A vote organized to condemn “simulacra”. The UN Security Council decides on Friday, September 30, on a resolution condemning the referendums on the annexation of several Ukrainian regions. The meeting will take place on Friday at 9 p.m. Paris time, before another scheduled discussion on the leaks discovered on the Nord Stream gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea, said the French Presidency of the Council. But the text has no chance of being adopted because of the Russian right of veto. Earlier today, a ceremony organized by the Kremlin will take place in Moscow to ratify these annexations on the Russian side. Follow our live.
The West denounces “parodies”. Tuesday, during a first meeting of the Council on these referendums denounced as “parodies” by the West, the United States had announced that they were going to put such a resolution on the table with Albania. The objective is to “condemn sham referendums, call on member states not to recognize any changed status of Ukraine and force Russia to withdraw its troops from Ukraine”, said US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield.
The votes of China and India closely watched. If the Russian veto is not in doubt, it is above all the position of China, sometimes accused by Westerners of being too conciliatory with Russia, which will be examined with attention. Beijing, officially neutral, this week repeated its call for respect for territorial integrity “From all countries”. India’s position will also be closely monitored. The two countries had abstained in February the day after the Russian invasion.
Long speech and festivities in Moscow. Russian President Vladimir Putin has planned to ratify the annexation by Russia of four Ukrainian regions at midday on Friday. The Kremlin is to host a ceremony for these annexations during which Vladimir Putin is to pronounce “a voluminous speech”, according to his spokesman Dmitry Peskov. The Russian capital has prepared for festivities, including a concert in the shadow of the Kremlin walls at which Vladimir Putin could make an appearance.
The Ukrainian counter-offensive continues. Meanwhile, on the front, at Kupiansk in northeastern Ukraine, kyiv’s troops are pushing their adversary ever further, threatening their supply lines. The Kharkiv region, an early target of the invasion, resisted the ambitions of the Kremlin and forced its troops to withdraw thanks to a counter-offensive in early September. These efforts are continuing with the recapture of the entire city of Kupiansk, on the Oskil River, AFP journalists noted on Thursday.