Explosions in Kyiv as Zelensky says Putin is afraid to make use of nuclear weapons: Live

Lithuania has requested the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate their neighbours, Belarus, over alleged crimes against humanity.

The Lithuanian justice ministry said on Monday it was asking the ICC to open an investigation into alleged crimes committed by the regime of authoritarian leader and Putin ally Alexander Lukashenko.

Lithuania accuses Lukashenko and Belarus of “forced deportation, persecution of persons and other cruel behaviour which is contrary to the main norms of international law”, Reuters reported.

Lukashenko’s regime has ruled Belarus since 1994 and has long been an ally of Putin. Around 300,000 Belarusians have been forced to flee the country due to the nature of the regime.

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the exiled opposition leader who is recognised by Lithuania as the legitimate leader of Belarus, said: “The crimes committed by this regime, from forced deportations to illegal arrests and torture, cannot go unpunished. Lithuania’s courage gives us hope that the world is finally holding the regime accountable for its atrocities.”

Tsikhanouskaya ran against Lukashenko in the August 2020 presidential election and was forced to flee the country after he was declared the winner.

Western governments denounced the result as fraudulent.

Russia aims to draft 133,000 servicemen between October and January after a new decree signed by president Vladimir Putin on Monday.

Men aged 18 to 30 will be eligible for draft as part of the autumn conscription campaign, The Kyiv Independent reported.

In autumn 2023, the conscription campaign included people who lived in the annexed regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia.

Russia is likely recruiting around 30,000 people per month to the war effort, the UK defense ministry said in March.

Kyiv went through multiple waves of drone attacks over Sunday night, the city’s authorities said.

An air raid alert was in place in the capital from 1am until just after 6am this morning, as Ukrainian air defense systems battled the drones.

Vitalii Klitschlo, the mayor of Kyiv, warned residents shortly before 5am to “stay in shelters” due to a wave of drones “over and near the capital”, The Kyiv Independent reported.

There have been no casualties or damage to the city reported.

Ukraine’s Air Force said Russian forces launched 73 Shahed-type drones across Ukraine overnight, with 67 intercepted.

Serhii Popko, head of the Kyiv City Military Administration, said: “All Russian attack drones that threatened Kyiv were neutralized.” It is not clear how many drones attacked Kyiv.

Volodymyr Zelensky has said his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin is afraid to use nuclear weapons because “he loves his life”.

“Nobody knows what’s in his head,” Mr Zelensky said in the interview with Fox News. “He could use nuclear (weapons) on any country at any time – or not. (But) I don’t think that he will,” he said.

Putin warned the West last week that under proposed changes to its nuclear doctrine, Russia could use atomic weapons if it were struck with conventional missiles – saying it would consider any assault on it supported by a nuclear power as a joint attack.

The warning has been viewed as a direct response to the discussions among Western leaders, including prime minister Keir Starmer and US president Joe Biden, about allowing Kyiv permission to strike Russia with long-range weapons supplied by the West.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov says amendments to Russia’s nuclear doctrine have been prepared and are about to be formalised.

“The amendments have been prepared, and will now be formalised,” Mr Peskov told a Russian state TV reporter yesterday.

Last week, president Vladimir Putin warned the West that under proposed changes to the doctrine Russia could use nuclear arms if it was struck with conventional missiles and would consider any assault on it supported by a nuclear power to be a joint attack.

Mr Peskov cited the international situation, escalating tensions near Russia’s borders and the growing proximity of Nato infrastructure to them, and what he called the deeper involvement of Western nuclear powers’ in the Ukraine war on Kyiv’s side, as the backdrop for the changes to the doctrine.

He did not mention Russia’s arms imports from Iran and North Korea, including drones and ballistic missiles, which are widely reported to have been used to strike Ukrainian cities.

Vladimir Putin has told the Russian people that its military will accomplish “all goals set” in Ukraine.

Putin was speaking in a video message to mark the second anniversary of “Reunification Day” – when Moscow officially claimed the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson as its own.

“The truth is on our side. All goals set will be achieved,” Putin said on Monday as he addressed the nation.

He said Ukraine’s western allies had “turned Ukraine into their colony, a military base aimed at Russia” and promoted “hate, radical nationalism” against Russia.

“Today we are fighting for a secure, prosperous future for our children and grandchildren,” Putin added.

Russia held sham referendums in the four regions on September 30, 2022, seven months after Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February.

Putin signed a document to unilaterally incorporate the occupied regions of Ukraine into the Russian Federation – a move which has not been recognised by any western countries.

Russia does not fully control the territories which it has laid claim to.

We reported earlier that Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha was set to meet Hungarian counterpart Péter Szijjártó today.

Here are some snaps of the meeting:

US citizen Stephen James Hubbard pleaded guilty to charges of mercenary activity in a Moscow court on Monday.

Mr Hubbard admitted to receiving money to fight for Ukraine against Russia, the RIA state news agency reported.

The 72-year-old was placed in pre-trial detention for six months last week, and faces a sentence of seven to 15 years if convicted.

A spokesperson for the US embassy in Moscow said it was aware an American citizen had been detained but did not offer further comment.

Prosecutors claim he was promised $1,000 a month to fight with a Ukrainian territorial defence unit at the start of the war.

There has been no independent verification of Russia’s claims.

The Michigan native has worked as an English teacher abroad for decades, his sister Patricia Fox told Reuters.

Ms Fox denied he was a mercenary and said he had no interest in fighting war. “He is so non-military,” she told Reuters. “He never had a gun, owned a gun, done any of that…He’s more of a pacifist.”

Mr Hubbard moved to Ukraine in 2014 and survived on a small pension. Ms Fox last spoke with her brother in September 2021, when he split with his girlfriend and was living alone.

There are at least 10 American citizens behind bars in Russia, two months after a major prisoner swap in August.

Some parts of president Volodymyr Zelensky’s “victory plan” will remain secret, his office has confirmed.

The five-point victory plan was presented to president Joe Biden at the White House on Thursday (Sept 26), before he discussed it with presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.

The full details of the peace framework proposed in the plan has not yet been publicised, but its goal is to strengthen Ukraine’s future negotiating position and force Russia into accepting a just peace, Kyiv says.

It includes Ukraine’s invitation to join NATO, among other military and diplomatic components.

The head of the Presidential Office Andriy Yermak told the Ukrainian people on Sunday that the plan will be presented publicly bar some “sensitive” details, The Kyiv Independent reported.