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.