September 21, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

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Alexander John-Robert Drueke, left, and Andy Tai Ngoc Huynh, right.

Joy Black was sitting with a friend during her break at work Wednesday when she received an unexpected call from Saudi Arabia — to tell her that fiancé Andy Tai Ngoc Huynh was coming home.

It was her first conversation with Huynh since June 8. “It was just so amazing to finally get to hear his voice again and speak to him,” she said.

Huynh and another American, Alexander John-Robert Drueke, were captured in June while fighting in Ukraine. They were released, along with eight others, in a prisoner swap between Russia and Ukraine that was spearheaded by the government of Saudi Arabia.

“It’s just so good to know that they are OK and that they’re going to come home,” Black said.

Huynh could be back as early as Friday, she said, adding he has a special request for his homecoming in Alabama: spaghetti with meat, which he’d been craving while in Ukraine.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday welcomed the prisoner exchange between Ukraine and Russia that led to the release of 10 people, including two Americans.

“The United States is appreciative of Ukraine including all prisoners of war, regardless of nationality, in its negotiations, and we look forward to these U.S. citizens being reunited with their families,” Blinken said in a statement.  

He also thanked Saudi Arabia for spearheading the initiative. “I conveyed my gratitude to Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan in a call this morning,” Blinken said.

Family members of Americans Alexander John-Robert Drueke and Andy Tai Ngoc Huynh — captured in June while fighting for Ukraine north of Kharkiv — confirmed to CNN earlier Wednesday that they had been freed.

Five Britons were also released, the British government said. Additionally, three others — Moroccan, Swedish and Croatian nationals — were freed in the swap, the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

 In his statement, Blinken reiterated that US citizens should not travel to Ukraine.

North Korea says it never exported weapons or ammunition to Russia, according to the state-run Korean Central News Agency. 

Earlier this month, a US official told CNN that Russia is purchasing millions of rockets and artillery shells from North Korea for use in Ukraine. The New York Times first reported the purchases.

North Korea condemned the US “for thoughtlessly circulating the rumor against the DPRK to pursue its base political and military aim” and said the US should keep its mouth shut, according to KCNA.

DPRK stands for the Democratic Republic of Korea, the formal name for North Korea.

The state media cited a press statement from the Vice Director General of the General Bureau of Equipment of the Ministry of National Defense but did not provide a name for the Vice Director General.

North Korea said the “development, production, possession of military equipment, but also their export and import are the lawful right peculiar to a sovereign state, and nobody is entitled to criticize it.”

However, the statement said:

It added that the rumors about exports to Russia were aimed at tarnishing North Korea’s image.

Russia is afraid of real peace negotiations in Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Wednesday during his address to the UN General Assembly.

Instead, Russia lies to everyone, the president said. It “talks about the talks but announces a military mobilization.”

Zelensky, in his pre-recorded remarks, added:

Zelensky ended his address by saying, “We are ready for peace. But true, honest and fair peace. That’s why the world is on our side.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s attempt at “playing the nuclear card” in his national address earlier Wednesday along with his order for a partial mobilization was an act of weakness, a senior US administration official said Wednesday.

The official said the US does not see any signs that indicate a heightened nuclear threat from Russia, despite Putin’s rhetoric.

“We have heard him before, wave around the nuclear card, and we heard it again in his speech today, and in fact, the language and formula he used today is quite similar to how he’s spoken before,” the official said.

Still, President Biden and other US officials remain on alert for potential escalation as the conflict in Ukraine grinds ahead.

“We are watching carefully to see for any signs of potential escalation, and we are sending very clear and strong messages to Russia about the consequences of escalation,” the official said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the UN General Assembly on Wednesday in a pre-recorded speech that focused on the Russian war launched on Feb. 24. 

He outlined five preconditions for peace during his speech:

Here are the key lines from Zelensky’s remarks:

Zelensky received a standing ovation from most delegates after his speech. The Russian delegation remained seated and did not applaud.

International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi said he met the foreign ministers of Ukraine and Russia on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly on Wednesday in an effort to establish a safety and security protection zone around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

Grossi had meetings with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dymtro Kuleba and Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

The issue needs to be resolved quickly, Grossi said.

Grossi added that beyond the differences, “there is the conviction that the establishment of this zone is indispensable. Let’s be clear. This nuclear power plant is being shelled now. And so we need to protect it in some way.”

A number of cables providing electricity to one of Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant’s reactors were damaged by shelling on Wednesday, the UN nuclear watchdog said in a statement.

The International Atomic Energy Agency said the shelling had temporarily forced reactor number six “to rely on emergency diesel generators for the power it needs for essential safety functions.”

The five other reactors were not affected and continued ” to receive power directly from the plant’s off-site power line that was restored last week,” IAEA added.

The plant in southern Ukraine, with six reactors, is the largest nuclear power station in Europe. It was mostly built in the Soviet era and became Ukrainian property after its declaration of independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

“Work is underway to repair the damaged cables,” the IAEA’s statement said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday called for Russia to be deprived of its veto power. 

Russia is one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council.

In his speech to the UN General Assembly, Zelensky said:

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday called for the creation of a special tribunal to punish Russia for invading Ukraine.

Zelensky said: “This will become a signal to all would-be aggressors, that they must value peace or be brought to responsibility by the world.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he held 88 rounds of talks with Russia to prevent war since the start of his presidency.

“88 rounds of talks in various formats to prevent these wars just from the beginning of my presidency until Feb. 24 of this year,” Zelensky said during his pre-recorded address to the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday.

Russia launched its war in Ukraine on Feb. 24.

He added, “but Russia, instead of stopping the crime of aggression,” it’s started a full-scale invasion. 

President Volodymyr Zelensky said he believes Ukraine will continue to liberate territory as the military mounts its counteroffensive against Russian aggression.

He said Ukraine tried ending the war at the negotiating table, but concluded, “This is a war for life.”

Zelensky reiterated his country needed support in the form of weapons and military assistance in order to be successful on the battlefield.

“How can we allow the Russian army somewhere on Ukraine soil knowing that they’re committing such mass murders everywhere? We cannot,” he said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky demanded “just punishment” for the crimes Russia has committed since the invasion of Ukraine.

Ukraine wanted Russia punished for trying to steal territory and for the murder of thousands of people, he said.

In addition:

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday that the entire world wanted peace in his country, with the exception of Russia.

“Ukraine wants peace. Europe wants peace. The world wants peace,” he said in a pre-recorded speech.

There is “only one entity” among all UN member states that was happy with “his” war, Zelensky said, alluding to Russian President Vladimir Putin without saying his name, adding, “We will not let this entity” prevail over us.

The president said Ukraine had shown strength on the battlefield by using its right to self-defense.

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said Wednesday that Vladimir Putin’s partial mobilization announcement is “a sign of desperation,” but downplayed the Russian President’s nuclear saber-rattling.

In remarks overnight, Putin threatened to use “all means” at his disposal to respond to the West, saying, “I’d like to remind them that our country has also various similar weapons and in some cases more modern weapons than NATO. In order to protect our people and in order to protect Russia, we will definitely use all means.”

Landsbergis said he believes the Russian leader is bluffing.

“I’m more worried about the people who are worried about this than about actual saber-rattling,” he said.

“It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Putin is an aggressive actor, that Russia is an aggressive country. We should not have expected him just to have a limited conflict with Ukraine, limited war,” Landsbergis added.

The Swedish and Croatian governments confirmed Wednesday their citizens were among the 10 foreign prisoners of war held by Russian-backed forces released as part of the prisoner swap between Russia and Ukraine that was brokered by Saudi Arabia.

Linde said she had worked closely with her Ukrainian counterpart, to whom she extended her “deepest gratitude.” 

“A warm thank you also goes to Saudi Arabia,” the foreign minister added. 

Croatia’s Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said he spoke on the phone with the released Croatian prisoner Vjekoslav Prebeg. 

Prebeg would be returning to Croatia on Thursday, the prime minister said. 

The Croatian leader also thanked authorities in Ukraine and Saudi Arabia for their cooperation and help that led to Prebeg’s release.  

Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk has urged people in occupied areas not to participate in the referendums planned by pro-Russian authorities.

She also outlined who would face criminal charges:

“For example, we know of cases when people were refused treatment or necessary medications where they did not carry a Russian passport,” she said.

Vereshchuk said those who organized and conducted a referendum would face penalties — but not those who had provided their personal data in order to receive pensions or humanitarian aid.

“In any case, every effort should be made not to participate in the so-called referendum. In any case, you should not be among those who organize or conduct the so-called referendum, that is, the supervisory commission or anything else of a kind.”

Moroccan citizen Brahim Saadoun, who had been held by Russian-backed forces for months, has been released as part of the prisoner swap between Russia and Ukraine that was brokered by Saudi Arabia, his sister Imane Saadoune tells CNN. 

Imane Saadoune says her family has still not been contacted by Moroccan or Saudi officials regarding her brother’s release, but she identified her brother in a picture and video released by the Saudi Press Agency showing him in Saudi Arabia. 

Police officers detain a person in Moscow on Wednesday, September 21.

At least 1,045 people have been detained across Russia in a crackdown on anti-war protests across two dozen cities in Russia, according to the independent monitoring group OVD-Info on Wednesday.

More background: Photos released on OVD-Info’s Telegram channel showed police in Saint Petersburg using batons against protestors. Videos show police attempting to contain behind barriers a crowd gathering at Isakiivskiy Cathedral, amid chants of “no mobilization.”

Videos from Moscow show several protestors being carried away by the police at a demonstration in the center of the city.

CNN’s Tim Lister Gianluca Mezzofiore and Anastasia Graham-Yooll contributed to this report.