Live: Russian state news agency reports Ukraine regions in favour of annexation in ‘referendum’

3:27pm: First partial results show over 96% in occupied Ukraine regions favour joining Russia, RIA says

First partial voting results from four Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine showed overwhelming majorities of residents in favour of joining Russia, Russian state news agency RIA said on Tuesday, after so-called referendums that Kyiv and the West have denounced as a sham.

3:24pm: Norwegian gas pipeline opens in Poland after Russian cut

A new pipeline to carry Norwegian gas via Denmark was opened in Poland on Tuesday in a move to strengthen Europe’s energy security after Russia cut off Warsaw’s supplies.

The project is part of years-long efforts by Poland to wean itself off its dependence on Russian gas, which once represented two-thirds of its annual consumption.

This year, Russian giant Gazprom stopped supplies altogether after Polish gas operator PGNiG refused to pay its bill in rubles following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

3:24pm: France wants EU cap on price of gas-fuelled power

France has suggested the EU caps the price of gas used to produce electricity to try to tame surging energy costs, as European countries step up efforts to tackle the crisis.

The EU put forward proposals last week to tackle the sky-high energy prices that are fuelling inflation and threatening recession.

Countries are set to approve those plans this week – but already, Brussels is already looking into extra measures, as some countries seek deeper EU interventions to curb the price of gas.

2:51pm: German population hits a record 84 million due to Ukraine refugees

The influx of Ukrainian refugees to Germany has pushed the country’s population to a new all-time high of more than 84 million, the German Federal Statistical Office said Tuesday.

By the end of June, the country’s population increased by 843,000 people, or 1%, compared to the end of 2021.

In comparison, the population grew by 82,000 people, or 0.1%, in the entire year of 2021.

Around 750,000 Ukrainian refugees came to Germany seeking safety from the Russian invasion in the first half of 2022.

2:32pm: Moscow says will not seek extradition of Russians fleeing draft

Moscow said Tuesday it will not request the extradition of Russians travelling abroad to avoid being called-up to fight in Ukraine, after thousands of military-aged men crossed into neighbouring countries.

“The Russian ministry of defence has not sent any request to the authorities of Kazakhstan, Georgia, or any other country for the alleged forced return to Russian soil of Russian citizens, and it is not planning to do so,” the ministry said in a statement.

Neighbouring countries have seen Russians arriving en masse since the draft was announced last Wednesday, with hours-long queues at border crossings.

1:32pm: Putin wants to ‘save people’ of Moscow-held Ukrainian territories

President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday that Russia wanted to “save people” in four Moscow-controlled territories in Ukraine, on the last day of annexation votes denounced as a sham by Western leaders.

“Saving people in the territories where this referendum is taking place… is the focus of the attention of our entire society and of the entire country,” Putin said during a televised meeting with officials.

1:03pm: EU to sanction organisers of Russia votes in Ukraine

The EU said Tuesday it will slap sanctions on organisers of “illegal” votes in four occupied regions of Ukraine that Russia is conducting as “referendums” with the aim of annexation.

“There would be consequences for all people who participate in the illegal, illegitimate referendums,” Peter Stano, a spokesman for EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, told journalists as the voting took place for a fifth and final day.

12:26pm: Premature to speculate on cause of Russian gas pipeline leaks: EU Commission

The European Commission on Tuesday said it was premature to speculate on the cause of leaks in the two Nord Stream pipelines designed to bring gas from Russia to Europe.

“At this stage, it’s very premature to speculate on what the causes are… The member states are looking into this issue, we will remain in close contact with them, but it’s really not the moment to speculate,” a Commission spokesman told a regular EU news conference.

The Commission is following developments on the leaks closely, and so far does not see any impact on Europe’s security of supply, the spokesman said. Although neither were in operation, both pipelines still contained gas under pressure.

11:48am: What happens after Russia’s ‘referendums’ in Ukraine?

Although Kyiv, Western countries and many observers see the current polls in the Russian-controlled areas as a “sham”, Moscow is keen to give the polls a veneer of respectability by following a superficially legitimate voting process.

There will therefore be a period of ballot counting, after which “electoral commissions” set up by the Kremlin in each of the four regions will announce “provisional results”. These are expected on Tuesday evening or later this week.

If the regions vote to be annexed by Russia — which is a foregone conclusion — the Russian parliament, the State Duma, will approve a treaty formally incorporating the four regions into Russian territory.

Following the parliamentary process, President Vladimir Putin is expected on Friday to formally declare the Ukrainian regions have become part of Russia, according to Russian news agencies.

This could take the form of an address at the Kremlin to the members of one or both houses of parliament.

11:38am: Sabotage cannot be ruled out as reason for Nord Stream damage, says Kremlin

The Kremlin said on Tuesday that it could not rule out sabotage as a reason behind the damage to the Russia-built network of Nord Stream pipelines in the Baltic Sea.

Nord Stream AG, the network’s operator, said earlier on Tuesday that three offshore lines of the Nord Stream gas pipeline system had sustained “unprecedented” damage in one day.

“No option can be ruled out right now,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said during a conference call with reporters when asked if sabotage was the reason for the damage.

He also said the Kremlin was very concerned about the situation, which requires a prompt investigation as it was an issue for the energy security of the “entire continent”.

11:30am: Russians arriving daily in Georgia double since draft, minister says

The number of Russians arriving daily in neighbouring Georgia has nearly doubled since President Vladimir Putin announced a partial mobilisation for the war in Ukraine, officials in Tbilisi said Tuesday.

Putin’s announcement has sparked a new wave of exodus to the Caucasus country of Georgia which has been a major destination for Russians fleeing since the war began on February 24.

“Four to five days ago 5,000-6,000 (Russians) were arriving in Georgia daily. The number has grown to some 10,000 per day,” Georgia’s Interior Minister Vakhtang Gomelauri told journalists.

Over the first four months of the war, nearly 50,000 Russians have fled to Georgia, where they can stay for a year without a visa, the tiny Black Sea nation’s statistics office said in June.

The influx of Russians has sparked mixed feelings in a country where painful memories of Russia’s 2008 invasion are still fresh.

10:24am: French Foreign Minister Colonna in Kyiv for visit

French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna was in Kyiv on Tuesday on an unannounced visit to Ukraine in a show of support for the country invaded by Russia.

“Good morning Ukraine, it’s good to be back,” she wrote on social media, posting a picture of herself walking in Kyiv with the French ambassador to Ukraine Etienne de Poncins. 

9:36am: Voting to wrap up in Russia-held areas of Ukraine

The final day of voting took place in Russian-held regions of Ukraine on Tuesday. This referendum is expected to serve as a pretext for their annexation by Moscow but has been rejected by Kyiv and its Western allies as a sham. 

The five-day period of voting, in which residents are asked whether they want their regions to become part of Russia, has been anything but free or fair. Tens of thousands of residents had already fled the regions amid the war, and images shared by those who remained showed armed Russian troops going door-to-door to pressure Ukrainians into voting.

The balloting on Tuesday was held at polling stations.

The Kremlin is expected to move immediately to absorb the regions once the voting is over, with President Vlaidmir Putin expected to declare their incorporation into Russia later this week.

Russian media also speculated that Putin may follow up on last week’s order of partial mobilisation by declaring martial law and shutting the nation’s borders for all men of fighting age.

FRANCE 24’s Gulliver Cragg tells us more from Ukraine about the annexation ‘referendums’ as they finish up. 

04:32

9:22am: Russia’s Medvedev warns West that nuclear threat ‘is not a bluff’

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Tuesday that Moscow has the right to defend itself with nuclear weapons if it is pushed beyond its limits and that this is “certainly not a bluff”.

Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, also warned that Moscow has the right to respond “without much consultation”, as tensions rise with the West over referendums held in large swathes of Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory.

Medvedev has regularly issued aggressive statements on the West and Ukraine in recent months, underlining his transformation from an apparently Western-minded liberaliser as president from 2008-2012 to strident geopolitical hawk.

9:18am: Kazakhstan to ensure safety of Russians fleeing draft

Kazakhstan will ensure the care and safety of Russians fleeing a “hopeless situation,” the president of the Central Asian country said on Tuesday, as Russian men fled the military call-up.

“Recently we’ve had many people from Russia coming here,” Kassym-Jomart Tokayev was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies. “Most of them are forced to leave because of the hopeless situation. We must take care of them and ensure their safety.”

8:45am: Putin to announce annexation of occupied regions on September 30, says UK

Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to announce the accession of Ukraine’s occupied regions to the Russian Federation during his speech to parliament on September 30, the UK ministry of defence said. Referendums in the territories are expected to end on September 27, the ministry of defence said. 

“Russia’s leaders almost certainly hope that any accession announcement will be seen as a vindication of the ‘special military operation’ and will consolidate patriotic support for the conflict,” the ministry said.

07:45am: Japan slams ‘unbelievable’ treatment of diplomat detained in Russia

Japan on Tuesday demanded Russia apologise for detaining a diplomat over alleged espionage, denying the charge and accusing Moscow of blindfolding and pinning the man down in “unbelievable acts”.

The Japanese diplomat based in the eastern city of Vladivostok was deemed “persona non grata over illegal intelligence activities”, top government spokesman Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters, citing the Russian foreign ministry.

“The official was blindfolded, with pressure applied to both his hands and head so he was unable to move while being detained, and then he was questioned in an overbearing way,” Matsuno said.

Japan “strongly protests these unbelievable acts”, he said, denying the espionage allegations.

The diplomat has been released and will leave Russia by Wednesday, he added.

06:49am: Kremlin proxies in Ukraine hold last day of discredited referendums

Annexation polls organised by Kremlin-installed authorities in four regions of Ukraine mostly controlled by Russian forces were due to close Tuesday, with Moscow’s threats of nuclear weapons looming.

Kyiv and its allies have denounced the votes as a sham and said the West would never recognise the results of the ballots which are ratcheting up the stakes of Russia’s seven-month invasion.

The four Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine — Donetsk and Lugansk in the east and Kherson and Zaporizhzhia in the south — announced that they would hold the votes just days before voting began on Friday. 

US President Joe Biden said the polls were a “sham” and little more than a “false pretext to try to annex parts of Ukraine by force”. 

Kremlin-backed leaders in the regions have said provisional results could be expected around Tuesday evening or in the days that follow. Lawmakers would then be expected to vote to formally annex the four territories, which would need Putin’s signature to be enacted.

12:15am: US Congress negotiators set nearly $12 bln in new Ukraine aid -sources

Negotiators of a stop-gap spending bill in the US Congress have agreed to include nearly $12 billion in new military and economic aid to Ukraine, sources familiar with the talks said on Monday, reflecting continued bipartisan support for the Kyiv government in the wake of Russia‘s invasion.

In response to a request from the Biden administration, the funding would include $4.5 billion to provide defence capabilities and equipment for Ukraine, as well as $2.7 billion to continue military, intelligence and other defense support, said the sources, who asked not to be identified ahead of the announcement.

It also will include $4.5 billion to continue to provide direct budget support to the Kyiv government through the next quarter. That way President Volodymyr Zelensky‘s administration can pay salaries to essential staff, support Ukrainians fleeing conflict and cover other critical expenses to help civilians, a government official said.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP & Reuters)