by Eve Jamilkowski

There is still consistent warfare taking place in Ukraine with Russia including a back-and-forth of losing and regaining various cities and regions. Artillery and heavy missile attacks claim lives. Russia has also defied international law by signing a referendum to illegally annex four territories of occupied Ukraine into Russian territory.

Russia’s President Putin repeated previous threats of nuclear war to defend his hold on Ukraine, with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zenelskyy retaliating by formally submitting his country’s application to NATO. Submitting Ukraine to NATO will be putting the United States at risk of direct conflict with Russia by aiding Ukraine through the alliance. 

The BBC reported Finland announced it will close its borders to Russian tourists starting Friday, September 30. This is in response to Putin’s announcement of a draft of Russian citizens to help his military. More than 200,000 people have left Russia since Putin made this announcement on September 21. Approximately 100,000 Russians have crossed into Kazakhstan, 53,000+ passed the Georgian-Russian border, and 66,000 Russians have entered the European Union from Sept 19-25.

Kyiv Post reports Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke by phone to President Vladimir Putin, urging him to give negotiations with Ukraine one more chance. However, given past Turkish-Russian trading relations, as well as overall better than good standing between the two countries, U.S. reporters and politicians are dismissing this meeting as “a sham.”