Putin says Russia will accomplish ‘all goals set’ in Ukraine
As we mentioned in the opening summary, the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, has released a video message released to mark the second anniversary of what Russia calls “Reunification Day” – two years since Moscow formally claimed the regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson as its own.
Having held referendums – widely condemned as shams – in the four regions on 30 September 2022, Putin signed a document with the Russian-installed leaders of the occupied regions to unilaterally incorporate them into the Russian Federation, despite Russia not fully controlling the territories.
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion was launched in February 2022, Kyiv has stepped up its pursuit of Nato and EU membership, steps that it regards as vital for its self-defence and independence from Russia but are opposed by Moscow.
Putin said when he started the war that his aim was to demilitarise and “denazify” Ukraine – a statement dismissed by Kyiv and the west as a pretext for an imperial-style conflict of expansion.
“The truth is on our side. All goals set will be achieved,” Putin said in his video message on Monday.
He went on to criticise “western elites” who he claims “turned Ukraine into their colony, a military base aimed at Russia” and who fanned “hate, radical nationalism … hostility to everything Russian”.
“Today we are fighting for a secure, prosperous future for our children and grandchildren,” Putin said.
Key events
Russia says it has captured another village in eastern Ukraine – report
Russian forces have captured the village of Nelipivka in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, the Interfax news agency cited the Russian defence ministry as saying today. This claim has not been independently verified by the Guardian.
Russian forces continued offensive operations near Nelipivka and west of Toretsk in the direction of the village of Shcherbynivka, also in the Donetsk region, on 28 and 29 September, according to the Institute for the Study of War.
Russian forces have in recent weeks accelerated their progress in Donetsk, taking a series of towns and villages, including claiming to have captured Marynivka and Ukrainsk.
Moscow’s forces have been pushing towards the important logistics hub of Pokrovsk. If the east Ukrainian city falls, then Russian forces will cut off one of the main supply routes in the region.
We have been reporting on Russia launching several waves of drone attacks targeting Kyiv overnight. Air defence units engaged in repelling the strikes for several hours, according to reports. Here are the latest images from the Ukrainian capital that have been sent to us over the newswires:
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy presented a so-called “victory plan” to Joe Biden, who has just months left in office, at the White House last week. He also discussed it with presidential candidates Donald Trump and Kamala Harris and members of Congress.
Zelenskyy has kept the details of the plan secret, but US officials have said it includes additional American aid to prevent a Ukrainian rout on the battlefield and “provide the [Ukrainian] people with the assurance that their future is part of the west”. Ukraine’s request to be able to use western-made long-range missiles to strike deep inside Russia is reported to also likely be included in the plan.
The plan will be made public but some parts will remain secret, the head of the presidential office Andriy Yermak has now said.
Yermak said the plan will be presented to Ukrainians with some “sensitive” details left out to prevent information from leaking to Russia.
Speaking on national TV, he was quoted by the Kyiv Independent as saying:
Everything that becomes public is heard not only in our country, but also by the enemy. That is why some details of this plan are classified. But it is important to see the implementation of this plan on enemy territory.
Ukraine’s new foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, is on a diplomatic trip to Hungary today to meet with his counterpart, Peter Szijjarto, according to Ukraine’s press service. Topics that will be discussed will include the economy, the promotion of Ukraine’s accession to the EU and Nato and border infrastructure.
Sybiha replaced Dmytro Kuleba, who had led the foreign ministry since 2020, as foreign minister earlier this month in the biggest ministerial reshuffle since Russia launched its full-scale invasion more than two years ago. Hungary’s prime minister Viktor Orbán has been an outspoken critic of western military aid to Ukraine and is Europe’s most pro-Russian leader. It has made for frosty relations between Kyiv and Budapest.
US citizen Stephen James Hubbard pleaded guilty to charges of mercenary activity in a Moscow court on Monday, admitting that he had received money to fight for Ukraine against Russia, the RIA state news agency reported.
“Yes, I agree with the indictment,” RIA cited him as saying. Hubbard, 72, was placed in pre-trial detention last week for six months and is facing a sentence of seven to 15 years if convicted, Reuters reports.
The prosecution said Hubbard, whose sister said he had worked as an English teacher abroad for decades, was promised $1,000 (£745) a month and was given training, weapons and ammunition. Hubbard’s sister Patricia Fox denied her brother was a mercenary and said he had no interest in fighting in any war.
Putin says Russia will accomplish ‘all goals set’ in Ukraine
As we mentioned in the opening summary, the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, has released a video message released to mark the second anniversary of what Russia calls “Reunification Day” – two years since Moscow formally claimed the regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson as its own.
Having held referendums – widely condemned as shams – in the four regions on 30 September 2022, Putin signed a document with the Russian-installed leaders of the occupied regions to unilaterally incorporate them into the Russian Federation, despite Russia not fully controlling the territories.
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion was launched in February 2022, Kyiv has stepped up its pursuit of Nato and EU membership, steps that it regards as vital for its self-defence and independence from Russia but are opposed by Moscow.
Putin said when he started the war that his aim was to demilitarise and “denazify” Ukraine – a statement dismissed by Kyiv and the west as a pretext for an imperial-style conflict of expansion.
“The truth is on our side. All goals set will be achieved,” Putin said in his video message on Monday.
He went on to criticise “western elites” who he claims “turned Ukraine into their colony, a military base aimed at Russia” and who fanned “hate, radical nationalism … hostility to everything Russian”.
“Today we are fighting for a secure, prosperous future for our children and grandchildren,” Putin said.
Russia launches waves of drone attacks on Kyiv, Ukrainian military says
We are restarting our live coverage of Russia’s war on Ukraine and will give you the latest updates throughout the day.
Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital, has been targeted by several waves of Russian attack drones overnight, the country’s military has said, with air raid sirens sounding in the capital just after 1am local time.
Kyiv’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko, said drone debris fell by a residential building with emergency services working on site.
The Ukrainian air force said it shot down 67 out of 73 drones and one of three missiles launched by Russia during the overnight attack. It did not specify how many had attacked Kyiv.
All these drones were destroyed by defence systems or “neutralised” by electronic warfare, Serhiy Popko, the head of Kyiv’s military administration, wrote on Telegram. There have been no casualties reported from the attack.
Russian drone attacks on Kyiv have intensified in recent weeks as Moscow’s forces target Ukraine’s critical energy, military and transport infrastructure ahead of the winter.
Here are some of the other latest developments from Ukraine:
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Vladimir Putin has vowed that Moscow would accomplish all goals it has set for itself in Ukraine. “The truth is on our side. All goals set will be achieved,” the Russian president said in a video message released to mark the second anniversary of what Russia calls “Reunification Day”, when Moscow annexed four Ukrainian regions. In his address, Putin repeated his justification for his full-scale invasion, launched in February 2022, as protecting Russian speakers against a “neo-Nazi dictatorship” that aimed to “cut them off forever from Russia, their historic homeland”.
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Russia hit the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia with multiple guided bombs on Sunday, wounding at least 16 people and damaging railways, infrastructure and residential and commercial buildings, Ukrainian officials said.
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Russian forces attacked 14 communities across the Sumy region, including in the town of Esman and in Hlukhiv, injuring 10 people throughout the day, the Sumy oblast military administration reported.
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Russia’s defence ministry said on Sunday its forces had repelled six new Ukrainian attempts to enter its western Kursk region and had also taken control of the settlement of Makiivka in eastern Ukraine’s Luhansk region. The ministry said on Telegram that its forces, with the support of aircraft and artillery, repelled attempts to enter the region near the village of Novy Put, about 80km (50 miles) west of Sudzha, a strategic crossing point for Russian natural gas exports to Europe via Ukraine. Ukrainian forces raided the Kursk region on 6 August and Zelenskyy said earlier this month that his forces controlled 100 settlements over an area of more than 1,300 sq km (500 sq miles).
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Denmark said it was unlocking 1.3bn kroner ($194m) to help Ukraine bolster its arsenal against Russia’s invasion. The weapons and equipment would be produced in Ukraine but financed by Denmark and frozen Russian assets, the Danish defence ministry said.
