Russia-Ukraine updates: Putin amends partial mobilisation order

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says three villages in the country’s southern Kherson region had been recaptured from Russian troops.

“Novovoskresenske, Novogrygorivka and Petropavlivka … were liberated in the last 24 hours,” he said in a video posted on social media, adding that the counteroffensive “continues”.

The Russian-led International Boxing Association (IBA) says it will reverse a ban on amateur boxers from Russia and Belarus and allow them to compete with national flags and anthems in events with immediate effect.

“The IBA strongly believes that politics shouldn’t have any influence on sports. Hence, all athletes should be given equal conditions,” the body statement in a said.

“IBA calls for peace and remains a peacemaker in any conflicts. Moreover, the IBA has obligation to ensure equal treatment towards the athletes and competition officials, regardless of their nationality and residence,” the statement added.

“Both Russian and Belarus teams will be able to perform under their flags, and the national anthems will be played in case they win a gold medal.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says the joint bid from his country to host the 2030 World Cup with Spain and Portugal was “more than a symbol of faith in our joint victory”.

“Ukraine will endure, prevail and be rebuilt thanks to the solidarity of its partners,” Zelenskyy said on Twitter.

The head of French energy major TotalEnergies says a possible price cap on Russian oil over the Ukraine war would benefit Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The group’s chairman and CEO Patrick Pouyanne made the remarks at the Energy Intelligence Forum industry gathering in central London.

“Honestly, I am not sure that a price cap on Russian oil is a good idea,” Pouyanne told delegates when questioned about recent G7 moves towards such a policy.

“I think it’s a bad idea because it’s a way to give the leadership back to [Russian President] Vladimir Putin and I would never do that.”

Germany and Spain are sticking to their plan to build a new gas pipeline across the Pyrenees in defiance of French opposition, a joint action plan showed, as the leaders of the two European nations met in the northern Spanish city of La Coruna.

The meeting between German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez came as their governments disagreed on other possible measures to tackle Europe’s energy crisis in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Spain has backed calls within the European Union for a gas price cap and for joint borrowing to help the 27-nation bloc navigate the energy crunch. Germany has opposed both measures and come under criticism for going its own way with a vast 200-billion-euro ($197.6bn) relief package its peers could not afford.

“We will both continue to lobby for a higher interconnection capacity of the Iberian Peninsula in order to enhance its contribution to the security of supply to the whole of EU,” the action plan said.

“The construction of a sufficiently big hydrogen-ready gas pipeline across the Pyrenees to be operative by 2025 is of paramount importance in order to achieve a truly robust internal energy market within the EU, accelerate the green transition and reinforce EU’s strategic autonomy.”

French energy giant TotalEnergies says it will continue to ship liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Russia as long as there are no European sanctions on the fuel.

“We will continue to ship LNG from Russia as long as there is no sanctions, or push, from Europe on the gas, because we contribute to the security of supply for Europe. If there are sanctions we will stop immediately,” said Patrick Pouyanne, the company’s chief executive.

The United Nations nuclear watchdog says Ukrainian staff running the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) are preparing to restart one of the plant’s six reactors, all of which are currently shut down.

“Senior Ukrainian operating staff informed IAEA experts present at the ZNPP that preparations are under way to start unit 5 at reduced power to produce steam and heat for the needs of the plant,” the International Atomic Energy Agency said in a statement, adding that preparations would take “some time”.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak says Russia may cut oil production in order to offset negative effects from price caps imposed by the West over Moscow’s actions in Ukraine.

The price cap plan agreed by Group of Seven (G7) wealthy nations calls for participating countries to deny insurance, finance, brokering, navigation and other services to oil cargoes priced above a yet-to-be-determined price cap on crude and oil products.

The European Union is looking at an oil price cap to match the one agreed by the G7, diplomats said last month.

“We believe that this tool is in breach of all the market mechanisms. It could be very pernicious for the global oil industry … We will be ready to cut production (deliberately),” Novak said in televised comments.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen says the EU should consider imposing a temporary limit on gas prices and also look at a specific cap on the cost of gas used to generate power.

“We should consider a price limitation in relation to the TTF in a way that continues to secure the supply of gas to Europe and to all Member States and that would demonstrate that the EU is not ready to pay whatever price for gas,” von Der Leyen said, referring to the Dutch Title Transfer Facility (TTF) gas price.

Such a cap would be a temporary fix while the EU works on launching a new gas price benchmark, she said.

President Vladimir Putin granted Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov the third highest command rank in Russia’s army as Moscow’s forces lost towns and villages due to a rapid Ukrainian counter.

The 46-year-old Chechen leader, one of the most outspoken voices in Russia backing Putin’s Ukraine offensive, said it was a “huge honour” for him.

Kadyrov, a former strongman who governs Chechnya and is accused of widespread human rights violations, said Putin had “personally” informed him of the decision.

“The President of Russia awarded me the rank of colonel general,” Kadyrov said on Telegram.

“This is a promotion for me.”

Earlier this week, Kadyrov called on Moscow to use low-yield nuclear weapons in Ukraine and said he was sending three of his teenage sons to the front.

The electricity supply at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant is fragile, the UN atomic watchdog told the Energy Intelligence Forum in London.

“The situation with regards to external power continues to be extremely precarious,” Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said by telephone from Ukraine. “We do have at the moment external power, but it is, I would say, fragile. There is one line feeding the plant.”

He added he planned to visit Russia for talks.

Earlier, both Ukrainian and Russian officials said they had control of the plant.

Russia’s foreign ministry expelled a Lithuanian diplomat in retaliation after they declared Russia’s diplomat persona non grata (unwelcome).

In a statement on its website, the ministry said it “reserves the right to take additional measures” in response to what it called Lithuania’s “unfriendly steps”.

Europe and other Western countries have expelled hundreds of Russian diplomats since Moscow invaded Ukraine, many of them for alleged spying, to which Russia has responded the same.

In response to sanctions against Russia over the invasion of Ukraine, Russia cut off gas supplies to Europe, leading to a continent-wide energy crisis.

But as EU member states consider a price cap on gas, will Europe have enough energy to warm people’s homes this winter?

More on Europe’s energy crisis here.

During televised comments, President Putin said he had signed a decree making “corrections” to the partial mobilisation drive he announced on September 21.

Speaking at a broadcasted meeting with teachers, Putin said the new decree would defer conscription for additional categories of students, including those enrolled at accredited private universities and certain postgraduate students.

Since the decree was announced, thousands of Russians have fled to neighbouring countries to avoid fighting in the Ukraine war.

President Vladimir Putin said at a televised meeting with teachers that Russia has “great respect” for the Ukrainian people, despite what he called “the current situation”.

Speaking about the illegal annexation of the four Ukrainian regions that he declared Russian territory on Friday, Putin said he expected the situation to “stabilise”.

Hours after Russia said it plans to supervise operations, the head of Ukraine’s state nuclear energy company says he is taking charge of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station.

Energoatom chief Petro Kotin made the comments in a video address posted on Telegram, urging workers at the plant against signing documents with the Russian occupiers.

“All further decisions regarding the operation of the station will be made directly at the central office of Energoatom,” Kotin said. “We will continue to work under Ukrainian law, within the Ukrainian energy system, within Energoatom.”

The video address followed the brief detention by Russian forces of the Ukrainian who had been in charge of the plant, where Ukrainian staff are still working.

Russians fleeing to avoid a military draft would not automatically get visas to remain in France but their situation and security risks will be considered, the French junior minister for European affairs says.

“We have limited conditions under which visas can be given,” Laurence Boone said in an interview with FranceInfo radio. “We will make sure dissident journalists, people who fight the regime, artists and students can still come here, and we will issue visas on a case-by-case basis, taking into account the security risks.”

Authorities in Kazakhstan have rejected a Russian demand to expel Ukraine’s ambassador over comments about killing Russians.

Russia’s relations with ex-Soviet allies have strained during the Ukraine war.

Tensions escalated after Petro Vrublevskiy, Ukraine’s ambassador in Astana, the Kazakh capital, said in an interview in August that “the more Russians we kill now, the fewer of them our children will have to kill”.

Russia demanded that Kazakhstan expel the diplomat, saying his comments were unacceptable for a country with a significant ethnic Russian minority.

With 98 percent of wheat coming from Russia, farmers in Georgia, a country that has been at war with Moscow before, are trying to boost domestic production.

Read more on Georgia’s rebel wheat farmers.

The Kremlin has said there is no contradiction between incorporating Ukrainian territories into Russia, and Russia’s military retreats, saying that Moscow would press ahead with plans to annex four Ukrainian regions.

“They will be with Russia forever and they will be returned”, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

President Vladimir Putin formalised the annexation of four Ukrainian regions despite significant battlefield losses in recent days and global condemnation.