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What happened on 24 September 2022 across Russia and Ukraine
Summary
A look back at a day of border queues, protest arrests, a diplomatic cut and voting in occupied territories.
What did the war look like on 24 September 2022, two days after Russia announced a mobilisation and one day after voting began in occupied Ukraine? The reports from that day and the days around it point in several directions at once: flight from Russia, street protest, a diplomatic rupture and a contested ballot.
Men leaving Russia
On 24 September 2022, thousands of fighting-age men were reported to be continuing to leave Russia because of the mobilisation. Massive lines were reported at the country's borders with Georgia and Finland. The exodus had begun two days earlier: on 22 September 2022, large numbers of men left after the announcement, long traffic jams built up at international crossings and the price of tickets for international flights rose sharply.
Protests and detentions
The same day, anti-war protests took place across Russia. At least 700 people were detained.
Ukraine and Iran
Also on 24 September 2022, Ukraine announced a reduction in the staff of Iran's diplomatic mission. Kyiv said the step was a response to the delivery of Iranian drones to Russia for use in the war.
Votes in occupied territories
On 23 September 2022, referendums began in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian oblasts of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia and in the separatist republics of Donetsk and Luhansk, on whether to join Russia. Ukraine and other countries considered them to be "sham" referendums. The voting was still under way on 24 September 2022. Later accounts noted that the votes were widely described as shams by commentators and denounced by various countries, and that only North Korea accepted the validity of the results.
Earlier in the week
Two days before, on 22 September 2022, Ukraine and Russia carried out a prisoner exchange mediated by Turkey and Saudi Arabia. Russia released 215 fighters from the Siege of Mariupol and Ukraine released 55 Russian prisoners of war. Among those freed were Azov Regiment commander Denys Prokopenko, the British volunteers Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner, and the Moroccan volunteer Saadun Brahim. The pro-Russian Ukrainian politician Viktor Medvedchuk was also released.
On the same day, authorities of the Donetsk People's Republic accused Ukraine of shelling a market in Donetsk, saying six civilians had been killed.
A day in context
Taken together, the events of 24 September 2022 showed the war's effects reaching well beyond the front line: into Russian border queues and city streets, into Ukraine's relations with a third country, and into the occupied regions where the ballots were being held.
