Ukraine shoots down two Russian Su-25 jets amid 'sham' referendum on its territories

As Russian installed election officials meandered door to door to collect the Kremlin-orchestrated votes for the referenda on Ukraine's four occupied regions, the Ukrainian military ramped up its defensive posture, bringing down two Russian Su-25 fighter aircraft in Bashtansky district of Mykolaiv region. In a statement, Ukraine's Air Force informed that its personnel managed to destroy at least four Russian X-59 missiles and that its anti-aircraft missile forces eliminated three operational-tactical level UAVs Orlan-10 belonging to occupying forces. 

"On September 29, at about 17:00, in Bashtansky district of Mykolaiv region, the soldiers of Odesa anti-aircraft missile brigade of the Air Command Pivden (South) shot down two Russian Su-25 attack aircraft," Ukraine's Air Force said in a post. 

EU plans new sanctions, bans on Russian MoD officials in response to referenda

Despite the vote to formally incorporate the occupied region into the Russian Federation, the occupying forces of Moscow continued heavy shelling, damaging the civilian infrastructure. Oleksandr Starukh, the Ukrainian governor of Zaporizhzhia, one of the regions where Russian-backed authorities organised referendums, said that a Russian missile hit an apartment building in the regional capital, killing one person and injuring seven others. Both Ukraine and its Western allies rejected what they labelled "sham" and "illegal" referendums in the occupied parts of its southern and eastern territories, adding that it has no legal force. 

The European Union on Thursday proposed a raft of new sanctions against Russia in a retaliatory move against the so-called annexation of the Ukrainian territories. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced the decision, saying the new sanctions package was designed "to make the Kremlin pay" for escalating the conflict and the "sham" votes in occupied territories that the EU condemns. The sanctions package will include import bans on Russian products that are expected to deprive Moscow of an additional €7 billion ($6.7 billion) in revenues. EU diplomat Josep Borrell asserted that the authorities involved in the self-styled referendums of Ukraine, mainly the Russian Defense Ministry would be subject to EU entry bans and asset freezes. 

"Russia has escalated the invasion of Ukraine to a new level," the European Commission president said at a briefing. "We do not accept the sham referenda nor any kind of annexation in Ukraine and we’re determined to make the Kremlin pay for this further escalation."