Senior Russian military officials recently discussed when and how Moscow uses a tactical nuclear weapon to oppose its struggles on Ukraine’s battlefields, The New York Times reported Wednesday, citing several senior U. S. officials it did not identify.
The Times said Russian President Vladimir Putin was not yet part of talks that raised concerns that Russia would opt for the nuclear option if its fortunes were not improved by traditional weapons.
“The fact that senior Russian military officials even held discussions alarmed the Biden administration, as it showed how frustrated Russian generals were with their mistakes on the ground, and suggests that Mr. Putin’s veiled threats to ‘Use nuclear weapons are not just words,’ the Times reported.
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby, speaking to reporters Wednesday, declined to comment on “the details” of the Times reports. He added that Putin had made reckless comments in the afterlife and that “we have noticed any indication that the Russians are preparing. “Use tactical nuclear weapons.
Russia invaded Ukraine in February, seizing parts of the country it has since claimed to annex. However, in recent weeks, Ukraine has liberated parts of the occupied territory.
Putin has made veiled threats that tactical nuclear weapons may be a viable option in certain circumstances. But more recently, Russian rhetoric has focused on unsubstantiated claims that Ukraine has plans to use a radioactive “dirty bomb,” a rate Ukrainian officials vehemently deny. Such claims can be used as a pretext to escalate the war. In a speech last week, Putin denied that Russia is preparing to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine.
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Other developments:
North Korea has secretly sent a “significant number” of artillery shells to Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, Kirby said, adding that the expeditions “will not replace the course of the war. “
Some 300,000 houses in Kyiv have regained their electricity, the local grid operator said, but the southern cities of Nikopol and Chervonohryhorivka were in the dark after “a large-scale drone attack,” Dnipropetrovsk Governor Valentyn Reznichenko said.
When asked to reporters how long he would continue with U. S. troops in Poland and other NATO countries, President Joe Biden replied, “They will stay there for a long time. “
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said he would send mine action groups to help transparent mines left by Russian troops retreating in Ukraine. He also showed up to mediate talks aimed at ending the war. President Joe Biden has shown that he will attend the ASEAN and East Asia Summits in Phnom Penh in mid-November.
Polish foot soldiers began laying spiked ropes along the border between Poland and the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad on Wednesday after the government ordered the construction of a barrier to save what it fears is another migrant crisis.
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The intermittent agreement under which Russia allowed grain shipments from Ukraine re-entered into force on Thursday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced. Russia said over the weekend that it would no longer recognize the plan negotiated through Turkey and the UN that released millions of tons of grain desperately into Africa, the Middle East and elsewhere.
To revive the deal, Ukraine pledged to attack Russian forces in a designated Black Sea room after the Kremlin accused Kyiv of attacking its ships in Crimea with drones on Saturday.
“We have demanded guarantees and promises from Ukraine that . . . humanitarian corridors will be used for military purposes,” President Vladimir Putin told a Security Council meeting, according to Russian media. agreement if Ukraine met its conditions.
In a case of agreement between the countries’ leaders, Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked Erdogan for negotiating the deal.
Moscow had complained that it continued to face obstacles in exporting food and fertilizer, and the UN agreed to remove them. The company said the July grain deal had cut global food costs by 15% from its March peak.
Russia on Wednesday rejected its request to the U. N. Security Council to create a commission to investigate baseless allegations that the United States and Ukraine are carrying out “biological military” activities that violate foreign law. Both countries reject the accusations as Russian propaganda.
Only China voted in favor of the Russian resolution, the United States, Britain and France opposed it, and all 10 council members abstained.
In addition to U. S. and Ukrainian officials, independent scientists have disputed the Russian claim. An Associated Press investigation in March found that the accusation took root online, bringing together COVID-19 conspiracy theorists, QAnon followers and some supporters of former President Donald Trump.
Thousands of Ukrainian foot soldiers are missing, but the government is warning their relatives not to post photos on social media. Deputy Defense Minister Anna Malyar suggested that families not release any information about their missing relatives in the public domain. Photos of a man in army uniform can only prove disastrous if he hides in temporarily occupied territory and seeks tactics to return or if the Russians are holding him captive as a civilian, Malyar said.
The European Union and other Western allies, as well as the United States, Japan and Britain, will supply more than $25 million to meet Ukraine’s pressing energy needs, Ukraine’s Energy Ministry said in a statement. Missile and drone attacks. Power outages have a way of life, and engineers are constantly repairing broken equipment.
“Ukraine’s energy sector wants not only financing, but also the most productive expertise, technologies and global responses that will enable it to confront Russia’s attacks,” he said.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk informed Ukraine that it will continue to fund its access to a satellite network offering humanitarian and battlefield communications, according to Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine’s deputy prime minister and minister of virtual transformation. Federov said Musk told him he would continue to search for Starlink to Ukraine after Musk complained last month that it was costing his company $20 million a month.
“There’s nothing at the moment with Starlink,” Fedorov said.
Effective attacks by Ukrainian partisans are forcing the Kremlin to divert resources from frontline operations to occupied territory, degrading Russia’s ability to protect itself against Ukraine’s two-month-old counteroffensive, according to a U. S. -based military think tank. U. S.
Ukrainian guerrillas have killed at least 11 Russian officials and prominent colhard workers, the Institute for War Studies says in its most recent assessment. Poor security for partisan attacks and says developing a shortage of hard work is likely to degrade Russia’s ability to protect rear spaces well and fight well on the front lines.
“The Kremlin has yet to counter well the partisan movement organized by Ukraine and must have the capacity to do so,” the assessment said.
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said his government would develop its army’s defense readiness according to the “serious security scenario in which Europe is unearthed. “Defense Minister Bjørn Arild Gram added that not all movements taken will be noted or discussed publicly. He said the defense forces “have a smart scenario review, and we’re making our defense forces able to handle this scenario over time. “The announcement prompted a complaint from Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova at a briefing on Wednesday.
“Oslo is now one of the top active supporters of NATO’s engagement in the Arctic,” he said, accusing Norwegian leaders of “deliberately pursuing a destructive race towards heightened tensions in the Euroarctic region and, in the end, destroying the Russian-Norwegian Union. “”Reports,” adding that “any hostile action will be followed by a spark and a sufficiently good response. “
Contributor: Francesca Chambers, Maureen Groppe, USA TODAY; The Associated Press