Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told a news conference that experts from the UN nuclear watchdog would soon arrive in Ukraine and have full access, and called on Moscow to show the same transparency as Ukraine, Reuters reported. Updated at 16.20 BST Important events Show only key events Please enable JavaScript to use this feature Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said Russian assets and the assets of Russian oligarchs constituted a “huge pot of gold” that should be used to rebuild Ukraine. “We need to make sure the perpetrator pays for the rebuilding. Russia should pay Ukraine war reparations, war reparations,” Morawiecki said Tuesday at a conference in Berlin working to build international support for financing Ukraine’s post-war reconstruction. He also said that Europe was “to some extent, a paper tiger” and was much stronger than Russia. ‘There’s a huge pot of gold’: Poland says Russia must pay to rebuild Ukraine – video
Ukraine fears Russia plans false flag attack amid claims of Kremlin ‘dirty bomb’
Ukraine said persistent Russian claims that Kyiv was planning to detonate a dirty bomb made it appear that Moscow itself was planning a false flag operation and that Ukraine never had plans to develop a dirty bomb. Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told a news conference that experts from the UN nuclear watchdog would soon arrive in Ukraine and have full access, and called on Moscow to show the same transparency as Ukraine, Reuters reported. Updated at 16.20 BST Russian President Vladimir Putin said the country must speed up decision-making in relation to the military campaign in Ukraine. Speaking at the first meeting of a new coordination council to manage the Russian government’s work on the home front, Putin said increased coordination of government structures and regions was necessary, Reuters reported. Updated at 3.45pm BST John Hudson, a reporter for the Washington Post, obtained the letter Russia sent to the UN Security Council regarding the Ukrainian “dirty bombs.” He says it is a “way out”, highlighting how it includes scenarios of how Ukraine would produce a “dirty bomb” using its existing nuclear power plants. He also writes: The allegations in the letter, which US and Western officials call absurd, say the Ukrainian government would detonate the dirty bomb and describe the ensuing explosion as the result of a Russian tactical nuclear weapon. I just received the letter that Russia sent to the UN Security Council regarding the Ukrainian “dirty bombs”. It’s too far away. It includes scenarios for how Ukraine would domestically produce a so-called “dirty bomb” using its existing nuclear power plants. pic.twitter.com/jYr5yALod5 — John Hudson (@John_Hudson) October 25, 2022 Claims in the letter, which US and Western officials call absurd, say the Ukrainian government would detonate the dirty bomb and describe the ensuing explosion as the result of a Russian tactical nuclear weapon pic.twitter.com/IFqBlrqeqA — John Hudson (@John_Hudson) October 25, 2022 Updated at 15.27 BST Russian forces have been hitting the Donetsk region hard recently, particularly targeting the strategically located towns of Bakhmut and Avdiivka in Ukraine’s industrial heartland, the Donbas. In the last day, seven civilians were killed and three wounded amid five raids on eight settlements. Here’s a look at the aftermath, as citizens stay behind to pick up the pieces or evacuate in hopes of finding safety: An elderly woman stands on the balcony of her damaged house after shelling in the town of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region on October 25. Photo: Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP/Getty Images Local residents sit on a bus to leave the town of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region on October 25. Photo: Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP/Getty Images An elderly woman examines her damaged house after shelling in the town of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region on October 25. Photo: Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP/Getty Images A woman takes her two dogs out to evacuate them from the town of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region on October 25. Photo: Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP/Getty Images A disabled man walks using crutches in his damaged home after shelling in the town of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region on October 25. Photo: Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP/Getty Images Updated at 15.21 BST
Report: Norway arrests researcher suspected of being a Russian spy
A man who entered Norway as a Brazilian citizen has been detained for four weeks on suspicion of being a Russian spy, Norwegian television reported. Norway’s public broadcaster NRK says the country’s internal security agency arrested the man in the Arctic town of Tromo, according to the Associated Press. The man was based at Norway’s Arctic University as a “Brazilian researcher” and will be deported from the country “because we believe he represents a threat to fundamental national interests,” Norway’s deputy police chief Hedvig Moe told NRK. The security service is “concerned that it may have acquired a network and information about Norway’s policy in the northern region,” Moe said. “Even if this network or the information is more or less not a threat to the security of the kingdom, we are concerned that the information could be misused by Russia.” In a statement, Arctic University of Norway director Jørgen Fossland said the person in question was a “guest lecturer” at the school. The lecturer was arrested on Monday on his way to work, NRK said. His lawyer, Thomas Hansen, told VG newspaper that the man denies any wrongdoing. Updated at 15.39 BST Moscow generally supported the idea of creating a safe zone around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia’s ambassador to international organizations in Vienna, told the TASS news agency on Tuesday. Reuters reports that Ulyanov had responded to long-standing calls from the International Atomic Energy Agency to de-escalate the conflict near the plant. “The essence (of the IAEA proposal) in a nutshell is that you cannot shoot from the ground of the nuclear plant and you cannot shoot at the plant. Very reasonable idea, which we generally support. The question, as always, is in the details,” Ulyanov said according to TASS. The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has been the site of controversy for months, with both sides accusing the other of launching attacks against it. Any kind of accident or mishap at the plant – Europe’s largest nuclear facility – would have far-reaching environmental consequences for the surrounding areas for years to come.
Russian court upholds nine-year sentence for American basketball star Brittney Griner
A Russian court today rejected an appeal by American basketball star Brittney Griner against her nine-year prison sentence. The two-time Olympic gold medalist has been in custody in Russia since her arrest on February 17 at a Moscow airport. Russian authorities said they found in her possession vapor cartridges containing cannabis oil, which is banned in Russia. He was sentenced on August 4 to nine years in a penal colony. Her family has decried her detention as politically motivated, with many of her supporters raising concerns about her safety over her race and sexuality. Griner is married to a woman. The US characterized Griner’s arrest and subsequent conviction as “illegal detention”. “President Biden has been clear that Britney must be released immediately,” national security adviser Jake Sullivan said today. Sullivan called today’s dismissed appeal “another sham trial.” Updated at 14.33 BST A broken window of a damaged residential building after shelling in the city of Bakhmut, Donetsk region. A broken window of a damaged residential building after shelling in the city of Bakhmut, Donetsk region. Photo: Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP/Getty Images Ukraine’s president said he was “ready to continue strengthening the strategic partnership” with the UK, as Rishi Sunak said the “terrible war … must be successfully seen through to its conclusion”. Speaking outside No 10 Downing Street, the new UK prime minister twice referred to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, saying: “Putin’s war in Ukraine has destabilized energy markets and supply chains around the world.” Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he hoped Sunak would “overcome all the challenges facing British society and the whole world today”. In a tweet after Sunak’s first speech as prime minister, Zelensky said: Congratulations to Rishi Sunak on taking over as Prime Minister! I wish you success in overcoming all the challenges facing British society and the world at large today. I am ready to continue strengthening the strategic partnership together! Updated at 13.37 BST The Russian Defense Ministry claims that its forces repelled Ukrainian attacks in the southern Kherson region and the eastern Luhansk region of Ukraine. Russian officials based in Kherson are evacuating tens of thousands of civilians eastward along the Dnipro River, facing a Ukrainian counteroffensive that has already seen Kyiv retake swaths of land seized by Russian forces in the early days of the war. Reuters was unable to verify reports on the battlefield. Updated at 12.32 BST Isobel Koshiw Purported recordings of the head of a major Ukrainian aircraft manufacturer accused of aiding the Russian military – saying he “fully understands” why a Russian missile was fired at his factory – were released by Kiev security services after his arrest at the weekend.
