🔴 Live: Zelensky opens Ukraine’s first international defence industries forum

Issued on: 30/09/2023 – 10:36Modified: 30/09/2023 – 11:16

4 min

11:11am: Putin marks anniversary of annexation of Ukrainian regions

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday insisted that the residents of four Ukrainian regions that Moscow illegally annexed a year ago “made their choice — to be with their Fatherland”.

In an address released in the early hours to mark the first anniversary of the annexation, Putin insisted that it was carried out “in full accordance with international norms”. He also claimed that residents of the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions had again expressed their desire to be part of Russia in local elections earlier this month, in which Russia’s Central Election Commission said that the country’s ruling party won the most votes.

The West has denounced both the referendum votes carried out last year and the recent ballots as a sham. The votes were held as Russian authorities attempted to tighten their grip on territories Moscow illegally annexed a year ago and still does not fully control.

10:10am: Zelensky opens forum in bid to attract arms manufacturers

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has opened Kyiv’s first International Defence Industries Forum in a bid to attract more manufacturers to build arms in Ukraine.

Kyiv has depended heavily on Western aid since Russia invaded last year, but is increasingly seeking to bolster its domestic arms industry amid fears support from its allies may waver.

“Our first task is to win this war and return a lasting and, most importantly, reliable peace to our people. We will accomplish this task through our cooperation with you,” Zelensky said in a speech at the opening on Friday.

“We are interested in localising the production of equipment necessary for our defence… and advanced defence systems used by our soldiers that give Ukraine the best results at the front today,” he said.

Officials from over 30 countries and 250 defence firms were gathered for the forum, which comes as Zelensky lobbies the West for more arms to wage a counteroffensive against Russia.

9:35am: Ukraine shoots down 30 drones over south, centre, say officials

Ukraine’s air force shot down 30 out of 40 Iranian-made “Shahed” drones launched by Russia in an overnight attack on central and southern regions, regional and military officials said on Saturday.

The South Military command said that 20 drones were shot down in the central Vinnytsia region and another 10 over the Odesa and Mykolaiv regions in the south.

Natalia Humeniuk, a spokesperson for the southern command, told Ukrainian TV that Russia continued to attack port infrastructure, including on the Danube River, and was also attempting to strike critical infrastructure facilities in other Ukrainian regions “to impact the economy”.

Russia has intensified air attacks on Ukrainian grain export infrastructure on the Danube River and in the port of Odesa since July, when Moscow quit a UN-brokered deal that allowed safe passage for Ukrainian grain exports via the Black Sea.

9:05am: Russia says air defence downs nine Ukrainian missiles over Belgorod 

The Russian defence ministry said on Saturday that its air defence had downed all nine missiles launched from Ukraine over its western Belgorod region.

Belgorod borders Ukraine’s Kharkiv region and has repeatedly come under fire since the beginning of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Ukraine almost never publicly claims responsibility for attacks inside Russia. Russia’s defence ministry said it thwarted Ukraine’s “terror” attack on its objects by destroying nine missiles of the multiple-launch rocket system called “Uragan” (Hurricane) in the air.

Key developments from Friday, September 29:

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday visited the site of the Babyn Yar massacre to mark the 82nd anniversary of one of the largest mass murders of Jews in the Holocaust. Zelensky placed a candle at the historic site and said Ukraine would “never” forget the tragedy perpetrated by Nazi Germany.

His visit came as Russian President Vladimir Putin met Andrei Troshev, formerly a top Wagner mercenary commander, and tasked him with overseeing volunteer fighter units in Ukraine, according to a Kremlin statement.

Troshev, also known by the nom de guerre “Sedoi”, or “grey hair” in Russian, is now working for Russia’s defence ministry, RIA Novosti news agency quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying on Friday.

The meeting underscored the Kremlin’s attempt to show that the state had now gained control over the mercenary group after a failed June mutiny by Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, who was killed in a plane crash in August.

Read yesterday’s live blog to see how the day’s events unfolded.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP, and Reuters)