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The drills have presented a potential challenge to the United States and its allies. Putin has muddied the waters about his intentions after threatening to use nuclear weapons to defend Russia in its unraveling invasion of Ukraine. "We haven't seen anything to cause us to believe, at this point, that is some kind of cover activity," Austin said. Austin said declined to outline the kinds of potential responses that the United States and its allies would consider if Moscow took such a step. "I don't think this sends any message to Putin," Austin said.

The decision to cancel the submarine-launched cruise missile could help President Joe Biden address calls from fellow Democrats to scale back America's nuclear arsenal without sacrificing major components of its nuclear "triad" of nuclear-tipped ground-based inter-continental ballistic missiles, nuclear-capable bomber aircraft and submarine-launched nuclear arms. The Biden administration released three documents on Thursday: the National Defense Strategy, Nuclear Posture Review and Missile Defense Review. Under President Donald Trump's administration, the military made a decision in 2018 to develop a new nuclear-armed sea-launched cruise missile, with a focus on the threat from Russia. But the Biden administration said in its review the sea-launched cruise missile program (SLCM-N) was unnecessary and would be cancelled because the United States already had the "means to deter limited nuclear use." U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters the military did not need the SLCM-N because there was enough capability in the nuclear inventory already.

☆ China could be set for even more Russian gas as Gazprom begins testing a key supply hub to reroute energy from Europe
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Russia's state-run Gazprom said Tuesday it is testing gas supplies in Kovykta, a key hub in east Siberia, per Reuters. According to the report, Gazprom said Kovykta and new gas transport operations are set to come online in December. Those flows would head to China via the Power of Siberia pipeline and continue Moscow's efforts to reroute natural gas away from Europe. At the end of 2019, Gazprom begin delivering gas to China out of the Chanayda field, which also uses the Power of Siberia. In 2020, the state-run energy giant sent 4.1 billion cubic meters of gas to China, then 11 billion in 2021.

☆ Ukraine alleges Russian operatives are doing 'secret' work at a captured nuclear power plant and could make a dirty bomb
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Ukraine alleged Russian forces are doing "secret" work at a captured nuclear power plant. The country's state nuclear operator said the unauthorized activity could yield a dirty bomb. Energoatom, Ukraine's state energy operator, alleged Russian operatives have been carrying out "unauthorized construction works" over the last few days at Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant's Dry Spent Nuclear Fuel Storage Facility, where spent nuclear fuel is kept. "Russian lies about Ukraine allegedly planning to use a 'dirty bomb' are as absurd as they are dangerous. "Russia's statements about the creation of a [dirty nuclear bomb] may indicate that [Russia] is preparing an act of nuclear terrorism," Energoatom said.

☆ IAEA preparing to inspect two sites in Ukraine over 'dirty bomb' claims
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

VIENNA, Oct 24 (Reuters) - The U.N. nuclear watchdog is preparing to send inspectors in the coming days to two Ukrainian sites at Kyiv's request, it said on Monday, in an apparent reaction to Russian claims that Ukraine could deploy a so-called dirty bomb, which Ukraine denies. read moreRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register"The IAEA is preparing to visit the locations in the coming days. The purpose of the safeguards visits is to detect any possible undeclared nuclear activities and material," it added. "No undeclared nuclear activities or material were found there." Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba tweeted earlier in the day that he had spoken to Grossi and urged him to "send experts to peaceful facilities in Ukraine which Russia deceitfully claims to be developing a "dirty bomb."

☆ Russian TV presenter says sorry but faces probe for call to drown Ukrainian children
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Oct 24 (Reuters) - A Russian TV presenter apologised on Monday for calling for Ukrainian children to be drowned, as Russia's state Investigative Committee said it was probing his remarks. In a show last week on state-controlled broadcaster RT, presenter Anton Krasovsky said Ukrainian children who saw Russians as occupiers under the Soviet Union should have been "thrown straight into a river with a strong current" and drowned. Ukraine said on Sunday that RT was an inciter of genocide and should be banned worldwide. Krasovsky is a pro-war commentator on Russian television who has been sanctioned by the European Union. In last week's show, he also talked about shoving children into huts and burning them, and joked about the rape of Ukrainian women.

☆ Russian jets have crashed into apartment buildings twice in less than a week, highlighting Putin's military struggles at home
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

A Russian warplane crashed in Siberia on Sunday, killing both pilots. The crash was the second time in less than a week a Russian military aircraft slammed into a residential area, causing fatalities. The deadly crashes come as Russia's military also struggles abroad in its fight in Ukraine. It's the second time in less than a week that a Russian warplane crashed into a residential area, resulting in fatalities. Some casualty estimates for the Russian military in Ukraine are as high as 90,000.

☆ Russian missile strikes have knocked out power for 1.5 million Ukrainians: 'total darkness and cold are coming'
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-23 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A barrage of Russian missiles fired Saturday targeted Ukraine's electrical grid. Ukrainian parliamentary deputy Kira Rudik tweeted that power was knocked out for 1.5 million people. "Total darkness and cold are coming," Rudick said, as the country prepares for winter with limited power. "1.5 million of #Ukrainians without electricity right now," Kira Rudick, a member of the Ukrainian parliament tweeted shortly after the attacks. On Telegram, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the attacks "vile strikes on critical objects," and urged Ukrainians to conserve energy.

☆ Russian fighter jet crashes into Siberian home, two pilots killed
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Oct 23 (Reuters) - A Russian military jet crashed into a residential building in the Siberian city of Irkutsk on Sunday and the two pilots were killed, officials said, the second such fatal incident in six days involving a Sukhoi fighter plane. In a post on Telegram, Irkutsk governor Igor Kobzev said the plane crashed into a two-storey house in the city. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterOfficials said the plane was a Sukhoi Su-30 fighter on a test flight. Last Monday, a Sukhoi Su-34 crashed into an apartment block in the southern city of Yeysk, near Ukraine, and at least 15 people were killed. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Jake Cordell and Mark Trevelyan, Editing by William MacleanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Firefighters help a local woman evacuate from a residential building destroyed by a Russian drone strike, which local authorities consider to be Iranian-made unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) Shahed-136, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine October 17, 2022. 'SUICIDE DRONES'Ukraine said the attacks were carried out by Iran-made "suicide drones", which fly to their target and detonate. The White House accused Iran of lying when it says Iranian drones were not being used by Russia in Ukraine. Ukraine's military said it had destroyed 37 Russian drones since Sunday evening, or around 85% of those used in attacks. Yeysk is separated from occupied Russian territory in southern Ukraine by a narrow stretch of the Sea of Azov.

☆ Russian fighter plane crashes into apartments in southern city near Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

YEYSK, Russia, Oct 17 (Reuters) - A Russian fighter plane crashed into a residential building in the southern Russian city of Yeysk on Monday, engulfing apartments in flames, the regional governor said. Governor Veniamin Kondratyev said the plane was a Sukhoi Su-34, a supersonic medium-range fighter-bomber. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterRIA news agency said it crashed during a training flight from a military airfield. Yeysk is separated from occupied Russian territory in southern Ukraine by a narrow stretch of the Sea of Azov. The incident comes nearly eight months after Russia sent troops into Ukraine.

☆ Exxon's Russian oil output collapsed after rejecting local tanker insurance - sources
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Sergei KarpukhinHOUSTON/NEW DELHI, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Oil output at the giant Exxon-led (XOM.N) Sakhalin-1 Russian Pacific project collapsed following the U.S. major's refusal to accept local insurance for tankers after Western insurers pulled out due to sanctions, several industry sources told Reuters. The developments have unfolded as the European Union is due to impose a ban on Russian oil tanker insurance and shows the major impact ship insurance and re-insurance guarantees can have on operations. Russia's state oil champion Rosneft (ROSN.MM), a partner in the Sakhalin-1 project, has blamed Exxon for falling output, saying that since mid-May the project produced hardly any oil. Russian newspaper Kommersant was first to report on Monday that production at Sakhalin-1 collapsed following Exxon's refusal to work with Sovcomflot. Oil output at the Sakhalin-1 project fell to just 10,000 barrels per day (bpd) earlier this year from 220,000 bpd before Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24.

☆ Putin's Russia 'has become a fascist state' and must be stopped in Ukraine, says ex-diplomat who defected after the invasion
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Russia "has become a fascist state," argues an ex-diplomat who resigned over the war in Ukraine. "The invasion of Ukraine made it impossible to deny just how brutal and repressive Russia had become," Bondarev wrote. "The war," he continued, "shows that Russia is no longer just dictatorial and aggressive; it has become a fascist state." "The sanctions suddenly cut off our access to these products and left our military weaker than the West understood," Bondarev wrote. "There's only one thing that can really stop Putin," Bondarev wrote, "and that is a comprehensive rout."

☆ Russia launched a new bombardment of Ukraine's capital, deploying Iranian 'suicide drones,' officials say
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Russia launched fresh attacks on Kyiv on Monday morning with explosive drones. Reports and Ukrainian officials identified the drones used as ones made in Iran. Residents fled to shelters as air raid sirens went off, and Ukrainian troops tried to shoot down the drones that Ukrainian officials said were single-use "kamikaze drones" which explode on contact. A Russian drone is seen during a Russian drone strike, in Kyiv, Ukraine October 17, 2022. Russia also until recently relied on missiles, rather than drones, to attack Kyiv, the AP noted.

☆ Turkey backs Putin gas plan as Nord Stream faces long outage
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Pipes at the landfall facilities of the 'Nord Stream 1' gas pipeline are pictured in Lubmin, Germany, March 8, 2022. Russian President Vladimir Putin this week proposed Turkey as a base for gas supplies after the Nord Stream pipelines under the Baltic Sea were damaged last month by blasts. Both Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2, connecting Russia and Germany, were damaged last month, spewing out a large amount of gas. With Nord Stream out of service, Miller said that Russia will start "concrete" talks with Turkey next week on proposals to route more gas their way. SECURITY FEARSThe Nord Stream blasts have heightened concerns over energy security in Europe as the conflict rages in Ukraine.

☆ Prosus to sell Russian classifieds business Avito to Kismet for $2.4B
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

AMSTERDAM, Oct 14 (Reuters) - Prosus (PRX.AS), the Dutch-based technology investor, said on Friday it has agreed to sell its Russian online marketplace Avito for 151 billion roubles ($2.46 billion), to Kismet Capital Group. The buyer, Russian investment firm Kismet, was founded by Ivan Tavrin, former CEO of telecoms company MegaFon. Several Western companies opting to exit the Russian market have taken significant financial losses in doing so. "Our goal has been to manage the sale of the business in a responsible and structured way," Naspers said in a statement. "We believe that this is best achieved through this deal.”Avito, Russia's largest online marketplace, has around 5,000 employees and 90 million users.

☆ Europe is still quietly importing Russian nuclear energy
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( Sam Meredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

On presenting its latest sanctions package, the European Commission did not propose targeting the trade of Russian nuclear fuel. Hungary and Bulgaria were the most vocal in opposing sanctions on Russian uranium and other nuclear tech last week, according to Rodrigo. "Russian nuclear terror requires a stronger response from the international community - sanctions on the Russian nuclear industry and nuclear fuel," Zelenskyy said via Twitter at the time. Mikhail Metzel | Afp | Getty ImagesThere are 18 Russian nuclear reactors in Europe, in countries including Finland, Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria and the Czech Republic. How 'green' is nuclear energy?

☆ Russian roulette: Is Putin serious about nuclear war, or bluffing?
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( Jason Corcoran | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

On Oct. 26, President Vladimir Putin appeared on Russian state television overseeing a practice run of Russia's strategic nuclear deterrence forces. The conflict has revived Cold War-era fears of nuclear war across the region. In August, a Ukrainian official said that 9,000 Ukrainian military personnel had been killed, though another source said the number could be far higher. (President Zelensky previously estimated that 30% of Ukraine's power stations have been damaged or destroyed, although the figure is now likely to be greater.) In a wide-ranging answer, Putin had offered, almost as an aside, that Russian victims of nuclear war "will go to heaven as martyrs" while Western citizens would perish without having "time to repent."

☆ Gazprom CEO says big part of Nord Stream may need to be replaced
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The logo of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project is seen on a pipe at the Chelyabinsk pipe rolling plant in Chelyabinsk, Russia, February 26, 2020. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File PhotoMOSCOW, Oct 14 (Reuters) - Gazprom CEO (GAZP.MM) Alexei Miller told Russia's State TV Channel One late on Thursday that a big section of the damaged Nord Stream pipelines might need to be replaced, while Russia plans boosting gas exports via the Black Sea and Turkey. Both Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines, which were built to transport gas from Russia to Germany via the bed of the Baltic Sea, were damaged last month, spewing out a large amount of gas. On Wednesday, Miller, head of the Russian state-controlled natural gas monopoly, said repairs to the damaged Nord Stream pipelines would take more than one year. TURKEY HUBRussian President Vladimir Putin touted Turkey earlier this week as the best route for redirecting gas supplies to the European Union after Nord Stream pipeline leaks.

☆ Biden's national security plan identifies Russia as imminent danger, China as long-term threat
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Christina Wilkie | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden released his first national security strategy plan on Wednesday, outlining how the United States would "effectively compete" with China in the coming years, "while constraining a dangerous Russia." "Russia and [China] pose different challenges," wrote Biden. In light of America's urgent and ongoing involvement in Russia's war in Ukraine, Biden's strategy for countering Russia struck a pragmatic note. Damage to the Russian military caused by the protracted conflict "will likely increase Moscow's reliance on nuclear weapons in its military planning," Biden wrote. And while Russia poses a regional threat to Europe and a threat to global markets, wrote Biden, the Kremlin "lacks the across the spectrum capabilities of the PRC."

☆ United Nations condemns Russia's move to annex parts of Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Michelle Nichols | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Monitors at the United Nations General Assembly hall display a vote on a resolution condemning the annexation of parts of Ukraine by Russia, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City, New York, U.S., October 12, 2022. Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, who said the result showed Russia could not intimidate the world. The General Assembly vote followed a veto by Russia last month of a similar resolution in the 15-member Security Council. 'DOUBLE STANDARDS'The moves at the United Nations mirror what happened in 2014 after Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimea. The General Assembly then adopted a resolution declaring the referendum invalid with 100 votes in favor, 11 against and 58 formal abstentions.

☆ Explainer: Why Russia's missiles on Ukraine have limited impact
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Peter Graff | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Ukraine says Russia fired 83 cruise missiles on Monday and that it shot down at least 43 of them. Both sides say the attack was on a huge scale, unseen at least since Russia's initial wave of air strikes on the first night of the war in February. Western military analysts have no firm figures for how many missiles Russia has left, but for months have pointed to indicators suggesting the supply is limited. Ben Hodges, another former commander of U.S. ground forces in Europe, said that despite Monday's attacks, Ukraine still appeared to have "irreversible momentum" on the battlefield. "Russia's logistics system is exhausted and no Russian wants to fight in Putin's war in Ukraine," he tweeted.

☆ UN General Assembly applauds Ukraine, shuns Russia in tense meeting just hours after deadly missile strikes
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The UN General Assembly on Monday greeted Ukraine's delegate with applause, according to CNN. The body met Russia's ambassador with silence. The special session came just hours after Russia launched a barrage of attacks across Ukraine. On Monday, The General Assembly handily vetoed Russia's attempt to conduct the annexation vote via secret ballot, according to the outlet. "A trail of blood is left behind the Russian delegation when it enters the General Assembly," he said, "and the hall is filled up with the smell of smoldering human flesh."

☆ Russian soldier says his comrades took armor off Ukrainian corpses because 'NATO armor is better than ours', according to audio obtained by The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-29 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | John Haltiwanger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Russian soldiers were frustrated by unsuitable military equipment as early as March. Recordings obtained by The New York Times reveal phone calls made by Russian soldiers in Ukraine. One man told his girlfriend how his comrades stole NATO armor off dead Ukrainian soldiers. The Russian military has resorted to pulling obsolete equipment out of storage, including Soviet-era equipment such as T-62 tanks. Prior to the Ukraine war, the Russian military was widely regarded as one of the most powerful in the world.

☆ European gas prices jump after Gazprom warns it could cut its last flows Europe, amid worries about apparent Nord Stream sabotage
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Denmark said the Nord Stream 1 pipeline gas leaks in the Baltic Sea were likely deliberate sabotage. European natural gas benchmarks jumped above 200 euros )$191.56) early Wednesday due to worries about the risks to gas supplies to Europe. The region is already facing an energy crisis after Russia choked off flows via the key Nord Stream 1 pipeline. Investors meanwhile were monitoring developments after recent damage to the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines, which are leaking natural gas into the Baltic Sea. The US Central Intelligence Agency warned Germany weeks ago about potential attacks on Nord Stream, German magazine Der Spiegel reported Tuesday.

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