U.N. looks to ‘cool’ fears of dirty bomb with visit to Ukraine
The head of the United Nation’s nuclear watchdog said he hopes to “cool off” the nuclear saber rattling between Russia and the West by dispatching inspectors to the Ukrainian nuclear sites that Moscow claims are being used to divert radioactive materials for use in a “dirty bomb.”
The upcoming visit, overseen by International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi, could help disprove Russia’s widely criticized claims of a Ukrainian nuclear plot. But by taking Moscow’s accusations at face value, it also risks elevating the sensational charges.
The visit will be the latest high-wire act of a bureaucrat who has conversed extensively with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky while trying to maintain his agency’s status as a neutral watchdog of the world’s most dangerous materials.
Read the full story here.
The head of the United Nation’s nuclear watchdog said he hopes to “cool off” the nuclear saber rattling between Russia and the West by dispatching inspectors to the Ukrainian nuclear sites that Moscow claims are being used to divert radioactive materials for use in a “dirty bomb.”
The upcoming visit, overseen by International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi, could help disprove Russia’s widely criticized claims of a Ukrainian nuclear plot. But by taking Moscow’s accusations at face value, it also risks elevating the sensational charges.
The visit will be the latest high-wire act of a bureaucrat who has conversed extensively with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky while trying to maintain his agency’s status as a neutral watchdog of the world’s most dangerous materials.
Read the full story here.
Dnipro residents fear dark, cold winter as Russia smashes infrastructure
DNIPRO — A powerless 15-floor apartment building in this industrial city offered a preview of what many Ukrainians fear will soon become the norm here after relentless Russian airstrikes on civilian infrastructure: Candles flickered in windows. Couples cooked by flashlight. Outside in the darkened courtyard on Saturday evening, three men and a woman drank alcohol in a cone of cellphone light.
Some residents had caught wind of the planned outage on social media. Others had no clue until it happened just as dark fell.
With the elevator useless, Tetiana walked up five floors in the dark with her dachshund to a drab apartment with no candles or flashlights. Before walking the dog, she had spent the past two hours texting with relatives across the country, some of whom were also without power. “This is the first time this has happened,” said Tetiana, a middle-aged woman who declined to give her last name.
Read the full story here.
DNIPRO — A powerless 15-floor apartment building in this industrial city offered a preview of what many Ukrainians fear will soon become the norm here after relentless Russian airstrikes on civilian infrastructure: Candles flickered in windows. Couples cooked by flashlight. Outside in the darkened courtyard on Saturday evening, three men and a woman drank alcohol in a cone of cellphone light.
Some residents had caught wind of the planned outage on social media. Others had no clue until it happened just as dark fell.
With the elevator useless, Tetiana walked up five floors in the dark with her dachshund to a drab apartment with no candles or flashlights. Before walking the dog, she had spent the past two hours texting with relatives across the country, some of whom were also without power. “This is the first time this has happened,” said Tetiana, a middle-aged woman who declined to give her last name.
Read the full story here.
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday delivered a speech cast as an “extensive report” on world politics, and an opportunity to set out his views as the war in Ukraine drags on.
- Russia would target “quasi-civilian infrastructure” in space if Moscow believes it served military purposes, said Konstantin Vorontsov, the Russian official at the United Nations, on Wednesday.
- Ukraine’s energy system was once again targeted by Russia overnight, the country’s main grid operator Ukrenergo said early Thursday.
- The suspected Russian spy arrested in Norway this week attended a seminar on hybrid threats recently that included a scenario about responding to a pipeline explosion, according to Norwegian media, a coordinator for the group that hosted the event, and a photograph from the event.
More live updates here.
- Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday delivered a speech cast as an “extensive report” on world politics, and an opportunity to set out his views as the war in Ukraine drags on.
- Russia would target “quasi-civilian infrastructure” in space if Moscow believes it served military purposes, said Konstantin Vorontsov, the Russian official at the United Nations, on Wednesday.
- Ukraine’s energy system was once again targeted by Russia overnight, the country’s main grid operator Ukrenergo said early Thursday.
- The suspected Russian spy arrested in Norway this week attended a seminar on hybrid threats recently that included a scenario about responding to a pipeline explosion, according to Norwegian media, a coordinator for the group that hosted the event, and a photograph from the event.
More live updates here.
Here’s the latest from Ukraine.
- President Biden criticized Putin for nuclear brinkmanship Thursday, hours after the Russian leader downplayed the chance that the Kremlin would use a nuclear weapon in Ukraine. “If he has no intention, why does he keep talking about it?” Biden said.
- Putin said Thursday that the decision by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to visit Taiwan in August was “delusional.” “The whole West is coming down on us, fighting Russia,” he said. “Well, why at the same time ruin relations with China?” He made dismissive use of the Russian word babushka, or grandmother, to describe her.
- Russia would target “quasi-civilian infrastructure” in space if Moscow believes it served military purposes, said Konstantin Vorontsov, a Russian official at the United Nations, on Wednesday.
- The International Energy Agency forecast that the Ukraine war would spur countries to pursue more sustainable energy policies, helping global emissions to peak in 2025.
More live updates here.
- President Biden criticized Putin for nuclear brinkmanship Thursday, hours after the Russian leader downplayed the chance that the Kremlin would use a nuclear weapon in Ukraine. “If he has no intention, why does he keep talking about it?” Biden said.
- Putin said Thursday that the decision by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to visit Taiwan in August was “delusional.” “The whole West is coming down on us, fighting Russia,” he said. “Well, why at the same time ruin relations with China?” He made dismissive use of the Russian word babushka, or grandmother, to describe her.
- Russia would target “quasi-civilian infrastructure” in space if Moscow believes it served military purposes, said Konstantin Vorontsov, a Russian official at the United Nations, on Wednesday.
- The International Energy Agency forecast that the Ukraine war would spur countries to pursue more sustainable energy policies, helping global emissions to peak in 2025.
More live updates here.
Putin demands U.S. respect ‘multipolar’ world and tell Ukraine to seek peace
Russian President Vladimir Putin recited familiar grievances and criticisms of the hegemonic “Western elite” while offering an ideological pitch to Asian leaders and to conservative groups in the United States and Europe during a keynote foreign policy speech on Thursday.
Putin also blamed the West for the war in Ukraine that he started with a full-scale invasion in February and he insisted that Washington could end the conflict by directing the Ukrainian government to seek peace.
In the speech, delivered to the annual meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club in Moscow, Putin portrayed Russia as a champion of rising nations in a new multipolar world, which he demanded that the United States and other Western powers begin to respect as equals. And seeking common ground with the right-wing in the West, he described Russia as a defender of traditional Christian values as society has lost its way.
Read the full story here.
Russian President Vladimir Putin recited familiar grievances and criticisms of the hegemonic “Western elite” while offering an ideological pitch to Asian leaders and to conservative groups in the United States and Europe during a keynote foreign policy speech on Thursday.
Putin also blamed the West for the war in Ukraine that he started with a full-scale invasion in February and he insisted that Washington could end the conflict by directing the Ukrainian government to seek peace.
In the speech, delivered to the annual meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club in Moscow, Putin portrayed Russia as a champion of rising nations in a new multipolar world, which he demanded that the United States and other Western powers begin to respect as equals. And seeking common ground with the right-wing in the West, he described Russia as a defender of traditional Christian values as society has lost its way.
Read the full story here.
Ksenia Sobchak, Russian star linked to Putin, fled using Israeli passport
Ksenia Sobchak, a Russian socialite and television anchor with a close family connection to President Vladimir Putin, used her dual Israeli citizenship to flee Russia on Tuesday after a police raid of her home that Russian authorities said was tied to a criminal investigation of two of her business associates.
Sobchak, 40, who earned fame as a reality TV star and has been known over the years as a Russian “It Girl”, is the daughter of St. Petersburg’s first post-Soviet mayor, Anatoly Sobchak.
Sobchak runs the “Ostorozhno Novosti” project, which includes a network of Telegram news channels, a podcast studio, a YouTube channel and Sobchak’s own social media page. She has long straddled a fence between Russia’s political elite and its liberal political opposition, creating some distrust of her from both camps. In 2018, she ran for president against Putin, winning about 2 percent of votes.
Read the full story here.
Ksenia Sobchak, a Russian socialite and television anchor with a close family connection to President Vladimir Putin, used her dual Israeli citizenship to flee Russia on Tuesday after a police raid of her home that Russian authorities said was tied to a criminal investigation of two of her business associates.
Sobchak, 40, who earned fame as a reality TV star and has been known over the years as a Russian “It Girl”, is the daughter of St. Petersburg’s first post-Soviet mayor, Anatoly Sobchak.
Sobchak runs the “Ostorozhno Novosti” project, which includes a network of Telegram news channels, a podcast studio, a YouTube channel and Sobchak’s own social media page. She has long straddled a fence between Russia’s political elite and its liberal political opposition, creating some distrust of her from both camps. In 2018, she ran for president against Putin, winning about 2 percent of votes.
Read the full story here.
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- The Pentagon announced Friday an additional $275 million in defense aid for Ukraine, a sum smaller than that offered in many previous packages.
- Air travel is back up in Russia, but due to sanctions, European planemaker Airbus has raised questions about the safety of its planes there.
- A change of Russian strategy in Ukraine to defensive tactics is “likely due to a more realistic assessment that the severely undermanned, poorly trained force in Ukraine is currently only capable of defensive operations,” the British ministry said in its daily intelligence update Friday.
- Ukrainian forces have shot down more than 300 Iranian-made drones in the conflict so far, air force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat told a briefing Friday.
- Russia’s security services are working to undermine Moldova’s pro-Western government, according to sensitive materials obtained by Ukrainian intelligence and reviewed by The Washington Post.
More live updates here.
- The Pentagon announced Friday an additional $275 million in defense aid for Ukraine, a sum smaller than that offered in many previous packages.
- Air travel is back up in Russia, but due to sanctions, European planemaker Airbus has raised questions about the safety of its planes there.
- A change of Russian strategy in Ukraine to defensive tactics is “likely due to a more realistic assessment that the severely undermanned, poorly trained force in Ukraine is currently only capable of defensive operations,” the British ministry said in its daily intelligence update Friday.
- Ukrainian forces have shot down more than 300 Iranian-made drones in the conflict so far, air force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat told a briefing Friday.
- Russia’s security services are working to undermine Moldova’s pro-Western government, according to sensitive materials obtained by Ukrainian intelligence and reviewed by The Washington Post.
More live updates here.
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
—Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky cast doubt on Russia’s claims to have completed its call-up of 300,000 military reservists, and said the Kremlin’s forces are “poorly prepared and equipped” and would be “ruthlessly used” by commanders.
—Zelensky said about 4 million people are under energy-use restrictions as Ukraine attempts to stretch scarce resources after Russian forces destroyed infrastructure around the country.
—A group of House and Senate Republicans opposed Democratic Party-backed plans to fund Ukraine’s war effort with assets seized from Russia, The Washington Post reported.
Read more updates here.
—Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky cast doubt on Russia’s claims to have completed its call-up of 300,000 military reservists, and said the Kremlin’s forces are “poorly prepared and equipped” and would be “ruthlessly used” by commanders.
—Zelensky said about 4 million people are under energy-use restrictions as Ukraine attempts to stretch scarce resources after Russian forces destroyed infrastructure around the country.
—A group of House and Senate Republicans opposed Democratic Party-backed plans to fund Ukraine’s war effort with assets seized from Russia, The Washington Post reported.
Read more updates here.
Exclusive: Russia’s security service works to subvert Moldova’s pro-Western government
When thousands of protesters gathered last month outside Moldova’s presidential palace calling for the country’s pro-Western leader to step down, the man behind the demonstration — an opposition party leader in exile in Israel — soon received praise from Moscow.
A senior Russian politician praised the protest organizer, Ilan Shor, as “a worthy long-term partner” and even offered the Moldovan region led by his party a cheap Russian gas deal. Referred to as “the young one” by Russia’s Federal Security Service, Shor is a leading figure in the Kremlin’s efforts to subvert this former Soviet republic, intelligence documents and interviews with Moldovan, Ukrainian and Western officials show.
The documents — part of a trove of sensitive materials obtained by Ukrainian intelligence and reviewed by The Post — illustrate how Moscow continues to try to manipulate countries in Eastern Europe.
Read the full story here.
When thousands of protesters gathered last month outside Moldova’s presidential palace calling for the country’s pro-Western leader to step down, the man behind the demonstration — an opposition party leader in exile in Israel — soon received praise from Moscow.
A senior Russian politician praised the protest organizer, Ilan Shor, as “a worthy long-term partner” and even offered the Moldovan region led by his party a cheap Russian gas deal. Referred to as “the young one” by Russia’s Federal Security Service, Shor is a leading figure in the Kremlin’s efforts to subvert this former Soviet republic, intelligence documents and interviews with Moldovan, Ukrainian and Western officials show.
The documents — part of a trove of sensitive materials obtained by Ukrainian intelligence and reviewed by The Post — illustrate how Moscow continues to try to manipulate countries in Eastern Europe.
Read the full story here.
Russian defense minister says mobilization complete with 300,000 summoned
Russia’s controversial mobilization to send reinforcements to fight in Ukraine is now complete, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu reported to President Vladimir Putin in a televised meeting Friday, with 300,000 summoned for duty — the precise number Putin had requested.
“We have stopped sending notices to people, and the task you set, 300,000 people, has been completed,” Shoigu told Putin in the meeting, which was clearly scripted. “No further measures are planned.”
According to Shoigu, 82,000 soldiers have been sent to the conflict zone in Ukraine, with half of those assigned to active-duty units, and others continuing to do combat training. “Over 1,300 government representatives, 27,000 entrepreneurs, and 13,000 volunteers were called up and joined the ranks; the average age of those mobilized is 35 years,” Shoigu added.
Read the full story here.
Russia’s controversial mobilization to send reinforcements to fight in Ukraine is now complete, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu reported to President Vladimir Putin in a televised meeting Friday, with 300,000 summoned for duty — the precise number Putin had requested.
“We have stopped sending notices to people, and the task you set, 300,000 people, has been completed,” Shoigu told Putin in the meeting, which was clearly scripted. “No further measures are planned.”
According to Shoigu, 82,000 soldiers have been sent to the conflict zone in Ukraine, with half of those assigned to active-duty units, and others continuing to do combat training. “Over 1,300 government representatives, 27,000 entrepreneurs, and 13,000 volunteers were called up and joined the ranks; the average age of those mobilized is 35 years,” Shoigu added.
Read the full story here.
Russia threatens commercial satellites that Pentagon sees as its future
On Thursday evening, SpaceX launched yet another of its Falcon 9 rockets to space, the 49th in 2022, a record as it continues to launch a rocket about once every six days. This one carried 53 Starlink satellites to orbit, adding to a constellation that now has more than 3,000 in operation — more satellites than the rest of the world combined, according to analysts.
On Tuesday, SpaceX is scheduled to launch a much more powerful rocket, the Falcon Heavy. This time, the customer is the U.S. Space Force and the payload is strictly classified.
The launches come as tensions between the United States and Russia are high amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and just days after Russia threatened to target the commercial satellites, which have proved a boon to Ukraine and its allies during the war.
Read the full story here.
On Thursday evening, SpaceX launched yet another of its Falcon 9 rockets to space, the 49th in 2022, a record as it continues to launch a rocket about once every six days. This one carried 53 Starlink satellites to orbit, adding to a constellation that now has more than 3,000 in operation — more satellites than the rest of the world combined, according to analysts.
On Tuesday, SpaceX is scheduled to launch a much more powerful rocket, the Falcon Heavy. This time, the customer is the U.S. Space Force and the payload is strictly classified.
The launches come as tensions between the United States and Russia are high amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and just days after Russia threatened to target the commercial satellites, which have proved a boon to Ukraine and its allies during the war.
Read the full story here.
Russia pauses grain deal after Ukraine strikes warships in Crimea
Russia suspended its participation in the U.N.-brokered deal that allowed Ukraine to export its grain and other agricultural products from Black Sea ports after claiming that Kyiv used the corridor to attack Kremlin ships, reigniting concerns about global food insecurity.
The Russian military accused Ukrainian forces of using drones to attack “military and civilian” ships near Sevastopol in Crimea in the early hours of Saturday, claiming that the strikes were carried out “with the participation of British experts.”
The Russian Foreign Ministry said separately that because of the attack it would “no longer guarantee the safety of civilian dry cargo ships participating in the Black Sea Grain Initiative and will suspend its implementation from today for an indefinite period.”
Read the full story here.
Russia suspended its participation in the U.N.-brokered deal that allowed Ukraine to export its grain and other agricultural products from Black Sea ports after claiming that Kyiv used the corridor to attack Kremlin ships, reigniting concerns about global food insecurity.
The Russian military accused Ukrainian forces of using drones to attack “military and civilian” ships near Sevastopol in Crimea in the early hours of Saturday, claiming that the strikes were carried out “with the participation of British experts.”
The Russian Foreign Ministry said separately that because of the attack it would “no longer guarantee the safety of civilian dry cargo ships participating in the Black Sea Grain Initiative and will suspend its implementation from today for an indefinite period.”
Read the full story here.
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- Strikes hit critical infrastructure in the Ukrainian capital and other key cities on Monday morning, with officials warning of blackouts, power outages and water shortages.
- Part of the capital has been cut off from power and water supplies have also been affected, Kyiv, mayor Vitali Klitschko said. The barrage follows air raid sirens across the city earlier Monday, and the sound of multiple explosions.
- Two strikes hit critical infrastructure in the city of Kharkiv, its mayor said on Telegram, leaving part of the region without power.
- In Zaporizhzhia, the governor accused Russian forces of damaging a critical infrastructure facility. No casualties have been reported so far but officials warned that interruptions to infrastructure supplies could be affected.
Read more updates here.
- Strikes hit critical infrastructure in the Ukrainian capital and other key cities on Monday morning, with officials warning of blackouts, power outages and water shortages.
- Part of the capital has been cut off from power and water supplies have also been affected, Kyiv, mayor Vitali Klitschko said. The barrage follows air raid sirens across the city earlier Monday, and the sound of multiple explosions.
- Two strikes hit critical infrastructure in the city of Kharkiv, its mayor said on Telegram, leaving part of the region without power.
- In Zaporizhzhia, the governor accused Russian forces of damaging a critical infrastructure facility. No casualties have been reported so far but officials warned that interruptions to infrastructure supplies could be affected.
Read more updates here.
Missiles slam Ukraine as Russia strikes infrastructure in new air barrage
Explosions hit Kyiv and regions across Ukraine on Monday morning, leaving many without power or water as Russia launched a fresh barrage of airstrikes on critical infrastructure.
Ukrainian officials said that Russia launched dozens of cruise missiles, many of which were intercepted by air defenses. There were no immediate tallies of casualties, but officials said there were people wounded.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the strikes had left 80 percent of the capital city without water supply and that engineers were working to restore electricity at a damaged facility that supplies power to 350,000 Kyiv apartments.
Strikes and power outages were also reported in Kharkiv region in the northeast, in the Cherkasy, Poltava and Dnipropetrovsk regions in central Ukraine, and in Zaporizhzhia in the southeast. Several hydroelectric dams appeared to be specific targets on Monday.
Read the full story here.
Explosions hit Kyiv and regions across Ukraine on Monday morning, leaving many without power or water as Russia launched a fresh barrage of airstrikes on critical infrastructure.
Ukrainian officials said that Russia launched dozens of cruise missiles, many of which were intercepted by air defenses. There were no immediate tallies of casualties, but officials said there were people wounded.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the strikes had left 80 percent of the capital city without water supply and that engineers were working to restore electricity at a damaged facility that supplies power to 350,000 Kyiv apartments.
Strikes and power outages were also reported in Kharkiv region in the northeast, in the Cherkasy, Poltava and Dnipropetrovsk regions in central Ukraine, and in Zaporizhzhia in the southeast. Several hydroelectric dams appeared to be specific targets on Monday.
Read the full story here.
Desperate for allies, Russia cultivates ties with Iran and Saudi Arabia
A hot mic incident on pro-Kremlin television last week confirmed that the drones Moscow is using to kill Ukrainians and to destroy Ukraine’s infrastructure are manufactured and supplied by Iran — exposing the repeated denials by Moscow and Tehran as false.
“We all know the drones are Iranian,” Ruslan Pukhov, a military expert close to the Russian Defense Ministry, told the anchors on RBC television, clearly unaware that they were live on air. “But the government has not admitted to it,” he muttered.
The public denials by Russia and Iran, despite overwhelming evidence, highlight the expanding common ground between two nations bound closer than ever by their leaders’ anti-Western worldview and embrace of conspiracy theories, their willingness to use violence to achieve regional goals, their economic isolation under sanctions, brutal repression of their own citizens and their predilection for official lies.
Read the full story here.
A hot mic incident on pro-Kremlin television last week confirmed that the drones Moscow is using to kill Ukrainians and to destroy Ukraine’s infrastructure are manufactured and supplied by Iran — exposing the repeated denials by Moscow and Tehran as false.
“We all know the drones are Iranian,” Ruslan Pukhov, a military expert close to the Russian Defense Ministry, told the anchors on RBC television, clearly unaware that they were live on air. “But the government has not admitted to it,” he muttered.
The public denials by Russia and Iran, despite overwhelming evidence, highlight the expanding common ground between two nations bound closer than ever by their leaders’ anti-Western worldview and embrace of conspiracy theories, their willingness to use violence to achieve regional goals, their economic isolation under sanctions, brutal repression of their own citizens and their predilection for official lies.
Read the full story here.
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Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- Russia unleashed a fresh wave of attacks across Ukraine on Monday, damaging more than a dozen critical infrastructure facilities and causing sustained power outages, Ukrainian officials said.
- Multiple districts in the capital, Kyiv, have been cut off from power, and 80 percent of the city is without water after strikes on nearby facilities, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.
- Two strikes hit critical infrastructure in the city of Kharkiv, its mayor said on Telegram, leaving part of the region without power. In Zaporizhzhia, the governor accused Russian forces of damaging a critical infrastructure facility.
- Ukraine said it resumed agricultural exports out of its Black Sea ports Monday despite Russia’s withdrawal from the U.N.-brokered grain deal safeguarding the passage of the cargo vessels.
More live updates here.
- Russia unleashed a fresh wave of attacks across Ukraine on Monday, damaging more than a dozen critical infrastructure facilities and causing sustained power outages, Ukrainian officials said.
- Multiple districts in the capital, Kyiv, have been cut off from power, and 80 percent of the city is without water after strikes on nearby facilities, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.
- Two strikes hit critical infrastructure in the city of Kharkiv, its mayor said on Telegram, leaving part of the region without power. In Zaporizhzhia, the governor accused Russian forces of damaging a critical infrastructure facility.
- Ukraine said it resumed agricultural exports out of its Black Sea ports Monday despite Russia’s withdrawal from the U.N.-brokered grain deal safeguarding the passage of the cargo vessels.
More live updates here.
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky pledged to continue exporting grain from the country’s Black Sea ports, and accused Russia of exacerbating a global food crisis by suspending a United Nations-brokered shipping deal and threatening to block grain vessels.
- Moscow’s U.N. representative, Vasily Nebenzya, earlier on Monday accused Kyiv of using the grain corridor for “military and sabotage purposes,” and said drones had been used to attack Russian ships over the weekend “under the cover” of the deal.
- Russia unleashed a fresh wave of infrastructure attacks across Ukraine on Monday in retaliation for the weekend drone attacks, which Kyiv has not claimed responsibility for.
- Inspectors from the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog have started verification work at two sites in Ukraine where Russia alleges “dirty bomb” preparations are taking place.
More live updates here.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky pledged to continue exporting grain from the country’s Black Sea ports, and accused Russia of exacerbating a global food crisis by suspending a United Nations-brokered shipping deal and threatening to block grain vessels.
- Moscow’s U.N. representative, Vasily Nebenzya, earlier on Monday accused Kyiv of using the grain corridor for “military and sabotage purposes,” and said drones had been used to attack Russian ships over the weekend “under the cover” of the deal.
- Russia unleashed a fresh wave of infrastructure attacks across Ukraine on Monday in retaliation for the weekend drone attacks, which Kyiv has not claimed responsibility for.
- Inspectors from the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog have started verification work at two sites in Ukraine where Russia alleges “dirty bomb” preparations are taking place.
More live updates here.