Russia-Ukraine updates: Russian missiles hit convoy carrying Ukrainian civilians near Zaporizhzhia, 23 killed

Russian missiles hit a convoy of vehicles carrying Ukrainian civilians near the southern city of Zaporizhzhia on Friday, killing and wounding several people, the regional governor has said.

"So far, 23 dead and 28 wounded. All civilians," Starukh wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

Starukh said the people in the convoy had planned to travel into Russian-occupied territory to pick up their relatives and then take them to safety.

Russia has always denied deliberately targeting civilians during its invasion of Ukraine — which it calls a "special military operation" — although Ukrainian towns and cities have come under frequent attack by Russian forces since the assault began on February 24.

A pro-Kremlin official in Zaporizhzhia has denied the Russian army was behind the attack and said it was a "terrorist attack" by Ukrainian forces.

Here is more news from or concerning the war in Ukraine on Friday, September 30:

West was behind sabotage of Nord Stream — Russian spy chief

Russia's top spy said Moscow had materials indicating the West had a role in ruptures to the undersea Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines that have threatened to put them permanently out of use.

"We have materials that point to a Western trace in the organization and implementation of these terrorist acts," said Sergei Naryshkin, the head of Russia's foreign intelligence service.

Naryshkin's remarks are the most direct accusation against the West from a senior Russian official. He did not elaborate on what evidence Russia allegedly had. 

Since the ruptures were first detected earlier this week, officials in Moscow have hinted that the West, led by the United States, could be behind the leaks.

Meanwhile, Sweden's energy minister said on Friday it was "very likely" that the attack on the pipelines was done on purpose by a state actor.

Neither Nord Stream 1 or 2 were in operation when the ruptures were discovered on Monday, but both contained gas. The North Stream 2 leak "has diminished, but is still on-going," the Swedish coast guard added.

Head of Donetsk separatists says Russian-held Lyman 'semi-encircled'

The head of the Russian-backed separatist administration in east Ukraine's Donetsk region said the Russian stronghold of Lyman, in the region's north, was "semi-encircled" by the Ukrainian army and that news from the front was "alarming."

In a message posted on Telegram, Denis Pushilin, administrator of the so-called "Donetsk People's Republic," said the villages of Yampil and Drobysheve near Lyman "are no longer fully controlled by us."

With Russian President Vladimir Putin poised illegally to annex the Donetsk region on Friday, Pushilin said "the Ukrainian army is trying with all its might to blacken this historic event for us."

Lyman, which had a pre-war population of around 20,000, was captured by Russia in May after an extended battle.

Any attack on annexed territory will be an attack on Russia — Kremlin

The Kremlin said that it would consider attacks against any part of the regions of Ukraine that it is illegally about to annex as acts of aggression against Russia itself.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Russia would "de jure" incorporate parts of eastern Ukraine that are not under the control of Russian forces into Russia itself as part of its move to annex four regions of Ukraine.

According to Peskov, Russia will consider the territory of "Donetsk People’s Republic" not yet controlled by Russian forces as part of Russia. However, he could not answer the question about the borders of the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions. Peskov said he needs to clarify it.

Russia is moving to annex the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions of Ukraine after sham votes in occupied areas of Ukraine. Western governments and Kyiv said the votes breached international law and were coercive and non-representative.

UK will never accept Russia’s annexation of Ukrainian regions — Truss

Britain will never accept the regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia as "anything other than Ukrainian territory" Prime Minister Liz Truss said, adding that Russian President Vladimir Putin was violating international law.

"Putin cannot be allowed to alter international borders using brute force. We will ensure he loses this illegal war," Truss said in a statement. "Putin has, once again, acted in violation of international law with clear disregard for the lives of the Ukrainian people he claims to represent."

Later on Friday, Putin is expected to announce Russian rule over around 15% of Ukraine, the largest annexation in Europe since World War II.

Russia-backed official in Kherson killed in Ukrainian strikes: Russian news agency

An official who formed part of the Moscow-installed administration of the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson has been killed in a strike by Ukrainian forces, according to local officials cited by Russia's state-run news agency RIA Novosti.

"The first deputy head of security in the Kherson administration, Alexei Katerinichev, died as a result of a missile attack by Ukrainian troops in the center of Kherson," it said in its report.

A number of Moscow-installed officials in Russian-controlled regions have died recently in attacks that some attribute to Ukrainian resistance efforts.

New Russian troops told to use 'female sanitary products' as cheap first aid: UK intelligence

Newly mobilized Russian reservists have been ordered to bring along their own first-aid supplies — with female sanitary products advised as a cheaper alternative to a proper medical kit — as official military provisions appear to be running low, according to an intelligence update from the UK's Ministry of Defence.

The update said some troops who had obtained Western-style combat tourniquets were using cable ties to attach them to equipment to ensure they were not stolen. This would likely mean delays in applying the tourniquets if a soldier were to suffer severe bleeding during fighting, it said.

Russian troops were likely to be losing confidence in the Russian army's medical provision, something that would almost certainly contribute to a decline in morale, the ministry said.

UN Security Council schedules vote on condemning Moscow for planned annexations

The UN Security Council plans to vote Friday afternoon on a resolution condemning Russia for its plans to annex Russian-controlled areas of Ukraine's Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions.

The resolution would deem "illegal so-called referenda" on joining the Russian Federation that were held in the regions to "have no validity."

The resolution has been sponsored by the United States and Albania and is sure to be vetoed by Russia.

In that case, according to US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US and Albania will put the resolution to a vote in the 193-member General Assembly where there are no vetoes.

The resolution would also call for the withdrawal of all Russian troops from Ukraine.