Ukraine-News: Kyiv reacts calmly to Russian announcement of union referendums

The head of the presidential office in Kyiv, Andriy Yermak, speaks of “naive blackmail” and “fear mongering”. “This is what the fear of crushing (the Russian troops) looks like. The enemy is afraid and manipulates in a primitive way,” writes the 50-year-old on the Telegram news channel.

Given the finds of numerous bodies in Ukraine UN Secretary-General António Guterres is concerned. “The latest reports about burial sites in Izyum are extremely worrying,” he said at the start of the 77th general debate at the UN General Assembly. Overall, the war had led to extensive destruction with massive violations of human rights and international humanitarian law.

In the occupied part of southern Ukraine’s Zaporizhia region The Russian military administration also wants this, as in Luhansk, Donetsk and Cherson vote on joining Russia to let. 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, says Rogow.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz accuses Russia before the United Nations “bare imperialism” and assures Ukraine of further support, including arms deliveries. “Putin will only give up his war and his imperial ambitions when he realizes that he cannot win this war,” said Scholz on Tuesday evening, according to a previously published speech before the UN General Assembly in New York. “Not only is he destroying Ukraine, he is also ruining his own country.”

Russia’s parliament is rushing through legislative changes that may indicate a possible preparation for the imposition of martial law in the country. For example, the Duma stipulates that times of “mobilization” and “state of war” are particularly prone to crime. Among other things, the criminal law will be tightened in the second and last reading, according to which the prison sentences for voluntary entry into captivity and for looting will be 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.

Also in the Kherson region in southern Ukraine it will be on Friday hold a referendum on joining Russiathe authorities are announcing in these minutes.

Separatist leaders in the contested regions of Luhansk and Donetsk in eastern Ukraine have scheduled contentious referendums on accession to Russia. The votes will from September 23rd to 27th held, says the head of the separatist parliament, Denis Miroshnichenko, according to the Interfax news agency. The referendums are seen as a reaction to the current Ukrainian counter-offensive in the east of the country. Former Russian President Medvedev wrote to Telegram earlier in the day that the accession referendums would irrevocably annex the separatist areas to Russia. After that, “all means of self-protection” would be available. The referendums are controversial because a free vote does not appear to be guaranteed.

According to the authorities, the entry ban by the Baltic States and Poland for Russians with a Schengen visa has not had any major impact on the situation at the border in Estonia. The situation at the Estonian-Russian border crossings is “pretty normal and calm,” says the head of the checkpoint in the border town of Narva, Marek Liiva. Accordingly, on the first day and a half of the new regulation, around 20 Russian citizens were refused entry – mostly in Narva in the east of the Baltic country. “Reactions to the entry bans have been calm and there have been no incidents at the border stations,” Liiva said. Apparently, the relevant information would have spread well.

According to Slovenian information, Slovenia and Germany have agreed on an exchange of rings as military aid for Ukraine. According to this, Slovenia is handing over 28 old M-55S main battle tanks to the country attacked by Russia. This was announced by the Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob in Ljubljana after a telephone conversation with Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD). From Germany it will get 35 heavy military trucks and 5 tank trucks, it said on Monday evening. An official confirmation from Berlin is still pending.

Ukraine can expect further EU financial aid of five billion euros in the near future. The EU states have formally accepted the billions in aid, as announced by the Czech Council Presidency. The financial package thus clears its final hurdle and should therefore be paid out soon. The loan is intended to ensure that the Ukrainian state and important infrastructure can continue to function despite the Russian war against the country, according to Czech Finance Minister Zbynek Stanjura. The loan is backed by national guarantees from EU countries, as the Commission says the current EU budget is running out of resources. The money is part of an aid package announced in May totaling nine billion euros.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called for the return of Russian-occupied territories to Ukraine. “If peace is to be established in Ukraine, it will be Of course, the return of the occupied land is really important. That is expected,” said Erdogan in an interview published by the US broadcaster PBS on Monday evening. “The occupied territories will be returned to Ukraine.” The Crimean peninsula, annexed by Russia, must also be returned to Ukraine. Turkey already in the In the past, Ankara has condemned the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and repeatedly insisted on respect for Ukraine’s sovereignty.It is noteworthy that Ankara nevertheless maintains good relations with Moscow and was recently successful in exporting grain from Ukraine.

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has called for accession referendums in Moscow-held areas of Ukraine to be irrevocably annexed to Russia. “After its implementation and the inclusion of the new territories in the structure of Russia, the geopolitical transformation in the world irreversible character Russia can use “all means of self-defence” after the accession of the territories. In view of the recent Ukrainian advance, the separatists in Donetsk and Luhansk had called for such votes to be carried out quickly.

According to a media report, the Russian investigative authorities have arrested the director of a large armaments company on suspicion of fraud. “Yuri Shumsky, director general of the state-owned Sverdlov Plant, one of the largest explosives manufacturing companies in the country, has been arrested,” writes the daily Kommersant in its Monday edition. It is said to be about export transactions with NATO countries, which were handled through intermediaries in Switzerland and Austria, among other places. Shumsky was only appointed director of the factory shortly before the start of the war. Officially, it is a pure case of fraud: it is said that seven to ten percent of the contract amount was stolen from letterbox companies. After the arrest, Duma deputy Dmitri Kuznetsov, who called for the investigations, spoke of a “self-purification” in the industry. However, a political background cannot be ruled out.