September 24, 2022 Russia-Ukraine News

By Matt Meyer and Adrienne Vogt, CNN

Updated 5:56 p.m. ET, September 24, 2022
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10:22 a.m. ET, September 24, 2022

Russia mistakenly conscripted the wrong residents in one region, official says

From CNN's Katharina Krebs

Some residents of a Russian republic were called to military service this week despite not being eligible for mobilization, such as fathers of underage children, a local official said.

Aisen Nikolaev, the head of the Sakha Republic, shared the news in a Telegram post on Saturday.

"All who were mobilized by mistake must be returned back. This work has already begun," said Nikolaev, following a meeting on President Vladimir Putin's plan to call on some 300,000 reservists to join the country's invasion of Ukraine.

Nikolaev said authorities will support families of those who have begun military service and will issue them a one-time payment of 200,000 rubles (about $3,430). The families will also be exempt from fees in kindergartens.

Activist groups, such as Free Buryatia Foundation, have said ethnic minorities in Russia are being disproportionately mobilized. CNN has geolocated videos of some of these men being mobilized in Russia's Far East regions.

8:49 a.m. ET, September 24, 2022

Members of Russia's main political party apply to fight in Ukraine, party says 

From CNN's Katharina Krebs and Radina Gigova

A lawmaker from Russia's main ruling political party United Russia, which backs President Vladimir Putin, has filed an application to be sent to fight in the "special military operation" — what Russia calls its war in Ukraine — the party's press service said Saturday in a statement. 

Oleg Kolesnikov, a member of the State Duma Committee for the Protection of Competition, said he has military experience and is a reserve major, according to the statement. 

“I served in the Soviet army in Poland. I was the commander of a self-propelled artillery gun. I graduated with the rank of Foreman, now a reserve Major. And I must do my duty,” he said.

According to the United Russia statement, applications were also received from Dmitry Khubezov, chairman of the State Duma Committee on Health Protection; Dmitry Sablin, deputy chairman of the Defense Committee; Vitaly Milonov, deputy chairman of the Committee on Family, Women and Children; and Sergei Sokol, deputy chairman of the Committee on Economic Policy and Secretary of the Khakass Regional Branch of United Russia. 

The​ applications will be considered by the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, the party said. 

"Several regional and municipal deputies of United Russia are going to join the special military operation, many of them decided to volunteer," the statement said.

Some background: The announcement comes as protesters demonstrated in cities across Russia against Putin's declaration of "partial mobilization" this week to support the war in Ukraine. Some detained protesters were directly conscripted into the military, according to a monitoring group.

Experts say Russia’s forces have been significantly depleted. The announcement would see 300,000 reservists called up, according to Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.

In an early sign of how seriously Moscow is ramping up its efforts, the Human Rights Council of Russia has proposed that immigrants from central Asian countries who have had Russian citizenship for less than 10 years will undergo compulsory military service in Russia for a year.

8:49 a.m. ET, September 24, 2022

Nearly 1,500 protesters have been detained since the Russian mobilization announcement, monitoring group says

From CNN's Radina Gigova

Nearly 1,500 protesters have been detained across Russia since Sept. 21, when President Vladimir Putin announced a "partial mobilization" plan calling more Russians into military service, according to the independent protest monitoring group OVD-Info. 

The group said 1,472 anti-mobilization protesters have been detained so far between Sept. 21-24 in cities across Russia, but the number of those detained may be higher. 

Over the last 24 hours, at least 97 people have been detained in eight cities, including Novosibirsk, Irkutsk, Tomsk, Khabarovsk, Ulan-Ude, Krasnodar, Chita and Gatchina, OVD-Info said. 

Earlier this week, the same monitoring group reported that some protesters were conscripted directly into the military following their arrest.

9:02 a.m. ET, September 24, 2022

Thousands from self-declared Donetsk People's Republic took part in referendum, separatist authorities claim

From CNN's Katharina Krebs and Radina Gigova

About 18,550 citizens in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic took part in a referendum organized by Russia-backed authorities on the first day of voting, a separatist leader told Russian state media RIA Novosti.

The referendums, taking place in four parts of Ukraine under Russian control, have been widely denounced by Western governments as a sham. The European Union has said it won’t recognize the results and has indicated it is preparing a new package of sanctions against Russia.

“Yesterday over 550 citizens of the DPR voted on the territory of the DPR embassy, ​​and almost 18,000 citizens of the DPR voted on the territory of the entire Russian Federation,” Olga Makeeva, head of the office of the separatist DPR in Moscow, said Saturday, according to RIA.

State media said the so-called Central Election Commission of the DPR claimed turnout at the end of the first day of voting in the referendum was 23.64%.

Another Russian official claimed that overall turnout on the first day of voting exceeded 15% in the four regions: the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, RIA reported.

For context: Observers say it seems unlikely that such a rushed process, in areas where many voters live close to the frontlines of the conflict, can be successful or fair. Additionally, because of widespread internal displacement since the beginning of the conflict, voting databases are likely out of date.

8:35 a.m. ET, September 24, 2022

Kharkiv official: Ukrainian authorities recover over 400 bodies in Izium, dozens with signs of torture

From CNN's Yulia Kesaieva and Jennifer Hauser

Ukrainian Emergency Service members work at a mass burial site in Izium, Ukraine, on September 19. 
Ukrainian Emergency Service members work at a mass burial site in Izium, Ukraine, on September 19.  (Gleb Garanich/Reuters)

Ukrainian officials completed the exhumation of 436 bodies from a mass burial site in Izium on Friday, according to Oleh Syniehubov, head of the Kharkiv region military administration.

Most of the bodies have signs of violent death, and 30 have traces of torture, Syniehubov said in a Telegram post.

"There are bodies with a rope around the neck, with hands tied, with broken limbs and with gunshot wounds. Several men had their genitals amputated. All this is evidence of the terrible torture to which the occupiers subjected the residents of Izium. Most of the bodies are civilians, 21 are military," he said.

Syniehubov vowed to find out the circumstances of each of their deaths "so that their relatives and friends know the truth and the killers are punished."

He thanked 200 individuals — forensic experts, police officers and employees of the State Emergency Service, who he said had been working there every day for their "morally difficult but necessary work."

Syniehubov also said there are at least three more mass burial sites in other liberated areas of the Kharkiv region.

"All crimes of the occupiers will be documented, and the perpetrators will pay for what they have done," Syniehubov said.

11:59 p.m. ET, September 23, 2022

Biden says US will never recognize Russia’s referendums in Ukraine

From CNN's Sam Fossum

A service member of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) casts his vote during a referendum on joining LPR to Russia, at a military unit in Luhansk, on Friday.
A service member of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) casts his vote during a referendum on joining LPR to Russia, at a military unit in Luhansk, on Friday. (Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters)

President Joe Biden said the United States will never recognize Russia's referendums in occupied parts of Ukraine. 

"The United States will never recognize Ukrainian territory as anything other than part of Ukraine. Russia’s referenda are a sham — a false pretext to try to annex parts of Ukraine by force in flagrant violation of international law, including the United Nations Charter," Biden said in a statement.

The President said the US will continue to work with allies to "impose additional swift and severe economic costs on Russia.

"The United States stands with our partners around the world — and with every nation that respects the core tenets of the UN charter — in rejecting whatever fabricated outcomes Russia will announce," the statement said.

Some background: Four Russian-occupied areas began voting Friday in referendums on joining Russia, according to their separatist leaders, in a move that raises the stakes of Moscow's invasion.

The referendums, which are illegal under international law and dismissed as a sham by Western governments and Kyiv, could pave the way for Russian annexation of the areas, allowing Moscow to frame the ongoing Ukrainian counteroffensive as an attack on Russia itself.

11:55 p.m. ET, September 23, 2022

UN experts say evidence shows war crimes, including torture of children, committed in Ukraine

From CNN’s Mick Krever

Erik Mose, Chair of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, attends an interview after a news conference at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland on September 23.
Erik Mose, Chair of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, attends an interview after a news conference at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland on September 23. (Denis Balibouse/Reuters)

A United Nations panel of experts says their investigation has found evidence that war crimes have been committed during Russia's war in Ukraine, including cases of rape and torture of children.

“In the cases we have investigated, the age of victims of sexual and gendered-based violence ranged from four to 82 years,” Erik Møse, chair of the Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, told the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. "The Commission has documented cases in which children have been raped, tortured, and unlawfully confined. Children have also been killed and injured in indiscriminate attacks with explosive weapons."

The panel said that it had identified two incidents of ill-treatment of Russian soldiers in Ukrainian captivity.

The three human rights experts on the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine traveled to Kyiv, Chernihiv, Kharkiv and Sumy, visiting 27 towns and interviewing more than 150 people.

Speaking at the UN Security Council on Thursday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov dismissed the “increased activity of international justice," calling it "undoubtedly a put-up job."

The Commission said “some Russian Federation soldiers” have been responsible for sexual and gender-based violence.

“These acts amounted to different types of violations of rights, including sexual violence, torture, and cruel and inhuman treatment. There are examples of cases where relatives were forced to witness the crimes," it added. 

Møse also noted that a number of attacks investigated by the panel "had been carried out without distinguishing between civilians and combatants, including cluster munition attacks and airstrikes on populated areas."

Commission members “were struck by the large number of executions in the areas that we visited,” Møse added.

“Common elements of such crimes include the prior detention of the victims as well as visible signs of executions on bodies, such as hands tied behind backs, gunshot wounds to the head, and slit throats,” he reported. “Some of the victims reported that after initial detention by Russian forces in Ukraine, they were transferred to the Russian Federation and held for weeks in prisons. Interlocutors described beatings, electric shocks, and forced nudity, as well as other types of violations in such detention facilities.”

12:21 a.m. ET, September 24, 2022

Western countries slam the Russian-backed "sham" referendums in Ukraine

From CNN’s Mick Krever in London and Nadine Schmidt in Berlin

Residents cast their ballots in controversial referendum in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine on September 23.
Residents cast their ballots in controversial referendum in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine on September 23. (Stringer/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Four Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine began voting in referendums on joining Russia Friday, according to their separatist leaders. The referendums are illegal under international law and dismissed as "a sham" by Western governments and Kyiv.

Here's what governments around the world are saying:

United Kingdom:

The outcome of “sham” secession referendums in four Russian-occupied Ukrainian regions is “almost certainly already decided,” the UK ambassador to Ukraine said on Friday.

“There will be results publicised of something that didn’t happen. I wonder whether anyone will even be called to vote. They won’t need to. The outcome is almost certainly already decided,” Melinda Simmons said on Twitter

Switzerland:

''Switzerland condemns sham referendums in parts of Ukraine'' the Swiss Federal Council said in a statement on Friday, adding that ''the referendums currently taking place in Ukrainian territories partially occupied by Russia do not conform with the law and are illegal under international law.''

Condemning the violation, the Federal Council also said it "will not recognize the results of any of these sham referendums."

The President of the Swiss Confederation Ignazio Cassis clearly stated this position to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in New York on Wednesday when representatives from countries around the world met for the 77th session of the UN General Assembly, the statement added.

NATO (A US-led alliance)

"We condemn in the strongest possible terms the plan to hold so-called 'referenda' on joining the Russian Federation in the Ukrainian regions partly controlled by the Russian military,” the North Atlantic Council, NATO's principle decision-making body said in a statement.  

"Allies do not and will never recognize Russia’s illegal and illegitimate annexation of Crimea. Sham referenda in the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions of Ukraine have no legitimacy and will be a blatant violation of the UN Charter. NATO Allies will not recognize their illegal and illegitimate annexation,” the council added.