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☆ 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.

☆ Russian state TV host under investigation after he said Ukrainian children should be drowned and burned in their 'monstrous little houses'
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Russia Today host Anton Krasovsky was suspended after calling for Ukrainian children to be killed. Krasovsky aimed his comments at Ukrainian children who saw the Soviet Union as occupiers in the 1980s. Krasovsky replied: "Just drown those children, drown them," before going on to describe Ukrainians as having "piece of shit little houses." "There are masses of awful, monstrous little houses, they shit all over the Carpathian Mountains," he went on. "God, those grannies would spend their burial savings to get raped by Russian soldiers," he added.

Without providing evidence, Shoigu said Ukraine could escalate by using a "dirty bomb", or conventional explosives laced with radioactive material. Ukraine does not possess nuclear weapons, while Russia has said it could protect its territory with its nuclear arsenal. 1/3 A local man throws debris out of a broken window in a residential building heavily damaged by a Russian missile attack in Mykolaiv, Ukraine October 23, 2022. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the Russian attacks on energy infrastructure had struck on a "very wide" scale. Moscow has acknowledged targeting energy infrastructure but denies targeting civilians in what it calls a "special military operation" in Ukraine.

☆ 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.

☆ Ukraine urges global ban of Russia's RT after presenter calls for drowning of Ukrainian children
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Oct 23 (Reuters) - Ukraine branded the Russian state-controlled RT media outlet as an inciter of genocide on Sunday after a presenter said Ukrainian children who saw Russians as occupiers under the Soviet Union should have been drowned. In a show broadcast last week, RT presenter Anton Krasovsky said children who criticised Russia should have been "thrown straight into a river with a strong current". Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register"They should have been drowned in the Tysyna (river)," Krasovsky said in response. Russian state television, heavily controlled by the Kremlin, has been a vocal cheerleader of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Presenters have routinely dismissed reports of Russian war crimes and many have used airtime to call on Russian President Vladimir Putin to adopt an even more aggressive approach to the invasion.

☆ Power cuts after Ukrainian infrastructure pounded again on Saturday
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

KYIV, Oct 22 (Reuters) - Critical infrastructure across Ukraine was pounded by more than a dozen Russian missiles on Saturday, the Ukrainian air force said, with several regions reporting strikes on energy facilities and power outages. Ukraine's air force command reported that 33 missiles had been fired at Ukraine on Saturday morning, and that 18 of those had been shot down. Since Oct. 10, Russia has launched a series of devastating salvos at Ukraine's power infrastructure, which have hit at least half of its thermal power generation and up to 40% of the entire system. "Deliberate strikes on Ukraine’s critical civilian infrastructure are part of Russia’s genocide of Ukrainians," Kuleba wrote on Twitter. Moscow has acknowledged targeting energy infrastructure but denies targeting civilians.

☆ Schlumberger evaluates options for Russia staff as Ukraine war escalates -CEO
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Liz Hampton | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Oct 19 (Reuters) - Oilfield services provider Schlumberger (SLB.N) is evaluating unspecified options for its thousands of Russian employees as the war in Ukraine escalates, Chief Executive Olivier Le Peuch told Reuters an interview. Among Western companies that did not exit following the February invasion of Ukraine, Schlumberger is one of the biggest employers in Russia. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba in a tweet blasted the firm's Russia presence as contributing to war crimes and genocide. President Vladimir Putin last month issued a decree seeking to add 300,000 troops to the war effort amid high casualties in Ukraine. Le Peuch said Schlumberger "management in the country is pursuing all options to assist employees," without providing details.

☆ Ukraine moves to cut diplomatic ties with Iran after drone attacks
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

KYIV, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Ukraine's foreign minister said on Tuesday he was submitting a proposal to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to formally cut diplomatic ties with Tehran after a wave of Russian attacks using what Kyiv says are Iranian-made drones. Russia launched dozens of "kamikaze" drones on targets in Ukraine on Monday, striking energy infrastructure and killing four people in the capital of Kyiv. Ukraine says the attacks were carried out with Iranian-made Shahed-136 drones, though Tehran denies supplying the drones. "Tehran bears full responsibility for the destruction of relations with Ukraine", Kuleba told a news conference. "I am submitting to the president of Ukraine a proposition to sever diplomatic ties with Iran."

☆ NATO will send 'hundreds' of signal-jammers to Ukraine to counter Russia's onslaught of explosive Iranian-made suicide drones
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

NATO is sending signal-jammers to Ukraine so it can counter Iranian-made suicide drones. These systems will help Ukraine address the "specific threat of drones, including, of course, Iranian-made drones that are now causing a lot of havoc or suffering in Ukraine," Stoltenberg said during the virtual interview. "I welcome @JensStoltenberg's statement on NATO planning to deliver anti-drone air defense systems to Ukraine in the coming days. A composite photo showing a drone in the sky in Kyiv and the aftermath of it hitting in Kyiv, Ukraine, on October 17, 2022. As recently as Monday, Ukrainian officials said Russia used a swarm of suicide drones to attack Kyiv — killing several.

☆ German weapons are flowing to Ukraine, but Kyiv says Berlin's 'abstract fears and excuses' are getting in the way
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Germany's seeming reluctance to give heavy weapons to Ukraine has drawn criticism in Kyiv and Berlin. Despite Berlin promising to supply a variety of arms to help Ukraine repel Russia, many of those weapons still have not arrived. "Disappointing signals from Germany while Ukraine needs Leopards and Marders now — to liberate people and save them from genocide," Dmytro Kuleba wrote on Twitter in mid-September. "Not a single rational argument on why these weapons cannot be supplied, only abstract fears and excuses. Many Germans would rather not think about the last time German tanks clanked through Ukraine.

BRUSSELS, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Some European Union foreign ministers on Monday called for new sanctions against Iran if Tehran's involvement in Russia's war on Ukraine is proven. Ukraine has reported a spate of Russian attacks with Iranian-made Shahed-136 drones in recent weeks. "We will look for concrete evidence about the participation (of Iran in the Ukraine war)," Josep Borrell told reporters as he arrived for a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg, adding Ukraine's Dmytro Kuleba would take part in the gathering. Additional EU sanctions on Iran will not be limited to blacklisting some individuals should Tehran's involvement in Russia's war on Ukraine be proven, Luxembourg's Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn said. "Then it will be no longer about some individuals to be sanctioned," he told reporters as he arrived for the EU meeting.

☆ Photos provide glimpse of destruction from Russia's latest missile strikes on Ukrainian cities which killed at least 14, according to officials
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Russia launched a barrage of missile strikes on Ukrainian cities on Monday morning. Intersections, buildings, and homes were destroyed by Russia's latest strikes. The State Emergency Service of Ukraine said that at least 14 were killed and 97 were injured. It was the largest bombardment against Ukraine since the early days of Russia's invasion, according to The Associated Press, hitting at least 14 regions. At least 14 people were killed and 97 were injured, according to the State Emergency Service of Ukraine.

☆ Putin's missile barrage on Ukraine showed weakness instead of strength, former speechwriter says. 'There's nothing else the army can do.'
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Putin's former speechwriter said Putin was trying to was trying to project strength. His assessment was that Putin's attacks were an attempt to demonstrate power to his internal critics, but ultimately backfired. A man runs after missiles hit central Kyiv, Ukraine on October 10, 2022. REUTERS/Gleb GaranichCars burn after Russian military strike, as Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues, in central Kyiv, Ukraine October 10, 2022. Russia's attacks on Monday did not appear hit any military targets.

☆ Ex-Russian foreign minister says 'terror' is a 'desperate' Putin's only option after his battered army rained missiles down on Ukraine's civilians
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Natalie Musumeci | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

An ex-Russian foreign minister said that "terror is the only thing left" for a "desperate" Vladimir Putin. The Russian military on Monday and Tuesday launched a barrage of deadly strikes on cities across Ukraine. Andrei Kozyrev told CNN Putin ordered the strikes because he "is desperate, because he made miscalculations." Kozyrev said Putin ordered the strikes because he "is desperate because he made miscalculations." Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Monday called Putin a "terrorist" whose "only tactic is terror on peaceful Ukrainian cities."

☆ After bridge blast, Putin promises "harsh" response if Ukrainian attacks continue
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with members of the Security Council via a video link in Saint Petersburg, Russia, October 10, 2022. "It is obvious that the Ukrainian secret services ordered, organised and carried out the terrorist attack aimed at destroying Russia's critical civilian infrastructure," Putin said of the bridge explosion. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said: "Putin is a terrorist who talks with missiles." Putin said Russia would respond "harshly" to any further attacks by Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the rush hour attacks appeared to have been deliberately timed to kill people as well as to knock out electricity.

☆ Putin's wounded military is using suicide drones to spread 'terror and chaos' among Ukraine's civilians, experts and officials say
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-10 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Ukrainian officials identified the drones as Iranian-made loitering munitions, commonly called "suicide" or "kamikaze" drones. One military expert said Putin is purposely using these to spread "terror and chaos" among Ukrainians. In both cases, Ukrainian officials confirmed that Russia used Iranian-made loitering munitions, or suicide drones. It's unclear how many Iranian-made drones Russia has in its arsenal. Ukrainian officials and Western heads of state took to social media and slammed Russia for the wave of attacks, especially the strikes on civilian centers.

☆ Zelenskyy says Russia used Shahed 'suicide drones' it got from Iran in its barrage of attacks on Ukrainian cities
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-10 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Ukraine said Russia used Iran-supplied drones in a blitz of attacks on cities on Monday. He said that the number of missiles used was in the "dozens." A screenshot from a video of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, uploaded October 10 2022, after multiple cities in Ukraine were attacked. Iran has supplied Russia with several Shahed-series drones, colloquially known as "suicide" or "kamikaze" drones that have a payload of around 5-30 kg. Russia first took delivery of Shahed drones, as well as the larger Mojaher-6, from Iran in August, as The Washington Post reported.

The barrage of dozens of cruise missiles fired from air, land and sea was the biggest wave of air strikes to hit locations away from the front line, at least since the initial volleys on the war's first day, Feb. 24. The Russian leader said he had ordered "massive" long range strikes and he threatened more strikes in future if Ukraine hits Russian territory. Ukraine, which views the bridge as a military target sustaining Russia's war effort, celebrated the blast without officially claiming responsibility. 1/23 A smoke rises over the city after Russian missile strikes, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Lviv, Ukraine October 10, 2022. The European Union condemned Monday's "barbaric and cowardly attacks" on Ukraine, among a chorus of denunciations from Western countries.

A service member of pro-Russian troops fires a mortar in the direction of Avdiivka during Russia-Ukraine conflict, outside Donetsk, Ukraine September 17, 2022. REUTERS/Alexander ErmochenkoLONDON, Sept 27 (Reuters) - First partial voting results from four Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine showed majorities of more than 96% in favour of becoming part of Russia after so-called referendums that Kyiv and the West have denounced as a sham. Russian-installed officials took ballot boxes from house to house in what Ukraine and the West said was an illegitimate, coercive exercise to create a legal pretext for Russia to annex the four regions. The scale of the pro-Moscow vote came as no surprise, after voting that Ukraine said was carried out at gunpoint in many cases. It mirrored a referendum in Crimea after Russia's seizure of the region from Ukraine in 2014, when Crimea's leaders declared a 97% vote to secede from Ukraine and join Russia.

Members of a local electoral commission count ballots at a polling station following a referendum on the joining of Russian-controlled regions of Ukraine to Russia, in Sevastopol, Crimea September 27, 2022. Voting at the polling station was held for residents of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) - the Russian-controlled region of Ukraine. Luhansk authorities said 98.5% of people there had voted to join Russia, based on 69% of ballots counted. Ukraine has repeatedly warned that Russian annexation of territories would destroy any chance of peace talks, seven months after Russia invaded its neighbour. The votes mirrored a referendum in Crimea after Russia's seizure of the southern peninsula from Ukraine in 2014, when Crimea's leaders declared a 97% vote to secede from Ukraine and join Russia.

Russia on Friday launched referendums in four eastern ukrainian regions aimed at annexing territory it has taken by force. Asked if Russia would have grounds for using nuclear weapons to defend annexed regions of Ukraine, Lavrov said Russian territory, including territory "further enshrined" in Russia's constitution in the future, "is under the full protection of the state." Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Lavrov's comments, and Putin's earlier statement when he said he was not bluffing about using nuclear weapons, were "irresponsible" and "absolutely unacceptable." The likely annexation of Ukrainian territory raises the question of how Russia might respond to the use of Western weapons in those regions. Lavrov sought to portray opposition to Russia's war in Ukraine as limited to Washington and countries under its influence.

☆ Kremlin's mention of possible use of nuclear weapons 'absolutely unacceptable,' Ukraine's foreign minister says
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba speaks during a high level meeting of the United Nations Security Council on the situation amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, at the 77th Session of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. Headquarters in New York City, U.S., September 22, 2022. REUTERS/Amr AlfikySept 25 (Reuters) - The Kremlin's statements on the possible use of nuclear weapons are "absolutely unacceptable" and Kyiv will not give into it, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said early on Sunday. Russian President Vladimir Putin and other Russian officials, including Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, have mentioned nuclear weapons as an option in extremis. read more"Putin's and Lavrov's irresponsible statements on the possible use of nuclear weapons are absolutely unacceptable," Kuleba wrote on Twitter. We call on all nuclear powers to speak out now and make it clear to Russia that such rhetorics put the world at risk and will not be tolerated."

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the partial mobilization of his country’s military Wednesday, calling up military reservists in a significant escalation of his war in Ukraine after a series of setbacks that led to growing pressure on the Kremlin to act. Until now, Putin had resisted calls from nationalist supporters and pro-military bloggers for a general mobilization since launching his full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24. The Kremlin has insisted that what it calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine is going according to plan, but military observers have said Russian forces are depleted and increasingly dispirited. It wasn’t clear if the proposed annexation would cover the entire territory of the provinces or only the areas currently occupied by Russian forces. “We are aware of reports that President Putin may be preparing to enact mobilization measures.

☆ Ukraine says votes in occupied regions on joining Russia are 'doomed to fail'
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

A Ukrainian soldier rides on a car after fetching water from a community well at the liberated village in Troitske, Kharkiv region, on September 18, 2022. Russia's proxy leaders and officials installed in occupied parts of the country made a series of announcements Tuesday, calling for immediate votes on joining Russia. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed the "noisy news" and announcements regarding referenda, saying Ukraine had heard it all before. Reiterating Kuleba's position, Yuriy Sak, an advisor to Ukraine's Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov, told CNBC that such "fake" votes are "doomed to fail" for several reasons. So these fake referendums are doomed to fail, from whatever angle or aspect you look at it," he said.

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