Putin delays surprise speech; Germany's Scholz says Russia needs to understand it can't win in Ukraine

Secretary of State Antony Blinken slammed the Kremlin's attempt to hold a referendum in parts of Ukraine and called the move a "sign of Russian failure."

"We've seen reports that Russia is now considering proceeding with these sham referenda in Ukraine, something we said that they were going to do for many months," Blinken told reporters on the sidelines of the 77th United Nations General Assembly in New York City.

"That would then lead to them claiming the annexation of Ukrainian territory," he said, adding that if the referenda proceeds, the United States will never recognize the outcome.

"The sham referenda and the potential mobilization of additional forces isn't a sign of strength. On the contrary, it's a sign of weakness, it's a sign of Russian failure," America's top diplomat added.

— Amanda Macias

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said developed economies should impose an additional tax on the profits of fossil fuel firms and those funds should be diverted to countries affected by climate change.

"Our world is addicted to fossil fuels, it's time for an intervention," Guterres said.

"We need to hold fossil fuel companies and their enablers to account. That includes the banks, private equity, asset managers and other financial institutions that continue to invest and underwrite carbon pollution," he added.

Read more here.

— Amanda Macias

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield met with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on the sidelines of the high-level General Assembly in New York City.

The meeting between Thomas-Greenfield and Kuleba, their second since Russia's war broke out in late February, comes as the Kremlin attempts to hold referendums in Russian-controlled Ukrainian cities. The move is expected to set the groundwork for Russian troops to annex additional parts of the country.

The White House said the outcome of the votes in Luhansk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk will likely be manipulated in Russia's favor and will therefore not be acknowledged.

"The Russians can do whatever they want. It will not change anything," Kuleba said alongside Thomas-Greenfield.

— Amanda Macias

The organization overseeing the export of agricultural products from Ukraine said it has approved nine more vessels to leave the besieged country.

The Joint Coordination Center, an initiative of Ukraine, Russia, the United Nations and Turkey, said that the vessels are carrying a total of 200,701metric tons of grain and other food products.

The ships are expected to depart on Tuesday and are destined for Germany, Bangladesh, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Turkey.

— Amanda Macias

President Joe Biden has tapped State Department veteran Lynne Tracy as the next American ambassador to Russia.

Tracy, who speaks Russian, currently serves as the U.S. ambassador to Armenia, a neighbor of Russia.

She previously served as the second-highest official at the American embassy in Moscow.

Tracy will replace John Sullivan as head of the embassy there.

- Dan Mangan

Russian President Vladimir Putin failed for unknown reasons to deliver a nationally televised speech that would have been his first since the invasion of Ukraine earlier this year.

Putin has postponed the speech, which was expected to discuss the situation in Ukraine, until Wednesday, according to a Telegram post by Sergei Markov, a former advisor to the Russian leader,

"Go to sleep," wrote Margarita Simonyan, the editor of RT, a Russian state media outlet, on her own Telegram account.

- Dan Mangan

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Ankara is willing to help broker negotiations between Russia and Ukraine in order to restore security to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

The facility, Europe's largest nuclear power plant, was forcibly taken by Russian troops in the early days of the Kremlin's war in Ukraine. Both Moscow and Kyiv have accused each other of shelling and subsequent damage to the facility.

Erdogan said that Turkey's role in the Black Sea Initiative deal, which helped open three Ukrainian ports for agricultural exports, is an example of how Ankara can help address concerns around Zaporizhzhia.

"As a result of the intensive efforts we carried out together with the Secretary-General [Antonio Guterres], we made sure that the Ukrainian grain was able to reach the world through the Black Sea," Erdogan said before the international forum.

"A similar approach can also be displayed regarding the crisis at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station, which concerns the safety of the entire humanity," he said, without providing additional details.

— Amanda Macias

White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said his Ukranian counterparts tell him the mass graves discovered in Izyum, Ukraine, after Russian forces were pushed out, are in some ways "worse" than those discovered in Bucha.

Sullivan said he was briefed on the situation when he spoke with his counterpart, Ukrainian chief of staff Andriy Yermak.

"He gave me a report about what the Ukrainians were discovering around Izyum, and he put it quite bluntly: He said that this is in some ways worse than Bucha, and we will see more of these as we go, as Ukraine de-occupies towns that have previously been occupied by Russian forces. We are finding increasing evidence of these mass atrocities."

— Emma Kinery

Any referendums on joining Russia in Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories would destroy any remaining window for talks between Kyiv and Moscow, Ukrainian publication Liga.net cited the Ukrainian president's office spokesman as saying.

"Without the referendums, there is still the smallest chance for a diplomatic solution. After the referendums - no," Liga.net quoted Serhiy Nykyforov as saying.

He made the comments in response to Russian-installed officials in four occupied Ukrainian regions announcing plans for referendums over the next week on formally joining Russia.

— Reuters

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with his Turkish counterpart on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York City.

Blinken thanked Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu for Ankara's work in securing a sea corridor for Ukrainian agriculture products.

"I want to particularly praise the work that Turkey has done to help establish the grain port on the Black Sea that is allowing desperately needed food to get out of Ukraine and to the people who need it," Blinken said, according to a State Department readout of the meeting.

"I'm grateful for the work we're doing together as NATO allies and partners, many security challenges that we're facing together," he added.

— Amanda Macias

The Biden administration said Russian attempts to hold a referendum in parts of Ukraine will not be acknowledged and will not deter the U.S. and its allies from supporting Kyiv.

"It's part of their playbook and it's something we saw in 2014," Pentagon press secretary Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters during a daily briefing when asked about the potential referendum.

"They will use that as a basis to try and legitimize further annexation," he said, adding that the outcome will not distract the U.S. from its mission to support Ukraine.

At the White House, national security adviser Jake Sullivan called the referenda an affront to Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

"We know that these referenda will be manipulated," he said, adding that the "United States will never recognize Russia's claims."

— Amanda Macias

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a tweet that he discussed "current security issues" in a phone call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

The tweet followed an interview Erdoğan did Monday with PBS NewsHour, where he said Russia must return all land it has occupied, including Crimea.

Erdoğan is one of only a handful of world leaders with continued ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin. He told PBS in an interview outside of the United Nations in New York, that when he met with Putin in Uzbekistan last week, Putin gave him the impression he was "willing to end this as soon as possible." 

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres gave a somber assessment of global affairs in an opening address of the annual high-level gathering in New York City.

"Our world is in peril and paralyzed," Guterres told world leaders attending the 77th United Nations General Assembly, which returned in person for the first time in three years.

"We are gridlocked in colossal global dysfunction," he said, adding that the international community "is not ready or willing to tackle" these challenges.

In addition to Russia's war in Ukraine, the U.N. chief urged global leaders to address the looming climate crisis, gender inequality and extreme poverty. He also pushed them to invest in policies that promote peace around the world.

— Amanda Macias

Brittney Griner's highly publicized legal woes in Russia and the country's invasion of Ukraine has the top WNBA players opting to take their talents elsewhere this offseason.

For the past few decades, Russia has been the preferred offseason destination for WNBA players to compete because of the high salaries that can exceed $1 million – nearly quadruple the base salary of top WNBA players -- and the resources and amenities teams offered them.

That all has come to an abrupt end.

"Honestly my ti