Russia-Ukraine war – live: Putin says there’s no need for more ‘massive strikes’

Russian president Vladimir Putin has said that there is no need for more massive strikes on Ukraine.

He said that most of the designated targets had been hit and said that it was not his aim to destroy the country.

Vladimir Putin also said on Friday that he expects his mobilization of army reservists for combat in Ukraine to be completed in about two weeks.

Speaking to journalists after a summit in Kazakhstan, Mr Putin said: “There’s no need for massive strikes. We now have other tasks.”

It comes after a UN envoy said that Moscow’s forces are using rape and sexual violence as part of their “military strategy.”

Speaking during an interview with AFP, Pramila Patten, UN envoy, said that Moscow’s forces were using a "deliberate tactic to dehumanise the victims.”

The Independent reported in June that Ukraine claimed to have documented 15,000 suspected war crimes, including rapes by ill-equipped Russian soldiers who used sexual violence to strike fear into the local population.

Key points

• Rape used in Ukraine as part of Russian 'military strategy': UN envoy

• Russia expects newly mobilised ‘cannon fodder’ to last few weeks - Zelensky

• Ukraine recaptured more than 600 settlements from Russia last month

• Russia’s Wagner troops slowly making progress in Donbas - MoD

• Elon Musk’s SpaceX says can no longer pay for Starlink satellite services in Ukraine

Putin: There is no more need for massive air strikes on Ukraine

19:41 , Holly Bancroft

Russian president Vladimir Putin has said that there is no need for more massive strikes on Ukraine.

He said that most of the designated targets had been hit and said that it was not his aim to destroy Ukraine.

Vladimir Putin also said on Friday that he expects his mobilization of army reservists for combat in Ukraine to be completed in about two weeks.

Speaking to journalists after a summit in Kazakhstan, Mr Putin said: “There’s no need for massive strikes. We now have other tasks.”

Mobilization of army reservists to end within weeks, Putin says

19:21 , Holly Bancroft

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday he expects his mobilization of army reservists for combat in Ukraine to be completed in about two weeks, allowing him to end an unpopular and chaotic call-up meant to counter Ukrainian battlefield gains and to solidify his illegal annexation of occupied territory.

Putin — facing domestic discontent and military setbacks in a neighboring country armed with increasingly advanced Western weapons — also told reporters he does not regret starting the conflict and “did not set out to destroy Ukraine“ when he ordered Russian troops to invade nearly eight months ago.

“What is happening today is unpleasant, to put it mildly,” he said after attending a summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States in Kazakhstan’s capital. “But we would have had all this a little later, only under worse conditions for us, that’s all. So my actions are correct and timely.”

Russia’s difficulties in achieving its war aims were becoming apparent in one of the four Ukrainian regions Putin illegally claimed as Russian territory last month. Anticipating an advance by Ukrainian forces, Moscow-installed authorities in the Kherson region urged residents to flee Friday.

What is Elon Musk up to in Ukraine?

19:01 , Holly Bancroft

Elon Musk, the boss of Tesla and SpaceX and the richest man in the world, has unexpectedly indicated that the latter company will no longer be providing its Starlink satellite internet service to Ukrainians for free.

The service has proven invaluable in the country since Russia’s invasion began on 24 February, enabling the Ukrainian military to keep lines of communication open even when IT infrastructure has been destroyed by enemy missiles.

The company first dispatched its terminals to the warzone just days into the conflict after Ukraine’s vice prime minister Mykhailo Fedorov tweeted Mr Musk directly asking for his help, returning to social media just two days later with a picture posted in gratitude to show the first shipment of Starlink equipment arriving.

Read the full story here:

Ukraine's Marchenko elected to chair the boards of World Bank, IMF in 2023

18:10 , Aisha Rimi

The shareholders of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank have elected Ukrainian Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko to chair the boards of governors of both institutions in 2023.

The unanimous decision, which came during the annual meetings of the IMF and World Bank in Washington, means that Mr Marchenko will also chair next year’s annual meeting of the institutions, which is scheduled to be held in Morocco.

It marks the first time that Ukraine will lead the institutions since it joined 30 years ago, Mr Marchenko said in a statement released by the Ukrainian finance ministry.

Ukraine wants global financial crime watchdog to expel Russia

17:51 , Aisha Rimi

Ukraine’s central bank chief said he plans to ask the global financial crime watchdog the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to expel Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.

Newly appointed central bank governor Andriy Pyshnyi said on Facebook that he would make the request on behalf of the bank in a letter to the FATF before the organisation’s plenary session between 18 to 21 October.

Russia is currently a member of FATF. Ukraine is not a member.

Mr Pyshnyi accused Russia of “creating serious threats to the security and integrity of the world’s financial system” and demanded that Moscow be made to “feel the price” for its invasion of Ukraine.

Kyiv vows to find solution to keep Starlink working in Ukraine

17:23 , Aisha Rimi

Kyiv will find a solution to keep the Starlink internet service working in Ukraine, presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said.

Elon Musk said earlier today that his rocket company SpaceX could not indefinitely fund Starlink in Ukraine.

“Let’s be honest. Like it or not, @elonmusk helped us survive the most critical moments of war. Business has the right to its own strategies. Ukraine will find a solution to keep #Starlink working. We expect that the company will provide stable connection till the end of negotiations,” Podolyak wrote on Twitter.

Putin warns of ‘global catastrophe’ if Nato troops clash with Russian forces

16:55 , Aisha Rimi

Vladimir Putin has warned that any direct clash of NATO troops with Russia could lead to a “global catastrophe“.

Speaking at a news conference in the Kazakh capital Astana on Friday, Putin also claimed he had no regrets about invading Ukraine and that Russia’s partial mobilisation of troops should be completed within two weeks.

He said a total of 222,000 reservists would be called-up, down from the 300,000 figure initially quoted by the defence ministry when the order was announced last month.

Eleanor Sly reports:

Putin warns of ‘global catastrophe’ if Nato troops clash with Russian forces

Ukraine war to slash European gas consumption ‘almost 50 per cent by 2050’

16:40 , Eleanor Sly

Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine is slashing European countries’ gas use but will ultimately speed the transition to renewables, a new report claims.

Projections of European gas use by the middle of the century have tumbled from 310 billion cubic metres (bcm) per year predicted one year ago, to 170 bcm now.

This represents a fall in demand by 2050 of 45.2 per cent, according to the report by Norwegian consultancy group DNV.

Harry Cockburn reports:

Ukraine war to slash European gas consumption ‘almost 50 per cent by 2050’

US will impose sanctions on those supporting Russia

16:15 , Eleanor Sly

The United States on Friday warned it can impose sanctions on anyone - people, countries and companies - that provide ammunition to Moscow or support its military-industrial complex, as Washington seeks to increase pressure on Moscow over the war in Ukraine.

Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo, at a gathering of officials from 32 countries to discuss sanctions on Russia, said the department will issue guidance on Friday and made it clear that Washington is willing and able to impose such a crackdown.

“This morning, Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control is issuing guidance making clear that we are willing and able to sanction people, companies, or countries that provide ammunition to Russia or support Russia’s military-industrial complex,” Mr Adeyemo said in remarks ahead of the meeting,

Belarus says Russian troops to arrive in coming days

15:54 , Eleanor Sly

The Belarus defence ministry has said that Russian troops will start arriving in the country in the coming days as part of its joint force, reports Reuters.

Clash between NATO and Russian troops would lead to ‘global catastrophe’, says Putin

15:33 , Eleanor Sly

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that any direct clash of NATO troops with Russia would lead to a "global catastrophe".

"I hope that those who are saying this are smart enough not to take such steps," Mr Putin said at a news conference in the Kazakh capital Astana.

‘We do not set ourselves the task of destroying Ukraine,’ says Putin

14:45 , Eleanor Sly

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday there was no need for massive new strikes on Ukraine and that Russia was not aiming to destroy its neighbour.

Speaking to a news conference at the end of a summit in Kazakhstan, Mr Putin said that his call-up of Russian reservists would be over within two weeks, adding he had no plans for a further mobilisation.

He also said again that the Kremlin position that Russia was willing to hold talks, although he said that they would require international mediation if Ukraine was willing to take part.

Taken together, Mr Putin’s comments appeared to suggest a slight softening of his tone as the war nears the end of its eighth month, after weeks of Ukrainian advances and significant Russian defeats.

But he was speaking just a week when Russia has staged its heaviest missile attacks on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities since the start of its invasion in February - an action that Mr Putin has said was retaliation for an attack that damaged a Russian bridge to occupied Crimea.

“We do not set ourselves the task of destroying Ukraine. No, of course not,” Mr Putin said.

He said there was “no need for massive strikes” now, due to the fact that most designated targets had been hit.

Russian army using rape as a ‘deliberate’ strategy in Ukraine, claims UN envoy

14:30 , Eleanor Sly

Rape and sexual assaults have been used as a deliberate part of Russian “military strategy” in Ukraine, according to a UN envoy.

UN envoy Pramila Patten said that Moscow’s forces were using a “deliberate tactic to dehumanise the victims”.

“When you hear women testify about Russian soldiers equipped with Viagra, it’s clearly a military strategy,” she told news agency AFP.

Eleanor Sly reports:

Russian army has used rape as a ‘deliberate’ strategy in Ukraine, claims UN envoy

Ukraine: Boy, 11, rescued after being trapped under rubble for six hours amid Russian shelling

14:10 , Eleanor Sly

An 11-year-old boy was pulled from the rubble of a five-story building, after Russian shelling in the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv.

Regional governor Vitali Kim said the child was trapped for six hours before being rescued by emergency services on Thursday morning (13 October).

Footage shows the boy being pulled out of the rubble before he is taken to hospital in an ambulance.

Watch more here:

Boy, 11, rescued after being trapped under rubble for six hours amid Russian shelling

'No waiting': Turkey, Russia to act on Putin's gas hub offer

13:40 , Eleanor Sly

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Friday that Turkey and Russia have instructed their respective energy authorities to immediately begin technical work on a Russian proposal that would turn Turkey into a gas hub for Europe.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has floated the idea of exporting more gas through the TurkStream gas pipeline running beneath the Black Sea to Turkey after gas deliveries to Germany through the Baltic Sea’s Nord Stream pipeline were halted.

Erdogan said Russian and Turkish energy authorities would work together to designate the best location for a gas distribution center, adding that Turkey’s Thrace region, bordering Greece and Bulgaria, appeared to be the best spot.

Read more here:

'No waiting': Turkey, Russia to act on Putin's gas hub offer

Read our report from June - 100 days of Ukraine invasion: How Russian soldiers weaponised rape in war with Kyiv

13:10 , Eleanor Sly

When Natalia* was escaping the drunk Russian soldiers who had raped her for several hours, she clutched her four-year-old son’s hands and walked past her husband’s corpse in the pitch-black night.

She told her son they had to run very fast because just hours earlier, the Russian soldiers — who terrorised her and shot her husband down in the family’s yard before raping her — had threatened to show the toddler “her scattered brains” if she did not undress.

The invasion had entered its fourth day when this happened in Kyiv.

Arpan Rai wrote in June:

100 days of Ukraine invasion: How Russian soldiers weaponised rape in war

Rape used in Ukraine as part of Russian 'military strategy': UN envoy

12:41 , Eleanor Sly

Rape and sexual assaults have been used as part of Russian “military strategy,” said a UN envoy.

UN envoy Pramila Patten said that Moscow’s forces were using a "deliberate tactic to dehumanise the victims."

Speaking with AFP in an interview, she said: "When you hear women testify about Russian soldiers equipped with Viagra, it’s clearly a military strategy.”

According to Ms Patten, the UN has verified over one hundred cases of rape and sexual assaults in Ukraine since Russia invaded in February.

Russian man suspected of flying drones near Norwegian oil and gas platforms arrested

12:35 , Eleanor Sly

A Russian man has been detained in Norway, suspected of flying unmanned drones in the country.

The fifty-year-old was found with two drones, following a number of drone sightings near to Norwegian offshore oil and gas platforms in recent weeks.

The Russian citizen was detained on Tuesday but has not been identified.

Eleanor Sly reports:

Russian man suspected of flying drones near Norwegian oil and gas platforms arrested

Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant working to Russian standards, says Russian official

12:05 , Eleanor Sly

A Russian-installed official in southern Ukraine said on Friday that the town’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant has begun working according to Russian standards, state-owned news agency TASS reported.

Russia declared Zaporizhzhia region a part of its territory last month in a move rejected by Kyiv and unrecognised internationally.

Elon Musk confirms pulling SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service on Twitter

11:45 , Eleanor Sly

Elon Musk confirms reports that funding is being pulled from SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service provision in Ukraine on Twitter.

He replied to a tweet by a journalist from the Kyiv post, writing tweeting “We’re just following his recommendation.”

This was in reference to Ukrainian diplomat Andrij Melnyk having said “F**k off is my very diplomatic reply to you” to Mr Musk’s Twitter poll which he published 3 October.

Ukraine demands Red Cross visit notorious prison

11:19 , Eleanor Sly

Officials in Ukraine have urged the Red Cross to conduct a mission to a prison camp located in the Russia-occupied east of Ukraine.

The Ukrainian president’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, called on the Red Cross (ICRC) to the Olenivka prison, which is located in Donetsk.

“We just can’t waste more time. Human lives are at stake,” he tweeted.

Last month, the Red Cross attempted to access the camp, but said it they were denied access to it by Russian authorities.

In a statement on Friday, the ICRC said: “We want to stress that our teams are ready on the ground - and have been ready for months - to visit the Olenivka penal facility and any other location where POWs are held.

“However, beyond being granted access by high levels of authority, this requires practical arrangements to materialize on the ground. We cannot access by force a place of detention or internment where we have not been admitted.”

Orphan watched dad die, now awaits future in Ukraine shelter

11:00 , Eleanor Sly

One building in the recaptured but devastated Ukrainian town of Izium is filled with those at the end of their lives. It reeks of unwashed sheets and unbathed skin and needs more heat to fend off the approaching winter.

Despair weighs on its occupants like a blanket and the sound of weeping echoes in its rooms.

Now an orphan wanders the cold hallways among the elderly and infirm, his eyes firmly upon the phone in his hand. Until a few days ago, 13-year-old Bohdan had a father. Now he has no one.

Read more:

Orphan watched dad die, now awaits future in Ukraine shelter

German economy ministry acknowledges Rosneft lawsuit against Berlin

10:31 , Eleanor Sly

Germany’s economy ministry said on Friday that it had taken note of a lawsuit by Russian state energy giant Rosneft against the government for taking control of its German unit but that it was yet to recieve any documents related to it.

The ministry said the conditions for Germany imposing trusteeship over the company were met according to the Energy Security Act.

“The reason for this is the endangerment of energy supply operation and an impending impairment of the security of supply,” the spokesperson added.

Rosneft argued that Berlin’s move last month was unjustified given that the firm had always upheld its oil delivery commitments, newspaper Handelsblatt reported, citing the law firm hired by Rosneft, Malmendier Legal.

Reuters

‘I won’t turf out Ukrainians despite my soaring winter energy bill’

09:39 , Eleanor Sly

A Briton hosting four Ukrainians said his monthly £350 payment is “failing to cover the increase in the bills this winter” and called for further support and clarity from the government regarding its plans.

Several groups, including the Refugee Council, have expressed concerns over the Homes for Ukraine scheme potentially being “quietly phased out” – although the Government said the scheme is continuing.

However, a new refugees minister has yet to be appointed following Lord Harrington’s departure and the cost-of-living crisis is set to bite this winter for hosts like Steve Dury.

Read more:

‘I won’t turf out Ukrainians despite my soaring winter energy bill’

Gazprom says gas shipments to Europe via Ukraine to remain stable on Friday

09:17 , Eleanor Sly

Russia’s Gazprom have said that shipments of gas to Europe, via Ukraine, remain stable.

The company will ship 42.4 million cubic metres of gas to Europe via Ukraine on Friday, unchanged from recent days, it revealed.

Elon Musk suggests he is pulling internet service from Ukraine because ambassador was rude to him

08:39 , Eleanor Sly

Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite internet will no longer be provided to Ukrainians for free, and has apparently asked the Pentagon to pay for it.

The news comes days after Ukrainian ambassador Andrij Melnyk shot back at the multibillionaire’s proposal that the Russian invasion of Ukraine could be ended by, among other things, formally allowing Russia to annex Crimea.

Mr Musk has said he is “just following [the] recommendation” of the Ukrainian ambassador.

Read more:

Elon Musk suggests he is pulling Starlink from Ukraine because ambassador was rude

Russia will evacuate Kherson region

07:44 , Eleanor Sly

Russia said they will give free accommodation to residents of Ukraine’s partially occupied Kherson region who want to evacuate in the face of continuing and sustained Ukrainian military gains along the southern front.

Russian deputy prime minister Marat Khusnullin made the announcement after the Russia-backed leader of Kherson - one of four Ukrainian regions illegally annexed by Moscow last month - asked the Moscow to organise an evacuation from four cities in the region.

In a video posted online, Vladimir Saldo said: “Cities of the Kherson region - Kherson and Nova Kakhovka, Hola Prystan and Chornobaivka - are subject to daily missile strikes.

“These missile strikes cause serious damage, first and foremost to the residents. Among targets missiles hit are hotels, residential buildings, markets - [places] where there are lots of civilians.”

Mr Saldo said a decision has been made to evacuate Kherson residents to the Russian regions of Rostov, Krasnodar and Stavropol.

They will also be evacuated to the annexed region of Crimea.

“I would like to ask you to help organise this process,” he said. “We, residents of the Kherson region, of course know that Russia doesn’t abandon their own, and Russia always offers a hand.”

Reports of missile falling near railway in Belgorod region.

07:50 , Eleanor Sly

Train operations came to a halt in the early hours of Friday near Novyi Oskol, a town in Russia’s Belgorod region that borders Ukraine, when the remains of a missile fell near the railway, according to Reuters.

According to Vyacheslav Gladkov, on the Telegram messaging app, anti-craft defences shot down missiles near Novyi Oskol, a town of about 18,000 people which lies about 90 kilometres (56 miles) to the north of the border with Ukraine.

“Power lines are damaged. Trains are temporarily suspended,” Mr Gladkov said, before adding that there were no casualties.

Reuters was not able to independently verify the reports. There also apparently no immediate reaction from Kyiv.

Can Putin survive – or will he be overthrown?

07:03 , Arpan Rai

What appears to be a string of recent setbacks for Russia in Ukraine has fuelled speculation about whether Vladimir Putin can survive as country’s leader.

And even if he can, for how long. Not all autocrats lose power after a failed military campaign – Saddam Hussein survived even after Iraq’s disastrous war with Iran – but sooner or later many do, as their authority is so entwined with their nation’s battlefield prowess.

But, the fiercest public criticism of the war in Russia is coming not from the liberal left, but from the nationalist right, writes Mary Dejevsky in Voices.

Read it here:

Can Putin survive – or will he be overthrown? | Mary Dejevsky

Russia’s Wagner troops slowly making progress in Donbas amid severe manpower shortages - MoD

06:59 , Arpan Rai

The British defence ministry has claimed tactical advances by pro-Russian forces towards the centre of the town of Bakhmut in Donetsk oblast in the last three days.

“Elements of 2nd Army Corps, the pro-Russia militia of the Luhansk region, likely advanced into the villages of Opytine and Ivangrad to the south of the town,” the ministry said in its latest intelligence update on the Ukraine war.

It added that there are few, if any, other settlements seized by regular Russian or separatist forces since early July.

“However, forces led by the private military company Wagner Group have achieved some localised gains in the Donbas: Wagner likely remains heavily involved in the Bakhmut fighting,” the British MoD said.

According to the defence ministry, Russia likely looks at seizing Bakhmut as a “preliminary to advancing on the Kramatorsk-Sloviansk urban area which is the most significant population centre of Donetsk oblast held by Ukraine.”

Russia continues to prosecute offensive operations in central Donbas and is, very slowly, making progress, the ministry added.

“However, its overall operational design is undermined by the Ukrainian pressure against its northern and southern flanks, and by severe shortages of munitions and manpower,” it said.

What weapons has the UK sent to Ukraine?

06:11 , Arpan Rai

Since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine on 24 February this year, the UK and its western allies have provided Kyiv with a huge quantity of military hardware to help with the defensive effort.

Here is an overview of some of the key equipment dispatched from Britain to the frontline so far, which has included 6,900 anti-tank missiles, five air defence systems, 120 armoured fighting vehicles, 1,360 anti-structure munitions, 4.5 tonnes of plastic explosives and 400,000 rounds of small arms ammunition, according to the Ministry of Defence.

Read the full story here:

What weapons has the UK sent to Ukraine?

Russia expects mobilised men as ‘cannon fodder’ to last a few weeks in Ukraine war - Zelensky

05:31 , Arpan Rai

Volodymyr Zelensky has said that Russia is dispatching mobilised men to the war’s frontlines and expects them to be a cannon fodder surviving the war for at least few weeks.

“Now Russia is sending thousands of its mobilised men to the front. They have no significant military training, but their command does not need it at all,” Mr Zelensky said in his nightly address.

He added: “They expect that the mobilised Russians will be able to survive in the war for at least a few weeks, then they will die, and then new ones will be sent to the front.”

“But during this time, such use by Russian generals of their people as “cannon fodder” makes it possible to create additional pressure on our defenders,” the war-time president said.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX says can no longer pay for Starlink satellite services in Ukraine

05:02 , Arpan Rai

Elon Musk’s SpaceX has told the Pentagon it can no longer continue to fund the Starlink satellite internet terminals, asking that the service providing a vital source of communication for Ukraine’s military will now have to be paid for by the US, CNN has learnt.

The spacecraft engineering firm has donated around 20,000 Starlink satellite units to Ukraine as the besieged country lost cellular phone and internet networks in the Russian invasion since February.

According to a report by CNN, SpaceX’s director of government has told the Pentagon in a letter in September that they “are not in a position to further donate terminals to Ukraine, or fund the existing terminals for an indefinite period of time.”

Additionally, SpaceX owner and billionaire Elon Musk has said that the operation has cost it “$80m & will exceed $100m by end of year.”

SpaceX claims that the transfer of its charitable services to the war-hit country would cost the US more than $120m for the rest of the year and could cost close to $400m for the next 12 months.

Russia tells civilians to evacuate annexed Kherson as Ukrainian forces advance

04:57 , Arpan Rai

Russia has told residents of illegally annexed Kherson to evacuate as Ukrainian troops approach, raising fears the region could become the new frontline in Vladimir Putin’s war.

Moscow-installed governor Vladimir Saldo told Kherson’s civilians to take their children and flee in a video statement on Telegram on Thursday.

“Every day, the cities of Kherson region are subjected to missile attacks,” Mr Saldo said. “As such, the leadership of Kherson administration has decided to provide Kherson families with the option to travel to other regions of the Russian Federation to rest and study.”

Read the full story here:

Russia tells civilians to evacuate annexed Kherson as Ukrainian forces advance

Ukraine recaptured more than 600 settlements from Russia last month - officials

04:29 , Arpan Rai

Ukraine has retaken more than 600 settlements from Russian forces in the past month, its ministry for reintegration of the temporary occupied territories said.

These also include 75 settlements from the recently annexed Kherson region which serves as a highly strategic region in the south of the besieged country and claimed by Russia.

Around 502 settlements have been freed and retaken by Ukrainian soldiers in Kharkiv which lies in the northeast Ukraine and was heavily battered in the Russian invasion. However, Ukrainian troops advanced deeper into the Russian lines last month.

A total of 43 settlements have been recaptured in the Donetsk region and seven in the Luhansk region, the ministry said.

"The area of liberated Ukrainian territories has increased significantly," the ministry said in a statement.

Russia warns of World War Three over Ukraine Nato bid as alliance says it will not be intimidated

04:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Russia has warned Ukraine that joining Nato could trigger a third world war as alliance members consider Kyiv’s application.

A senior Russian official claimed Ukraine knew the severe consequences of joining, as he reiterated his country’s opposition to Ukraine becoming part of the military alliance.

“Kyiv is well aware that such a step would mean a guaranteed escalation to a World War Three,” Alexander Venediktov, deputy secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, is reported as saying by the Tass news agency.

“Apparently, that’s what they are counting on – to create informational noise and draw attention to themselves once again.”

Russia warns of World War Three over Ukraine Nato membership bid

Putin’s Ukraine war is ‘a crusade against democracy’, warns Germany’s Scholz

03:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has claimed that Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine is a “crusade against democracy”.

Mr Scholz also pledged to keep supporting Ukraine “for as long as it takes” while speaking at a summit in Berlin.

“Vladimir Putin and his enablers have made one thing very clear: this war is not only about Ukraine. They consider their war against Ukraine to be part of a larger crusade, a crusade against liberal democracy,” said Scholz.

He added that Germany will “continue our support for as long as it takes, for as long as that support is needed to fend off Russia’s abhorrent aggression”.

It followed up an attack last month by Scholz on Russia, when he addressed the United Nations General Assembly.

Putin’s Ukraine war is ‘a crusade against democracy’, warns Germany’s Scholz

Kremlin says its goals in Ukraine can be achieved through talks

02:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying on Thursday that the goals of Moscow’s “special military operation” in Ukraine were unchanged, but that they could be achieved through negotiations.

The comments to the Russian newspaper Izvestia were the latest in a series of statements this week stressing Moscow’s openness to talks - a change of tone that follows a run of humiliating defeats for Russian forces as the war in Ukraine nears the end of its eighth month.

“The direction has not changed, the special military operation continues, it continues in order for us to achieve our goals,” Peskov was quoted as saying. “However, we have repeatedly reiterated that we remain open to negotiations to achieve our objectives.”

Peskov added, however, that he did not see any prospects for talks with the West in the near future because of its “hostile” attitude towards Russia.

“It takes two sides to have a dialogue. As the West is now taking a very, very hostile stance towards us, it’s unlikely that there will be any such prospect in the near future,” - Peskov told Kazakhstan’s Khabar 24 TV channel, according to the Russian news agency TASS.

“Nevertheless, Turkey, as well as a number of other countries, continue to try to mediate in some way.”

While Russia has said before that it is prepared to negotiate, the repeated references this week to the possibility of dialogue are striking.

Russian border region says Ukraine shelled it, Kyiv blames stray Russian fire

01:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

The governor of a Russian border region accused Ukraine of shelling an apartment block there on Thursday but a Kyiv official said a stray Russian missile was to blame, in only one of a series of apparent strikes on Russian border towns.

Vyacheslav Gladkov said a school had been damaged in a village close to the border, and that the top floor of an apartment block had been struck in the city of Belgorod.

Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said on Twitter that Russia had launched a missile towards the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv but “something went wrong and it hit (a) residential building”.

Video showed rubble next to a 16-storey apartment block with a large rupture near its roof. Reuters could not independently establish who was to blame. Gladkov said no one had been hurt.

Separately, Gladkov said that a border post in the frontier town of Shebekino, which adjoins Ukraine‘s eastern region of Kharkiv, and an ammunition depot near Belgorod city had been destroyed in Ukrainian strikes. He said that there had been no casualties in either strike.

Video, apparently of the ammunition depot, shared on social media showed a major fire illuminating the night sky.

CEO says Gazprom may need to replace big part of Nord Stream -TASS

Thursday 13 October 2022 23:45 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller told Russia‘s State TV Channel One on Thursday that a big section of the damaged Nord Stream pipelines might need to be replaced, TASS news agency said.

A section of the pipeline was now filled with water across a significant distance, TASS paraphrased Miller as saying, in a series of bullet points on the agency’s Telegram channel.

Separately, Prime news agency paraphrased Miller as saying the affected length covered hundreds of kilometres on the Russian side of the pipeline.

On Wednesday, Miller, head of the Russian state-controlled natural gas monopoly, said repairs to the damaged Nord Stream pipelines would take at least a year.

IAEA's Grossi: Need quick solution on Ukraine nuclear plant

Thursday 13 October 2022 23:10 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Talks on demilitarising Europe’s largest nuclear plant in Ukraine need a rapid solution to eliminate a “precarious” situation amid continued shelling, the head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog said.

Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, was speaking after a day of talks with Ukrainian officials. He also said he had told Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin that the continued detention of the deputy director of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station was unacceptable.

“We need to continue working to protect the plant. As I told (Putin), it continues to be extremely fragile, extremely precarious,” Grossi told a news conference after the day of talks in Kyiv.

“I am trying to have this wrapped up as soon as possible ... it is of course counter-intuitive to talk about protecting something that is being shelled,” Grossi said.

“...there are days when it seems to be more calm, but then the next day we are again on a blackout and the external power lines are completely cut and we don’t know whether it is going to be an emergency... So these things continue. It hasn’t improved in any tangible way.”

Ukraine gets more air defence pledges as Russia hits cities

Thursday 13 October 2022 22:01 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Ukraine‘s allies vowed Thursday to supply the besieged nation with advanced air defence systems as Russian forces attacked the Kyiv region with kamikaze drones and fired missiles elsewhere at civilian targets, payback for the bombing of a strategic bridge linking Russia with annexed Crimea.

Missile strikes killed at least five people and destroyed an apartment building in the southern city of Mykolaiv, while heavy artillery damaged more than 30 houses, a hospital, a kindergarten and other buildings in the town of Nikopol, across the river from the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.

Russia has intensified its bombardment of civilian areas in recent weeks as its military lost ground in multiple occupied regions of Ukraine that Russian president Vladimir Putin has illegally annexed.

Kremlin war hawks have urged Putin to escalate the bombing campaign even more to punish Ukraine for Saturday’s truck bomb attack on the landmark Kerch Bridge.

Ukraine has not claimed responsibility for the attack.“We need to protect our sky from the terror of Russia,” Ukrainian president Volodymr Zelensky told the Council of Europe, a human rights organisation. “If this is done, it will be a fundamental step to end the entire war in the near future.”

Residents advised to flee occupied area as Ukrainian army attacks

Thursday 13 October 2022 19:50 , Jane Dalton

The Russian-installed governor of the southern Kherson region has told residents to take their children and flee, in one of the starkest signs yet that Moscow is losing its grip on territory it claims to have annexed.

In a video statement on Telegram, Vladimir Saldo publicly asked for Moscow’s help transporting civilians to safer regions of Russia.

“Every day, the cities of Kherson region are subjected to missile attacks,” Saldo said.

“As such, the leadership of Kherson administration has decided to provide Kherson families with the option to travel to other regions of the Russian Federation to rest and study.

“We suggested that all residents of the Kherson region, if they wish, to protect themselves from the consequences of missile strikes... go to other regions,” he said, advising people to “leave with their children”.

Kherson is one of four partially occupied Ukrainian provinces that Russia claims to have annexed this month, and arguably the most strategically important. It controls both the only land route to the Crimea peninsula Russia seized in 2014.

War is crusade against democracy, says Scholz

Thursday 13 October 2022 19:42 , Jane Dalton

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has claimed that Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine is a “crusade against democracy” and pledged to keep supporting Ukraine “for as long as it takes”. David Harding reports:

Putin’s Ukraine war is ‘a crusade against democracy’, warns Germany’s Scholz

Nato will watch Russian nuclear exercise closely

Thursday 13 October 2022 19:15 , Jane Dalton

Nato will monitor an expected forthcoming Russian nuclear exercise very closely, the alliance’s chief has said, in particular in the light of Moscow’s latest nuclear threats.

“We have monitored Russian nuclear forces for decades and of course we will continue to monitor them very closely and we will stay vigilant - also when they now start a new exercise,” secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg told reporters.

“What I can say is that this exercise, the Russian exercise, is an annual exercise. It’s an exercise where they test and exercise their nuclear forces,” he added, apparently referring to Russia’s annual Grom exercise that normally takes place in late October and in which Russia tests its nuclear-capable bombers, submarines and missiles.

“We will monitor that as we always do. And of course we will remain vigilant, not least in light of the veiled nuclear threats and the dangerous rhetoric we have seen from the Russian side,” Mr Stoltenberg said.

What weapons has the UK sent to Ukraine?

Thursday 13 October 2022 18:38 , Jane Dalton

Liz Truss has vowed to keep up British support for Ukraine, telling the UN General Assembly that 2022’s £2.3bn spending would be matched again or even exceeded next year despite the country’s current economic woes.

Key equipment dispatched from Britain to the frontline so far has included 6,900 anti-tank missiles, air defence systems, armoured fighting vehicles and anti-structure munitions, according to the Ministry of Defence. Joe Sommerlad reports:

What weapons has the UK sent to Ukraine?

Analysis: Can Putin survive?

Thursday 13 October 2022 18:06 , Jane Dalton

Increasingly forthright criticism of Russia’s war is coming from the Russian right - people who supported Putin’s decision to go to war, but who are now losing faith in how it is being fought.

And there are reports of dissent in the Russian ranks and claims that Russia is running out of crucial equipment and munitions.

But even if the prospects for Russia’s defeat and Ukraine’s victory have been exaggerated, this still does not mean that Putin is safe in his Kremlin, writes Mary Dejevsky:

Can Putin survive – or will he be overthrown? | Mary Dejevsky

Unrepentant Merkel defends her decision to rely on Russian gas

Thursday 13 October 2022 17:45 , Jane Dalton

Former German chancellor Angela Merkel has claimed she has “no regrets” about the energy policy her government took despite its reliance on Russia.

“You always act in the time in which you find yourself,” she said. Emily Atkinson reports:

No regrets: Unrepentant Angela Merkel defends her decision to rely on Russian gas

Russian border regions say Ukraine shelled buildings

Thursday 13 October 2022 17:04 , Jane Dalton

Authorities in two Russian regions near the Ukrainian border say they have been shelled by Ukraine, damaging buildings and disrupting electricity supplies.

The governor of Belgorod region said a school had been damaged in a village close to the border and that an apartment had been struck in Belgorod city.

Video seen by Reuters showed rubble next to what appeared to be an apartment building with a large rupture near its roof.

An electricity substation in the Kursk region was damaged by a shell, knocking out power to two settlements, the region’s governor said.

Prosecutions start over Russian missile strikes

Thursday 13 October 2022 16:40 , Jane Dalton

Ukraine’s top prosecutor says his office has opened criminal proceedings relating to Russian missile strikes that struck Kyiv and other cities across Ukraine this week.

Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin described the strikes since Monday as “a classic act of terror” by Russia.

Speaking alongside International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan in The Hague, he said the more than 112 Russian missile strikes, Moscow’s biggest aerial offensive, had killed 17 people and injured 93.

“The goal of Russia’s deliberate attacks is to cause civilian deaths and to destroy civilian infrastructure, (and) by shortage of electricity and heating, provoke a humanitarian catastrophe,” Mr Kostin said. “Coupled with the intimidation tactics against civilians, it’s a classical act of terror prohibited under international law.”

Every death and injury or damaged building will be documented and criminal proceedings opened, he said.

Russia denies violating international law and has dismissed allegations that Russian soldiers have carried out war crimes.

In the recently liberated Kharkiv region of eastern Ukraine prosecutors have found at least 11 burial sites, including one mass grave near the town of Izium, and have exhumed 457 bodies across the sites, Mr Kostin said.

An additional two mass graves were found in the Lyman region with some 154 people, Ukrainian soldiers and civilians, buried there, he added.

The prosecutor’s office has 28 investigative teams on the ground in the recently liberated regions, where Mr Kostin said retreating Russian troops had left evidence of illegal detention and torture of civilians and illegal deportations.

Angela Merkel says she has ‘no regrets’ on energy policy with Russia

Thursday 13 October 2022 16:05 , Emily Atkinson

Angela Merkel has “no regrets” about the course her government took with its energy policy and relations with Russia while she was Germany’s chancellor.

Ms Merkel’s comments come as Germany and other European countries are trying to end their reliance on Russian oil and gas after Putin sent troops into Ukraine as part of what he calls a special military operation.

Last year, 55 per centof German gas imports came from Russia, partly the result of Merkel’s pursual of trade ties with Russia and backing the controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline, even after Moscow annexed Crimea in 2014.

“You always act in the time in which you find yourself,” she told reporters in Lisbon when asked about her government’s approach to Russia.

Nato warns Russia nuclear threats won’t intimidate it

Thursday 13 October 2022 15:50 , Emily Atkinson

Western allies will not been intimidated by president Vladimir Putin’s nuclear threats, the Nato secretary-general has declared.

Speaking at the meeting of Nato ministers of defence in Brussels, Jens Stoltenberg described the Russian leader’s “nuclear rhetoric” as “dangerous and irresponsible”, and warned of “severe consequences” should Russia attempt to unleash such an attack.

“Putin knows a nuclear war cannot be fought,” he told reporters.

Mr Stoltenberg also touched on the new military support the alliance would be sending to Ukraine, including four Spanish Hawk launchers and counter-drone equipment. He also urged Nato allies to continue to “stand up” for Kyiv.

Russia’s goals in Ukraine ‘unchanged’, but could be achieved through negotiation, says Kremlin

Thursday 13 October 2022 15:20 , Emily Atkinson

The Kremlin has been quoted as saying that the goals of its “special military operation” in Ukraine are unchanged, but that they may be achieved through negotiations.

In comments to Izvestia, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow was open to negotiation.

“The direction has not changed, the special military operation continues, it continues in order for us to achieve our goals,” he reportedly said.

“However we have repeatedly reiterated that we remain open to negotiations to achieve our objectives.”

Iranian drone sales to Russia ‘would violate UN resolution'

Thursday 13 October 2022 14:59 , Emily Atkinson

Any sale of Iranian drones to Russia would be a violation of the UN resolution that endorsed the 2015 nuclear accord between Iran and world powers, France’s foreign ministry has warned.

The ministry added that it was coordinating with its EU partners on how to respond.

Three drones operated by Russian forces attacked the small town of Makariv, west of Ukraine’s capital, early on Thursday, with officials saying that critical infrastructure facilities were struck by what they said were Iranian-made suicide drones.

Ukraine war to slash European gas consumption ‘almost 50 per cent by 2050’

Thursday 13 October 2022 14:38 , Emily Atkinson

Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine is slashing European countries’ gas use but will ultimately speed the transition to renewables, a new report claims.

Projections of European gas use by the middle of the century have tumbled from 310 billion cubic metres (bcm) per year predicted one year ago, to 170 bcm now.

This represents a fall in demand by 2050 of 45.2 per cent, according to the report by Norwegian consultancy group DNV.

Our environment correspondent Harry Cockburn reports:

Ukraine war to slash European gas consumption ‘almost 50 per cent by 2050’

Erdogan and Putin ‘do not discuss Ukraine war resolutions’

Thursday 13 October 2022 14:18 , Emily Atkinson

President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan did not discuss ways to resolve the conflict in Ukraine during a bilateral meeting on Thursday, according to the Kremlin.

“The topic of a Russian-Ukrainian settlement was not discussed,” news agency RIA cited Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying.

Moscow claims several arrested in foiled attack on TurkStream pipeline

Thursday 13 October 2022 13:56 , Emily Atkinson

Several people hved been arrested during a foiled attack on the TurkStream gas pipeline on Russian territory, the Kremlin has claimed.

Russia said it is stepping up security on the TurkStream pipeline, which carries Russian gas to Turkey, amid unexplained ruptures on the Nord Stream gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea and an oil leak on the Druzhba pipeline in Poland.

Kherson residents told to flee as fighting advances

Thursday 13 October 2022 13:35 , Emily Atkinson

Residents in Ukraine’s Kherson region have been urged to evacuate by its Russian-installed governor amid fighting between Russian and advancing Ukrainian forces.

In a video statement on the Telegram app, Vladimir Saldo also publicly asked for Moscow’s help in transporting civilians into Russia.

Kherson is one of four Ukrainian regions that Russia formally incorporated into its territory this month, a move denounced by Kyiv and the West as an illegal annexation.

Iodine tablet stocks run out in Finland amid nuclear incident warnings

Thursday 13 October 2022 13:07 , Emily Atkinson

Swathes of pharmacies across Finland have seen their stocks of iodine tablets run dry after health officials recommended people stock up amid fears a nuclear incident could occur due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The Nordic country’s health ministry announced the new recommendation on Tuesday that households buy a single dose of iodine – which can protect the thyroid from radiation – in an oblique acknowledgement of a potential nuclear event in Ukraine, to the nation’s south.

When announcing the new recommendations, however, it did not mention the ongoing Russian invasion, nor did it disclose where such nuclear accidents could potentially take place.

Lavrov calls UN stand against Moscow annexations ‘anti-Russian’

Thursday 13 October 2022 12:47 , Emily Atkinson

The UN resolution condemning Moscow’s annexation of four Ukrainian territories was “anti-Russian” and achieved using “diplomatic terror”, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov has declared.

On Wednesday, the UN general assembly overwhelmingly condemned Russia’s move to annex four partially occupied regions in Ukraine, calling on all countries not to recognise it.

Putin’s war on Ukraine part of ‘larger crusade against liberal democracy’, says Scholz

Thursday 13 October 2022 12:27 , Emily Atkinson

The war in Ukraine is part of a larger crusade by Russia against the west and liberal democracy, German chancellor Olaf Scholz in a speech on Thursday.

“(Russian President) Vladimir Putin and his enablers have made one thing very clear: this war is not only about Ukraine. They consider their war against Ukraine to be part of a larger crusade, a crusade against liberal democracy,” he said in a recorded speech at the Progressive Governance Summit in Berlin.

Turkey ‘most reliable route’ for gas to the EU, says Putin

Thursday 13 October 2022 12:07 , Emily Atkinson

Turkey is the most reliable route to deliver gas to the EU, president Vladimir Putin told his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday, before proposing to build a “supply hub” there.

Speaking at a bilateral meeting with Mr Erdogan, Mr Putin said energy supplies from Russia to Turkey were in “full flow” and in accordance with requests.

Belgorod governor says building damaged by Ukrainian shelling

Thursday 13 October 2022 11:42 , Emily Atkinson

A multi-storey residential building in the Russian city of Belgorod has been damaged by shelling from Ukrainian armed forces, the region’s governor said on Thursday.

He said an apartment had been struck and shared a picture appearing to show rubble next to a partially collapsed portion of a building.

There has been no information about casualties or injuries, so far, he added. Belgorod is about 40 km (25 miles) away from the Ukrainian border.

Russia summons European diplomats over Nord Stream pipeline rupture investigation

Thursday 13 October 2022 11:25 , Emily Atkinson

Diplomats from Germany, Denmark and Sweden have been summoned by Russia to complain that representatives from Moscow and Gazprom had not been invited to join an investigation into ruptures of the Nord Stream gas pipelines.

“Russia will obviously not recognise the pseudo-results of such an investigation unless Russian experts are involved,” Moscow’s foreign ministry said.

The cause of the ruptures in the Nord Stream pipelines, which run under the Baltic Sea, remains unclear, but European Union countries have pointed to sabotage.

Zelensky hints at further war crimes

Thursday 13 October 2022 10:50 , Emily Atkinson

The situation in the liberated Kharkiv region of eastern Ukraine was “just as terrible” as it was in the reclaimed towns of Irpin and Bucha, president Volodymyr Zelensky has said – hinting at evidence of more Russian war crimes.

Russia was accused of genodical intent after images and footage emerged documenting the killing and abuse of Ukrainian civilians from the northern town of Bucha in April.

International outrage over the so-called Bucha massacre was reignited several weeks later after terrifying accounts of underground confinement, violence, shootings and summary executions against civilians in Irpin, another Kyiv suburb, began to dominate headlines.

Mr Zelensky gave no further details in comments made in a video link with the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

Russia has vehemently denied its forces have committed war crimes in Ukraine.