According to a live broadcast on Ukraine, Russia organises elections in seized territory despite international condemnation.

 Moscow began holding referendums on Friday in four Ukrainian areas it controls, stepping up its effort to regain control of large portions of the nation. Here is the most recent information about the conflict and its global effects.

• Important events

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The separatist territories of Luhansk and Donetsk, which make up the eastern Donbas region, as well as the southern Kherson region and occupied parts of nearby Zaporizhzhia, will hold referendums on the possibility of joining Russia for five days. These referendums are illegal under Ukrainian and international law. Numerous voting places will open, according to Russian news media, and refugees living in Russia would be able to participate in the referendums, which have sparked outrage throughout the world as part of Moscow's alleged plan to annex Ukrainian land.

• Authorities with assistance from the Kremlin asserted that there was a guarantee of support for the annexation of Ukrainian land. Denis Pushilin, the head of the self-declared Donetsk People's Republic, said in a video on Friday, "We're returning home.The main driver behind all of our actions and disagreements is this.

• Dmitry Medvedev, a former Russian president, predicted that Russia will absorb Donbas and other Ukrainian territories. The deputy head of the Security Council, Medvedev, cautioned that Moscow may deploy nuclear weapons to defend such areas. While it was unknown if any communications had been received in recent days, Washington has been privately warning Moscow for months about the dire repercussions if it launched a nuclear bomb in Ukraine, The Washington Post said.

• Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, criticized the validity of the fake referendums. He encouraged Russians to oppose the military mobilization that Putin declared last week while speaking in Russian. "Thousands have suffered injuries or disabilities. Need more? No? and then object. Strike back. Move away. instead, submitting to Ukrainian captivity. In his nightly message, he stated, "These are possibilities for you to survive.

• Field of combat updates

In the south, Ukraine claimed to have shot down four attack drones built in Iran.

Following reports from U.S. officials that Tehran started delivering drones to Russia in August, Ukraine reported its first encounter with a Shahid drone last week.

"Detailed negotiations" concerning a safety zone at the Zaporizhzhia facility are now in progress, according to the U.N. nuclear inspector.

The biggest nuclear power station in Europe, which is located in Ukraine and is controlled by Russia, is protected by the zone, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Global effect

• At a contentious U.N. Security Council meeting on Thursday, diplomats sparred over accusations of Russian war crimes. Russia's retreat from the Ukrainian cities of Izyum and Bucha, according to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, revealed horrifying torture and murders that could not be explained away as the work of a few bad actors. Sergei Lavrov, the foreign minister of Russia, briefly entered the session but quickly left after denying the accusations and denouncing Western backing for Kyiv.

• On Thursday, traffic at the Finnish-Russian border was "greater than typical," although it was still well below pre-pandemic levels. After Putin's partial mobilization order, a representative for the Finnish Border Guard said something on Twitter. According to him, the majority of Russians crossing the border had valid passports and visas. Helsinki has significantly reduced the number of Russian citizen visas issued during the conflict. On Monday, the borders of Poland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania were closed to visitors from Russia.

According to our journos

Putin is facing domestic rage over the call-up of reserves: Stern reports that Russian families said heartbreaking goodbyes to hundreds of sons and spouses who were unexpectedly called up for military duty as part of President Vladimir Putin's latest mobilization on Thursday. They add that on Wednesday and Thursday, 

"At anti-mobilization protests in cities and towns across Russia, more than 1,300 people were jailed." A Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, referred to reports of full aircraft and huge lineups to leave Russia as "false."