Jessica Parker
Reporting from Brussels

Image source, Reuters

The European Union’s border agency says 66,000 Russians have entered the EU over the past week - a 30% increase on the week before.

Frontex says most entered through Finnish and Estonian crossing points, with numbers “significantly” increasing in Finland following the Kremlin’s mobilisation announcement last week.

“Over the last four days, 30,000 Russian citizens have arrived in Finland,” according to Frontex, external.

It adds: “In the short term, we are likely to see a growing number of Russian citizens arriving at border crossing points to the EU due to the uncertainty related to the ongoing mobilisation in the Russian Federation.

"In the longer term, we might see an increase in illegal border crossings at the EU external borders with Russia and Ukraine, as well as an increase in illegal stays in the EU by Russian citizens already present in member states.”

Image source, Reuters

The so-called referendums in four occupied regions of Ukraine have been labelled a "blatant violation of international law" by the head of Nato: the military alliance of Western nations.

Jens Stoltenberg says the votes held by Russia in the provinces of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia have no legitimacy.

"These lands are Ukraine," he said in a tweet, external.

His comments come after preliminary results signalled, according to Russia itself, that voters were backing joining Russia.

Stoltenberg adds that he's made it clear to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that his Nato allies are "unwavering" in their support for Ukraine's sovereignty and the country's right to self-defence.

Zelensky has confirmed that the pair have discussed further support from Nato.

James Waterhouse
Ukraine correspondent

Image source, Reuters

Ukrainians who've helped with Russia’s self-styled referendums will “face treason charges and at least five years in jail”, Ukraine’s presidential adviser said earlier.

Mikhailo Podolyak claimed he had a list of hundreds of “collaborators” but said anyone who was forced to vote on joining Russia wouldn’t be punished.

Kyiv is doing its best to not engage with the Kremlin’s attempts to legitimise its presence in the country.

In fact, it’s continuing to mount counter-offensives, despite Moscow’s threat of viewing them as a direct attack on Russian territory.

For now, Russia’s continued warnings of using more lethal weapons are falling on deaf Ukrainian ears - outwardly at least.

Invading forces are currently focused on trying to take the eastern Donetsk region. This area is part of the Kremlin’s official aim in what it still calls a “special military operation”.

As has been the case since the start of this full-scale invasion, Ukraine seems determined to do everything it can to at least frustrate, and at best prevent that goal from being achieved.

Seismographs in Sweden and Denmark detected underwater explosions in the same area as the leaks found in the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, Bjorn Lund from Sweden's National Seismology Centre (SNSN) told public broadcaster SVT.

"There is no doubt that these were explosions," Lund said.

SVT reports, external that the first detected explosion was recorded at 02:03 and the second at 19:04 (Swedish time) on Monday.

Ukrainian presidential advisor Mikhaylo Podolyak tweeted that leaks in the pipelines were likely to have been caused by a "terrorist attack" by Moscow.

Polish PM Mateusz Morawiecki called the leaks an act of sabotage.

The Kremlin earlier said it had not ruled out sabotage as a reason, calling the damage "unprecedented".

Image source, German Centre for Georesearch

Image source, EPA

A military enlistment point will be opened on the border between Russia and Georgia at the Upper Lars checkpoint, Russian officials have said, after thousands of people were seen fleeing there.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced last week what he described as a partial mobilisation of reservists to join the war, with some 300,000 said to be called up.

Since then, thousands of Russian citizens have been seen fleeing to neighbouring countries, including Georgia and Kazakhstan.

"A mobilisation point of the military registration and enlistment office will be deployed at the checkpoint in the near future," the press service of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for North Ossetia said.

Up until now, vehicles could only cross the border. But the decision was made to allow citizens to cross on foot "to reduce the risks of illegal behaviour and the emergence of conflict situations," officials said.

Deputy Prime Minister of North Ossetia Irbek Tomaev said yesterday that about 3,500 cars and 1,300 trucks were in the queue to leave Russia for Georgia.

Image source, Reuters

Russia says it has not asked for the extradition of thousands of its citizens who've rushed into neighbouring countries, following President Vladimir Putin's call-up of hundreds of thousands of reservists for the war in Ukraine.

Kazakhstan, Georgia and other neighbouring countries have seen a large influx of Russian men of military age since the announcement.

Earlier, the Kazakh president, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, promised to ensure the safety of tens of thousands of Russians who've crossed the border in recent days.

Tokayev, who opposes Russia's war, said the Russians were fleeing a "hopeless situation".

Kazakhstan's interior minister added that his country would not extradite conscripts back to Russia just because enlistment officers were looking for them.

Denmark's Defence Command has released footage which shows bubbles at the surface of the Baltic Sea near the island of Bornholm, caused by leaks in the undersea pipelines Nordstream 1 and 2.

The largest patch of sea disturbance is 1km (0.6 miles) in diameter, it says.

James Waterhouse
Ukraine correspondent

Russian state media have announced the first results of the so-called referendums about occupied parts of Ukraine. With about a fifth of votes cast in Russia itself counted, it is reported that an overwhelming majority of citizens from the regions concerned have voted in favour of joining Russia:

• 97% from Kherson region
• 98% from Zaporizhzhia
• 98% from “Donetsk People’s Republic”
• 98% from “Luhansk People’s Republic”

Ukraine and Western nations have called the process a sham, claiming the results had already been decided.

An earlier version of this entry did not report that the votes counted so far are those of people from the occupied regions who are inside Russian territory.

Image source, Getty Images

Just joining us or need a re-cap? Here are the latest developments in the Ukraine war:

• Today is the final day of voting in so-called referendums - discredited by Ukraine and the West as a sham - in four occupied areas of Ukraine on whether they should join Russia
• Vladimir Putin could announce the annexation of the occupied regions of Ukraine when he addresses Russia's parliament on Friday, the UK's Ministry of Defence has said
• Russia has vowed to give any annexed land full protection, which could include its nuclear arsenal
• The UN has said it is "deeply disturbed" by reports from Russia that almost 2,400 protesters have been arrested since Putin's order to partially mobilise troops for the war last week
• Meanwhile, two leaks have been found on the Nord Stream 1 pipeline in Swedish and Danish waters, Sweden's maritime authority says, a day after a similar leak was found in its sister pipeline
• The Polish PM called the leaks an act of sabotage, while the Kremlin earlier said it had not ruled out sabotage as a reason, calling the damage "unprecedented"

Image source, Getty Images

Vladimir Putin says that Russia wants to "save people" in four occupied territories in Ukraine, on the last day of annexation votes denounced as a sham by Western leaders.

Discredited referendums have been taking place in occupied areas of the country over several days.

"Saving people in the territories where this referendum is taking place... is the focus of the attention of our entire society and of the entire country," Putin said during a televised meeting with officials.

Putin is likely to announce the formal annexation of occupied regions of Ukraine into Russia within days, the UK's defence ministry said this morning.

BBC Monitoring
The world through its media

Image source, Getty Images

Uruguay has denied sending representatives to observe so-called referendums held by Moscow in Russian-controlled areas of Ukraine.

Ukrainian authorities included the South American nation in a list of eight countries it said were unlawfully seeking to "legitimise" these referendums on joining Russia.

But the Uruguayan foreign ministry said on Twitter that it had not sent observers, adding it "does not back actions of any kind aimed at legitimising the occupation through use of force of part of Ukrainian territory".

The Uruguayan government added that the "individual participation" of Sebastian Hagobian, a member of Uruguay's Frente Amplio (Broad Front) opposition party, "does not compromise nor affect in any way the position of the Uruguayan state and its government".

Ukrainian authorities said that Uruguay, along with Belarus, Syria, Egypt, Brazil, Venezuela, Togo and South Africa, were "among countries that were allegedly backing the legitimacy of the referendums".

Meanwhile, the EU says it will impose sanctions on organisers of the so-called referendums.

Rayhan Demytrie
Reporting from Georgia

There is a steady flow of people coming through the Upper Larsi border crossing from Russia into Georgia.

They are coming in groups of walkers, dragging their suitcases behind them, some in cars, others are on bikes.

All of them are looking exhausted, hungry and sleep-deprived. But they are relieved to be here. They feel they have reached safety.

Ilya, who is in his late 20s, is standing next to his father. They decided to leave Moscow as soon as Vladimir Putin announced the partial mobilisation.

Ilya showed me a polaroid of his baby daughter Arisha. He said he wanted to see her grow up, and not die in this senseless war.

I met two brothers in their early 20s - Dima and Zhenya - who have travelled for days from Bashkiria. Their eyes are red, their hair is dishevelled. Dima asked for a hotspot to call his mother.

On the other end of the line there was a sigh of relief.

Another young man from Moscow said the reason he was here was because of the man in the Kremlin, Vladimir Putin.

Everyone says the same thing: they disagree with the war but the extent of repression in Russia makes them powerless.

Image source, Reuters

A lot of gas has been seen coming out of the damaged Nord Stream 2 pipeline in the Baltic Sea which has sustained "a really big hole", according to the Danish Energy Authority (DEA).

The head of the organisation says gas leaking will continue for several days and perhaps even a week.

He says the large amount of bubbles on the surface shows the hole in the pipe is very big.

Denmark's maritime authority has issued a navigation warning and warns ships not to sail into an area five nautical miles from the leaks, as they may lose buoyancy and there might be a risk of ignition above the water, the DEA said.

The Nord Stream 1 pipeline has also sustained damage.

Both Russia-built pipelines have been at the centre of the energy dispute between Russia and Europe.

Fears of escalation if annexations take placepublished at 13:54 British Summer Time 27 September 2022

13:54 BST 27 September 2022

Hugo Bachega
Reporting from Kyiv

No surprise is expected in these so-called referendums. The results, to be announced by pro-Russian officials, are likely to show that most people voted to join Russia.

The process has been dismissed by Ukraine and the West as a sham, to be used by the Kremlin as an excuse for a land grab. The areas where the discredited vote are being held represent 15% of Ukraine’s territory.

Russia has vowed to give any annexed land full protection, which could include its nuclear arsenal. This would probably lead to an escalation in the conflict - Moscow could argue that any attack on those regions would be seen as attack on Russia itself.

The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, said last night that “the world’s reaction to [the so-called referendums] and to any further steps taken by the occupiers will be tough”.

US President Joe Biden's administration has already warned Russia that if any annexation of territory takes place, it is ready to impose more economic sanctions. And the authorities here say the counter-offensive to retake occupied land will continue.

Image source, Reuters

The UN has expressed concerns at reports from Russia of nearly 2,400 protesters being arrested in the days since President Putin's order to partially mobilise troops for the war in Ukraine last Wednesday.

"We are deeply disturbed by the large number of people who have reportedly been arrested," United Nations rights office spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani told reporters in Geneva.

Shamdasani referenced "credible reports some 2,377 demonstrators had been arrested... in various locations across the country".

She said it is unclear how many people remain in detention; however on Saturday, police monitoring group OVD-Info counted at least 726 people in detention in 32 cities across Russia, nearly half of them in Moscow.

Japan has accused Russia of blindfolding and restraining one of its diplomats.

Motoki Tatsunori, Japan's consul in Vladivostok, was freed from custody today after being accused of espionage.

Russia claims Tatsunori received secret information about its co-operation with another unnamed Asian country.

But Japan denies the allegations and says the detention was carried out in "an intimidating manner".

The diplomat is expected to leave Russia by Wednesday.

Japan is among the countries opposed to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Image source, Reuters

More now on reports of leaks found in the Nord Stream 1 pipeline.

The pipeline, which connects Russia to Germany via the Baltic Sea, has been hit by leaks at two points, a day after a similar leak affected its sister pipeline. Neither is currently in operation.

Polish PM Mateusz Morawiecki called the leaks an act of sabotage.

"Today we faced an act of sabotage, we don't know all the details of what happened, but we see clearly that it's an act of sabotage, related to the next step of escalation of the situation in Ukraine," he said during the opening of the Baltic Pipe gas pipeline between Norway and Poland (a separate pipeline which transports North Sea gas to Poland).

The Kremlin earlier said it had not ruled out sabotage as a reason, calling the damage "unprecedented".

Read more on the leaks in the gas pipelines here.

Imogen Foulkes
Reporting from Geneva

The UN commission of inquiry investigating alleged human rights violations in Ukraine has concluded that war crimes have been committed.

Delivering its report to the UN human rights council in Geneva, the commission said it had documented "violations, such as the illegal use of explosive weapons, indiscriminate attacks, violations of personal integrity, including executions, torture and ill-treatment, and sexual and gender-based violence," and that "based on its investigations into events in the regions of Kyiv, Chernihiv, Kharkiv and Sumy, the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine has concluded that war crimes have been committed in Ukraine."

The chair of the commission said his team had been "struck by the large number of executions in the areas that we visited."

You can read the text of the update from the chair of the commission here, external.

Hugo Bachega
Reporting from Kyiv

Image source, Getty Images

More now on voting in discredited referendums in occupied regions of Ukraine.

A resident in the occupied town of Enerhodar, in the Zaporizhzhia region, said electoral officials and two armed soldiers were going door to door, to force people to vote.

The resident, who is not being identified for security reasons, said: “If people don’t respond, they put a mark. Then they return to the same address… It’s very scary.”

According to the resident, people are being threatened with losing their jobs if they do not take part in the process.

“There’s no chance to avoid voting. Or to vote no. They give you ballots, and you should vote ‘Yes’. Otherwise, you’ll lose your job. That’s the question.”

Image source, Reuters

As we reported earlier, today is the final day of voting for discredited referendums being held into whether four occupied areas of Ukraine should join Russia.

Here are some images capturing the voting today, which Ukraine and the West have described as a "sham".

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters