We are pausing our live coverage of the Ukraine war for the time being. Thanks for following along. Our full report on the day’s events can be found here:
Summary
That’s it for me in New York. Here’s what happened so far:
In a wide-ranging and impassioned televised speech at the UN on Wednesday, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy called on the international community to adopt a five-point formula to achieve peace and security. The five points include punishment for crimes of aggression, protection of life, restoration of security and territorial integrity, security guarantees and determination of Ukraine to continue defending itself.
Zelenskiy also named and shamed the seven countries that voted against allowing him to deliver his UN address by video: Belarus, Cuba, Eritrea, North Korea, Nicaragua, Russia and Syria.
World leaders are responding to Vladimir Putin’s calls for military mobilization. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has called for a “rallying cry from the world” and Canada Prime Minster Justin Trudeau said the threats were “unacceptable.”
Russia and has released 215 prisoners to Ukraine in exchange for 55 of its own prisoners including close Putin ally Viktor Medvedchuk. It is the largest prisoner exchange since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Some of the Ukrainian fighters were captured after a protracted battle for the port city of Mariupol earlier this year, public broadcaster Suspline said on Wednesday.
The commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian armed forces said on Wednesday that no statement from Russia’s leaders will change Ukrainians’ willingness to defend their country. “Hundreds of thousands of men and women protect their native land, their homes, their children, and the future of Ukraine,” the commander, Valery Zaluzhnyi, wrote in a statement on Facebook.
The security service of Ukraine has released a recording of an intercepted call by a Russian soldier in which he appears to complain about the setbacks faced by Russian troops in recent months. “Locals hate us here. Ours rape local women,” the soldier appeared to say into the phone, adding that there was little to no chance of him returning home anytime soon.
Ivan Fedorov, the mayor of Russian-occupied Melitipol, in Ukraine, has urged local men to evacuate the city amid mobilization orders from Russia, the Kyiv Independent reports.
Over 1,000 protesters have been arrested in anti-mobilization rallies that are taking place throughout Russia. According to OVD-Info, more than 1,178 people have been detained in 38 cities across Russia, with the majority of the detainees being in Moscow and St Petersburg.
Finland said on Wednesday it is working on a federal strategy to “limit or completely prevent” tourism from Russia following the invasion of Ukraine. “This national solution may include new legislation, which would be adopted very quickly,” foreign minister Pekka Haavisto told a press conference.
North Korea has denied US State Department claims that the country was preparing to sell weapons to Russia.
