This is the CNBC blog covering updates on the war in Ukraine. [Follow the latest updates here. ]
The “toughest battle” is positioning itself in Kherson as Ukrainian troops advance on professional Russian forces, according to a Ukrainian presidential adviser. If Russia’s control over strategic territory is more fragile than in recent months, it does not appear to be in a position to give Instead, it appears to be deepening the protracted fighting after ordering civilians to evacuate and inviting the remaining men to join local militias.
Russia sent a letter to the United Nations pushing its baseless claim that Ukraine is preparing to use a nuclear-based “dirty bomb” on its own territory. In a 310-page document, he describes Ukraine’s plan to use biological weapons, accusations loudly dismissed and largely discredited by Ukrainian and Western officials and weapons experts.
Meanwhile, a member of Russia’s Security Council called for the “demonization” of Ukraine, the country is home to many satanic sects and radicalism. The claims were ridiculed by Ukrainian public figures.
The organization that oversees Ukraine’s grain export said the ships were not allowed to leave the country besieged by a “suspicious mine-like object. “
The Joint Coordination Centre said it had halted departures from Ukraine until an inspection of the suspicious object was completed. The organization said 8 ships will leave Ukrainian ports on Thursday.
Since the launch of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, an agreement announced in July between Ukraine, Russia, the United Nations and Turkey, more than 390 ships have left Ukraine totaling 8. 8 million metric tons of grain and other crops.
Learn about the Black Sea Grain Initiative here.
—Amanda Macias
The United States is “not taking sanctions off the table” in reaction to Iranian transfers to Russia, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said.
Kirby declined to detail any diplomatic or economic moves Washington would take.
Moscow has carried out several devastating missile and drone moves that oppose what Ukraine has described as civilian targets and infrastructure, such as electrical installations.
Iran’s and Russia’s representatives at the United Nations have categorically denied reports that Tehran has provided Moscow with a fleet of drones for use in Ukraine.
—Amanda Macias
U. S. officials are still discussing with their Russian counterparts the release of WNBA star Brittney Griner, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said.
“Talks with the Russians continue, they haven’t stopped,” Kirby told reporters at the White House. He added that Biden’s management is running to release former U. S. Marine Paul Whelan.
Whelan arrested in 2018 for acting as a spy for the United States. At the time of his arrest, Whelan was traveling to Russia to attend a wedding, according to his brother, David Whelan.
On Tuesday, a Russian court upheld Griner’s nine-year sentence, a move that will send the American athlete to a penal colony.
Griner, who plays professional basketball in Russia in the WNBA offseason, was arrested in February after the Russian government discovered vape cartridges containing hash oil in her luggage at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport.
—Amanda Macias
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukrainian forces shot down about 250 Russian helicopters.
“Russia will not repair those losses. I thank all our fighters for such a slow and irreversible demilitarization of the enemy,” Zelenskyy said in a late-night speech on Telegram, according to an NBC News translation.
He also said there is “fierce fighting” in the Donetsk region. He called Ukrainian troops occupying positions in the region “only heroes. “
—Amanda Macias
Several efforts are underway to investigate Russian crimes committed in Ukraine, Stéphane Dujarric, spokesman for the UN secretary-general.
“The secretary-general believes that in every conflict there will have to be accountability,” Dujarric told reporters at the United Nations. Council. “
“We also know that the International Criminal Court has had prosecutors on the floor to gather information. We want to move those processes forward,” he said.
The Kremlin has in the past denied that its forces have committed war crimes in Ukraine, adding indiscriminate attacks on civilians and critical infrastructure.
—Amanda Macias
Russian state media claimed that Ukraine had manufactured a dummy rocket to deploy a “dirty bomb” near the Chernobyl nuclear plant.
The United States and its allies have in the past denied Russian claims that Ukraine plans to use a “dirty bomb” to escalate the conflict.
RIA Novosti’s report in Russia alleges that Ukrainian forces are making plans to fill the rocket with radioactive and blame Russian forces for the explosion.
—Amanda Macias
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the United States and its allies will continue to hold Russia accountable despite some considerations by lawmakers about the developing monetary burden.
“You can’t just go in and out of another country’s territory, you can’t replace another country’s borders by force, you can’t go out to wipe their independence and sovereignty off the map,” Blinken said at a Bloomberg event.
“If we leave this unchecked, if we allow them to continue impunity, it opens up a Pandora’s box around the world for the aggressors,” he added.
Blinked added that in his conversations with “members of Congress, Republicans, Democrats, the House and Senate, there is a shared conviction” with Ukraine.
—Amanda Macias
The Ukrainian Navy said Russian forces had about 19 ships in combat service in the Black Sea and Sea of Azov off the coast of Ukraine, as well as in the surrounding Mediterranean Sea.
In a Facebook post, the country’s military said there were around 8 Kalibr cruise missile carriers in the waters, according to an NBC News translation.
—Amanda Macias
Russia has returned the frame of a U. S. citizen killed by Kyiv to Ukrainian forces, the State Department confirmed.
“Out of respect for the family’s privacy, we will release additional details,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement.
Price reiterated that U. S. citizens still deserve not to go to Ukraine and suggested to all Americans lately in the war-weary country to “leave immediately. “
“U. S. citizens joining Ukraine to engage in combat are in significant threat and the United States cannot guarantee their safety,” Price added.
Ukraine met the American citizen as Joshua Jones, a former U. S. military officer who traveled to Ukraine with his friends to join combat against Russian forces.
—Amanda Macias
Around 1,000 bodies have been exhumed from mass graves in the newly liberated Ukrainian territories, to Ukrainian forces.
Of these, around 450 bodies were exhumed at Izium in what has been described as one of the mass graves.
“The shocking facts of the atrocities committed by the occupiers are revealed: there is not only a corps of army workers, but also civilians, adults and youth, among the dead,” the Ministry of Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine said, according to a translation via NBC News.
The ministry said it is still investigating mass graves.
—Amanda Macias
Ukraine’s Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization report that at least 10 million people will need medical care due to the trauma caused by the Russian confrontation in Ukraine.
“This includes women and women suffering from sexual and bureaucratic gender-based violence, young people hearing warning sirens every day, families who have been separated or others who are just watching each day,” Denise Brown, UN Resident Coordinator in Ukraine, told the UN Security Council.
Brown added that civilians in Ukraine’s newly liberated spaces are vulnerable because they have “witnessed or suffered terrible violations” by Russian forces.
—Amanda Macias
U. S. Army Secretary Christine Kinuth said Russian President Vladimir Putin is unlikely to deploy a nuclear weapon in his fight against Ukraine, but called the Kremlin’s recent rhetoric a concern.
“There’s a lot of fear given the way Putin has escalated [the standoff],” Wormuth told CNBC’s Morgan Brennan, when asked about Western fears that Russia could simply turn into a nuclear war in its armed confrontation with Ukraine.
“In fact, there is a concern,” Wormuth said, adding that despite Putin’s threats to use such a weapon in opposition to his former Soviet neighbor, “it is still an unlikely event. “
President Joe Biden told reporters that Russia would be making “an incredibly serious mistake” if Moscow used a tactical nuclear weapon in its fight against Ukraine.
“I’m not sure this is a false flag operation,” Biden said, referring to Russian accusations that Ukraine is planning to use a “dirty bomb” to escalate the conflict.
“That would be a mistake,” Biden added.
The United States and Russia have the lion’s share of global nuclear weapons.
—Amanda Macias
More than 7. 7 million Ukrainians have refugees and moved to neighboring countries since Russia invaded Ukraine last February, according to the UN Refugee Agency.
Nearly 4. 4 million of those other people have sought transient resident prestige in neighboring Western European countries, according to data compiled by the agency.
“The escalation of the fighting in Ukraine has resulted in civilian casualties and the destruction of civilian infrastructure, forcing others to flee their homes in search of safety, cover and assistance,” the UN refugee firm wrote.
—Amanda Macias
President Joseph Biden congratulated Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on her appointment as Italy’s first female leader.
“The leaders underscored the strong relationship between the United States and Italy and expressed their willingness to work together within the transatlantic alliance to address non-unusual challenges,” a reading of the White House call said.
The pair discussed other tactics for Ukraine in their months-long fight against Russia. Biden and Meloni discussed the importance of holding Russia accountable for its aggression.
—Amanda Macias
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg’s nuclear rhetoric of Russian President Vladimir Putin is “dangerous,” adding that it is “reckless and irresponsible. “
Stoltenberg, speaking of the U. S. aircraft carrier U. S. G. George H. W. Bush, said Russia “wrongly claims that Ukraine will use a dirty radiological bomb on its own territory. “
Stoltenberg’s NATO allies reject the false accusation.
“Russia blames others for what they intend to do themselves,” the NATO leader added.
Stoltenberg said NATO “does not see any replacement in Russia’s nuclear posture,” which he added is being heavily monitored.
—Amanda Macias
Russian President Vladimir Putin observed training through Russia’s strategic nuclear forces on Wednesday, the Kremlin said.
“The responsibilities foreseen during the education of the strategic deterrence forces have been fully fulfilled, all missiles have reached their targets,” a Kremlin said.
Army news channel Zvezda showed Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu telling Putin that the drills were to “carry out a major nuclear attack through strategic offensive forces in reaction to an enemy nuclear attack. “
Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov told Putin that Yars training intercontinental ballistic missiles, submarines and Tupolev strategic bombers.
In recent weeks, Russian officials accused Ukraine of intending to use a “dirty bomb,” a bomb containing radioactive materials. They provided no evidence for the prosecution.
— Reuters
Russian President Vladimir Putin said his government is “aware” of Ukraine’s plans to use a “dirty bomb,” a claim that several Kremlin officials have already made without evidence since the beginning of the week.
The Russian president, in an assembly with intelligence administrators from several former Soviet countries, said the threat of confrontation in the world and in the region was “high” and that security around its critical infrastructure will have to be strengthened.
Ukrainian and Western officials, as well as weapons experts, say Ukraine does not have the means to build a “dirty bomb,” meaning a bomb containing nuclear energy deployed to contaminate a giant domain with radioactivity.
Kyiv invited the UN’s nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, to its nuclear power plants to debunk Russia’s accusation, which they say is being spread as a “false flag” operation to escalate the conflict.
Moscow maintains that its claim is true and has made high-level calls with defense ministers of NATO countries such as India and China, and has delivered a letter to the UN stressing it.
—Natasha Turak
Automaker Mercedes-Benz is the latest Western company to leave Russia, one of the few major automakers to pull out of the country.
The German automaker halted production and exports to Russia in March, some time after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began. Now, however, it says it will leave the country’s market altogether and sell its subsidiaries to local buyers.
Mercedes-Benz Chief Financial Officer Harald Wilhelm said Russia’s exit is not expected to have a primary effect on the company’s earnings.
French automaker Renault and Japan’s Toyota and Nissan have halted production operations in Russia in recent months. General Motors, Jaguar Land Rover, Rolls-Royce and Aston Martin halted deliveries to the country in the months following the invasion in February.
—Natasha Turak
The Kremlin said Wednesday that assets from the four Ukrainian regions that Russia said it annexed last month could be transferred in the long term to Russian companies.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said apparently “abandoned assets” simply cannot remain idle and that the government will take care of the matter.
Ukraine, its Western allies and an overwhelming majority of countries at the UN General Assembly condemned Russia’s declared annexation of the 4 regions as illegal.
— Reuters
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu made calls with his Indian and Chinese counterparts and continued to push the Kremlin’s accusation, without evidence, that Ukraine was making plans to use a “dirty bomb” on its own territory. A “dirty bomb” is combined with nuclear curtains and used to contaminate giant spaces with unexploded radioactivity.
Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh told Shoigu that nuclear weapons deserve not to be used at all by either side, saying that “the prospect of employing nuclear or radiological weapons goes against the basic principles of humanity,” according to an Indian government statement. Also under pressure to want the confrontation via diplomatic channels.
The calls followed Shoigu’s calls to NATO defense ministers.
Ukraine and the West have categorically denounced the Russian claim as “false” and a pretext for escalation, and Kyiv has requested an inspection through the UN’s nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, to discredit Russia’s accusation.
—Natasha Turak
A member of Russia’s Security Council calls for a new project of “de-Satanism” in Ukraine, after basing Moscow’s months-long invasion on a desire to “de-Nazify” the country.
In a letter and article, Russian Security Council Undersecretary Aleksey Pavlov argued that this is pressing because there are, according to him, “hundreds of sects” operating in the country.
“I believe that with the continuation of the army’s special operation, it is increasingly urgent to continue with the demonization of Ukraine or, as the head of the Chechen Republic, Ramzan Kadyrov, rightly put it, its ‘complete demonization’. . ‘,” he said.
Pavlov claimed that “the Church of Satan. . . has spread to Ukraine,” adding that it is “one of the officially registered religions in the United States. “
“All this Satanism unearths a strong reaction from the official Ukrainian authorities,” he added, without presenting evidence.
—Natasha Turak
Russian forces show no signs of abandoning Kherson despite the unfolding Ukrainian counteroffensive to regain territory Russia has occupied since early spring.
While the Russian government in the region ordered the evacuation of civilians, “the Russians are reconstituting, strengthening their grouping there,” said the adviser to the Ukrainian president, Oleksiy Arestovych.
“It means no one should retreat. On the contrary, the toughest war is going to position itself for Kherson. “
Kherson is the largest Ukrainian city under Russia and sits in the strategic southeastern domain that Moscow needs as a land bridge to Crimea, which it annexed in 2014. Kherson is one of the 4 main regions in southern and eastern Ukraine that Russia has declared — as attached — illegal under foreign law — at the end of September.
—Natasha Turak
Russia’s coal exports to energy-hungry China rose about a third this year, but the boom is constrained by limited shipping infrastructure constraints, officials and industry resources said.
China will source coal from abroad, especially after recent Covid-19 outbreaks in the major coal-mining regions of Inner Mongolia and Shaanxi forced many mines to close, while coal demand in the power generation and heating sectors will soon increase with the onset of winter.
The Kremlin plans to increase its energy materials in Asia, China in particular, to offset falling exports to the West, which has imposed sanctions on Russia following the standoff in Ukraine.
Russia is the world’s sixth-largest coal manufacturer and one of the largest coal exporters, along with Indonesia and Australia. Its share of global coal exports reached 17% last year at 223 million tonnes.
— Reuters
Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk has lately urged Ukrainians not to return home yet, according to an NBC News translation.
“I will ask you not to come back, we have to spend the winter,” Vereshchuk said, adding that Ukraine’s electricity sector and infrastructure were too weak because of the war to provide sufficient support.
“If there is one to stay, for now, spend the winter outside,” he added.
In recent weeks, Russian missile and drone movements have targeted Ukraine’s critical infrastructure, such as power systems. In the past, the Kremlin has denied Ukrainian and Western claims that it is targeting civilian infrastructure, in violation of crash laws.
—Amanda Macias
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said it would be “a big mistake” for Russia to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine and that it takes seriously the risk of a dirty bomb.
“It would be a big mistake for Russia to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine, with serious consequences,” Jean-Pierre said at the briefing.
He came in response to a query about the option of Russia using a dirty bomb. Russia accused Ukraine of making plans to use a “dirty bomb” on its own territory. On Tuesday, Russia reiterated the allegations in a letter to the UN. Security Council.
“We have to take this seriously, beyond the fact that we have noticed that Russia uses accusations as a pretext to escalate. “
—Emma Kinery
White House warns of “serious consequences” if Putin uses nuclear weapons in Ukraine; Russian justice confirms Griner’s 9-year term
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