Ukrainian military says it has beaten back succession of attacks across frontline; ‘third wave’ expected after failed Russian bid for Avdiivka
The Russian security council secretary, Nikolai Patrushev, said on Wednesday that the “destructive” policies of the US and its allies were increasing the risk that nuclear, chemical or biological weapons would be used, Reuters reports.
State news agency Tass quoted Patrushev, a close ally of the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, as saying:
The natural consequence of the United States’ destructive policies is the deterioration in the global security.
The risk that nuclear, chemical and biological weapons will be used is increasing.
There was a powerful explosion on Tuesday at Taganrog airport in Russia’s Rostov oblast which houses military aircraft, Ukrainian news sources, Russian officials and online observers said.
Shelling killed six people and wounded nearly a dozen in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian city of Donetsk, Denis Pushilin, the Kremlin-backed head of the region, said on Tuesday. Donetsk has been controlled by Russian forces since 2014 and authorities routinely accuse Ukraine of attacks – claims that cannot be independently verified.
The heads of the US treasury, defence and state departments have called on Congress to fund $11.8bn in Ukraine aid as part of President Joe Biden’s supplemental spending request, according to a letter released on Tuesday. Senate Democrats blocked a Republican effort to win quick approval for a bill providing emergency aid to Israel that passed the US House of Representatives last week but provides no assistance for Ukraine.
The EU is expected to fire the starting gun on the process of Ukraine becoming a member state, with a report expected to recommend formal negotiations on accession on Wednesday. Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said that his country was “preparing our next steps” to join the bloc, including by strengthening its institutions, although he acknowledged that this would require work by Kyiv to “adapt to EU standards”.
A newly built Russian naval corvette was “almost certainly” damaged after being struck in Crimea, the UK’s Ministry of Defence said in an intelligence update. The Ukrainian attack on 4 November hit the Askold cruise missile ship, which had not yet entered service. “Ukraine’s capability to hit Crimean shipbuilding infrastructure will likely cause Russia to consider relocating farther from the frontline, delaying the delivery of new vessels,” the update said.
The Netherlands sent its first five F-16 fighter jets to Romania on Tuesday for use in the training of Ukrainian pilots, Reuters reported.
Russia formally withdrew from a security treaty that limited key categories of conventional armed forces, blaming the US for undermining post-cold war security with the enlargement of the Nato military alliance. Nato allies said that as a consequence, they intended to suspend the operation of the treaty as…
2023-11-08 02:45:31
Link from www.theguardian.com
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