Russia-Ukraine war latest news: Moscow takes ‘dirty bomb’ claim to UN Security Council

Rebuffed by Western countries, Russia doubled down on its claim that Kyiv is preparing to use a “dirty bomb” in Ukraine and said it would bring the issue to the UN Security Council on Tuesday.

Ukraine and Russia: What you need to know right now

Conflict

• Russia told people in the occupied city of Kherson to flee as more residents joined an exodus to escape an anticipated Ukrainian counter-offensive. Russia said its forces had prevented a bid by Ukraine to break through its line of control.

• The Russian-installed administration of Kherson region announced the formation of a militia, saying all men remaining in the city could join.

• An Oct. 21-23 poll conducted after two weeks of heavy Russian shelling of Ukrainian cities showed that an overwhelming majority of Ukrainians backed continued armed resistance against Moscow.

Diplomacy

• Russia plans to raise at the UN Security Council its accusation that Ukraine is planning a “dirty bomb” attack, diplomats said. Russia also contacted a few Western countries about its suspicions.

• Britain, France and the United States said they were committed to supporting Ukraine “for as long as it takes” and rejected Russia’s warning about a “dirty bomb”.

• A US military official told reporters the United States had no indications that Russia had decided to use a nuclear, biological or chemical weapon.

• Iran condemned a call by Britain, France and Germany for the United Nations to investigate accusations that Russia had used Iranian-origin attack drones.

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called on Israel to join the fight against Russia and repeated a request for Israeli air defense systems.

• Thirty liberal US congressional Democrats urged President Joe Biden to shift his strategy for the Russia-Ukraine war by pursuing a negotiated settlement.

Economy

• A U.N spokesperson said “much more needs to be done” to clear a backlog of more than 150 ships involved in a Black Sea grain-export deal, and Ukraine, Russia, Turkey and the United Nations had all acknowledged the problem.

• Ukraine said seven vessels sailed from its ports laden with grain for Asia and Europe, but accused Russia of blocking full implementation of a Black Sea grain deal.

• The World Bank said it had disbursed an additional $500 million to help Ukraine meet urgent spending needs created by the war.