Russia is considering what "further steps" to take against Britain after alleging that the UK was responsible for an attack on the Nord Stream undersea gas pipelines.
"Our intelligence services have data indicating that British military specialists were directing and coordinating the attack," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday.
"There is evidence that Britain is involved in sabotage, in a terrorist attack on vital energy infrastructure, not just Russian, but international."
Mr Peskov did not provide any details but insisted that the West should "carefully" analyse Moscow’s information.
Russia’s defence ministry said on Saturday that Royal Navy personnel had blown up the Nord Stream gas pipelines in September, an assertion that London said was false and designed to distract from Russian military failures in Ukraine.
"We expect that despite the unacceptable silence of the European countries, this analysis will nevertheless be carried out," Mr Peskov said, adding that Russia would also consider further steps.
London has rejected the accusations.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s spokesman said on Tuesday London would not be drawn into "distractions which are part of the Russian playbook".
On Monday, Foreign Secretary James Cleverly told parliament that Russian allegations against the UK were "increasingly detached from reality".
"They are designed to distract the Russian people from the reality of Russian failures on the battlefield," he told members of parliament.
Explosions in late September sent natural gas bubbling up from the pipelines on the floor of the Baltic Sea to the surface in a major environmental disaster that further ratcheted up geopolitical tensions over energy supplies.
Ukraine and some Western countries called the attacks sabotage and pointed the finger at Russia.
Emmanuel Macron, the French President, has accused Russia of endangering world food supplies by suspending its participation in the Ukraine grain deal.
In a call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Mr Macron "denounced a unilateral decision by Russia which again harms global food security", the president’s office said.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan told his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin he is sure solution-oriented cooperation can be established regarding the UN-brokered grain export deal.
In a phone call, Mr Erdogan told Putin that Ankara is making efforts with all sides to solve problems regarding the implementation of the grain export deal, which was brokered by Turkey and the United Nations in July, Turkey’s presidency said.
Russia has deployed air-launched hypersonic missiles to a base in Belarus for the first time, the Ministry of Defence has claimed.
In its daily update on the Ukraine war on Tuesday, the MoD shared a satellite image which it said showed two Russian warplanes, along with a well-protected container believed to be storing missiles.
The image, which was taken on October 18, shows what MoD analysts believe are MiG-31K jets, as well as a possible canister containing Kinzhal hypersonic missiles at Machulishchy Airfield, just outside of Minsk.
Read more here.
The European Union is exploring ways to increase help for Ukraine’s energy sector, which has been harmed by weeks of Russian attacks, EU Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson said during a visit to Kyiv on Tuesday.
"I am in Kyiv today to help scale up support to the Ukraine energy sector," she said in a tweet. "I have witnessed the scale of destruction in Ukraine first hand & am making all efforts to increase financial, technical & practical help."
Ms Simson called Russia’s attacks "a cruel & inhumane tactic to cause human suffering as the winter is approaching".
The additional help will have to come from EU institutions, member states, international partners and private donors, she said.
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Moscow’s claim that Britain is to blame for damage to the Nord Stream gas pipelines is an attempt to distract from the situation in Ukraine and is part of the "Russian playbook", Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s spokesman has said.
Moscow on Tuesday reiterated its allegation that Britain was responsible for an attack on the Nord Stream undersea gas pipelines. Britain has denied the claim.
"Obviously, we’re carefully monitoring the situation, but it is right to not be drawn into these sorts of distractions which is part of the Russian playbook," Sunak’s spokesman told reporters.
"They continue their indiscriminate bombardment of civilians and attacks on civilian infrastructure. That is our focus, and we will continue to provide support so that they lose this illegal war."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has hailed an "extremely important and productive conversation" with French President Emmanuel Macron, saying the pair discussed ways to boost Ukraine’s defence capabilities and restore damaged energy infrastructure.
Mr Zelensky did not say what had been agreed but thanked Mr Macron for his support since Russia invaded Ukraine.
Extremely important and productive conversation with 🇫🇷 President @EmmanuelMacron. Specific decisions on strengthening Ukraine's defense capabilities. Specific initiatives to restore the destroyed energy infrastructure. Thank you, my friend, for your unwavering support.
Water and power supplies have been fully restored in Kyiv a day after devastating Russian missile strikes.
Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovich called Monday’s bombardment "one of the most massive shellings of our territory by the army of the Russian Federation".
The attack left 80 per cent of the capital’s consumers without water and 350,000 homes without electricity.
Following the strikes, aerial views showed Kyiv plunged in darkness overnight, with the only lights coming from cars driving through.
On Tuesday, Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko said water and electricity supplies had been "fully restored" in the capital.
Mr Klitschko warned that there would still be planned power cuts in the city "because of the considerable deficit in the power system after the barbaric attacks of the aggressor".
The Czech prime minister, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency, said Tuesday the bloc may look at further sanctions on Belarus over its role in the war in Ukraine.
Minsk allows Russian troops to be stationed on Belarusian territory and stage attacks on Ukraine from there, although it insists it does not want to join the war directly.
"We are now looking at… the role of Belarus and the potential need to target it," Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala told reporters after returning from Kyiv where members of his cabinet joined him in talks with Ukrainian counterparts.
"Certain sanctions against Belarus are already in place, but we can’t have Belarus joining Russia’s policy or Russia avoiding the impact of sanctions through countries such as Belarus," he added.
"We must realise that the attacks on Ukraine are led out of the Belarusian airspace and that Belarus supplies weapons to Russia," said Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky.
Three cargo ships loaded with grain left Ukrainian ports on Tuesday, according to the centre overseeing the implementation of a deal brokered by Turkey and the UN.
"The movement of these vessels has been agreed by the Ukrainian, Turkish and UN delegations … The Russian delegation has been informed," the Istanbul-based International Coordination Centre said.
The ships are the latest to sail from Ukraine after Russia pulled out of a July agreement that allowed vital grain exports to leave Ukraine with the aim of alleviating global food shortages.
At least 10 ships sailed from Ukraine’s ports on Monday.
A Russian court has fined Wikipedia owner Wikimedia Foundation 2 million rubles (£28,285) over articles relating to the Ukraine war.
Stanislav Kozlovsky, the head of the foundation in Russia, told Reuters the penalty was imposed for not deleting entries that Russia has demanded be removed. He said the foundation would appeal.
The two articles, in Russian, were titled "Non-violent resistance of Ukraine’s civilian population in the course of Russia’s invasion" and "Evaluations of Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine".
On April 26, a Russian court fined Wikimedia Foundation a total of 5 million roubles for similar offences.
Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson has called for Russia to be expelled from the Group of 20 major economies, demanding that President Vladimir Putin’s invitation to a G20 summit in Bali next month be revoked.
"Putin publicly acknowledged ordering missile strikes on Ukrainian civilians and energy infrastructure," spokesperson Oleg Nikolenko said.
"With his hands stained in blood, he must not be allowed to sit at the table with world leaders. Putin’s invitation to Bali summit must be revoked, and Russia expelled from G20.”
Putin publicly acknowledged ordering missile strikes on Ukrainian civilians and energy infrastructure. With his hands stained in blood, he must not be allowed to sit at the table with world leaders. Putin’s invitation to Bali summit must be revoked, and Russia expelled from G20.
Finland’s Prime Minister Sanna Marin has urged Hungary and Turkey to approve the Swedish and Finnish Nato applications "sooner rather than later".
Ukrainian saboteurs have been filmed during a daring raid targeting helicopters at a Russian air base 500 miles from the border with Ukraine.
According to Russian media, two helicopters there were damaged due to unknown explosions on October 30.
The clips have not been independently verified.Â
#Russia: A video surfaced allegedly showing the planting of explosive charges on a Russian Ka-52 helicopter by a saboteur on Veretye Air Base, Pskov Oblast – according to Russian media two helicopters there were damaged due to unknown explosions at 30th October. pic.twitter.com/Ks85KxgVNu
Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar told Ukraine’s defence and infrastructure ministers that keeping the Black Sea grain export deal going was important and that, as a humanitarian initiative, it should be kept separate from the conflict in Ukraine.
Akar’s comments, released in a statement by his ministry on Tuesday, followed Russia’s suspension of its participation in the deal, brokered by the United Nations and Turkey in July and aimed at keeping food commodities flowing to world markets.
Akar also told his Russian counterpart on Monday that Moscow should re-evaluate its decision.
At least 20,000 people in the Kyiv regional area are still without electricity following Russia’s attacks on critical infastructure, its governor Oleksiy Kuleba has said.
Mr Kuleba said“I am grateful to the residents of the region for their understanding” about “planned stabilisation shutdowns”, adding that “our energy workers work round the clock” on repairs.
Joe Biden reportedly lost his temper and raised his voice on the phone with Volodymyr Zelensky when he “did not show enough gratitude” after the US president signed off on $1 billion worth of military assistance.
During a phone call in June, Mr Biden turned testy when Mr Zelensky began listing what else Kyiv needed and was not getting shortly after the US president announced the aid package, NBC News reported.
The commander-in-chief is said to have briefly lost his patience and reminded Mr Zelensky that “the American people were being quite generous” and stressed that the White House and the US military were doing all they could to help Ukraine in its war with Russia.
Read more here.
Russian-installed officials in Ukraine’s southern Kherson region said on Monday they were extending an evacuation zone from the Dnipro river, repeating claims rejected by Kyiv that Ukraine could be preparing to attack the Kakhovka dam and flood the region.
In a post on Telegram, Vladimir Saldo, the Russian-backed head of the region, which is partially occupied by Russian forces, said he was extending the area covered by an order for civilians to evacuate by an additional 15 km (9 miles) to include another seven settlements.
"Due to the possibility of the use of prohibited methods of war by the Ukrainian regime, as well as information that Kyiv is preparing a massive missile strike on the Kakhovka hydroelectric station, there is an immediate danger of the Kherson region being flooded, (resulting in) the mass destruction of civilian infrastructure and humanitarian catastrophe," Saldo said in a video message posted on Monday evening.
"Given the situation, I have decided to expand the evacuation zone by 15 kilometres from the Dnipro … the decision will make it possible to create a layered defence in order to repel Ukrainian attacks and protect civilians."
Russia fired four missiles into the southern Ukrainian port city of Mykolaiv overnight, demolishing half an apartment building and killing one resident, a day after it unleashed a barrage of missiles on several cities including the capital Kyiv.
Rescue workers recovered the body of an elderly woman from the rubble of the apartment block early on Tuesday, Reuters witnesses said.
As rush hour was underway, passersby walked past a two-storey school, the front of which was torn off by the force of the blast that left a massive crater.
"This is what the barbarian horde does," said Irena Siden, 48, the school’s deputy director, standing in front of the gutted building as workers began sweeping up the rubble.
"They (the Russians) are the descendants of the barbarian horde. They stole our history and how they are trying to steal our culture."
As seriously ill patients took their seats for treatment at Kyiv’s main hospital on Monday, they were told the dialysis machines had ground to a halt.
Those waiting to go under the knife were sent back to wards, with surgeons unable to sterilise their theatres and tools.
Much of Ukraine’s capital was left without water after Russia bombed pumping stations on Monday in its latest raid on civilian infrastructure.Â
The disruption inflicted yet more pain on Kyiv’s patients and medics struggling through the unrelenting conflict.
READ MORE:Â Russian attacks leave Ukraine hospitals without water, forcing surgeons to work with dirty tools
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said the country’s battered energy infrastructure would be repaired with equipment from 12 countries.
Meanwhile, UN nuclear watchdog the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) again raised concerns about the situation around Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant, saying that a landmine explosion had cut power to one of its reactors.
"In a further sign of the precarious situation in the area of the ZNPP, the IAEA team said there had been shelling in the vicinity of the plant in recent days, following a period of reduced military activity," the watchdog said.
The IAEA also confirmed it had started independent "verification activities" at two locations in Ukraine to determine whether any "undeclared nuclear activities" were taking place after Russia accused Kyiv of producing a so-called "dirty bomb".
Kyiv, which invited the IAEA inspectors, has counter-alleged that Moscow might itself use a dirty bomb in a "false flag" attack.
Ukraine suffered sweeping blackouts and water supplies were cut to large parts of Kyiv on Monday after another wave of Russian missile strikes on key infrastructure.
The Ukrainian army’s commander in chief, Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, said Russia had launched 55 cruise missiles and dozens of other munitions at "civilian targets" across the country, days after Russia blamed Ukraine for drone attacks on its fleet in the Black Sea.
Presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovich early on Tuesday called the bombardment "one of the most massive shellings of our territory by the army of the Russian Federation".
But he noted that, thanks to improved air defences, "the destruction is not as critical as it could be".
Though the army said many of the missiles had been shot down, Prime Minister Denys Shmygal said the strikes had still caused power cuts in "hundreds" of areas across seven Ukrainian regions.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said: "Instead of fighting on the battlefield, Russia fights civilians."
As seriously ill patients took their seats for treatment at Kyiv’s main hospital on Monday, they were told the dialysis machines had ground to a halt. Those waiting to go under the knife were sent back to wards, with surgeons unable to sterilise their theatres and tools. Much of Ukraine’s capital was left without water after Russia bombed pumping stations in its latest raid on civilian infrastructure
Friends was one of the earliest signs of Russia’s permanent break with liberal Western culture, the head of Russia’s RT network has said
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