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Putin says Russia has tested next-generation nuclear weapon
A pool photograph distributed by Sputnik agency shows Russia’s President Vladimir Putin addressing the audience during a ceremony to mark the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Battle of Kursk, a major World War II Eastern Front battle between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, in Kursk, on August 23, 2023.
Gavriil Grigorov | Afp | Getty Images
President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russia had successfully tested a potent new strategic missile and declined to rule out the possibility it could carry out weapons tests involving nuclear explosions for the first time in more than three decades.
Putin said for the first time that Moscow had successfully tested the Burevestnik, a nuclear-powered and nuclear-capable cruise missile with a potential range of many thousands of miles.
He also told an annual gathering of analysts and journalists that Russia had almost completed work on its Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile system, another key element of its new generation of nuclear weapons.
Putin, who has repeatedly reminded the world of Russia’s nuclear might since launching his invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, said no one in their right mind would use nuclear weapons against Russia.
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— Reuters
Russia’s state Duma to discuss revoking major nuclear treaty ratification
A Yars intercontinental ballistic missile is test-fired as part of Russia’s nuclear drills from a launch site in Plesetsk, northwestern Russia.
Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP
Russia’s state Duma, the lower house of the country’s parliament, plans to discuss revoking the ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) during its next meeting, said the speaker of the Duma, Vyacheslav Volodin.
“At the next meeting of the State Duma Council, we will definitely discuss the issue of revoking the ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. This correlates with the national interests of our country. And it will be a reciprocal response to the US which has not yet ratified the treaty,” Volodin wrote on his Telegram account, according to an English translation by Russian state media agency Tass.
The treaty, which was opened for signatures in 1996, prohibits “any nuclear weapon test explosion or any other nuclear explosion” anywhere in the world. It was signed by 187 nations and ratified by 178, but cannot officially come into force until 44 specific countries ratify it, including China, the United States, North Korea, India, Israel and Iran. Still, no country has carried out nuclear testing since the CTBT opened for signatures, except North Korea.
The CTBT established a network of monitoring facilities and enables on-site inspections to allow verification that signatory countries are in compliance with its parameters.
— Natasha Turak
EU leaders to meet to discuss Ukraine membership
Justhavealook | E+ | Getty Images
European Union leaders are meeting in Grenada, Spain, to discuss EU enlargement and the questions it will have to address concerning the potential membership of Ukraine.
EU Council President Charles Michel, in his invitation letter for the summit taking place in Grenada, Spain, stressed the need to address “critical questions, such as: What do we do together? How do we decide? How do we match our means with our ambitions?”
The question of Ukrainian membership to the EU long precedes Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, but the country’s rampant corruption and economic problems stood in the way. EU leaders have expressed greater optimism and support for Ukraine’s bid since then, but the bloc — increasingly fractured with the rise of populist parties — is far from being in full agreement.
Beyond Ukraine, several Balkan states and countries like Georgia and Moldova, all much poorer than most of the current members, have also been pushing for membership for years — presenting a tricky dilemma for the EU’s leaders.
— Natasha Turak
U.S. condemns ‘horrifying’ Russian attack on Ukrainian village that killed 52 people
Emergency workers search for victims of a Russian rocket attack in the village of Hroza near Kharkiv, Ukraine, on Oct. 5, 2023.
Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP
The Biden administration condemned a Russian attack on a Ukrainian grocery store and cafe in the Kharkiv region’s Hroza village that killed 52 people, calling it “horrifying.”
In a press briefing after the missile strike, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said, “Let’s stop and think about what we’re seeing: 49 innocent people who were killed by a Russian airstrike while they were shopping for food at a supermarket.” The death toll later rose to 52.
“Can you imagine just walking to the grocery store with your kids, trying to figure out what is it that you’re going to make for dinner, and you see an explosion happen where bodies are everywhere. And it’s horrifying,” she said.
“This is why we’re doing everything that we can to help Ukraine,” she added, “to help the brave people of Ukraine to fight for their freedom … to fight for their democracy.”
U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak also condemned the attack along with other Western leaders, saying that it “demonstrated the depths of depravity Russian forces are willing to sink to,” according to a spokesperson.
— Natasha Turak
Russia lifts ban on most of its diesel exports
Picture Alliance | Getty Images
Russia’s government on Friday said it had withdrawn a ban on diesel exports delivered to sea ports via pipelines, removing a large chunk of restrictions it put in place last month.
The Kremlin said in a statement that it had “lifted restrictions on the export of diesel fuel delivered to seaports by pipeline, provided that the manufacturer supplies at least 50% of the diesel fuel produced to the domestic market,” according to a Google translation.
The announcement comes shortly after Russia imposed an indefinite ban on the export of diesel and gasoline to most countries, sending shockwaves through global markets. The restrictions for gasoline exports currently remain in place.
Read the full story here.
— Sam Meredith
Ukraine says at least 49 civilians dead after Russian missile strike on grocery store
Emergency workers search for victims of a Russian rocket attack in the village of Hroza near Kharkiv, Ukraine, on Oct. 5, 2023.
Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP
Ukraine said that at least 49 people were killed in a Russian strike on a grocery store in the Kharkiv region in the east of the country. The attack was reported to be one of the worst attacks on civilians since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion last year.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the attack as “demonstrably brutal” and said “Russian terror must be stopped.”
“A missile attack on an ordinary grocery store, a completely deliberate act of terrorism,” Zelenskyy said via Telegram, according to an NBC translation. “My condolences to all those who have lost loved ones! Assistance is provided to the wounded,” he added.
Russia did not immediately comment on the accusations from Ukraine.
— Sam Meredith
Dutch PM Mark Rutte says he’s ‘absolutely convinced’ U.S. will continue supporting Ukraine
Netherland’s Prime Minister Mark Rutte arrives to attend the European Political Community summit at the Palacio de Congreso in Granada, southern Spain on October 5, 2023.
Jorge Guerrero | Afp | Getty Images
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said Thursday that he’s “absolutely convinced” the U.S. will continue supporting Ukraine’s war effort.
“Not at all,” Rutte said when asked whether he was concerned about the prospect of President Joe Biden’s administration reducing its long-term support for Kyiv amid Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Rutte said senior Democrat and Republican members of the U.S. House of Representatives had recently visited the Hague and they were “in total agreement on the need to continue the support for Ukraine because this about our common values [and] it is about our common security.”
“We cannot accept one country in 2022, 2023 invading another nation so I am absolutely convinced that they will solve this issue,” he added.
Asked whether the EU could step in if the U.S. does not resume its support for Ukraine, Rutte said, “It is not necessary. The EU will do what is necessary [and] the Netherlands is among the top countries in terms of contribution for Ukraine … but I am absolutely convinced that the U.S. will stay on board.”
— Sam Meredith
EU’s top diplomat says Europe can do more but it cannot replace U.S. support for Ukraine
EU High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell talks to the press as he arrives to attend the European Political Community summit at the Palacio de Congreso in Granada, southern Spain on October 5, 2023.
Jorge Guerrero | Afp | Getty Images
The European Union’s foreign policy chief said Europe would not be able to replace U.S. support for Ukraine amid Russia’s full-scale invasion.
“Well, I was in Kyiv some days ago just at the moment when we knew that the U.S. Congress had not included support to Ukraine on the big deal about the budget in order to avoid the shutdown,” Josep Borrell told reporters Thursday in Granada, Spain, for a summit of the European Political Community.
“That was certainly not expected, and it is certainly not good news, but I hope it is not going to be a definite position of the U.S.” he continued. “Ukraine needs the support of the European Union, which is sure, they will have it and we will increase it. But also, the support of the U.S.”
Asked whether Europe can fill the gap left by the U.S. amid concerns about Washington’s long-term support for Kyiv’s war effort, Borrell replied “Certainly Europe cannot replace the U.S.”
— Sam Meredith
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