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Live: Russia’s defence minister warns of ‘uncontrolled escalation’ in Ukraine conflict
Issued on: 23/10/2022 – 08:58
Modified: 23/10/2022 – 09:04
A local resident works to extinguish a fire after shelling in the town of Bakhmut, in eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region, on October 23, 2022, amid Russia’s military invasion on Ukraine.
A local resident works to extinguish a fire after shelling in the town of Bakhmut, in eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region, on October 23, 2022, amid Russia’s military invasion on Ukraine. © Dimitar Dilikoff, AFP
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Russia’s Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu warned of “further, uncontrolled escalation” in the war in Ukraine in a phone call Sunday with his French and Turkish counterparts, the Russian defence ministry said. Shoigu also conveyed “concerns about possible provocations by Ukraine with the use of a ‘dirty bomb'”. Follow FRANCE 24’s liveblog for all the latest developments. All times are Paris time (GMT+2).
9:54pm: Iran says will provide Russia with ’40 turbines’
Iran announced Sunday a contract with Russia to supply it with 40 turbines to help its gas industry amid Western sanctions over Moscow’s war in Ukraine, local media reported.
Iran’s “industrial successes are not limited to the fields of missiles and drones,” Iranian Gas Engineering and Development Company’s CEO, Reza Noushadi, was quoted as saying by Shana, the oil ministry’s news agency.
“Currently, 85 percent of the facilities and equipment needed by the gas industry are built inside the country, and based on this capability, a contract has recently been signed to export 40 Iranian-made turbines to Russia,” he added.
Noushadi did not specify when the contract was signed, and when the turbines are due to be delivered.
9:16pm: Pentagon chief tells Russia’s Shoigu he rejects any Russian pretext for escalation
US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin told Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu in a phone call on Sunday that he “rejected any pretext for Russian escalation” in Ukraine, the Pentagon said.
Shoigu told his French, Turkish and British counterparts of Moscow’s concern that Ukraine could detonate a “dirty bomb,” according to the Russian Defence Ministry.
8:10pm: Zelensky says only Russia would use nuclear weapons in Europe
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday that only Russia was capable of using nuclear weapons in Europe. Zelensky criticised Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu’s suggestion in calls to Western counterparts that Ukraine might be preparing to use a “dirty bomb” in the current conflict – a conventional weapon laced with nuclear materials.
“If anyone can use nuclear weapons in this part of Europe – it can be only one source – and that source is the one that has ordered comrade Shoigu to telephone here or there,” Zelensky said in his nightly video message.
7:16pm: Ukraine says Russia’s ‘dirty bomb’ claims are ‘absurd’ and ‘dangerous’
Ukraine denied Sunday it was planning to use a “dirty bomb” against Russian forces after Russia’s defence minister during telephone calls with NATO counterparts said Kyiv intended to deploy the weapon.
“Russian lies about Ukraine allegedly planning to use a ‘dirty bomb’ are as absurd as they are dangerous”, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on social media.
6:26pm: Only Ukrainians can decide when peace is possible, Macron says
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Sunday that Ukrainians will decide when peace is possible, speaking at the start of a peace summit in Rome.
“Let’s not let peace be hostage to Russian power,” Macron said during a speech at the start of the gathering organised by the Community of Sant’Egidio, a Catholic charity based in Rome. “Peace is possible, but only they (Ukrainians) will decide when they decide it.”
5:30pm: UK rejects Russian claim West is helping Ukraine to escalate conflict
Britain’s defence minister, Ben Wallace, refuted claims made by his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu in a call between the two men on Sunday that Western countries were facilitating a plan by Kyiv to escalate the conflict in Ukraine.
“The Defence Secretary refuted these claims and cautioned that such allegations should not be used as a pretext for greater escalation,” Britain’s Ministry of Defence said in a statement.
5:22pm: One dead in blast in Kherson: Moscow-installed official
One person was killed by a homemade bomb in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson on Sunday, according to the Russia-installed authorities in the region of the same name.
“An improvised explosive device, attached to a street pole and detonated remotely, killed a civilian from Kherson,” local pro-Russian official Kirill Stremousov wrote on social media.
He said a passer-by had been wounded.
Faced with an advancing counteroffensive by Ukrainian troops, the pro-Kremlin authorities in Kherson region, which Moscow claims to have annexed, are moving residents of the city to Russian-controlled areas on the left bank of the Dnieper River.
3:44pm: French minister urges Russia to find a peaceful resolution in Ukraine
French Armed Forces Minister Sebastien Lecornu confirmed on Sunday that he had held talks with his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu, and added that France had reaffirmed to Russia its desire for a peaceful resolution to the Ukraine conflict.
Lecornu also said in a statement that Russian defence minister Shoigu had expressed to him the fears Russia had that Ukraine could use a “dirty bomb” in the conflict.
Lecornu added that France refused to get drawn into any form of escalation in the Ukraine conflict, especially regarding nuclear options, and that Lecornu planned talks soon with his Ukrainian defence counterpart.
3:11pm: Officials at Ukrainian engine maker accused of working with Russia
Ukraine’s SBU intelligence service said Sunday it had detained two officials of Ukrainian aircraft engine maker Motor Sich on suspicion of working with Russia.
SBU “detained the president of industrial giant Motor Sich, he is suspected of working with the Russian Federation,” it said in a statement.
The SBU also detained the company’s department head for foreign economic activities, it added.
It did not provide the names of the detained.
2:12pm: Russia says destroyed Ukraine depot with 100,000 tonnes of aviation fuel
Russia’s defence ministry said Sunday it destroyed a depot in central Ukraine that was storing over 100,000 tonnes of aviation fuel.
“A fuel depot was destroyed near the village of Smila in Cherkasy region, where more than 100,000 tonnes of aviation fuel for the Ukrainian air forces was stored,” the defence ministry said in its daily briefing.
2:05pm The Nova Kakhovka dam comes under threat as the battle for Kherson continues
Russia and Ukraine are accusing each other of attempting to destroy a crucial dam in Russian-occupied Ukraine. If the Nova Kakhovka dam does fail, it would be a “major disaster” that would flood 80 settlements and empty the reservoir used to cool the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, FRANCE 24’s Gulliver Cragg reports.
Meanwhile, on the ground in Kherson, Ukraine is preparing its counter-offensive as pro-Putin officials urged residents to flee to Russia.
04:31
1:19pm: Russian warplane falls on Siberian building, killing two pilots
A Russian warplane slammed into a residential building in the Siberian city of Irkutsk Sunday, killing both crewmembers – the second incident in less than a week in which a combat jet has crashed in a residential area.
The accidents appeared to reflect the growing strain that the fighting in Ukraine has put on the Russian air force.
Irkutsk Gov. Igor Kobzev said the Su-30 fighter jet came down on a private, two-story building housing two families. There were no casualties on the ground.
Irkutsk, a major industrial center of more than 600,000 in eastern Siberia, is home to an aircraft factory producing the Su-30s.
12:38pm: Russia’s defence minister discusses Ukraine in call with French counterpart
Russia’s Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu held a phone call with French counterpart Sebastien Lecornu during which they discussed Ukraine, the Russian defence ministry said in a statement.
“The situation in Ukraine, which has a steady tendency towards further, uncontrolled escalation, was discussed,” the ministry said, adding that Shoigu conveyed “concerns about possible provocations by Ukraine with the use of a ‘dirty bomb'”.
12:28pm: Scheduled power cuts introduced in Kyiv after strikes on energy grid
Kyiv’s energy operator said Sunday that scheduled “stabilisation” power cuts have been introduced in the Ukrainian capital after repeated Russian strikes on the country’s energy infrastructure.
“On October 23, stabilisation shutdowns were introduced in Kyiv by national energy operator Ukrenergo to avoid accidents,” energy company DTEK said in a statement, adding that the blackouts should last “no more than four hours” but may be longer “due to the scale of damage to the power supply system”.
11:14am: Russia withdraws officers from Kherson, military think-tank says
Russia’s military leadership has withdrawn its officers in the Russian-annexed city of Kherson across the Dnieper River in anticipation of an advance of Ukrainian troops, the Institute for the Study of War think tank said Sunday.
To delay the Ukrainian counteroffensive as the Russians complete their retreat, Moscow has left newly mobilised, inexperienced forces on the other side of the wide river, it added.
The troop movements come as the Ukrainian military said its forces have continued their counteroffensives in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions.
The ISW think tank also said Sunday that Russia’s latest war strategy of targeting power plants in recent days appears to be aimed at diminishing Ukrainians’ will to fight and forcing Ukraine’s government to spend additional resources to protect civilians and energy infrastructure. It said the effort was unlikely to damage Ukrainian morale but would have significant economic impact.
10:28am: Ukrainian military ‘proud of themselves’ for missile interceptions
“The latest information from the [Ukrainian] general staff says that they did actually intercept exactly hamf of some 40 rockets, cruise missiles, that Russia fired at Ukrainian electricity infrastructure […] including all of those that were aimed at Kyiv; so the capital was not hit,” FRANCE 24’s Gulliver Cragg reports from Kyiv. “They’re quite proud of themselves today in terms of their success rate of intercepting these projectiles. But nevertheless, the electricity distrubution company said that this was the worst day in terms of the amount of damage to the electricity infrastructure that was done since this sustained campaign of targeting these kinds of targets began on the 10th of October.”
02:03
9:43am: Putin congratulates China’s Xi on unprecedented third term
Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Chinese President Xi Jinping on Sunday on securing an unprecedented third term as leader, and said he looked forward to further developing a “comprehensive partnership” between their two countries.
“The results of the Party Congress fully confirm your high political authority, as well as the unity of the party you lead,” Putin told Xi, according to the Kremlin’s website.
Xi and Putin signed a “no limits” partnership agreement in February, three weeks before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Since then, China has taken a careful line, criticising Western sanctions against Russia but stopping short of endorsing or assisting in the military campaign.
7:24am: Fearing conscription, Siberian asylum seekers flee to Alaska
Two Russian Indigenous Siberians were so scared of having to fight the war in Ukraine, they chanced everything to take a small boat across the treacherous Bering Sea to reach American soil, Alaska’s senior US senator said after talking with the two.
The two, identified as males by a resident, landed earlier this month near Gambell, on Alaska’s St. Lawrence Island in the Bering Strait, where they asked for asylum.
“They feared for their lives because of Russia, who is targeting minority populations, for conscription into service in Ukraine,” Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski said Saturday during a candidate forum at the Alaska Federation of Natives conference in Anchorage.
“It is very clear to me that these individuals were in fear, so much in fear of their own government that they risked their lives and took a 15-foot skiff across those open waters,” Murkowski said when answering a question about Arctic policy.
5:53am: Russian strikes cause blackouts in much of Ukraine, more flee Kherson
Russian missiles pounded Ukrainian energy and other facilities on Saturday, causing blackouts in various regions, Kyiv said, while Russian occupation authorities in the southern city of Kherson urged civilians to evacuate.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the Russian attacks had struck on a “very wide” scale. He pledged his military would improve on an already good record of downing missiles with help from its partners.
With the war about to start its ninth month and winter approaching, the potential for freezing misery loomed as Russia continued to attack Ukraine’s power grid.
In Kherson, a target for Ukraine’s aggressive counterattack to the invasion Russian President Vladimir Putin launched on February 24, the occupation authorities instructed civilians to get out.
“Due to the tense situation at the front, the increased danger of massive shelling of the city and the threat of terrorist attacks, all civilians must immediately leave the city and cross to the (east) bank of the Dnipro!” occupation authorities posted on Telegram.
Thousands of civilians have left Kherson after warnings of a Ukrainian offensive to recapture the city.
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At Oleshky on the opposite bank of the Dnipro, Reuters saw people arriving by river boat from Kherson, loaded with boxes, bags and pets. One woman carried a toddler under one arm and a dog under the other.
3:37am: G7 condemns Russia’s kidnapping of Ukraine nuclear plant leadership
The G7 condemned Russia’s kidnapping of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant leadership and called for the immediate return of full control of the plant to Ukraine.
“We condemn Russia’s repeated kidnapping of Ukrainian ZNPP (Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant) leadership and staff,” G7 Nonproliferation Directors General said in a statement dated Saturday.
“We urge Russia to immediately return full control of the ZNPP to its rightful sovereign owner, Ukraine,” it said.
(FRANCE 24 with AP, AFP and REUTERS)
