[Korrespondent] 22:43 Vereshchuk called on Ukrainians in the occupied territories not to participate in "referendums", not to take Russian passports and not to cooperate with Russian troops. At the same time, she noted that not everyone will be responsible for these actions. So, for obtaining a Russian passport, criminal liability awaits civil servants. Teachers who agreed to teach children according to Russian standards will also be punished.
22:41 Russia's plans to hold the so-called "referenda" on the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine in the West are perceived only as the agony of the Putin regime. More details in the material Parody without meaning .
22:35 Russian TV channels have removed Putin's evening speech from their announcements. According to some media reports, it is postponed until tomorrow.
22:30 No "referenda" will change Europe's position on Ukraine, European Parliament President Roberta Metzola said: "To be clear: no sham referendums will change Europe's position on Ukraine and its territorial integrity. It will also not change the fact that it is Russia invaded sovereign Ukraine. Europe is with Ukraine."
22:02 In Ukraine, several cases of the use of Iranian Shahed-136 drones by the enemy have already been recorded. The effectiveness of these weapons is being studied, counteraction is being organized, said Yury Ignat, a representative of the Air Force Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, in a commentary to the UP.
21:47 There will be no general mobilization in Russia, Andrey Kartapolov, chairman of the State Duma Committee on Defense and one of the authors of the amendments to introduce the concepts of “mobilization”, “martial law” and “wartime” into the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation: “There will be no general mobilization. This has been said more than once and is being said directly by the president through his press secretary Dmitry Peskov and many other politicians at the federal level. "Law" is not the same as "mobilization". It is not adopted specifically for a special military operation, it is adopted in order to fulfill it for a long time."
21:16 Podolyak urged Ukrainians who are in the occupied territories to be vigilant and not provide their passport data to unauthorized persons. According to him, any participation in "referenda" will be qualified as an encroachment on the territorial integrity of Ukraine.
Podolyak also said that the world community should immediately and harshly respond to the attempt to annex the territory of Ukraine, increasing assistance with weapons and introducing new economic sectoral sanctions against Russia: "The Kremlin opposes the supply of modern tanks and ATACMS to Ukraine? It's time to give it."
21:01 Attacks in Kiev after the announcement of the results of the "referenda" will be regarded as aggression against Russia, Senator Olga Kovitidi said.
20:45 In the Kherson region, the Russians are stepping up their filtration measures: cases of "checks" of private houses and the abduction of civilians have become more frequent. So the Russians are trying to intimidate the local population in order to suppress resistance, said the head of the UVA, Yaroslav Yanushevich.
The National Union of Journalists of Ukraine reported that two women were kidnapped in Kakhovka yesterday, one of them is journalist Zhanna Kiseleva, who previously headed the local publication Kakhovskaya Zarya.
20:41 Russia is losing at the front in Ukraine and is ready to take desperate steps to stop the development of the conflict, which is negative for itself. To quickly declare all the occupied territories to be Russia, and to prohibit unmotivated soldiers from surrendering under the threat of criminal cases, recruiting even more unmotivated soldiers along the way - such a simple plan is now being implemented in the Kremlin. At the same time, the Russians are very afraid of general mobilization. And what the Russian authorities may regard as a solution to the problem, on the contrary, may be the beginning of the end. More details - in the material Experts on "mobilization" in the Russian Federation .
20:30 Erdogan said in New York that he would never recognize the "referenda" that Russia would hold in the occupied territories of Ukraine.
20:14 A member of the "administration" of the occupied Zaporozhye region, Vladimir Rogov, said on Russian TV that "Zaporozhye region, following the results of voting on joining Russia, will declare independence within the existing administrative borders," that is, the entire region, including Zaporozhye itself.
19:59 Divisions of the Defense Forces repelled enemy attacks in the areas of the settlements of Veseleye, Kurdyumovka, Nikolaevka Second, Zaitsevo, Mayorsk, Pervomayskoye, Maryinka and Novomikhailovka. In the village of Pechenegy, the invaders tried to destroy the dam of the Pechenegsky reservoir on the Seversky Donets River, but were unsuccessful, the General Staff said in an evening report .
19:55 Macron said that "referendums" will not have legal force. He also added that he expects to talk with Putin in the coming days.
19:38 Stoltenberg said that NATO will consider illegitimate the upcoming "referenda" on the accession of Ukrainian territories to Russia. In turn, the White House stressed that these "referendums" are an insult to the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity. The White House is also aware of reports that Putin may be preparing to call a mobilization, Biden's national security aide Jake Sullivan said.
19:04 As a result of today's shelling of the village of Grushevka, Kupyansky district, Kharkiv region, two people were killed, nine were injured, including four children, Oleg Sinegubov, head of the OVA, said.
18:38 The Rada adopted a bill to increase the border strip along the state border line to 2 km, MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak said. According to the document, a special permissive border regime can be established in Ukraine within the two-kilometer zone.
18:35 The Kremlin, probably realizing that it will no longer advance in Ukraine, has decided to annex the territories that it managed to capture. For more details, see the article "Referendums" and "mobilization" in the Russian Federation: what is happening .
18:26 Erdogan held talks with Zelensky, the office of the President of Turkey said.
18:24 Germany does not recognize referendums on the entry of Ukrainian territories into Russia, Scholz said in New York: "It is clear that these fictitious referendums are unacceptable."
18:17 The occupiers took more than 2,000 Ukrainian children to the Russian Federation, Irina Vereshchuk said: "What we know from intelligence sources, we are talking about 2,161 children. This is as of September 1. These are children deprived of parental care, we call them" status children. "It is very difficult to say how many parental children. By the way, we have already returned 55 of them." According to the Deputy Prime Minister, now the task is to find the children who have been taken out and demand their return.
18:14 The Ukrainian flag was raised on the stele between the Donetsk and Kharkiv regions, said the head of the Donetsk OVA Pavel Kirilenko.
18:05 "The head" of the occupied Zaporozhye region Yevgeny Balitsky said that it would be possible to vote at the "referendum" on September 23-26 without leaving home - there will be door-to-door bypass, and on September 27 - at the "polling stations". At the same time, there will be no online voting in the region - according to Balitsky, the region is not ready for this.
18:03 The US Department of Justice asked Congress to legalize the transfer of Russian assets to Ukraine, said the head of the ministerial working group on the application of sanctions against the Russian Federation, Andrew Adams.
17:59 The State Duma of the Russian Federation may consider the issue of "accepting new territories" immediately after the "referendums" as a matter of urgency, Oleg Morozov, head of the control committee, said.
17:50 Two more torture chambers were found in Kazachya Lopan, Kharkiv region - in the basements of the railway station and a local store, the Office of the Prosecutor General said.
17:24 Arakhamia said that blackmail will not work with Ukraine: "During the six months of the war, Russia sent all its elite units to us. We were not afraid. As a result, some of these units no longer exist. Do they really think that Ukraine can be frightened by force Blackmail doesn't work here, just as the publicized Russian war machine doesn't work either.
17:16 The "authorities" of the occupied Zaporizhia region announced that the "referendum" will be held at the polling stations on Friday, September 23, and from September 23 to 27 - in settlements where there are no voting premises. The issue of secession from Ukraine, the formation of an independent state and its entry into Russia will be submitted to the "referendum".
16:50 The Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation will organize polling stations in Russia for voting in "referendums" in the occupied Ukrainian regions, said Nikolai Bulaev, deputy head of the commission.
16:48 "Volunteers" of the "DPR" and "LPR" when the "republics" join Russia will become Russian military, said Andrei Kartapolov, head of the Duma Defense Committee.
16:46 Putin is going to speak today about "referendums" in the occupied territories of Ukraine, Russian media write, citing their sources.
16:44 Lukashenka instructed the Security Council to start preparing for defense in accordance with wartime standards: "The situation is very serious. I would even say dangerous. And in no case should we simplify. There is no need to be afraid of anything. We need to alert some military unit according to the norms of wartime - that means it is necessary.
16:40 "Referendum" in the Zaporozhye region on joining Russia will also be held on September 23-27 , said the "head" of the region Yevgeny Balitsky. He also said that he had signed a decree on the formation of "volunteer battalions".
16:37 In the colonies of the Rostov region, the voting of prisoners for the accession of the four occupied regions of Ukraine to Russia has already begun. This was reported by two sources of the Russian opposition publication We can explain in the correctional system. The administration of the colonies first of all sent those who have Ukrainian passports to vote, they said in one of the colonies. In another, they added that it is planned to send everyone to the vote in general.
16:18 At a meeting on the development of the defense industry, Putin announced the need to increase the production capacity of a number of defense industry enterprises, "study Western military equipment" that is used in Ukraine, "improve our own, do it quickly and efficiently."
16:15 Since October, the occupied part of the Zaporozhye region has been introducing a pass regime with the territory of Ukraine through the Vasylivka checkpoint, the "head" of the region Yevhen Balitsky said. Meanwhile, Vladimir Rogov, chairman of the movement We are with Russia , proposes that the occupied region be called the Zaporozhye Territory after it "becomes" part of Russia.
16:09 Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics called on the international community to respond to the planned fake "referenda" of the Russian Federation with new sanctions and more weapons for Ukraine.
16:01 Kuleba commented on the announcement of "referendums" and "mobilization" in the occupied territories of Ukraine: "Neither fake "referenda" nor hybrid "mobilization" will change anything. Russia, as it was, remains an aggressor state illegally occupying part of Ukrainian land .Ukraine has every right to liberate its territories and will continue to liberate them, no matter what they say in Russia."
15:57 The enemy hit Bereznegovatoy of the Nikolaev region with Smerch multiple launch rocket systems. The elevator was partially destroyed, three workers were injured, OK Pivden reported. In addition, several buildings were damaged in the central part of the village, including a professional lyceum. There are no dead.
15:36 On the administrative border of Crimea with the Kherson region, the invaders began to build fortifications for the personnel and heavy equipment of the Russian troops, the representative office of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea reported. It is also reported that at least 156 soldiers of the Russian army were buried on the peninsula as of September 20, 78 of them were probably citizens of Ukraine. The number of burials may be higher, since a significant part occurs without lighting.
Since September 19, the occupation administrations have banned men from leaving the Crimean peninsula for Russian territory. According to Aksyonov, two battalions are being formed in Crimea, which will be sent to the war against Ukraine.
15:27 A member of the "administration" of the occupied Zaporozhye region, Vladimir Rogov, said that the "referendum" will be held only in the occupied territory for the time being, "we will continue to liberate the remaining territories." According to him, it will not be possible to hold a "referendum" in the city of Zaporozhye, even remotely, "so as not to endanger the people living there."
15:21 "Referendum" on the entry of the occupied Kherson region into Russia is also scheduled for September 23-27. Saldo said that he would appeal to Russia and other states for help in holding a referendum "in order to assist in establishing lawful constitutional order on the territory of the region."
15:19 Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said that in the near future the government of the Russian capital will deploy a "full-fledged infrastructure" to assist the Ministry of Defense in organizing the entry of foreigners into military service. He recalled that foreigners who have entered into a one-year contract for service in the Russian army will be able to obtain Russian citizenship "as simply as possible."
15:05 Pushilin addressed Putin: "I ask you as soon as possible in case of a positive decision on the results of the referendum, which we have no doubt, to consider the issue of joining the Donetsk People's Republic to the Russian Federation."
14:48 Mandatory mobilization in the Kherson region after the "referendum" will not be carried out, "recruitment into volunteer battalions at will" will be announced, Stremousov said.
14:46 Pushilin said that the "referendum" on the entry of the "DPR" into the Russian Federation will be held from 23 to 27 September.
14:43 Over the past couple of weeks, explosions in the barracks and warehouses in the rear of the Russian troops have become more frequent in the Luhansk region, a "huge number" of soldiers have been destroyed, said the head of the OVA, Sergei Gaidai. He also said that as part of the "mobilization" men are caught right on the streets. At the public utilities of the occupied Luhansk region, a critical minimum of men was left - the rest are already at the front. At the same time, collaborators who collaborated with the occupying authorities and tried to escape are not allowed to cross the border with the Russian Federation.
14:37 Lavrov said that "the current situation confirms that the peoples of Donbass want to be masters of their own destiny."
14:28 The "People's Council of the LPR" has scheduled a "referendum" on joining Russia for September 23-27, local publications write.
14:07 In a forest belt near the village of Mirotskoye, Buchansky district, Kiev region, a burial place of two people with signs of torture, killed during the occupation of the area by the Russians, was found. The dead have their hands tied behind their backs and tape around their necks, the Office of the Prosecutor General said.
14:02 The State Duma has adopted a package of amendments on military service. In particular, an aggravating circumstance for crimes against military service will be considered if they are committed not only in conditions of armed conflict or hostilities, but also "during the period of mobilization or martial law, in wartime."
Responsibility for non-execution of a military order, desertion, evasion from service, etc. is being tightened; introduces criminal liability for voluntary surrender and looting; those called up for military training from the reserve will bear criminal liability for failure to appear or unauthorized leaving of the place of service on a par with contract soldiers. It also introduces criminal liability for the repeated violation of the terms of the contract under the state defense order and for the repeated refusal to conclude a contract under the state defense order.
13:50 Yermak called "naive blackmail" the statements of the Russian Federation on "referendums" and mobilization: "Naive blackmail with threats and horror stories of" referendums "," mobilizations "from those who know how to fight only with children and civilians... This is how the fear of defeat looks like "The enemy is afraid, primitively manipulating. Ukraine will solve the Russian issue. The threat can only be eliminated by force."
13:47 Chairman of the State Duma of the Russian Federation Vyacheslav Volodin said that he supports the inclusion of the "LDNR" into Russia after their "legal expression of will."
13:45 Members of the "People's Council of the LPR" unanimously adopted a "law" on holding a "referendum", said State Duma deputy Viktor Vodolatsky.
13:32 Saldo said that he considers it necessary "to create and form volunteer battalions on the territory of the Kherson region to participate in a special military operation of the RF Armed Forces on the territory of Ukraine."
13:28 The State Duma approved an amendment to introduce the concepts of "mobilization", "martial law", "wartime" into the Criminal Code.
13:19 Balance said that after the "referendum" in the Kherson region, he would turn to Putin in order to "legally approve" the results of the "will" as soon as possible.
13:17 In Belogorivka, Lugansk region, the Russians destroyed the entire infrastructure of the Popasnyansky district water canal, leaving about a million residents of the Luhansk region without water supply, said the head of the OVA Serhiy Gaidai. He also said that those Russian soldiers who fled from the Kharkiv region are strengthening in the defensive redoubts created in the Lugansk region over eight years. In Alchevsk, according to Gaidai, military bases of the Russian Federation have been located for a long time, they are periodically shelled.
13:08 The "administration" of the occupied Kherson region has decided to hold a "referendum" on the region's entry into Russia, said the "head" of the region Vladimir Saldo.
12:59 In Melitopol, a "nationwide congress of citizens" has begun, at which they will discuss the issue of holding a "referendum" in the occupied Zaporozhye region on joining Russia.
12:55 Amendments submitted to the State Duma propose to give two to three years in prison for refusing to participate in hostilities, and if it entailed serious consequences - from three to ten years. The Russians called up for military training, who are in the reserve, will be criminally liable for failure to appear or desertion on an equal basis with contract soldiers and conscripts. Russian media write, citing sources, that the State Duma may adopt a package of amendments to the Criminal Code today, and the Federation Council - tomorrow.
12:39 Amendments have been made to the State Duma of the Russian Federation on punishment of up to ten years in a colony for desertion (now they give seven years for it) or non-appearance of a contract soldier or conscript for service for more than a month "during the period of mobilization or martial law, in wartime or in conditions of armed conflict or the conduct of hostilities." Deputies and senators propose to introduce the concepts of "mobilization", "martial law", "wartime", "armed conflict" into the Criminal Code.
12:36 The EU Council officially approved the decision to provide Ukraine with 5 billion euros of macro-financial assistance.
12:31 The "public council" of the occupied Kherson region turned to the "head of the region" with the initiative to immediately hold a "referendum" on recognition as a subject of the Russian Federation. The "Soviet" stated that "joining Russia will not only be a triumph of historical justice, but will also secure the territory of the region, open up new opportunities on the way to the revival and restoration of the power of our land and the return to a full-fledged peaceful life." The "Chairman of the Public Council" said that the "referendum" would be held "as soon as possible."
11:53 Ukraine returned the bodies of another 25 defenders, the Ministry of Reintegration reported.
11:25 The "DPR" announced that their "public chamber" would take the initiative to conduct online voting in the "referendum" for a number of territories.
10:42 Britain intends to allocate at least 2.3 billion pounds sterling as military aid to Ukraine next year. According to the Financial Times, London's plans will be unveiled this week by Liz Truss on her first trip abroad as British Prime Minister to New York.
10:16 Medvedev said that "referendums" in the Donbas "are of great importance" not only for the "systemic protection" of the inhabitants of the "LPR", "DPR" and other territories occupied by Russia, but also "for restoring historical justice." According to him, "they completely change the vector of Russia's development for decades," after they are carried out and new territories are accepted into the Russian Federation, "geopolitical transformation in the world will become irreversible."
"Encroachment on the territory of Russia is a crime, the commission of which allows you to use all the forces of self-defense. But it is no less important that after the amendments to the Constitution of our state, not a single future leader of Russia, not a single official will be able to reverse these decisions," Medvedev said .
10:06 At night, the enemy launched a missile attack on an infrastructure facility in the Chuguevsky district, there were no casualties, Oleg Sinegubov, head of the OVA, said. Over the past 24 hours, the enemy continued to shell settlements in the Kharkiv region along the border with the Russian Federation and the line of confrontation in the Kharkiv, Kupyansky and Izyum regions. In the Kupyansk region, three people were injured, in the Kharkov region, two were injured after being blown up by a mine.
09:35 The plane of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation again illegally took 135 children from Mariupol and the Donetsk region to Moscow. It is precisely known about one three-year-old girl from Mariupol, said the adviser to the mayor of the city, Petr Andryushchenko. Children are immediately given Russian citizenship and plan to be resettled by Russian families in different regions. The children are currently kept in a camp near Moscow. The program of theft of Ukrainian children is accompanied by the children's ombudsman of the Russian Federation Maria Lvova-Belova.
09:32 Two loud explosions thundered in Melitopol in the morning, residents are observing black smoke near the city elevator, Mayor Ivan Fedorov said.
09:29 For the first time since the beginning of the war, three McDonald's restaurants have opened in Ukraine, but so far they only work for delivery.
09:13 At night, the Russians continued to actively shoot in the Donetsk and Gorlovsky directions. In Bakhmut, they hit a high-rise building, three entrances collapsed in the house. There may be two people under the rubble, rescuers are working. Khromovo also came under fire in the evening - one person was wounded, Pavel Kirilenko, head of the UVA, said. The enemy fired at Seversk, Avdeevka and Bogoyavlenka of the Ugledar community, without any casualties.
In just the past day, as a result of Russian shelling, one civilian of the Donetsk region, in Toretsk, was killed. Another 12 people were injured.
09:09 The General Staff announced the approximate losses of the enemy on the morning of September 20. The enemy suffered the greatest losses in the Bakhmut and Donetsk directions.
- personnel - about 54,810 (+160) people liquidated,
- tanks - 2216 (+4),
- armored combat vehicles - 4724 (+4),
- artillery systems - 1323 (+10),
- MLRS - 318 (+6),
- air defense systems - 168 (+0),
- aircraft - 252 (+1),
- helicopters - 217 (+0),
- UAV operational-tactical level - 925 (+5),
- cruise missiles - 239 (+1),
- ships/boats - 15 (+0),
- automotive equipment and tankers - 3587 (+6),
- special equipment - 125 (+0).
09:06 The "authorities" of the occupied Kherson region will make a statement on the "referendum" on Tuesday, September 20, said the "deputy head of administration" Kirill Stremousov.
09:00 British intelligence reports that the Russian Federation has redeployed its submarines from Crimea to the Krasnodar Territory, since the security of the Black Sea Fleet base in Crimea has been undermined. Analysts attribute this to the increased potential of Ukrainian long-range strikes: over the past two months, the headquarters of the fleet and its main airfield of naval aviation have been attacked.
Intelligence believes that the guarantee of the Black Sea Fleet basing in Crimea could be one of the reasons that prompted Putin to annex the peninsula in 2014, but now the security of the base is directly undermined.
08:51 If a decision is made to supply American F-16 fighters to Ukraine, it will take two to three years, General James Hecker, commander of the US Air Force in Europe and Africa, said. He attributed this to the necessary training and logistical issues. At the same time, he added that now he "would not count" on sending these aircraft to Kyiv.
At the same time, Hecker acknowledged that the conflict in Ukraine is likely to last for years, not months, for which the United States has already begun to prepare. He also said that Ukraine has managed to save up to 80% of its aviation since the beginning of the Russian invasion.
08:23 The American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) writes that the counter-offensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine undermines the already low morale even among the so-called elite Russian units and causes panic among influential people from the Kremlin. This, in particular, is evidenced by the fact that on September 19 the "authorities" of the occupied territories urgently started talking about holding "referendums" on joining the Russian Federation.
Analysts note that the Russian military is desperately trying to mobilize additional forces from all potential sources to strengthen its degraded and demoralized units, but are unable to create significant combat power. And the number of volunteer units that Russia can create is likely to decrease.
07:40 Over the past day, the Ukrainian military repulsed enemy attacks in the areas of the settlements of Mayorsk, Vesele, Kurdyumovka and Novomikhailovka, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said in the morning report .
07:15 Erdogan said in an interview with PBS that Ukraine and Russia agreed on the exchange of 200 prisoners: "200 hostages will be exchanged on the basis of an agreement between the parties."
06:21 The United States is discussing the possibility of supplying tanks for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. According to CNN, citing a US military official, the transfer of tanks to Ukraine in the future is "absolutely negotiable." This was confirmed by Foreign Policy reporter Jack Detch: "A spokesman for the United States Department of Defense said that the issue of transferring tanks to Ukraine is being discussed, but Ukraine will have to demonstrate the ability to support more modern models in order to receive them."
05:47 Erdogan said he does not lose hope of organizing a meeting between Putin and Zelensky in Turkey.
04:53 EU Foreign Ministers are discussing the creation of a mission to provide military assistance to Ukraine, Borrell said: "Today, all ministers decided to continue helping Ukraine. We will continue to use the EU mechanism for financing arms supplies successfully and effectively. We also continued discussing the proposal to deploy an EU mission to military assistance to Ukraine. This work is underway, we hope that we will soon see concrete results." He specified that the decision to create such a mission could be made as early as October.
02:12 Near Nova Kakhovka, the Armed Forces of Ukraine sank an enemy barge with military personnel, equipment and weapons, OK Pivden reported.
00:14 In the Kharkiv region, the Ukrainian authorities established control and carried out a sweep in 118 settlements that were under occupation, the sweep continues in 12 settlements, First Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Yevgeny Enin said on the air of the telethon. According to him, about 50 bodies of civilians were found in the de-occupied territories of the Kharkiv region on September 18, since the beginning of the de-occupation, law enforcement officers have found 168 bodies.
Of the 48 graves at the spontaneous cemetery in Izyum, law enforcement officers exhumed 52 bodies. Yenin confirmed that there are signs of torture on the bodies of the dead: "We continue to find bodies with signs of violent death, there are many of them. These are broken ribs, and broken heads, men with their hands tied, broken jaws, with cut off genitals." According to Enin, the spontaneous burial that was found near Izyum is not the last even in this city.