ready to hold polls, which will be universally viewed as rigged, as soon as this week, with announcements also made in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. Some Russian media have reported that Vladimir Putin may deliver a speech this evening on a potential annexation.

As Ukrainian troops now begin making advances in the Luhansk region, Russia may be worried that it cant win on the battlefield and threaten a potential escalation, including a formal declaration of war or even a nuclear attack, by claiming to defend its own territory.

Everything thats happening today is an absolutely unequivocal ultimatum to Ukraine and the West, wrote Tatiana Stanovaya, an expert on Kremlin politics and founder of R.Politik. Either Ukraine retreats or there will be nuclear war.

To guarantee victory, Putin is ready to hold referendums immediately in order to obtain the right (in his understanding) to use nuclear weapons to defend Russian territory.

With Germanys gas storage facilities now at just over 90% capacity, Robert Habeck, the economy minister has said Germany now stands a good chance of getting through the winter.

Germany is ahead of its goal to have the subterranean stores 95% full by the start of November.

On the sidelines of a visit to Lubmin in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, where building work has started on a floating platform for LNG facilities which are due to open in January, Habeck said:

If we succeed in saving gas, and if were lucky with the weather, then we have a good chance of getting through the winter.

What Habeck means, in short, is if the winter is harsh, the storage facilities may not be capable of compensating for the higher usage of gas. Last year, Germany used around 999 terawatt hours (TWh) of gas.

The storage facilities are capable of storing around a quarter to 28% of that amount. Around 220 TWh is currently available. But a very cold January for example, like Germany experienced last year, could consume half of the available reserves.

On Tuesday the embattled Habeck who has come under fierce criticism in recent weeks for his energy policies, voiced doubt that his plans for a gas levy - to be paid by gas consumers to compensate gas suppliers that have had to buy in alternative sources of gas after Russia slowed down then cut off its supplies completely - were constitutionally viable.

His proposal had prompted a huge backlash over concerns that companies that had profited from the energy price surge might benefit from the levy.

The governments plans to nationalise the gas provider Uniper, which were confirmed on Tuesday afternoon, have also further called the sense or fairness of such a levy into doubt.

Updated at 11.14EDT

The Guardians Shaun Walker has tweeted that whether intentional or not, the announcements of referendums in Russian-held parts of the Ukraine will result in escalation of the conflict.

He said:

The proxy Russian authorities in four occupied areas of Ukraine Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia have all announced on Tuesday their intentions to hold referendums between 23-27 September on joining the Russian Federation.

The sudden rush to hold a vote comes as Ukraines counteroffensive has reclaimed territory in the east of the country, including a small symbolic toehold in the Luhansk region, which had been totally under the control of Russian proxies.

Doubts have been cast on how effectively the occupying authorities will be able to organise referendums at such short notice, although preparations were previously being carried out.

According to Russian news agency RIA, in a direct appeal to Russian President Vladimir Putin, the self-proclaimed leader of the so-called Donetsk Peoples Republic Denis Pushilin said: I ask you to consider the issue of joining the Donetsk Peoples Republic into the Russian Federation as soon as possible in the event of a positive decision on the results of the referendum, which we have no doubts about.

Some Russian media outlets have reported that Putin may address the Russian nation later today on the topic, although this has not been confirmed by the Kremlin.

The move comes on the same day that Russias parliament, the Duma, voted to toughen punishments for desertion and insubordination in times of military mobilisation.

Updated at 09.57EDT

The news of a flurry of announcements that the proxy-Russian authorities in occupied areas of Ukraine will all be trying to hold referendums this weekend about joining the Russian Federation does not appear to have gone down well with the Russian stock market.

Reuters reports that stocks plunged to their lowest in a month as moves in Moscow reignited martial law fears with new legislation, and the plans to hold referendums in Ukraine sped forwards apace.

Russias parliament on Tuesday approved a bill to toughen punishments for a host of crimes such as desertion, damage to military property and insubordination if they were committed during military mobilisation or combat situations.

Indices are clearly collapsing amid fears around the risks of mobilisation and martial law, Tinkoff Investments analyst Kirill Komarov told Reuters, adding that Tuesdays collapse would likely be the rouble-based MOEX indexs sharpest drop since June 30.

My colleague Shaun Walker points out that there may be some issues with the planned referendums at the weekend.

The RIA Novosti news agency is now also reporting that the occupied Ukrainian territories of Donetsk and Luhansk will hold referendums on joining the Russian Federation from 23 to 27 September.

Its report quotes the self-proclaimed leader of the Donetsk Peoples Republic Denis Pushilin, and says:

The long-suffering people of Donbas have earned the right to be part of Russia, which they have always considered their homeland, Pushilin said in an address to Vladimir Putin.

I ask you to consider the issue of joining the Donetsk Peoples Republic into the Russian Federation as soon as possible in the event of a positive decision on the results of the referendum, which we have no doubts about, the message says.

According to the DPR authorities, 9,044 residents of the republic, including 120 children, were killed during the hostilities.

The figures given by RIA have not been independently verified. The Donetsk Peoples Republic and the Luhansk Peoples Republic are not recognised as legitimate authorities by any other UN member states apart from Russia, Syria and North Korea.

If you want some background reading on the issue of a possible referendum in the occupied Kherson region of Ukraine, a month ago Shaun Walker and Pjotr Sauer were able to conduct a series of telephone interviews with people there. At the time they wrote:

Residents remain unsure about what the next few months might bring: a swift Ukrainian counteroffensive to regain control, a protracted battle that turns the city to rubble, or Russia carrying out its sham referendum and annexing the territory.

You can read more of their article from August here: A referendum is not right: occupied Kherson looks to uncertain future

Ukraines foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba has responded to the hurried calls to hold a series of referendums in occupied territories in eastern and southern Ukraine to join the Russian Federation. He has tweeted:

Sham referendums will not change anything. Neither will any hybrid mobilisation. Russia has been and remains an aggressor illegally occupying parts of Ukrainian land. Ukraine has every right to liberate its territories and will keep liberating them whatever Russia has to say.

Updated at 09.15EDT

Link:
Russia-Ukraine war: Putin-backed separatists in Kherson want vote on joining Russia amid further calls for lightning referendums live - The Guardian

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Sept 20 (Reuters) - Ukraine said its troops have marched farther east into territory recently abandoned by Russia, paving the way for a potential assault on Moscow's occupation forces in the Donbas region as Kyiv seeks more Western arms. read more

* Ukraine's armed forces regain control of the village of Bilohorivka, preparing to retake all of Luhansk province from Russian occupiers, provincial Governor Serhiy Gaidai said. The village is only 10 km (6 miles) west of Lysychansk city, which fell to the Russians after weeks of grinding battles in July.

* Increased Ukrainian long-range strike capability had likely forced Russia's Black Sea fleet to relocate some of its submarines from the port of Sevastopol in Crimea to Novorossiysk in Krasnodor Krai in southern Russia, the British military said on Tuesday. read more

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* Russian forces struck the Pivdennoukrainsk nuclear power plant in Ukraine's southern Mykolaiv region but its reactors have not been damaged and are working normally, Ukraine's state nuclear company Energoatom said. read more * Reuters could not verify battlefield reports.

* Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said investigators had discovered new evidence of torture used against some soldiers buried near Izium, in the northeastern Kharkiv region.

* The Kremlin rejected allegations that Russian forces had committed war crimes in Ukraine's Kharkiv region as a "lie". read more Moscow regularly denies committing atrocities in the war or deliberately attacking civilians.

* U.S. President Biden urged Russian President Vladimir Putin not to use tactical nuclear or chemical weapons in the wake of Russian military setbacks in Ukraine. read more

* British Prime Minister Liz Truss said the United Kingdom next year will meet or exceed the 2.3 billion pound ($2.63 billion) military aid spent on Ukraine in 2022. U.K. military support is likely to include equipment such as the Multiple Launch Rocket System, Truss' office said in a statement.

* Germany will supply Ukraine with four more Panzer howitzer 2000 tanks along with an additional ammunition package, the defence ministry said. Ukraine has urged the West to step up military aid to help it turn the tide of battle against Russia.

* Zelenskiy has hinted he would use a video address to the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday to call on countries to accelerate weapons and aid deliveries.

* "The occupiers are clearly in a panic," Zelenskiy said in a televised address late on Monday, adding that he was now focused on "speed" in liberated areas.

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Compiled by Stephen Coates, Mark Heinrich, Cynthia Osterman and Michael Perry

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Read more here:
Ukraine and Russia: What you need to know right now - Reuters