Russian president says any direct clash with Nato troops would be ‘global catastrophe’ as he says 220,000 will be called up. This live blog is now closed
Vladimir Putin said on Friday he believed the “partial mobilisation” of army reservists ordered last month would be completed in two weeks, boosting Russia’s fighting force.
He told reporters after attending a summit in Kazakhstan on Friday that a total of 222,000 reservists would be called up, down from the 300,000 figure initially circulated.
A total of 33,000 of them were said to be already in military units, and 16,000 are involved in the military operation in Ukraine.
A Russian submarine has reportedly been spotted off the French coast and escorted by the French navy. Reuters reports that the vessel was seen off Brittany.
Belarus has said that Russian troops will start arriving in the country in the coming days as part of its joint force. “Troops from the Russian component of the Regional Grouping of Forces will start arriving in Belarus in the next few days,” the Belarus defence ministry said.
Vladimir Putin said on Friday he believed the “partial mobilisation” of army reservists ordered last month would be completed in two weeks, boosting Russia’s fighting force. He told reporters after attending a summit in Kazakhstan on Friday that a total of 222,000 reservists would be called up, down from the 300,000 figure initially circulated.
Russian president Vladimir Putin has called for humanitarian corridors for Ukrainian grain to be closed if they are used for “acts of terror”. Speaking at a news conference in the Kazakh capital Astana he also said that there was “no need” for talks with US president Joe Biden.
The US and Germany are to deliver sophisticated anti-aircraft systems to Kyiv this month to counter attacks by Russian missiles and kamikaze drones, Ukraine’s defence minister said. Oleksiy Reznikov said Ukraine would take receive the IRIS-II air defence system from Germany in October.
A Ukrainian member of Kherson’s regional council has condemned Russia’s “evacuation” of the occupied city, saying it is in fact a “deportation”. The council member also said that it is an evacuation for collaborators, urging residents to go to Ukrainian-controlled territory if they can.
The International Committee of the Red Cross has responded to criticism from the Ukrainian government calling for “immediate and unimpeded access” to all prisoners of war. It comes after the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, accused the ICRC of inaction in upholding the rights of Ukrainian prisoners and called on it to visit Olenivka, a notorious camp in eastern Ukraine where dozens of Ukrainian POWs died in an explosion and fire in July.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX says it can no longer pay for critical satellite services in Ukraine, which it has labelled an exclusive. SpaceX is reportedly asking the US government to start paying instead.
That’s it from me for today. Thank you for reading.
Here’s Alex Hern’s report on Starlink from earlier:
Elon Musk’s SpaceX has said it cannot afford to continue to donate satellite internet to Ukraine and has asked the US government to pick up the bill, according to a report, as the relationship between the billionaire and Kyiv breaks down.
“We are not in a position to further donate terminals to Ukraine, or fund the existing terminals for an indefinite period of time,” SpaceX’s director of government sales wrote, in a letter seen by CNN.
In a separate letter reported by CNN, an external consultant working for the company told the Pentagon: “SpaceX faces terribly difficult decisions here. I do not think they have the financial ability to provide any additional terminals or service.”
Musk appeared to confirm that report on Friday morning, writing on Twitter that “nothing was leaked about our competitors in space launch & communications, Lockheed & Boeing, who get over $60B [from the US Department of Defence]”.
In another post, he tweeted: “In addition to terminals, we have to create, launch, maintain & replenish satellites & ground stations & pay telcos for access to Internet via gateways. We’ve also had to defend against cyber-attacks & jamming, which are getting harder. Burn is approaching ~$20M/month.”
Elon Musk has asked the US defence department to take over funding for his Starlink satellite network, a US official has told AP.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said the issue has been discussed in meetings and senior leaders are considering the issue, with no decisions yet made.
The network of more than 2,200 low-orbiting satellites has provided broadband internet to more than 150,000 Ukrainian ground stations. This morning, Musk tweeted that it was costing SpaceX $20m a month to support Ukraine’s communications needs.
More details on the reported Russian submarine sighting from Reuters:
A Russian submarine was spotted sailing on the surface off the Brittany coast at the end of September and was escorted by the French navy, the French navy said on its Twitter feed.
It said British and Spanish warships had also been involved in monitoring the submarine’s movements.
BFM TV reported that the incident took place on 29 September.
Ukraine has said it will find a solution to keep Starlink working after reports that Elon Musk’s SpaceX can no longer pay for the critical satellite services.
An adviser to president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said it expects Starlink to provide a “stable connection” until the end of negotiations, reports Reuters.
A Russian submarine has reportedly been spotted off the French coast and escorted by the French navy.
Citing BFM TV, Reuters reports that the vessel was seen off Brittany.
More on the earlier statement from the Red Cross from Daniel Boffey in Kyiv:
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has gone public with its frustration at being refused entry to a notorious Russian prisoner of war camp after scathing criticism from Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
In his daily evening address, Ukraine’s president accused the ICRC of a lack of leadership, suggesting that officials were picking up their salaries without doing their jobs.
Olenivka prison in the occupied Donetsk territory has been under the control of Russia since 2014 but was partly destroyed in July by an explosion that killed 53 Ukrainian prisoners of war (PoWs) and wounded a further 75.
Both sides have claimed the other was responsible, with the Ukrainian army accusing the Russians of blowing up a barrack in order to cover up the torture and murder of Ukrainian PoWs.
Zelenskiy said on Thursday evening that the ICRC had a “moral compunction” to gain access to a “concentration camp where our prisoners are kept” after an earlier meeting between Ukraine government officials and Red Cross representatives.
The Pentagon has responded to reports that Elon Musk’s company SpaceX can no longer pay for critical satellite services in Ukraine (see also 8.55am).
A Pentagon spokesperson told Reuters that the US defence department “continues to work with industry to explore solutions for Ukraine’s armed forces as they repel Russia’s brutal and unprovoked aggression”.
Belarus has said that Russian troops will start arriving in the country in the coming days as part of its joint force, reports Reuters.
“Troops from the Russian component of the Regional Grouping of Forces will start arriving in Belarus in the next few days,” the Belarus defence ministry said.
It comes after the Belarusian president, Alexander Lukashenko, said earlier this week that his troops would deploy with Russian forces near the Ukrainian border, citing what he described as threats from Ukraine and the West.
US officials plan to send munitions and humvees to Ukraine as part of its latest $725m aid package, reports Reuters.
Here’s a summary of key points from Vladimir Putin’s press conference (see also 2.13pm) from Reuters:
ON UKRAINE
Of course, partners are concerned about future developments in Russian-Ukrainian relations. It is true that there is nothing unexpected here. I keep our partners informed, tell them our point of view. But this does not affect the character, the quality, or the depth of Russia’s relations with these countries.
India and China always talk about the need to establish dialogue and resolve everything peacefully, we know their position. These are our close allies, partners, and we respect their position. But we also know the position of Kyiv – they keep saying that they want negotiations and it seems like they asked for it, and now they have made an official decision that prohibits negotiations.
Right now there is no need for massive strikes [on Ukraine]. For now there are other tasks, because, I believe, out of 29 targets, [only] 7 were not hit as the ministry of defence planned, but they are getting to them gradually. There is no need for massive strikes, in any case case not for now. In future, we’ll see.
ON POTENTIAL FOR CLASHES WITH NATO
The introduction of troops into a direct confrontation with the Russian army is a very dangerous step that could lead to a global catastrophe. I hope that those who speak of this have enough sense not to take such steps.
ON WHETHER HE REGRETS ANYTHING
No. I want to make it clear: what is happening today is unpleasant, to put it mildly, but we would have got the same thing a little later, only in worse conditions for us, that’s that. So we are acting correctly and in a timely manner.
RUSSIA’S MOBILISATION
The ministry of defence initially assumed a smaller figure, not 300,000. Nothing extra is planned. No proposals have been received from the ministry of defence in this regard. And in the foreseeable future, this is not necessary.
GERMANY
[Germany] must decide what is more important for them: the fulfilment of alliance obligations, as they see it, or their national interests. In this case, it seems that Germany placed its obligations to the [Nato] alliance above all. I believe that this is a mistake.
German citizens, businesses, and its economy are paying for this mistake, because it has negative economic consequences for the eurozone as a whole, and in Germany. But very few people take into account its interests, otherwise Nord Stream 1 and 2 would not have been undermined. But although one branch remains, as I said, in working order, a decision has not been made and is unlikely to be made. But this is no longer our business, this is the business of our partners.
TURKEY
Erdogan played a significant role in resolving a number of issues. This is due to the prisoner exchanges, he was personally involved in this work. And, as we see, there have been results. So we are also grateful to him for this, because we got our military personnel and officers back.
TALKS WITH THE US
I don’t see the need for a platform for negotiations [with Biden]. The question of my trip [to the G20 summit] has not yet been finally resolved. Russia will certainly take part in this work, in what format, we will think about that.
European Union foreign ministers meeting in Luxembourg on Monday will not take any decisions on additional Iran sanctions linked to a transfer of drones from Tehran to Moscow, Reuters report a senior EU official said today.
The EU was still trying to find independent evidence for the use of Iranian drones by Russia in Ukraine, the official added.
My colleague Dan Sabbagh has been attending a background briefing on the situation in Ukraine from western officials, and he reports:
The Russian position around Kherson “is extremely fragile” with “a significant force on the wrong side of the Dnipro River”. Asked could the city fall in a week, the officials said “It is conceivable that something happens within a week, but it’s also perfectly conceivable that it doesn’t.”
The officials said Russia is “rapidly exhausting its supply of long range, precision munitions”, and in particular, air launched cruise missiles. Russia cannot sustain attacks like Monday’s. The officials roughly endorsed Ukraine’s estimate that Russia has used two-thirds of its “high-precision” stock.
The officials continued by saying that any use of nuclear weapons by Russia “would break a taboo that has held since 1945”, and would lead to “severe consequences” for Moscow. The consequences were not spelled out though, leaving a deliberate ambiguity.
On the Nord Stream explosions, the officials said “It is our assessment that it is almost certainly sabotage” but they were still not in a position to attribute responsibility to Russia or anybody else.
There was concern that the Ukrainians “won’t be able to maintain their offensive indefinitely,” and that there will come a point later this year when the weather changes, and “a new phase of the conflict” begins. “But for the time being, Ukrainians retain the initiative and momentum.”
Vladimir Putin said on Friday he believed the “partial mobilisation” of army reservists ordered last month would be completed in two weeks, boosting Russia’s fighting force.
He told reporters after attending a summit in Kazakhstan on Friday that a total of 222,000 reservists would be called up, down from the 300,000 figure initially circulated.
A total of 33,000 of them were said to be already in military units, and 16,000 are involved in the military operation in Ukraine.