Russia-Ukraine Highlights: Emmanuel Macron urges world to put 'maximum pressure' on Putin

President Vladimir Putin of Russia, in a speech Wednesday that was a reminder of how easily the war in Ukraine could spread, doubled down on his nuclear threat, accused the West of seeking to “destroy” his country, and suggested that Ukrainians are mere pawns of the “military machine of the collective West.”

. French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday urged the world to ramp up pressure on Vladimir Putin after the Russian leader called up reservists for the war on Ukraine.

The international community must "put maximum pressure" on Putin, whose decisions "will serve to isolate Russia further," Macron said on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. - AFP.

. Russian President Vladimir Putin, speaking at an event to mark the 1,160-year of Russia's statehood, said on Wednesday that the country will not lose its sovereignty and won't give in to "blackmail and intimidation".

Speaking hours after he declared partial mobilisation to bolster Moscow's special military operation in Ukraine, he also lauded Russian military, which he said was fighting to save people in Ukraine's region of Donbas. - Reuters.

. A US astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts blasted off to the International Space Station (ISS) Wednesday on a Russian-operated flight, in a rare instance of cooperation between Moscow and Washington.

The Russian space agency Roscosmos and NASA both distributed live footage of the launch from Kazakhstan and commentators speaking over the feed said it was stable and that "the crew is feeling well".

NASA's Frank Rubio and Russia's Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitry Petelin make up the crew that launched from the Russia-leased Baikonur cosmodrome at 1354 GMT.

Rubio is the first US astronaut to travel to the ISS on a Russian Soyuz rocket since President Vladimir Putin sent troops into pro-Western Ukraine on February 24. - AFP.

. President Vladimir Putin of Russia, in a speech Wednesday that was a reminder of how easily the war in Ukraine could spread, doubled down on his nuclear threat, accused the West of seeking to “destroy” his country, and suggested that Ukrainians are mere pawns of the “military machine of the collective West.”

. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Wednesday that there was a shrinking likelihood of holding talks with Vladimir Putin to end the war, adding that it could only happen if the Russian leader withdrew his forces from Ukrainian territory.

Speaking via a translator in an interview with Germany's BILD TV, Zelenskyy said that Ukraine had no influence on when Putin's rule in Russia would end but wanted to speak to Moscow from a position of strength.

Zelenskyy also repeated calls for Germany to supply weapons and air defence systems to Ukraine, saying they were needed to save lives. - Reuters.

. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg accused President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday of "dangerous" rhetoric after Russia's leader suggested Moscow could use nuclear weapons over the war in Ukraine.

"This is dangerous and reckless nuclear rhetoric. It's not new as he has done it many times before. He knows very well that a nuclear war should never be fought and cannot be won, and it will have unprecedented consequences for Russia," Stoltenberg said on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. - AFP.

. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Wednesday condemned President Vladimir Putin's order for a partial military mobilisation to support Russia's war in Ukraine and the holding of annexation referendums as an "act of desperation".

Speaking on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, Scholz insisted Russia "cannot win this criminal war" in Ukraine and that Putin "with his most recent decisions makes everything much worse".

The German leader said Putin had "from the start completely underestimated Ukrainians' will to resist" as well as the "unity and determination" of Kyiv's allies. - AFP.

. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Wednesday he did not believe the world would allow Russian President Vladimir Putin to use nuclear weapons.

Speaking in an interview with Germany's BILD TV, Zelenskyy warned against being cowed by Putin's threats, saying they would invite Russia to attempt to take more territory.

"I don't believe that he (Putin) will use these weapons. I don't think the world will allow him to use these weapons," Zelenskyy said. - Reuters.

. Residents of Ukraine's second city Kharkiv found themselves under bombardment again Wednesday after Russian missiles struck apartment blocks wounding at least one civilian just as Moscow announced an escalation in its war.

. Russia's defence ministry on Wednesday said that a large-caliber shell had damaged a technical water pipe at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in Ukraine, Russian state-owned news agency RIA reported.

The Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant was captured by Russian forces in March. It remains close to the frontline, and has come under fire repeatedly in recent months, raising fears of a nuclear catastrophe. Both Ukraine and Russia blame each other for shelling the facility. - Reuters.

. Pope Francis, speaking as Russian President Vladimir Putin warned the West he was not bluffing about possibly using nuclear weapons, said on Wednesday that thinking of such an act was "madness".

Francis also said Ukrainians were being subjected to savageness, monstrosities and torture, calling them a "noble" people being martyred. - Reuters.

. Ukraine is beginning work to demine 12,000 square km (4,633 square miles) of territory wrested back from Russian control in the eastern Kharkiv region, an emergency service official said on Wednesday.

Roman Prymush also said in a briefing that it could take several years to demine the area, which is bigger than the state of Qatar, and that the United States, Britain and Canada would help with the work. - Reuters.

. European Union member states have been discussing joint action in response to the latest developments in Russia's war in Ukraine, the bloc's executive said, warning Moscow that there would be "consequences from our part".

"The EU member states have already held a coordination meeting where discussions have been held in terms of an EU response to the continuation of the war of aggression against Ukraine," European Commission spokesman Peter Stano said.

"This includes all aspects of the aggression, the crimes that have been committed, the referenda, the discoveries of mass burial sites," he told a news briefing. - Reuters.

. The European Union executive on Wednesday accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of a "very dangerous nuclear gamble" and said the international community had to put pressure on him to "stop such reckless behavior."

A foreign policy spokesman for the European Commission, Peter Stano, also told a news conference, the "sham, illegal referenda" Moscow backed in Ukrainian regions it occupies would not be recognised.

"Putin is doing a nuclear gamble. He's using the nuclear element as part of his arsenal of terror, it's unaceptable," Stano said. - Reuters.

. The European Union's executive said on Wednesday Vladimir Putin's decision on partial mobilisation to fight in Ukraine proved the Russian president was "in desperation" and only seeking to escalate the crisis.

"This is just another proof that Putin is not interested in peace, that he's interested in escalating this war of aggression," a foreign policy spokesman for the European Commission, Peter Stano, told a news conference.

"This is also yet another sign of his desperation with how his aggression is going against Ukraine...he is only interested in further advancing and continuing his destructive war, which has had already so many bad consequences worldwide." - Reuters.

. The German chancellor sees in Russia's partial military mobilisation signs that Moscow's attack on Ukraine is not successful, a government spokesperson said on Wednesday.

With a view to President Vladimir Putin's plans for four occupied regions to hold referendums in the coming days on joining Russia, the spokesperson said that Russian "sham referendums" would never be recognised. - Reuters.

. Russia's sanctions-hit economy will shrink by less than previously forecast this year and return to growth in 2024 on the back of domestic demand and investment, the economic development minister said Wednesday.

Gross domestic product will contract by 2.9 per cent, up from a previous projection of negative four percent, said Economic Development Minister Maxim Reshetnikov told the upper chamber of parliament.

The International Monetary Fund has forecast a six percent contraction in Russia this year.

The country's economy has been thumped by a series of unprecedented Western sanctions over the conflict in Ukraine. - AFP.

. Russia's opposition on Wednesday called for protests against President Vladimir Putin after he ordered the mobilisation of 300,000 reservists for what Kremlin foe Alexei Navalny said was a failing criminal war.

Navalny, Russia's most prominent opposition leader who is currently in prison, said Putin was sending more Russians to their death for a failing war.

"It is clear that the criminal war is getting worse, deepening, and Putin is trying to involve as many people as possible in this," Navalny said in a video message from jail recorded and published by his lawyers. "He wants to smear hundreds of thousands of people in this blood," Navalny said.

Russia's anti-war groups called for street protests against the mobilisation order.

"This means that thousands of Russian men - our fathers, brothers and husbands - will be thrown into the meat grinder of war," the Vesna anti-war coalition said. "Now the war has come to every home and every family." - Reuters.

. Russia will attempt to destroy Ukraine and change its borders, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Wednesday commenting on a partial mobilisation announced by Moscow.

"We will do all we can with our allies, so that NATO supports Ukraine even more so that it can defend itself," Morawiecki said, urging more help for Kyiv from western allies.

"The reports about partial mobilisation have been confirmed, Russia will attempt to destroy Ukraine and grab some of its territory. We can't allow for that," Morawiecki said during military drills the Polish army held with US and British allies in eastern Poland. - Reuters.

. Finland is closely monitoring the situation in neighbouring Russia following President Vladimir Putin's order of military mobilisation, the Nordic country's defence minister said on Wednesday.

"Regarding Finland's surroundings, I can say that the military situation is stable and calm," Defence Minister Antti Kaikkonen said. "Our defence forces are well prepared and the situation is closely monitored." - Reuters.

. The German government had frozen assets worth at least €4.88 billion ($4.84 billion) relating to European Union sanctions on Russian citizens as of September 16, Spiegel reported on Wednesday, citing a document from the German economy ministry. - Reuters.

($1 = €1.0083)

. Lithuania raised the readiness level of its army's rapid response force "to prevent any provocations from the Russian side", defence minister Arvydas Anusauskas said on Wednesday after Moscow announced a partial military mobilisation.

"Since Russia's military mobilisation will also be carried out in the Kaliningrad region, in our neighborhood, Lithuania cannot just watch," he wrote on Facebook. - Reuters.

. China's foreign ministry urged all parties to engage in dialogue and consultation and find a way to address the security concerns of all parties after Russian President Vladimir Putin warned the West over what he described as "nuclear blackmail".

. The Russian rouble tumbled past 62 against the dollar on Wednesday for the first time in nearly two months as President Vladimir Putin ordered Russia's first mobilisation since World War Two.

. One-way flights out of Russia were selling out fast on Wednesday after President Vladimir Putin ordered the immediate call-up of 300,000 reservists.

Putin's announcement, made in an early-morning television address, raised fears that some men of fighting age would not be allowed to leave Russia.

Google Trends data showed a spike in searches for Aviasales, which is Russia's most popular website for purchasing flights.

Direct flights from Moscow to Istanbul in Turkey and Yerevan in Armenia, both destinations that allow Russians to enter without a visa, were sold out on Wednesday, according to Aviasales data. - Reuters.

. The partial mobilisation of troops ordered by Russia is a further escalation of the conflict in Ukraine which the German government is considering its response to, Germany's vice chancellor said on Wednesday.

Robert Habeck said it was "another bad and wrong step from Russia, which of course we will discuss and consult on politically regarding how to respond." - Reuters.

. Pope Francis said on Wednesday that Ukrainians were being subjected to savageness, monstrosities and torture, calling them a "noble" people being martyred.

Speaking at the end of his general audience in St. Peter's Square, Francis, who did not name Russia, told the crowd of a conversation he had on Tuesday with Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, his charity chief who is delivering aid in Ukraine.

Vatican media said Krajewski, who is Polish, came under light gunfire last week while delivering aid. He also visited mass graves. - Reuters.

. The dollar jumped to a new two-decade high on Wednesday, as comments from Russia's President Vladimir Putin rattled markets ahead of another likely aggressive rate hike from the US Federal Reserve.

Putin ordered Russia's first mobilisation since World War Two, warning the West that if it continued what he called its "nuclear blackmail" that Moscow would respond with the might of all its vast arsenal.

The news propelled the dollar index, which measures the greenback's value against other major currencies, more than 0.5% higher to 110.87 - its highest level since 2002.

European currencies bore the brunt of selling in foreign exchange markets as Putin's comments exacerbated concern about the economic outlook for a region already hit hard by Russia's squeeze on gas supplies to Europe. - Reuters.

. Bridget Brink, the US ambassador to Ukraine, said on Wednesday that Russia has shown weakness by announcing a mobilisation of its military reserves and setting out referenda in Russia-occupied territories in Ukraine.

"Sham referenda and mobilization are signs of weakness, of Russian failure," Brink said on Twitter.

"The United States will never recognise Russia's claim to purportedly annexed Ukrainian territory." - Reuters.

. Russia's mobilisation was a predictable step that will prove extremely unpopular and underscores that the war is not going according to Moscow's plan, Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said on Wednesday.

. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday announced a partial mobilisation in Russia as the war in Ukraine reaches nearly seven months and Moscow loses ground on the battlefield.

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