We've wrapped up our live coverage for the day. You can read more about Russia's war in Ukraine here, or scroll through the posts below.
September 30, 2023 Russia-Ukraine news
By Thom Poole and Joshua Berlinger, CNN
Updated 1946 GMT (0346 HKT) September 30, 2023
14 Posts
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Why Putin met a former Wagner commander
Analysis by CNN's Nathan Hodge
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “vertical of power” – the way in which the entire structure of Russian political power rests on one man – has undergone profound stress testing in the wake of the Wagner mercenary group’s aborted march on Moscow in June.
But everything is now business as usual, and the remnants of Wagner are back in the government’s control, if Kremlin messaging is to be believed.
In a televised meeting Friday, Putin met with Russia’s Deputy Defense Minister Yunus-Bek Yevkurov and former Wagner commander Andrey Troshev, according to a partial transcript published by the Kremlin.
The meeting was held in a long-familiar format. Putin was seated at the head of a conference table with briefing papers and notes, making some general remarks before settling down to official business. The language was sober, competent and relatively substance-free: It could have been a routine meeting with a regional governor to discuss economic plans, at least judging by the official readout.
But unpack the language, and Putin’s Friday meeting appeared to put a reassuring gloss on the Russian government’s attempt to bring the mercenary group to heel.
Read more here:
EU foreign policy chief visits Odesa on anniversary of Russia's illegal annexations
From CNN's Radina Gigova in London
European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell visited the city of Odesa on Saturday as part of a push to express solidarity and support for Ukraine, on the one-year anniversary of the illegal annexation of four Ukrainian regions by Russia.
Speaking from inside the Transfiguration Cathedral in Odessa, Borrell said the city of Odesa should be in the news headlines for its beauty and rich history, but instead, it has been in the headlines "for the barbaric attacks by Russia."
"I've been witnessing the consequences of this war, and how Odesa and Ukraine are paying a high price for it," he said.
Borrell said the EU will continue supporting Ukraine in its fight to recover its territorial integrity and achieve a just peace.
Some background: On September 30, 2022, Vladimir Putin said Russia would annex the Ukrainian regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. The regions together account for 100,000 square kilometers (38,600 square miles) of Ukrainian territory, a fifth of the country's land mass. It marked the largest forcible annexation of land in Europe since 1945.
The Kremlin's decision to seize the territories in violation of international law came after referendums widely panned as a sham, as people were voting both figuratively and, in some cases literally, at gunpoint.
Ukraine ready to become international military production hub, Zelensky says
From CNN's Radina Gigova in London
Ukraine is ready to offer special conditions to companies that are willing to develop weapons production jointly with Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday.
He made the comments as he met with representatives from defense companies from various countries, including the United States, United Kingdon, Germany, France, Turkey, Sweden and the Czech Republic.
"It will be a mutually beneficial partnership. I think this is a good time and place to create a large military hub," Zelensky said, according to his office.
"The sky shield and demining are the two biggest priorities for us today," Zelensky said, adding this includes air defense means and the production of systems for warning and surveillance. "We have to do this. This will be useful not only for Ukraine, but also for Europe and our neighbors," he said.
Ukraine is also interested in the production of long-range missiles and artillery with new capabilities. The combination of advanced technologies and military tactics will help Ukraine prevail in the war against Russia, Zelensky said.
"That is why we prioritize the development of defense production using modern technologies, production of shells, missiles, drones in Ukraine in cooperation with global leaders in the field and using our experience in their operation," Zelensky said.
"Ukraine has shown the whole world what actually works, and I think we can share this experience," he added.
Some context: CNN has previously reported on Ukraine's burgeoning home-grown weapons industry.
Kyiv has been developing its own arms in part as it allows it to strike Russia outside of Ukraine without using Western-supplied arms.
Kyiv seeks to boost spending to $1.5 billion to encourage the country's nascent weapons industry
From Amy Cassidy in London and Olga Voitovych in Kyiv, Ukraine
The Ukrainian government plans to spend $1.5 billion on weapons and materiel production in 2024 -- a sevenfold increase compared to last year -- Prime Minister Denis Shmyhal said Saturday.
The increase was included in the government's budget proposal for next year. The plans come as Kyiv has been using domestically produced missiles and drones to strike targets on Russian soil, beyond the front lines.
Shmyal touted the "new birth" of Ukraine's weapons manufacturing sector at a defense industries event in Kyiv on Friday.
Speaking at a defense industries event in Kyiv on Friday
“We are launching new production facilities. We are expanding those that were producing results before the full-scale invasion. We are investing in new technologies and new developments," he said. "We are ready to help everyone who produces high-quality weapons for our army.”
Zelensky touts industry: Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the audience at the International Defense Industries Forum in Kyiv on Saturday.
"The world sees what Ukrainian missiles, technologies, and drones are capable of. We are creating the world's first fleet of naval drones that render Russian military ships ineffective and force them into hiding," Zelensky said.
Zelensky said Ukraine would start producing 155 mm caliber artillery systems and shells, commonly used weapons during the war with Russia.
Thirty countries from Europe, North America, Asia and Oceania, as well as over 250 weapons manufacturing companies, have representatives at the forum, he said.
Read more about Ukraine's burgeoning weapons industry here:
Meet the Ukrainian soldier back on the front lines after losing a limb
From CNN's Vasco Cotovio, Frederik Pleitgen, Daniel Hodge and Kostyantin Gak in the southern Ukrainian region of Zaporizhzhia
A group of Ukrainian soldiers moves swiftly through a front-line training ground, overcoming obstacles and firing at distant targets. They are fine-tuning their battle skills here as Ukraine’s counteroffensive against Russian forces rages just few miles to the south.
One fighter, Danilo, who is only being identified by his first name for security reasons, stands out. He is fast and accurate, but his movements are different.
Another glance reveals the reason for his slight limp – he has a prosthetic limb where his lower right leg used to be.
“I’m still getting in the shape I used to be,” Danilo told CNN with a smirk. “There is still a lot of work ahead… And even more to the perfect shape.”
Danilo lost his lower right leg early in Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year. He and his unit were on a mission when they came under fire and he stepped on a landmine.
His maiming, and similar injuries to many others, both soldiers and civilians, are just one of the many consequences of Russia’s brutal war on Ukraine.
According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Moscow’s forces have littered an estimated 170,000 square kilometers (65,637 square miles) of the Ukrainian countryside with landmines – an area the size of Florida – a large portion of them along the southern front, in a bid to halt Kyiv’s counteroffensive. International think tank GLOBSEC found Ukraine to be the most mined country in the world in a report published in April.
Read more about Danilo here:
Backyard bombs: Duo accused of squirreling away expensive Russian missile system
From CNN's Olga Voitovych in Kyiv, Ukraine, and Radina Gigova
What could a pair of Ukrainians want with a nearly $1 million anti-aircraft missile system left behind by Russian troops?
That's the question Kyiv regional police find themselves facing after announcing on Saturday that two individuals had squirreled away a Russian missile launcher and its ammunition.
A photograph released by police appears to show the missile system being hidden under a black tarp in a yard filled with tall grass and unkempt shrubs.
The weaponry was believed to have been left behind by Russian troops after hostilities in the Chernihiv region, northwest of the capital of Kyiv, Kyiv regional police said in a statement released Saturday. Fighting there took place in the early days of the war.
The missile system and its ammunition were later moved, police said.
Two people, aged 38 and 45 and both from the Boryspil district southeast of the city of Kyiv, have been named as suspects in the case. One is accused of hiding the launcher in the Brovary district northeast of the city of Kyiv. The other stored the ammunition in a rented garage box in another part of the greater Kyiv region.
The two allegedly obtained the weapons illegally.
A police spokeswoman told CNN that the suspects did not explain why they did what they did, just that the weapons were hidden.
At least 5 people were wounded during strikes in Zaporizhzhia region, Ukrainian authorities say
From CNN's Olga Voitovych and Radina Gigova
At least five people have been injured as a result of Russian attacks in the southern Zaporizhzhia region of Ukraine on Saturday, though only one needed to be hospitalized, authorities said.
The individuals were hurt when Russian missiles struck the village of Matviivka between 10:06 a.m. and 10:20 a.m. local time, according to Yurii Malashko, the head of the Ukrainian Zaporizhzhia region military administration.
Malashko said five houses and a critical infrastructure facility were also damaged.
Zaporizhzhia and the eastern region of Donetsk have been rocked by heavy fighting in recent weeks.
It's been a year since Vladimir Putin announced millions of Ukrainians would be Russian citizens "forever"
In Russia, Friday was a call for celebration. In Ukraine, it was a worrying reminder of the dangers civilians face on the front lines.
It has now been one year since Russia said it would annex the Ukrainian regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. The regions together account for 100,000 square kilometers (38,600 square miles) of Ukrainian territory, a fifth of the country's land mass. It marked the largest forcible annexation of land in Europe since 1945.
The Kremlin's decision to seize the territories in violation of international law came after referendums widely panned as a sham, as people were voting both figuratively and, in some cases literally, at gunpoint.
That did not stop Russian leader Vladimir Putin from declaring the millions of people living there would be Russian citizens "forever."
One year later, Putin took to the airwaves to celebrate the move, falsely claiming the vote was conducted in compliance with international law. Hundreds gathered in Moscow's Red Square for a celebratory concert to mark the occasion.
The anniversary saw the Kremlin take further steps toward achieving that goal as well. A decree that took effect Friday allowed Ukrainians to enter the country without visas, even if their documents have expired, and makes it easier for them and other citizens of former Soviet states to obtain Russian citizenship.
First fighting, now conscription: Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia have been home to some of the war's fiercest fighting. Donetsk and Luhansk make up the Donbas -- a rural part of Ukraine dotted with factories and coal fields where Russian-backed breakaway republics have been fighting Kyiv since 2014 -- while Kherson and Zaporizhzhia were occupied by Russian forces at the outset of the invasion.
Ukraine intends to recapture all four regions, with Kyiv's troops battling since the summer to push Russia's troops back.
Civilians have been caught in the crossfire, but now those in Russian-controlled territory face a new danger: conscription.
Putin on Friday also approved a decree which will see 130,000 people called up for military service -- including, for the first time, people living in the four illegally annexed regions of Ukraine. Conscriptions in Russia happen twice per year.
More sanctions: Western powers responded to Russia's attempt at annexation last year with sanctions. The United Kingdom announced a new set of punitive measures on Friday to mark the anniversary and punish Russia for a round of regional elections arranged earlier this month. 11 new designations were announced, including measures targeting Russia's Central Election Commission.
"Russia’s sham elections are a transparent, futile attempt to legitimize its illegal control of sovereign Ukrainian territory. You can’t hold ‘elections’ in someone else’s country," Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said in a statement.
