Latest news on Russia and the war in Ukraine

Ukrainian soldiers Anton Domaratskyi (2nd) and Viktor Nesterenkoi (2nd left), who were brought to New York through the nonprofit organization Kind Deeds, receive prosthetic limbs at an orthopedic clinic in Brooklyn, New York.

— Eren Abdullahogullari Anadolu Agency Getty Images

Russia’s central bank kept interest rates at 7.5%, citing inflationary expectations and geopolitical uncertainty following the “partial mobilization” of Russian troops into Ukraine and the prospect of a protracted conflict.

The move to hold interest rates ended a months-long tapering cycle that began in April. Shortly after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Central Bank more than doubled interest rates to 20% to counter the ruble’s decline.

The central bank has cut rates six times since then, citing improved fiscal conditions and lower inflation, bringing the pre-war interest rate down to 9.5% by June. While inflation is still well above the bank’s 4% target of 13.7% in September, it is down significantly from a 20-year high of 20.37% reached in April after Western sanctions and a currency freeze took effect.

A decision to keep rates at 7.5% was expected by most analysts interviewed by Reuters, the news agency said.

— Natasha Turak

The United States has rejected Russia’s allegations that the Pentagon is helping Ukraine build banned bioweapons, saying they are false.

Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US ambassador to the UN, has claimed that Russia is trying to distract from the atrocities being committed in Ukraine, saying that these claims are “fabricated fiction without a shred of evidence”.

“Ukraine does not have a biological weapons program. The United States does not have a biological weapons program. There are no Ukrainian biological weapons laboratories supported by the United States,” Thomas-Greenfield said.

Russia’s ambassador to the UN said that Moscow will launch an investigation into the violation of the arms convention by the United States and Ukraine.

— Natasha Turak

US President Joe Biden expressed his disbelief in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s statements that there is no need or intention to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine.

“Why is he talking about it if he doesn’t intend to? Why is he talking about the possibility of using tactical nuclear weapons?” Biden said this in an interview with NewsNation. “The way he handled it was very alarming.”

In a speech on Thursday, Putin ruled out the possibility of a nuclear conflict and denied that Russia had threatened to use nuclear weapons. According to him, Moscow is only responding to the “nuclear blackmail” of the West.

But in recent weeks, Putin and other senior Kremlin officials have signaled that Russia is prepared to use any means, including nuclear weapons, to defend Russia’s territorial integrity, which includes illegally annexed areas of Ukraine.

— Natasha Turak

Russian President Vladimir Putin has poured cold water on claims that Russia will deploy nuclear weapons over Ukraine if Russia’s “territorial integrity” is threatened.

Speaking at a conference of foreign policy experts on Thursday, Putin said: “We see no need for this. It has no meaning, both political and military,” he said.

Putin has previously vowed to use “all available means to defend Russia,” which observers have taken to mean nuclear weapons, but the president said in his latest speech that it was simply a response to what he called “nuclear blackmail” by Western leaders.

He specifically referred to former British Prime Minister Liz Truss’s comments in August that she would be ready to use nuclear weapons as leader.

— Natasha Turak

Britain’s Ministry of Defense said on Twitter that Russia may use mobilized reservists to reinforce parts of Ukraine west of the Dnieper river, but that the number of troops there is too small.

“In September 2022, Russian officers described the companies in the Kherson sector as having six to eight people each. The companies must operate with about 100 employees,” the ministry tweeted.

“The last six weeks have seen a clear step by Russian ground forces to move to a long-term defensive position in most areas of the front line of Ukraine,” the ministry said.

“This may be due to a realistic assessment that the very weak, poorly trained forces in Ukraine are currently only capable of conducting defensive operations.”

“While Russia may be able to strengthen long-term defense lines in Ukraine, its operational design remains weak,” he continued.

— Natasha Turak

IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said his inspectors will visit Ukraine this week following Russian accusations that Kyiv is preparing to use a “dirty bomb.”

“I’m very grateful that the government of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Foreign Minister Kuleba have had a detailed discussion about this. It has been concluded and I agree that the best way to remove all doubts is to let the inspectors in. That’s what we’re going to do,” Grossi told the United Nations. To journalists in the organization.

Grossi added that it only takes a few days to complete the inspections.

The US and its allies have rejected Russian claims that Ukraine is building a “dirty bomb”.

– Amanda Macias

US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said she would keep her speech to her colleagues short before the UN Security Council meeting because “frankly, this meeting is a waste of everyone’s time.”

Referring to Moscow’s recent claims that Kiev has biological weapons, Thomas-Greenfield said: “Once again Russia has invited us here to spread disinformation. We all know these claims are pure fiction without any evidence.” .

“We are hearing that Russia is raising the alarm that birds and bats and even mosquitoes will deliver biological weapons. Birds and bats,” he said, calling Russia’s claims “absurd.”

“Russia’s assertions are preposterous for many reasons, including the fact that such species, even if armed, pose as much a threat to the European continent and Ukraine itself as they do to other countries,” Thomas-Greenfield said.

– Amanda Macias