German minister sees no signs Moscow is going to use nukes
German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht said Tuesday that “for the moment” there are no indications that the Russian armed forces are making moves that point to an upcoming use of nuclear weapons against Ukraine.
The Social Democratic minister made the remarks during a speech at the Foreign Policy Forum organized by the Körber Foundation in Berlin, in which she stressed the importance of not being intimidated by Russian “threats”.
“We must take them seriously, but they must not paralyze us, we must not back down,” he said, referring to support for Ukraine.
Lambrecht also stated in this regard that Moscow’s use of nuclear weapons would violate all “red lines” and would place the government of Russian President Vladimir Putin outside the realm of “civilization.”
Belarus rules out its mobilization and participation in military actions
The Belarusian authorities today ruled out the mobilization of the population and the possible participation of the country in military actions after Russian troops returned to the territory of the former Soviet republic.
“We do not plan any mobilization. We do not plan the participation of our country in military actions either. We do not need it,” said Alexandr Vólfovich, secretary of the Russian Security Council, according to the official BELTA agency.
He stressed that the Belarusian security forces can ensure the safety of their citizens “without additional mobilization.”
“There are no reasons for concern. Each one must do their job,” he said when meeting with the staff of a state company in the city of Brest, bordering Poland.
Volfovich also denied Western accusations that Minsk intends to increase the number of military exercises on its territory.
Estonian Parliament declares Russia a terrorist regime
The Riigikogu or Estonian Parliament approved a statement on Tuesday in which it describes Russia as a terrorist regime and condemns the annexations by Moscow of Ukrainian territory.
“In support of the appeal of the Parliament of Ukraine to countries and international organizations, the Riigikogu declares Russia a terrorist regime and the Russian Federation a country that supports terrorism, whose actions we must face together,” the statement said.
At the same time, the Estonian chamber “calls on the international community to adopt similar declarations,” according to a statement issued by the Estonian Parliament.
The Riigikogu also considers it necessary to declare the armed forces of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics established by Russia, as well as the private paramilitary group Wagner, as terrorist organizations.
According to the statement, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s regime “with its threats of nuclear attack has made Russia the greatest danger to peace both in Europe and throughout the world.”
Danish authorities confirm that “powerful explosions” damaged the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines
Investigations by the Danish Police and Armed Forces confirmed that the damage to the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines, which connect Russia with Germany under the Baltic Sea and supply the fluid to Europe, were caused by “powerful explosions,” the Danish police.
The investigations, carried out in the Baltic Sea together with the Norwegian Army and Police, “have confirmed that Nord Stream 1 and 2 suffered extensive damage in the Danish exclusive economic zone and that this damage was caused by powerful explosions,” the Danish Police said. it’s a statement.
“It’s very serious, and this is by no means a coincidence. It doesn’t just seem planned, but very well planned,” Danish Defense Minister Morten Bodskov told TV2 channel, Europa Press news agency reported.
The Swedish newspaper Expressen, meanwhile, today published images that, according to the media, show one of the pipes of Nord Stream 1, taken at a depth of 80 meters by underwater drones from the Norwegian company Blueye Robottics.
The morning paper stated on its website that at the investigated point there are about 50 meters of pipe missing, that the ends of the pipe are twisted and torn as if they had been subjected to extreme force, and that around the gas pipeline, “you can see a large impact on the seabed.
Both gas pipelines were damaged three weeks ago by at least two explosions that caused four leaks and huge methane releases, which have already been stopped.
Russia imposes two fines on Twitch for false news about campaign in Ukraine
Moscow’s Taganski court today imposed two fines of 4 million rubles each, almost $130,000, on popular live video platform Twitch for refusing to remove false information about Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine.
The American platform was found guilty of violating article 41 of the Russian Code of Administrative Offenses, which punishes the refusal to eliminate “unreliable information that points to the destabilization of the socio-political situation in the country,” the Interfax agency reported.
Like the previous fine imposed on October 4, these proceedings against Twitch were lifted following the broadcast of an interview with Oleksiy Arestovich, adviser to the Office of the President of Ukraine.
Kremlin says it’s ‘absurd’ to blame Russia for gas pipeline sabotage
The Kremlin said today that it is “absurd” to try to blame Russia for the sabotage of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines, after the Copenhagen Police reported on Tuesday that the damage to both infrastructures was caused by “powerful explosions”.
“At least from the statements we heard from Germany, France and Denmark, this a priori investigation has been aimed at endorsing the responsibility (for sabotage) on Russia. It is absurd,” stressed the spokesman for the Russian Presidency, Dmitri Peskov, in his daily telephone press conference.
He added that the data from the Russian secret services points completely in another direction, alluding to the fact that, as Moscow has stated, the biggest beneficiaries of the sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines are the United States and Ukraine.
“Furthermore, you just have to use the most elementary logic to understand that such sabotage causes great harm to Russian interests,” Peskov stressed.
US threatens to sanction any link to Iranian drones after attacks on kyiv
The United States warned on Monday that it would take action against companies and countries that cooperate with Iran’s drone program after Russia used drones imported from the Islamic nation to attack Iran. Ukraineincluding the capital, kyiv.
“Anyone doing business with Iran that may have any link to the development of drones or ballistic missiles, or to the flow of weapons from Iran to Russia should exercise extreme caution and act diligently: the United States will not hesitate to resort to sanctions or take action against the perpetrators,” State Department spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters.
“Russia’s deepening alliance with Iran is something that the whole world … frankly should see as a huge threat,” he added.
Russia destroyed 30% of Ukraine’s power plants in a week, according to Zelensky
Russia destroyed in little more than a week 30% of the power plants of Ukraine with its bombings that caused “massive” cuts, Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelenski denounced on Tuesday.
“Since October 10, 30% of Ukrainian plants have been destroyed, leading to massive outages across the country,” Zelensky said on Twitter, reiterating his refusal to negotiate with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.
The capital of Ukraine and several regions of the country suffered electricity and water cuts on Tuesday, after morning Russian attacks on critical infrastructure for the second day in a row, local authorities said.
The Kremlin says it ignores whether its army uses Iranian drones in Ukraine
The Kremlin said on Tuesday “it had no information” about the use by its army of Iranian-made drones in Ukraineafter kyiv accused Moscow of using them to attack water and electricity infrastructure.
“We have no such information,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov responded to a journalist’s question about whether Moscow is using Iranian drones in Ukraine. “Russian technology is used with Russian names,” added the spokesman, who referred to the Defense Ministry.
At least two killed in Russian attacks in kyiv, prosecutors say
At least two people were killed in Russian strikes on critical infrastructure in kyiv on Tuesday, which led to power and water cuts in parts of the city, the Ukrainian prosecutor’s office said.
“The Russian armed forces … launched a missile attack on a power supply facility on the left bank of the capital kyiv. According to preliminary information, two people were killed and one was injured,” the prosecutor’s office said in a statement. a statement.
kyiv suffers a new Russian attack against an electrical infrastructure
Russian forces today launched a new attack on kyiv and hit an electricity supply facility, reported the mayor of the Ukrainian capital, Vitaliy Klitschkó.
“Explosions again in kyiv in the morning. Desnyan neighborhood. Installation of critical infrastructure. All (emergency) services are in place,” the mayor wrote on his Telegram account.
Klitschko added that these were “two critical infrastructure targets” and assured that the emergency and rescue services are already working on the scene.
“Currently the water and electricity supply services are partially limited in many homes on the left bank of the capital,” he said.