THE SQUIZ
Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly session in New York yesterday morning, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused Western nations of holding a “grotesque” fear of Russia and said they are out to “destroy” his country. After days of rebukes from leaders and senior officials attending the annual UN meeting, Lavrov said his nation had “no choice” but to take military action against Ukraine and claimed that the “United States and allies want to stop the march of history.” No nation has come out in full support of Russia, including allies China and India, whose representatives renewed calls for a negotiated peace. Lavrov’s defence of his nation came as voting got underway in parts of Ukraine on whether to join Russia and President Vladimir Putin’s mobilisation plans rankled many citizens.

THERE’S A VOTE IN UKRAINE TO JOIN RUSSIA?
Yep, in Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia – they’re regions in the east and south that Russia fully or partially occupies. Ukraine and its Western allies say the referendums are an illegitimate attempt to seize Ukrainian territory – and unlike our free and fair (and fun…) elections, they look “more like an opinion survey under the gun barrels”, according to one regional leader. That’s because voting includes armed soldiers going door-to-door asking for answers on whether citizens want to become part of Russia. Voting will take place until the middle of this week, and it’s expected that Russia will then claim – illegally – the 4 regions as its own. Russia has form with 2014’s annexation of the Crimean Peninsula. This time, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky is asking locals to undermine the votes and share information about the people conducting “this farce.”

AND THERE ARE PROBLEMS WITH PUTIN’S MOBILISATION?
Well, demonstrations continue across Russia, with hundreds arrested over the weekend as many more try to flee the country… On Russia’s border with Georgia, reports say queues of cars are more than 30km long. Finland is taking a different approach with moves to stop Russian tourists from entering the country as other nearby nations refuse to offer asylum to Russians seeking to avoid the war. For his part, Zelensky has reassured Russian soldiers who surrender will be treated in a “civilised manner” as Putin takes a different path… Yesterday, he approved new punishments of up to 10 years imprisonment for any Russian soldier caught surrendering, attempting to desert the military or refusing to fight. He also signed orders granting Russian citizenship to any foreign national who serves a year in Russia’s military. Critics say the move highlights how severe the nation’s troop shortage problem is.