Translated by: Tiago Jorge

The Russian war machine and Ukraine’s self-determination

The ongoing conflict in Ukraine has seen structural developments this week, since referendums in Russian-occupied Ukrainian regions were held and where 95% of the population of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia claim to be favourable to Russian occupation. On the other hand, numerous videos have surfaced on social media that show soldiers walking civilians to the ballots, which brings into question the referendum’s credibility, considered “illegal” by the European Union.

However, Russia has already formally annexed the four regions and has announced a partial mobilization of individuals to serve the war effort in Ukraine, although thousands are fleeing the country to avoid incorporating the forces. As a reaction to the Kremlin’s moves, Kiev has announced this past Friday that Ukraine has formalized a request to join NATO, which could lead to an escalation of violence.

Underwater explosions have also occurred in the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipeline zones, which endangers Central Europe’s supply. Both the West and Moscow have mutually accused each other of the sabotage attempt and/or destruction of the pipelines. However, all leaks were fixed, and this energy infrastructure’s activity has been restored.

Other News:

• October 2nd’s Brazilian elections resulted in a victory for Lula da Silva, who got 48,4% of the votes in the 1st round and 6 million more than Jair Bolsonaro – in the Brazilian communities, the Worker’s Party candidate won in Europe (managing 84% in both Portugal and France), China and Oceania, whereas Bolsonaro only won in the UAE,
  Greece, Israel, Japan, Mozambique, and East-Timor. Both candidates will compete for the presidency in a 2nd round schedule for October 30th.
• In Italy, the right and right-wing coalition formed by “The Brothers of Italy”, “The League” and “Forza Italia”, headed by Giorgia Meloni, Matteo Salvini and Silvio Berlusconi, have won the elections with 43,8% of votes. Meloni, leader of the post-fascist party, won practically the entire Italian Peninsula, except the cities and the South.
• In Iran, protests for the young Mahsa Amini are still happening, in a time where the death toll rises to 83 and the injuries surpass a thousand. 19 other people are presumed dead in a confrontation between protesters and police in Zahedan.
• Hurricane Ian has already taken 30 lives and its impacts are spreading across Western Cuba, Florida and North and South Carolina, where rivers were flooded, and millions of houses lost electricity.
• Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar president deposed after a coup in February 2021, was sentenced to three more years in jail for violating the State’s Secrets Law. She’ll serve a total of 23 years in prison.
• Kamala Harris visited Koreas’ Demilitarized Zone and her stay was highlighted by three perpetuated military exercises by North Korea where many short-range missiles were launched.
• Burkina Faso’s capital was taken by a new state coup and the new leadership was proclaimed on the national television’s headquarters, where a couple of soldiers presented themselves to the country with the goal of “restoring security and integrity in our territory”, since the previous leadership had failed the fight against jihadists.
• The Spanish Government admitted complications in fulfilling the Albufeira Convention and interrupted water transfers from the Douro River to Portugal this Tuesday, given the “energic protest” from mayors concerned with agriculture.
• In Cuba, the “Family Code” was supported by two thirds of voters, allowing the legalization of same-sex marriage, same-sex adoption, surrogate pregnancy,
  reproductive and labour rights’ updates and the redefinition of penalties for domestic violence.