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What did 27 September 2022 reveal about Moscow's plans?
Summary
A look back at a day of annexation timetables, departures from Russia and Western air defence deliveries.
What was Moscow signalling on 27 September 2022, and how were its neighbours reacting? Reports from that day pointed in three directions: a timetable for annexation, a flow of people leaving Russia, and fresh Western weapons reaching Ukraine.
A timetable for annexation
Valentina Matviyenko, Speaker of the Federation Council, the upper chamber of the Russian parliament, said she expected the annexation of occupied Ukrainian territory to be formalised by 4 October. Her remark came as Russian-installed officials in Ukraine were staging so-called referendums on annexation. The background to those votes is that they were denounced by various countries. Later, the validity of their results was accepted only by North Korea.
Departures after the mobilisation order
On the same day, Kazakhstan said that around 98,000 Russian civilians had entered the country by land and air since Russian president Vladimir Putin ordered a military mobilisation. The figure showed how quickly the order had begun to affect Russia's neighbours.
Air defence for Ukraine
Two days earlier, on 25 September 2022, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed that Ukraine had received NASAMS air defence systems from the United States. That confirmation was part of the background to the day's events.
Taken together, the reports from 27 September 2022 showed Russia setting a political schedule for annexation while its mobilisation order pushed many civilians across a border, and Ukraine confirmed a new Western air defence delivery.
