Latest Ukraine updates: US calls Russian annexation a ‘land grab’

US President Joe Biden has pledged to “never, never, never” recognise the results of Russian-led referendums in Ukraine, which he said were cooked up by Moscow.

“I want to be very clear about this. The United States will never, never never recognise Russia’s claims on Ukraine sovereign territory. The so-called referenda was a sham, an absolute sham,” Biden said as he met Pacific Island leaders in Washington.

Thousand of Russians have fled the country since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a partial military mobilisation last week to boost Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. About 53,000 have crossed into Georgia but Russia has reportedly set up mobilisation offices at the border to intercept them.

Alexander, a traveller from Russia has been waiting for 24 hours to exit his country as he has no intention of joining the war efforts, said, “I don’t want to kill nice people.”

Al Jazeera’s Imran Khan, reporting from the border, said about 5,000 cars a day used to pass through the same crossing before the mobilisation, but that has climbed to 11,000, according to Georgian officials.

Questions loom over what awaits these people, Khan said, as they have no idea for how long they can stay outside the country and what would happen if they decided to return to Russia.

Russian President Vladimir Putin says the “unprecedented sabotage” against the Nord Stream gas pipelines was “an act of international terrorism,” the Kremlin said in a statement.

Putin made the remarks in phone call with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan. He also said it was necessary to fulfil an internationally brokered deal on Ukrainian grain exports, including the removal of barriers for Russian food and fertiliser supplies to the global markets.

In a call with Russian President Putin, Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan has pressed his Russian counterpart to take steps to reduce tensions in Ukraine and urged him to extend a deal protecting Black Sea grains exports, the president’s office said.

Erdogan also mentioned Moscow’s plans to incorporate four Ukrainian regions into Russia, which Turkey opposes, and he asked Putin to give peace negotiations another chance, according to Ankara’s readout of the call.

The UN- and Turkey-brokered deal establishing a shipping corridor, allowing Ukrainian grain exports, is set to expire in late November and can be renewed with the backing of Russia and the other three parties to the agreement.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has denounced Russian-backed referendum in Ukraine as an attempted land grab that is illegal and violates international law.

“The Kremlin’s sham referenda are a futile effort to mask what amounts to a further attempt at a land grab in Ukraine,” Blinken said in a statement. “To be clear: the results were orchestrated in Moscow and do not reflect the will of the people of Ukraine.”

Nord Stream AG, the operator of the Russia-led Nord Stream 1 offshore gas pipeline, has said it intended to start assessing the damage to the pipeline as soon as it receives the necessary official permits.

It said access to the area of incidents will be allowed only after the pressure in the gas pipeline has stabilised and the gas leakage has stopped.

The operator added that until the completion of the damage assessment, it is not possible to predict the timeframe for restoration of the gas transmission infrastructure.

Speaking at a meeting of Russia’s Security Council, President Vladimir Putin says all mistakes made during a partial military mobilisation to reinforce Russia’s military operation in Ukraine should be corrected, RIA Novosti news agency reported.

He also said that those who had military experience and training in required specialities should be called up first.

There have been widespread public expressions of discontent from officials and citizens over the way the mobilisation, announced last week, has been handled, including complaints about enlistment officers sending call-up papers to ineligible men.

Thousands of men have fled Russia to avoid the draft.

Russia is ignoring UN chief Guterres’s comment as it is “bracing” for celebrations on the planned annexation of four occupied Ukrainian territories, said Al Jazeera’s correspondent Mohamed Val.

Earlier the UN secretary-general had slammed Moscow for its decision to annex Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, saying it would mark a “dangerous escalation” and jeopardise peace prospects.

“Moscow is in another world … I am talking from a place where things are seen from a completely different perspective,” Val said, reporting from the Russian capital.

“Russian are bracing for what they call a correction of history as they think that those places belong to Russia and it was wrong in the first place to let them go,” Val said.

“I don’t think Russia is listening to what Guterres is saying and they believe that the UN is taking one side of the conflict,” he added.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is poised to sign formal documents proclaiming Russia’s annexation of four occupied Ukrainian regions, as Moscow faces its worst setbacks of its war with Ukraine.

Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin will deliver a speech in a ceremony at the Kremlin at 3pm (12:00 GMT) on Friday. But what is happening exactly? And why?

Read the full story here.

Some “unauthorised” drone activities were spotted near one of the offshore oil and gas installations run by TotalEnergies in the North Sea, the petroleum company has said.

“There have been observations of unauthorized drone activity at the Halfdan B oil and gas field in the North Sea,” a spokesperson said in a written comment, adding the activity had been observed on Wednesday.

“We have taken the necessary steps in accordance with our security procedures and are in close dialogue with the authorities.”

Denmark has, like other countries in the region, raised its safety level for its power and gas sector after several countries said two Russian pipelines to Europe now spewing gas into the Baltic Sea had been attacked.

If Russia moves ahead with its plans to annex four Ukrainian regions, it would mark a “dangerous escalation” that would jeopardise the prospects for peace in the region, the UN secretary-general has warned.

“Any decision to proceed with the annexation of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions of Ukraine would have no legal value and deserves to be condemned,” Antonio Guterres told reporters.

“It must not be accepted,” he added.

President Vladimir Putin said that conflicts in countries from the former USSR, including Ukraine, are the result of the collapse of the Soviet Union.

During a televised meeting with intelligence chiefs of former Soviet countries, Putin said, “It is enough to look at what is happening now between Russia and Ukraine and what is happening on the borders of some other CIS countries.

“All this, of course, is the result of the collapse of the Soviet Union”, he said.

Ukraine’s top general and the US Army commander in Europe discussed the war with Russia and assurances of further support from Washington.

The generals spoke on the eve of Putin signing documents to proclaim Russia’s annexation of four Ukrainian regions.

General Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s armed forces, said on Telegram, “I had a conversation with General Christopher Cavoli, Supreme Allied Commander Europe and Commander of the United States European Command.”

“We have shared thoughts on the operational situation, further plans and needs for weapons.

“I have shared with General Cavoli the vision of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine regarding the mobilisation in the Russian Federation. I have received encouraging esteem and assurances of further support,” he said.

President Vladimir Putin says the West stands ready to provoke “colour revolutions” and a “bloodbath” in any country, without naming a specific country.

Putin, who did not provide any evidence, was speaking via a video link with the heads of the intelligent services of the ex-Soviet Commonwealth of Independent States.

Pope Francis revealed he had a part in releasing about 300 Ukrainian prisoners held by Russia, he said in an interview in a Jesuit magazine.

Francis said he had received “Ukrainian emissaries” at the Vatican, including a military chief who brought a list “of more than 300 prisoners”.

“They asked me to do something so that an exchange could be made,” the pope said, according to a transcript of the September 15 interview published by the Italian Jesuit magazine, Civilta Cattolica.

“I immediately called the Russian ambassador to see if something could be done, if an exchange of prisoners could be expedited,” he added, without providing further details.

President Zelenskyy has called an emergency meeting of top security and defence officials for Friday, his spokesperson said on Thursday.

Serhiy Nykyforov announced the meeting on Facebook after the Kremlin said Russian President Putin would sign formal documents on Friday proclaiming Moscow’s annexation of four Ukrainian regions following what Kyiv called “sham” referendums.

“President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called an urgent meeting of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine for tomorrow. The agenda and other details will be announced later,” Nykyforov said.

With Putin expected to sign a proclamation incorporating the four Ukrainian regions, Al Jazeera’s The Bottom Line looks into the threat of nuclear weapons as Russia expands its territory.

President Zelenskyy has issued a new warning to Russia of a “very harsh” response if Moscow annexed the four regions following what they and the West called “sham referendums” held by Russia at gunpoint.

“They [the votes] are worthless and do not change reality. The territorial integrity of Ukraine will be restored. And our reaction to recognition of the results by Russia will be very harsh,” Zelenskyy said.

A statement issued by Zelenskyy’s office after a phone call with Italy’s prime minister did not refer to the announcement by President Putin that he would sign documents formalising the annexation of the four regions on Friday.

The New York Times has intercepted phone calls by Russian soldiers in Ukraine who spoke about the atrocities committed, including orders to kill civilians and the massacre in Bucha.

More on what was uncovered here.