Russian authorities are sending untrained conscripts to strengthen degraded remainders of various units, including those considered as Russia’s most elite, as informed by The Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
According to the ISW, the addition of newly mobilized forces to these units of the Russian army is unlikely to increase their combat power.
Authorities in the Russian region of North Ossetia, which borders Georgia, are reportedly putting in place travel restrictions to prevent people fleeing to Georgia to avoid conscription. As report by the Moscow Times, the head of the region, Sergey Menyaylo, as saying that more than 20,000 people had entered Georgia through the section of the border in just the past two days.
Russian authorities say they are establishing checkpoints at some of the country’s borders to forcibly mobilise Russian men seeking to avoid mobilisation by fleeing the country. Social media footage shows military vehicles moving toward the border, reportedly to establish the mobilisation checkpoint, informs British media The Guardian.
The governments of Romania, Bulgaria and Poland are urging any citizens that remain in the Russian Federation to leave urgently. That may be in anticipation of border crossings becoming much more difficult as routes out close and more people flee forced mobilisation in Russia.
The head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has announced a fresh round of proposed sanctions on Russia.
The proposed eighth sanctions package includes further import bans on Russian products, expected to deprive Moscow of an additional seven billion euros in revenues, informs The Guardian.
Meanwhile, an attack on the Nord Stream gas pipelines that caused large blasts in the Baltic Sea was probably premeditated and planned for. It is likely, that Russia dropped an explosive device into the sea weeks before it was detonated, referencing the news media The Times, informs The Kyiv Independent.
Gas prices have risen on fears that Russia could halt supplies to Europe through Ukraine, adding to turmoil caused by damage to the Nord Stream pipelines.
In the meantime, Russian proxies officially call for annexation by Russia after sham referendum results. In a video address on Wednesday, 28 September, head Russian proxy in Luhansk Oblast Leonid Pasechnik called upon Russian dictator Vladimir Putin to officially pass a decree on the «joining» of the region to Russia. Less than an hour later, head Russian proxy in Kherson Oblast Volodymyr Saldo also called for the region’s annexation.
According to The Guardian, Israel has strengthened its hitherto cautious stance on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, saying it will «not accept the results of the referendum in the eastern districts» of the occupied country and that it «recognises the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.»
During a phone call with President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday, 28 September, President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said that Russia’s «unilateral referendums» held in Russian–occupied territories of four Ukrainian regions will complicate efforts to revive the diplomatic process.
While, The National Guard of Ukraine reported on Wednesday, 28 September, that its service members, along with the 81st airmobile brigade, had liberated Novoselivka, a village in Donetsk Oblast, with a prewar population of 1,200 people. During the operation, the Ukrainian military also captured a Russian armored vehicle, accotrding to The Kyiv independent.
The U.S. Defense Department announced that the country would provide USD 1.1 billion in additional security assistance for Ukraine. The new package will include about 18 more HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System), ammunition for them, and 12 Titan systems that are used to counter drones, according to the Washington Post.