Russia-Ukraine latest updates: Nuclear doctrine defensive – Putin
Russian president says it is pointless for Moscow to strike Ukraine with nuclear weapons and slams the West for ‘fuelling’ war.
- Russian President Vladimir Putin accuses the West of “fuelling the war in Ukraine” during his annual address to a Moscow-based think-tank.
- The Russian leader also commented on NATO, the United States dollar as a “weapon” and “traditional values” in the combative anti-West speech.
- Russian President Vladimir Putin accuses the West of “fuelling the war in Ukraine” during his annual address to a Moscow-based think-tank.
- The Russian leader also commented on NATO, the United States dollar as a “weapon” and “traditional values” in the combative anti-West speech.
- The Kyiv region’s capacity to generate power has dropped following overnight Russian attacks targeting energy facilities, its governor says.
- Ukraine deploys more troops near the Belarus border to counter possible attacks.
This live blog is now closed, thank you for joining us. These were the updates on the Russia-Ukraine war on Thursday, October 27:
US envoy to UN rejects Russian claim of ‘military biological activities’ in Ukraine
Russia’s accusations implicating Washington in the development of biological weapons in Ukraine are “pure fabrications”, the US ambassador to the United Nations has told the Security Council.
“We all know these claims are pure fabrications brought forth without a shred of evidence,” Linda Thomas-Greenfield said.
“Still, I must take this opportunity to set the record straight,” she said. ‘Ukraine does not have a biological weapons programme. The United States does not have a biological weapons programme.”
Russia calls for UN probe into US ‘military biological activities’ in Ukraine
Russia has filed a complaint with the UN Security Council demanding an international investigation into US “military biological activities” in Ukraine, the Russian foreign ministry says.
“The Russian Federation was left with no choice but to file a complaint with the chairman of the UN Security Council to launch an international investigation” into “the military biological activities of the United States in Ukraine”, a statement from the ministry said.
Putin’s remarks show no change in Russian leader’s strategy: White House
The White House says Putin’s remarks were not very new and did not indicate a change in his strategic goals, including in Ukraine.
White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre reacted to Putin’s remarks during a press briefing held aboard Air Force One.
Putin says US needs to force Kyiv to negotiating table
Putin says Moscow is ready for talks to end the conflict in Ukraine but Kyiv is not prepared to sit down at the negotiating table.
“It’s not a question about us — we are ready for negotiations — but the leaders in Kyiv decided not to continue negotiations with Russia,” Putin told the Valdai Discussion Club in Moscow.
“It is very easy to solve this problem if Washington gives a signal to Kyiv to change its position and solve the problem peacefully,” he added.
There have been no peace talks between the two nations since attempts at a negotiated settlement fell apart in the first weeks of the conflict and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has explicitly ruled out a negotiated deal with Putin.
Putin tells people in the West: Russia is not your enemy
Putin says ordinary citizens of Western countries should fight for pay rises and should not believe that Russia is the bad guy.
“Fight for higher wages,” Putin said when asked what he would tell an ordinary citizen of a Western country. “And don’t believe that Russia is your enemy.”
Russia, Putin said, was not an enemy of the West and has never had any “malicious” intentions towards Europe or the United States. But Western leaders, he said, had made grave mistakes that have led to economic and energy crises.
Putin says Russia ready to strike new energy partnerships with Asia
Putin says Russia will let its partners in Asia help develop the country’s vast energy resources as Moscow turns its economy towards the East.
Many Western investors have walked away from their Russian ventures after Moscow sent tens of thousands of soldiers into Ukraine and sweeping Western sanctions were imposed on Russia.
Putin says Saudi Arabia’s crown prince deserves respect
Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman deserved respect and that Russia was set on boosting relations with Saudi Arabia.
The United States has criticised Prince Mohammed and the OPEC+ oil alliance for agreeing to cut oil production, a move seen as a boost to Russia’s attempts to protect its economy in the face of Western sanctions.
Putin criticises France for publishing contents of call with Macron
Putin has criticised France for publishing contents of a phone call he had with President Emmanuel Macron days before Moscow sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in February.
Putin said the release showed that his conversations with the French leader were being listened in on.
Putin says Western claims Russia behind Nord Stream explosions are ‘crazy’
In a speech, Putin called Western claims that Russia was behind explosions on the Nord Stream gas pipelines “crazy”.
Danish police have said powerful explosions caused ruptures to the Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 undersea pipelines, potentially putting them permanently out of use. Putin previously said the West blew up the pipelines, while European leaders have accused Russia of sabotage.
Putin says China’s Xi is ‘close friend’, hails ‘unprecedented’ partnership
Putin said that Russia’s relations with China were at an “unprecedented level” as he called China’s President Xi Jinping a “close friend”.
Moscow and Beijing signed a no-limits partnership just days before Russia launched its “special military operation” in Ukraine in February, and Russia has sought to forge closer political and economic ties with China in the face of Western sanctions over the war.
IMF chief says 2023 aid pledges for Ukraine ‘sufficient’
International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Kristalina Georgieva said financial pledges for Ukraine by the United States and Europe should be sufficient to get Kyiv through 2023, assuming the war does not intensify.
“Yes, we would go to 2023 with sufficient financial support for Ukraine,” Georgieva told AFP news agency on the sidelines of a conference organised by the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm.
“So when we look into next year, the numbers are significant, but they are not out of context of what has been done up to now,” she added, underlining that the outlook remains highly uncertain.
White House says it wants to see Black Sea grain deal renewed
The United States strongly supports the efforts of the United Nations to ensure the Black Sea grain deal is renewed, White House spokesperson John Kirby said, saying that would help bring food prices down.
Speaking to reporters in a call, Kirby said any talk by Russia on disrupting the deal was “essentially another method of weaponising a commodity”.
In call, Russia’s Lavrov thanks Chinese counterpart for support on Ukraine
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov spoke by telephone with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement.
In the statement, the ministry said that Lavrov thanked Wang for what it called China’s support for Russia’s position on a settlement to the conflict in Ukraine.
Putin says Russia’s nuclear doctrine is defensive
Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia’s military doctrine only permitted the country to use nuclear weapons in defence, rejecting claims that Russia was considering using them in Ukraine.
Putin also said Russia was ready to restart talks with the United States on nuclear arms control, but had no response from Washington on Moscow’s proposals for talks on “strategic stability”.
Putin hails Turkey’s Erdogan as ‘strong leader’
Russian President Vladimir Putin hailed Recep Tayyip Erdogan as a “strong leader” who always defended Turkey’s interests.
Putin said President Erdogan was not always an “easy partner” to deal with, but that Turkey was always “reliable” and had a desire to reach agreements.
Erdogan has played a vital role as a go-between for Kyiv and Moscow since the start of the conflict, brokering the Black Sea grain deal and assisting in a number of prisoner exchangers – the only major diplomatic breakthroughs to date in the eight-month conflict.
Biden has ‘no intention to sit down’ with Putin at G20: White House
United States President Joe Biden has “no intention” to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin next month while attending the Group of 20 (G20) summit, the White House has said.
“He has no intention to sit down with Vladimir Putin and that’s where we are today,” US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said.
Biden has previously said he has no plans to meet with Putin at the summit being held in Bali, Indonesia. It is not confirmed yet whether Putin will attend.
No indication Russian nuclear drills are ‘cover activity’: Pentagon
The United States has not seen anything to indicate that Russia’s ongoing annual “Grom” exercises of its nuclear forces may be a cover for a real deployment, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has said.
“We haven’t seen anything to cause us to believe, at this point, that is some kind of cover activity,” Austin told reporters.
Putin says no need for nationalisation in Russia
Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia has no need to nationalise assets to deal with the economic fallout of sanctions and the conflict in Ukraine.
He also said it was a “gift” to local investors and businesses that swathes of Western companies have left Russia since it sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in February.
Russia tried to ‘be friends’ with the West, NATO: Putin
Putin has alleged that the West rejected Moscow’s attempts to build good relations with the United States and NATO because it was set on making Russia vulnerable.
Moscow had wanted to “be friends” with the West and NATO, but would not accept attempts by the US, European Union and United Kingdom to hold Russia down, Putin said in his speech to the Valdai Discussion Club in Moscow.
He also warned that the coming decade will be the “most dangerous” since the 1940s.
“Ahead is probably the most dangerous, unpredictable and at the same time important decade since the end of the second World War,” Putin said.
Putin says US uses dollar as a ‘weapon’
Putin has accused Washington of having discredited the international financial system by using the United States dollar as a “weapon”.
Delivering his combative anti-West speech in Moscow, the Russian president said he believed moves by other countries to reduce their reliance on the currency for international trade would accelerate.
Russian president calls for respect for ‘traditional values’
Putin has said “traditional values” should be respected, reiterating earlier remarks he has made denouncing what he claims is a decadent West.
The Russian leader said during his annual address to the Valdai Discussion Club that no one can dictate to the Russian people how they should build their society.
Putin accuses West of playing ‘dangerous, bloody and dirty game’ over Ukraine
Putin has accused the West of “fuelling the war in Ukraine” but said the United States and its allies will ultimately have to talk to Russia “about the future”.
“The new centres of the global order and the West will have to begin a conversation about the future – the earlier the better,” the Russian president said during his annual address to the Valdai Discussion Club.
Putin also charged that the West was blinded by colonialism and said it was trying to contain the rest of the world.
“Dominion of the world is precisely what the West has decided to stake in this game. But this game is a dangerous, dirty and bloody one,” he said.
Putin delivering annual address at Moscow-based think-tank
Russian President Vladimir Putin has begun his annual address to the Valdai Discussion Club, a Moscow-based think-tank, with the speech anticipated to focus heavily on foreign affairs and geopolitics.
Putin’s address to the Kremlin-affiliated institute comes as Moscow continues to escalate the war in Ukraine more than eight months after Russia launched its invasion on February 24.
Indian foreign minister to visit Russia next month: Russian embassy
India’s foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar will visit Russia for talks with his counterpart in Moscow on November 8, the Russian embassy in India has said.
“On November 8 in Moscow, Russian FM Sergey Lavrov will have talks with External Affairs Minister of India Dr S.Jaishankar,” the embassy tweeted, quoting Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for Russia’s foreign ministry.
“The Ministers will discuss the current state of bilateral relations and the international agenda,” the embassy added.
India and Russia have had deep relations for decades. New Delhi has steered clear of publically condemning Moscow for its offensive in Ukraine while importing billions of dollars’ worth of cheap Russian energy sources during the conflict.
🇷🇺🤝🇮🇳 Russian FM ‘s Spokeswoman Maria #Zakharova: On November 8 in Moscow, #Russia’n FM Sergey #Lavrov will have talks with External Affairs Minister of #India Dr S.Jaishankar.
The Ministers will discuss the current state of bilateral relations and the international agenda. pic.twitter.com/zSfoFknJRa
— Russia in India 🇷🇺 (@RusEmbIndia) October 27, 2022
Nord Stream operator says Denmark has not yet allowed it to inspect pipeline damage
Nord Stream AG, the operator of the leaking Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline, says it has not yet received permission from Denmark to survey damage to a tract of the pipeline located in the Nordic country’s exclusive economic zone.
“As part of the survey of the gas pipeline section in the Danish exclusive economic zone, Nord Stream AG still awaits the decision of the authorities on granting necessary permits for the damage assessment,” the company said in a statement.
Both Sweden and Denmark have concluded that four gas pipeline leaks – across Nord Stream 1 and the mothballed Nord Stream 2 pipeline – were caused by explosions last month.
European powers have blamed the incidents on sabotage, but not specified who might be responsible, while Russia has accused the United States of engineering the attacks.