TOP HEADLINES
 

· Russia Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, at a United Nations meeting in New York, said regions of Ukraine, where widely-derided referendums are being held, would be under Russia's "full protection" if they decide to place themselves under Moscow's control. READ MORE BELOW

· The Duma, Russia's lower house of parliament, may debate bills incorporating the Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine into Russia on September 29, the state-run TASS news agency said. The referendums in four regions have entered their third day.

· Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he was "in shock" at Israel's failure to give Kyiv anti-missile systems to help counter Russian attacks.

· Addressing complaints about the country's mobilisation drive, Russia's two most senior lawmakers have ordered regional officials to get control of the situation and resolve "excesses" that have caused public anger. Valentina Matviyenko, the chairwoman of Russia's upper house, and Vyacheslav Volodin, speaker of the State Duma, have expressed concern over the call-up process.

· The head of the Kremlin's Human Rights Council, Valery Fadeyev,  also said he had written to Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu with a request to "urgently resolve" problems of the mobilisation.

· Ukraine's military has said that Russian forces had launched dozens of missile attacks and air strikes on military and civilian targets in the past 24 hours. It claimed drone attacks on the southern city of Odesa with no casualties were reported.

· Ukrainian forces have struck a hotel in the city of Kherson, killing two people, Russia's RIA state news agency has reported. Russian forces have occupied the southern city since the early battles of the conflict.

· Russia has toughened penalties for soldiers voluntarily surrendering or refusing to fight, with up to 10 years imprisonment.

IN DETAIL

Russia has sought to defend its seven-month old war at the United Nations, with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov saying that regions of Ukraine where widely-derided referendums are being held would be under Russia's "full protection" if they chose to place themselves under Moscow's authority.

The referendums in four eastern Ukrainian regions, aimed at deciding the future of territory Russia has taken since February, entered their third day on Sunday and the Russian parliament could move to formalise the results within days.

Ukraine and its Western allies have dismissed the referendums as a sham designed to justify an escalation of the war and a mobilisation drive by Moscow after recent battlefield losses.

President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday ordered Russia's first military mobilisation since World War Two, a move that triggered protests in a number of cities.

Russia's two most senior lawmakers on Sunday addressed a string of complaints about the mobilisation, ordering regional officials to get a handle on the situation and swiftly solve the "excesses" that have stoked public anger.

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Addressing the UN General Assembly and the world's media in New York, Lavrov justified Russia's attack on its neighbor on the grounds that the elected government in Kyiv was illegitimately installed and filled with neo-Nazis. Those claims have been widely rebutted by Ukraine and its allies.

He cast opposition to what Russia calls a "special operation" as limited to the United States and countries under its sway. However, nearly three-quarters of states in the assembly voted to reprimand Russia and demand it withdraw its troops.

Asked if Russia would have grounds for using nuclear weapons to defend regions under its authority, Lavrov said Russian territory, including areas "further enshrined" in Russia's constitution in the future, "is under the full protection of the state."

Ukraine's foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, said Russia's mentions of the possible use of nuclear weapons were "absolutely unacceptable" and Kyiv would not give in to them.