Latest news on Russia and the war in Ukraine

Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated Russian President Vladimir Putin’s allegation that the U.S. deliberately undermined the Nord Stream pipelines was an “absurd allegation.”

“That’s an absurd allegation that we and our allies are responsible,” Blinken informed press reporters at the State Department along with his Canadian equivalent. “We will get to the bottom of what happened,” he included.

Blinken stated that the U.S. was presently examining the pipeline leakages which he did not wish to get ahead of that continuous evaluation. He did recommendation previous Russian tries at weaponizing energy however did not associate the current Nord Stream leakages to Moscow.

— Amanda Macias

Russian President Vladimir Putin informed welcomed visitors at a patriotic pop performance on Moscow’s Red Square that Russia would attain triumph in its war on Ukraine.

The performance was held to commemorate the Russian addition of 4 partly inhabited areas of Ukraine, for which Putin had actually signed decrees previously in the day.

“We have become stronger, because we are together,” Putin informed the crowd. “Victory will be ours.”

— Reuters

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba stated that “nothing changes for Ukraine,” as Russian President Vladimir Putin prepares to unlawfully annex extra swaths of Ukrainian area.

“We continue liberating our land and our people, restoring our territorial integrity,” Kuleba composed in a tweet.

“By attempting to annex Ukraine’s Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, Putin tries to grab territories he doesn’t even physically control on the ground,” Kuleba included.

— Amanda Macias

The White House indicated plainly that it will not support Ukraine’s demand to fast lane its application for subscription in NATO, which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskky had actually signed previously in the day.

Just hours after Zelenskyy revealed what he called Ukraine’s “decisive step” towards signing up with the alliance, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan stated Ukraine’s application to NATO “should be taken up at a different time.”

“Our view is that the best way for us to support Ukraine is through practical on the ground support in Ukraine” Sullivan informed press reporters at the White House.

The remarks are not a brand-new position for the Biden administration.

Sullivan’s declaration comes as Sweden and Finland at on the edge of being confessed to NATO. Hungary and Turkey have yet to sign-off.

— Emma Kinery

The company managing the export of farming items from Ukraine stated that up until now 241 vessels have actually left the besieged nation because ports resumed in July.

The Joint Coordination Center, an effort of Ukraine, Russia, the United Nations and Turkey, stated the ships carried an overall of 5.4 million metric lots of grain and other foodstuff.

Three of Ukraine’s significant ports were resumed to exports under the U.N.-backed Black Sea Grain Initiative.

— Amanda Macias

European Council President Charles Michel condemned Russia’s addition of 4 areas of Ukraine in a video message stating the European Union will never ever acknowledge them.

“It is a dangerous and irresponsible escalation. It’s designed as a step to intensify the nuclear threat against the rest of the world,” Michel stated.

“The European Union unequivocally rejects and condemns these illegal annexations,” he included.

— Reuters

With a steely disposition, President Joe Biden reacted to Vladimir Putin’s speech, which was laced with hazards versus NATO and the UnitedStates

NATO allies “are not going to be intimidated by Putin and his reckless words and threats. He’s not going to scare us and he doesn’t intimidate us.”

“Putin’s actions are an indication he’s having a hard time. “are not going to be intimidated by Putin and his reckless words and threats. He’s not going to scare us and he doesn’t intimidate us.”

“America is totally prepared with our NATO allies to protect every inch of NATO area,” Biden said at the White House. “Every single inch. So,Mr Putin, do not misinterpret what I’m stating. Every inch.”

— Christina Wilkie

Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly stated that her nation, together with the U.S. and G-7 members have actually gone over the possibility of Russian President Vladimir Putin intensifying the war in Ukraine through using nuclear weapons.

“Obviously this is unimaginable, however we need to be prepared,” Joly informed press reporters at the State Department, where she met U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

In current weeks, the Kremlin has actually declared Russia deserves to utilize nuclear weapons in order to protect itself fromUkraine Western allies have actually knocked the rhetoric concerning nuclear warfare, and have actually alerted Moscow of swift and ravaging repercussions if they were to utilize a nuclear weapon.

— Amanda Macias

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy duplicated his promise to retake all Ukrainian area held by Russia, despite Russia’s decree annexing 4 partlially inhabited areas ofUkraine

“The whole area of our nation will be freed from this opponent, the opponent not just of Ukraine however likewise of life itself, humankind, law and fact,” Zelenskyy said in a video address. “Russia currently understands this. It feels our power,” he included.

The Ukrainian leader likewise stated that he is prepared for settlements to end the war however included: “with another president of Russia.”

— Amanda Macias

National security consultant Jake Sullivan spoke to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg as Russia tries to unlawfully annex Ukrainian area by means of sham referenda.

The 2 declared their “dedication to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial stability,” according to a White House readout of the call. They likewise talked about the obvious sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines in the Baltic Sea and methods to much better secure important facilities.

— Amanda Macias

Russian President Vladimir Putin has actually implicated the United States and its allies of exploding the Nord Stream gas pipelines.

“The sanctions were insufficient for the Anglo-Saxons: they moved onto sabotage,” Putin declared in a speech that was filled with incorrect allegations versus both Europe and the U.S.

“It is difficult to think, however it is a truth, that they arranged the blasts on the Nord Stream worldwide gas pipelines,” the Russian leader declared, without using any proof.

The something Putin and the West settle on, nevertheless, is that theSept 26 surges and the holes found in the 2 enormous energy pipelines were not the outcome of a mishap.

The European Union stated it thought sabotage lagged the harmed pipelines, which are presently dripping big plumes of gas into Swedish and Danish waters.

The White House has actually dismissed Russian claims that America lagged the attacks.

Russia’s leading spy stated that Moscow had intelligence showing that the West lagged what he stated was a “terrorist act” versus the pipelines.

— Reuters and CNBC’s Christina Wilkie

President Joe Biden knocked Moscow’s prohibited addition of 4 partly inhabited areas of Ukraine, and reacted to them with a penalizing brand-new round of financial and trade sanctions.

“Make no error: these actions have no authenticity,” Biden stated in a declaration, following Russian President Vladimir Putin’s statement that the Ukrainian areas of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson were now a part of Russia.

” I advise all members of the worldwide neighborhood to decline Russia’s prohibited efforts at addition and to stand with individuals of Ukraine for as long as it takes,” stated Biden, pledging that America and its allies would hold the Kremlin responsible.

Biden likewise stated the U.S. would continue to assistance Ukraine with humanitarian help, in addition to the billions of dollars in security help it has actually currently devoted to the battle.

— Amanda Macias

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated his nation is sending an ‘sped up’ application to sign up with the NATO military alliance. The statement comes simply hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin held an event to formalize Russia’s addition of 4 areas of Ukraine.

“We have actually currently made our method to NATO … we have actually currently shown compatibility with alliance requirements. They are genuine for Ukraine genuine on the battleground and in all elements of our interaction,” Zelenskyy stated on the Telegram messaging app.

“We are taking our definitive action by finalizing Ukraine’s application for sped up accession to NATO,” he included.

— Amanda Macias

The Biden administration is anticipated to enforce brand-new sanctions versus Russia in action to the Kremlin’s prohibited addition on Friday of 4 areas of Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin talked in which he railed versus America and Europe, prior to signing a decree officially annexing Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia andKherson

Putin’s address begins the heels of referendums in the areas that were commonly considered as rigged and invalid.

“There are 4 brand-new areas of Russia,” Putin stated from the Kremlin in Moscow, according to a translation.

— Amanda Macias

Climate researchers explained the stunning pictures of gas gushing to the surface area of the Baltic Sea today as a “careless release” of greenhouse gas emissions that, if deliberate, ” totals up to an ecological criminal offense.”

Researchers acknowledge that it is challenging to properly measure the size of the emissions and state the leakages are a “wee bubble in the ocean” compared to the enormous quantities of methane discharged all over the world every day.

Nonetheless, ecological advocates argue that the event reveals the danger of sabotage or a mishap makes fossil facilities a “ticking time bomb.”

Here’s the story.

— Sam Meredith

Russia is not looking for the return of the Soviet Union, Vladimir Putin stated throughout his speech to Russian legislators revealing the addition of 4 of Ukraine’s areas.

“People born after the catastrophe of completion of the Soviet Union, they desired unity in 1991,” Putin said. “There was a choice by agents of the leading celebration to liquify the USSR. And this has actually ruined the connections in between various parts of our nation.”

Putin has actually long held that the dissolution of the USSR was an error and the most disastrous occasion in history.

“The Soviet Union is no longer there, and can not go back to the past,” he stated.

“For Russia we do not require this any longer, we are not going for that. But there is absolutely nothing more powerful than the will of objective of individuals who chose they wish to become part ofRussia For generations they resided in a single nation and there is absolutely nothing more powerful than the will of these individuals to go back to their historical roots.”

— Natasha Turak

Russian President Vladimir Putin revealed the addition of 4 areas of Ukraine under its profession throughout a speech in front of legislators inMoscow

“People have actually made a conclusive option, today we are signing a decree on Luhansk People’s Republic, Donetsk People’s Republic, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson,” Putin said. ” I make certain the Federal Assembly will support the laws of producing 4 brand-new topics of the Russian Federation due to the fact that this is the will of countless individuals.”

“It is the self decision of individuals, the right that is based upon the historic unity which was protected by generations of our individuals, individuals who for generations secured Russia,” he stated.

The speech follows a widely-criticized sham referendum held by Russia in the occupied areas, that make up approximately 18% of Ukraine’s land, that led to what Moscow stated were frustrating votes to sign up with the Russian Federation.

— Natasha Turak

Attacks on any part of Ukraine that Russia will annex will be thought about an attack on Russia itself, Kremlin representative Dmitry Peskov informed press reporters.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is slated to formally state the additions of 4 Ukrainian areas throughout an event today, for which events at Red Square are prepared.

The category raises the stakes for the dispute as Putin has actually threatened using nuclear weapons in case of any attacks on Russian area. And simply as the additions are to be revealed, Ukrainian forces have actually surrounded countless Russian soldiers in the tactical town of Lyman in northern Donetsk, among the areas set for addition.

The circumstance raises the concern of precisely what parts of these areas — Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia — Russia can in fact annex and manage. Altogether, they make up approximately 18% of Ukraine’s land.

Peskov stated that all of Donetsk would be under Ukrainian control, however did not define whether all of Kherson of Zaporizhzhia would be.

“We will clarify whatever today,” he stated.

— Natasha Turak

Ukrainian forces have actually nearly totally surrounded Russian soldiers inhabiting Lyman, a town in the north of Ukraine’s Donetsk province, raising the possibility of another Russian loss simply as President Vladimir Putin is set to reveal the province’s addition.

“Ukrainian soldiers have actually most likely almost finished the encirclement of the Russian organizing in Lyman and cut important ground lines of interaction (GLOCS) that support Russian soldiers in the Drobysheve-Lyman location,” a tweet from the Institute for the Study of War read. Roughly 5,500 Russian soldiers are reported to be in the town, which has actually been inhabited because May.

The town is house to a tactical train junction. Ukrainian forces have actually made fast advances in the location in current days and are now placed to fire on the only path out of Lyman.

This belongs to the huge swathe of eastern and southern Ukrainian area, including 4 areas, that Putin is set to annex after holding a sham referendum completely managed by Russia that concluded in bulk votes to sign up with the Russian Federation.

Putin has actually alerted that any hazards to the area of Russia would validate its usage of nuclear weapons.

— Natasha Turak

Russian strikes struck a civilian convoy several times outside the city of Zaporizhzhia, Ukrainian authorities stated.

The strikes, which struck a convoy of individuals who were heading to Russian- inhabited area to get their family members, eliminated a minimum of 23 individuals and injured a minimum of 28, Zaporizhzhia Regional Governor Oleksandr Starukh stated in a post on Telegram.

“There are dead and injured. Rescuers, medics, and all pertinent services are presently operating at the website,” Starukh composed.

Ukraine’s Luhansk guv Serhiy Haidai composed on Telegram, “Near Zaporizhzhia, the Russians fired rockets at a convoy heading to the occupied area. It ought to be kept in mind that the departure of 34 automobiles with locals of Luhansk area was prepared. More in-depth info about the victims is being clarified.”

CNBC has actually not had the ability to individually confirm the information. Images published by Starukh and others on social networks reveal troubling scenes of scorched vehicles and bodies on the roadway.

A Russian- designated leader of inhabited Zaporizhzhia, Volodymyr Rogov, was priced estimate by Russian state news company RIA as blaming Ukrainian forces for the attack, stating “Ukrainian militants struck a convoy with lots of civilian vehicles queuing.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to hold an event today formally stating the addition of 4 areas of Ukraine, where sham referendums were held by Russian- designated authorities over the recently.

The referendum’s outcomes, which have actually been declined by much of the worldwide neighborhood, revealed big bulks of each area– Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia– voting to sign up with the RussianFederation The areas, comprising the nation’s eastern and southern flanks, form approximately 18% of Ukraine’s area.

Numerous reports have actually appeared of votes being required at gunpoint, and of votes being staged.

Government representative Dmitry Peskov stated that Putin will sign accession files at the Kremlin and after that talk. A music performance is likewise set to happen at Moscow’s Red Square.

Analysts and world leaders fret that Putin’s addition will make him feel warranted in utilizing nuclear weapons to protect the areas from anybody trying to take them back, as he hinted as much in his speech recently if the “area of Russia” came under hazard.

— Natasha Turak

Secretary of State Antony Blinken knocked Russia’s “effort at a land grab in Ukraine” and said that the U.S. will never recognize the results of the Kremlin’s ” sham referenda.”

“The outcomes were managed in Moscow and do not show the will of individuals ofUkraine The United States does not, and will never ever, acknowledge the authenticity or result of these sham referenda or Russia’s supposed addition of Ukrainian area,” Blinken composed in a declaration.

“This phenomenon performed by Russia’s proxies is invalid and breaks worldwide law,” he included.

Biden’s leading diplomat stated that the U.S. will continue to “assistance Ukraine for as long as it takes.”

The Kremlin has formerly stated that the outcomes of the referendums kept in 4 areas of Ukraine are genuine.

— Amanda Macias

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy knocked Russia’s effort to annex extra swaths of his nation.

“Russia will not get brand-new area in Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said in Russian in a nightly address on the Telegram messaging app. “It can still be stopped,” he included.

“The rate of a single person in Russia wishing to continue this war will be that the whole Russian society will be left without a regular economy, without a good life, and without regard for any human worths,” Zelenskyy stated, according to an NBC News translation.

“In order to stop this, you need to stop the one in Russia who desires war more than life. Your life, residents of Russia,” Zelenskyy stated without calling Russian President Vladimir Putin.

— Amanda Macias