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What did 25 September 2022 reveal about Russia's pressures?
Summary
A look back at a day when mobilisation protests, mass detentions and new air defence for Kyiv unfolded alongside referendums in occupied Ukraine.
What was happening on 25 September 2022, as Russia pursued referendums in occupied Ukraine while strains from its mobilisation spread at home and abroad? The day brought together several threads of the war, each pointing to pressure on Moscow.
Protests over mobilisation
Mass protests against mobilisation took place in Dagestan on 25 September 2022, with protesters clashing with police. The number of people detained in anti-war protests across Russia rose to more than 2,000. A day earlier, on 24 September, at least 700 people had been reported detained during anti-war protests across the country.
The mobilisation was also driving people out of Russia. As reported on 24 September, thousands of fighting-age men continued to leave, and massive lines were seen at the borders with Georgia and Finland.
Referendums in occupied territories
On 23 September, 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 regarded them as "sham" referendums. Russian-installed officials staged them, and they were denounced by various countries. Later, the validity of the results was accepted only by North Korea.
Air defence and diplomacy
On 25 September 2022, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed that Ukraine had received NASAMS air defence systems from the United States. Kyiv also took a diplomatic step the day before: on 24 September it announced a reduction in the staff of Iran's diplomatic mission, in response to the delivery of Iranian drones to Russia.
Economic signals
Also on 25 September, Uzbekistan suspended the use of Russia's card payment system Mir. The move was said to be warranted by the need to carry out the necessary technical procedures, and it was described as unrelated to sanctions.
Why the day matters
Taken together, these developments show the war's pressures extending beyond the front line. Inside Russia, mobilisation prompted street protests, thousands of detentions and queues at borders. Abroad, Kyiv was adding to its air defences and acting against a state it said was supplying drones to Russia, while a Central Asian neighbour paused a Russian payment system. Meanwhile, the votes in occupied areas were under way, with Ukraine and other countries rejecting them from the start.
