The Russians are already celebrating victory in the referendum for the annexation of the occupied Zaporizhzhia region to Moscow: 93% of those entitled to vote according to the exit polls voted in favor of annexation . Zaporizhzhia is the only region where the consultation was held only on 23 September, in the other three regions (Donetsk, Lugansk and Kherson) at the moment only partial turnout figures are available.
A few days after the announcement of the partial military mobilization , Vladimir Putin's hard fist is felt on demonstrators and deserters: in 32 cities across Russia there are hundreds of arrests made in a single day in protests against the call of the 300 thousand reservists.
And after the laws that exacerbate the penalties for deserters and for those who surrender to the enemy signed yesterday by the Russian president, the media let it be known that from 28 September all men of enlisted age will not be able to leave Russia .
Vladimir Putin knowingly sends "his citizens to die", denounced the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky who appealed to the Russians to escape from the "criminal mobilization: it is better not to accept a summons than to die in a foreign land as a war criminal. better to escape from criminal mobilization than to answer before the court for having participated in an aggressive war ".
In the meantime, while the referendum for annexation to Russia is underway in four occupied regions, the nuclear nightmare . And the US is making its voice heard again: White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said the US will respond "firmly" if Moscow uses the atomic bomb.
“We have communicated directly, privately, at very high levels, to the Kremlin that the use of nuclear weapons will have catastrophic consequences for Russia , that the United States and our allies will respond decisively. And we have been clear and specific about what this will entail ”, his words.
( HERE all the articles on the war)
( HERE all the videos of the conflict)
The day by the hour
Zaporizhzhia: "93% for annexation to Russia"
According to the Russian state news agency Tass, the first exit polls reveal that 93% of the ballots are in favor of joining Russia on the first day of the referendum in the Zaporizhzhia region.
As for the self-proclaimed republic of Donetsk (Rpd), Ambassador to Moscow Olga Makeeva - quoted by Tass - reports that more than 236,000 citizens have cast their votes. According to the president of the Central Electoral Commission Vladimir Vysotsky, over 850,000 people voted in the referendum in Donetsk in two days: turnout reached 55.05%.
The electoral commission of the Kherson region recorded a turnout of 31.79% after two days of referendum, said the president of the electoral commission.
The turnout in Lugansk until 8pm last night was 45.86%: more than 624,000 people voted in two days, said the head of the Electoral Commission Elena Kravchenko.
***
Strong explosion in Melitopol
A powerful explosion shook today the Ukrainian city of Melitopol temporarily occupied by the Russians and where the referendum in favor of joining Russia is held. This was reported by the mayor of Melitopol Ivan Fedorov in a post on Telegram, reports Ukrinform. "Right now: a powerful explosion in the northern part of Melitopol. According to preliminary information, a car is on fire. We are collecting detailed information," he wrote.
***
Usa: "If Moscow uses the atomic bomb we will respond decisively"
White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said the United States "will respond firmly" if Russia uses the atomic bomb in its war in Ukraine. "We have communicated directly, privately, at very high levels, to the Kremlin that the use of nuclear weapons will have catastrophic consequences for Russia, that the United States and our allies will respond decisively. And we have been clear and specific about what this will entail. "said the adviser to the American president Joe Biden in an interview with Nnbc news today.
***
Media: "From 28/9 the enlisted will not be able to leave Russia"
The independent site Meduza, citing a Kremlin source, reports that men of mobilization age in the Russian Federation will probably be banned from leaving the country from 28 September. According to the source, to cross the border they will have to obtain a permit from the Military Commissariat, a sort of "exit visa".
***
Killed former pro-Russian Ukrainian deputy in occupied Kherson
Former deputy from the pro-Russian Party of Regions Oleksiy Zhuravko was killed in the Russian-occupied southern city of Kherson while in a hotel hit by missiles. "The available information indicates that a missile hit a hotel in the center of Kherson. Two people died, including Oleksiy Zhuravko," said the spokesman, quoted by Interfax. Zhuravko was a former Ukrainian MP who moved to Russia in 2015 and returned to the Kherson region in the spring of 2022. Ukrainian media broke the news of the former MP's death by writing: "Ukraine traitor Zhuravko eliminated" .
***
Kiev: "Almost all Crimean Tatars called to the draft"
In three days, 1,500 calls for mobilization were distributed to the Tatars of the occupied Crimea. This was reported by the permanent representative of the Ukrainian president Tamila Tasheva, quoted by UNIAN. "Over the course of three days, more than 1,500 citations were distributed to the Crimean Tatars." "They take everyone, even those over 60," he said, "most of the ethnic Tatar men have already received the summons at the leverage. ”Tasheva noted that the pressure forces the Crimean Tatars to leave the peninsula.
***
Russia, 800 protesters detained for protests
799 protesters are currently detained in Russia after arrests during protests against the mobilization announced by President Vladimir Putin, according to updated data from the independent media project on human rights Ovd-Info. In total, about 2 thousand demonstrators were arrested, most of them released.
***
Five Russian attacks in the Dnipropetrovsk region
Russian forces launched five attacks on the Nikopol district, in the eastern region of Dnipropetrovsk, the power station and residential buildings were damaged: the head of the Regional Military Administration Valentyn Reznichenko said, as reported by Ukrinform. "The enemy fired more than 170 Mlrs Grad and artillery shells at three communities in the Nikopol district - Chervonohryhorivka, Nikopol and Marhanets - according to preliminary information, no casualties were reported," he said.
(Unioneonline)
