Russia is spending more and more money on armaments and the military. Dictator Putin encourages his people in the rightness of the war in Ukraine. All information in the news blog.
5.30 a.m.: On the second anniversary of Moscow’s annexation of four regions in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin reaffirmed his country’s determination in the military offensive. “The truth is on our side. All set goals will be achieved,” Putin said in a video message released on Monday. Meanwhile, the Russian government announced a significant increase in military spending for the coming year.
In his message to celebrate “Reunification Day,” the Russian president repeated his justification for the invasion of Ukraine: It was about protecting the Russian-speaking minority against the Ukrainian “neo-Nazi dictatorship.”
Six months after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russia declared the Ukrainian regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhia and Kherson annexed. However, Moscow only partially controls these regions.
1.12 a.m.: After his return from the USA, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj called on his compatriots to mobilize all forces to achieve what Kiev sees as a just peace. “Everything that can be done this fall, everything that we can achieve, we must achieve,” he said in his evening video address. It is important to increase the pressure on Russia as much as possible in order to force an end to the war.
To this end, military and diplomatic efforts should be combined. It’s about implementing the agreements made in the USA. “Now it is necessary to work as hard as possible before Ramstein,” said Zelensky. A large meeting of the Ukraine support group is planned for October 12th in Ramstein, Rhineland-Palatinate. Among others, US President Joe Biden is expected there.
0.34 a.m.: Ukraine has expressed dissatisfaction with Swiss support for a peace plan put forward by China and Brazil to end the Russo-Ukrainian war. “Any initiatives that do not contain a clear reference to the UN Charter and do not guarantee the full restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity are unacceptable,” the Foreign Ministry in Kiev wrote in a comment. Such “peace initiatives” only exist to create an illusion of dialogue. Kiev was equally annoyed that people were talking about Ukraine without Ukraine.
Last week, Switzerland took part as an observer in a meeting organized by Brazil and China on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. According to media reports, a six-point plan for an end to the war that has been going on since 2022 was presented. The core should reportedly be a ceasefire along the current front line, modeled on the Korean War. The US and its European allies rejected the plan because it did not make reference to the UN Charter and thus to Ukraine’s territorial integrity.
0.12 a.m.: According to a human rights organization, three journalists were arrested at a concert marking the second anniversary of Moscow’s annexation of four regions in Ukraine. One of the journalists works for the Republic news site, the other two for the independent website Sotavision, the OVD-Info organization said on Monday, citing relatives. Accordingly, all three were taken to a police station and their cell phones were confiscated.
As Sotavision explained on the online service Telegram, its reporters were arrested while interviewing audience members leaving the concert. They had previously been denied access to the celebrations on Red Square in Moscow.
The concert was intended to celebrate the annexation of the Ukrainian regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, which Moscow declared six months after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. However, Moscow only partially controls these regions.
0 a.m.: From the perspective of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the situation at the front is tense. The situation is “very, very difficult,” he said in his evening video address, referring to a meeting with high-ranking commanders. This affects every single sector of the front as well as the current and future capacities of the Ukrainian army. The armed forces must now do everything in their power. “Everything that can be done this fall, everything we can achieve, must be achieved.”
