Ukraine-Russia war live: US president Biden says Putin ‘will not prevail’ in meeting with Zelensky
Vladimir Putin issues fresh threat to use nuclear weapons if Moscow attacked
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US president Joe Biden has insisted that Ukraine will win the war against Russia, after meeting his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, in Washington.
“Russia will not prevail. Ukraine will prevail,” Mr Biden said alongside Mr Zelensky in the Oval Office at the White House. “We stand with Ukraine, now and in the future.”
US vice-president Kamala Harris branded calls for Ukraine to cede territory to Russia “dangerous and unacceptable” as she met Mr Zelensky.
Earlier, Vladimir Putin lowered the threshold for Russia to respond with a nuclear attack, amid discussions in Washington over Ukraine’s use of Western-provided long-range weapons.
The Russian president has said any conventional attack on Moscow that is supported by a nuclear power will be considered a joint attack on his country. He claimed that Russia would consider using nuclear weapons if Moscow received “reliable information” about the start of a massive launch of missiles, aircraft or drones against it.
At least one civilian was killed, Ukrainian officials said, in an overnight Russian aerial attack on the power grid in the capital Kyiv for five hours.
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President Vladimir Putin will chair a meeting of Russia’s Security Council on nuclear deterrence on Wednesday as Moscow weighs a response to Ukraine‘s requests that the US allow it to strike deep into Russia with long-range Western missiles.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the meeting of the Security Council, which includes Putin’s most powerful officials, was an important event.
“There will be a speech by the president,” Mr Peskov told reporters. “The rest, for obvious reasons, will be marked ‘top secret’.”
Putin, the primary decision maker on Russia's vast nuclear arsenal, is considering how to respond if the United States and its European allies allow Ukraine to use Western-supplied missiles to strike deep into Russia.
Where have Russian glide bombs been used and how can Ukraine defend against them?
Russia first stepped up its use of guided bombs earlier this year while capturing the now-ruined eastern city of Avdiivka.
The weapons later played a critical role in a Russian cross-border offensive last May in the northeastern Kharkiv region.
The weapons have also rained down on the northeastern region of Sumy, including the regional capital.
Zelensky and other officials are stepping up pressure on Kyiv’s allies to send more air-defence systems and allow Ukraine to use Western-provided weapons for strikes deep inside Russia.
Experts have said Kyiv’s best bet is to target the Russian warplanes that drop the weapons rather than intercept the individual bombs once released.
Explained: The Russian guided bombs wreaking havoc in Ukraine
Russia is increasingly using highly destructive guided bombs, pummeling Ukrainian forces on the battlefield as well as towns and cities near the front line.
Last week alone, Moscow’s forces dropped more than 900 such weapons on Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
He has repeatedly called on Kyiv’s Western partners to help boost Ukraine‘s long-range strike capabilities to neutralise the threat.
What are guided bombs?
The air-launched weapons are conventional, often Soviet-era ordnance that have been fitted with wings and satellite-aided navigation to extend their range and precision.
Also known as “glide bombs”, they are both cheaper than the ballistic and cruise missiles Russia regularly fires at Ukraine and more abundant. Weighing between 500 kg and 3,000 kg (1,100-6,600 lb), they are often dropped from beyond the range of Ukrainian air defences.
Their destructive power means they can ravage even strongly fortified Ukrainian defensive positions, which have been steadily crumbling in parts of the east in recent months.
Kremlin says Zelensky is making “fatal mistake” by trying to force it to make peace
The Kremlin has called a plan by Volodymyr Zelensky to force Russia to make peace a “fatal mistake” that would have consequences for Kyiv.
In a call with reporters, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “Such a position is a fatal mistake, a systemic mistake. This is a profound misconception that will inevitably have consequences for the Kyiv regime.”
Peskov said that Russia wants peace, but the issue cannot be forced, adding: “A position based on an attempt to force Russia into peace is an absolutely fatal mistake, because it is impossible to force Russia into peace.”
He said: “Russia is a supporter of peace, but on the condition that the foundations of its security are ensured.”
Zelenskiy told the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday that the war between Russia and Ukraine could not be calmed by talks alone and that Moscow must be forced into peace.
Kremlin upbeat as Russia reports more gains in east Ukraine
The Kremlin has said the battlefield dynamic for Russian forces in eastern Ukraine was “positive”.
Russian forces have in recent weeks accelerated their progress in Donetsk region, taking a series of towns and villages.
Earlier today, Russia’s Defence Ministry said that its forces have taken control of the villages of Hostre and Hryhorivka in the Donetsk region.
Watch: Putin’s Satan II ballistic missile ‘blows up during test launch’
Putin’s Satan II ballistic missile ‘blows up during test launch’
A Russian RS-28 Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile likely failed during a test earlier this month, according to arms experts and satellite imagery from the launch site. Maxar satellite images from 21 September show a crater about 60 meters wide at the launch silo at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia and damage around the area that was not visible in imagery from earlier in the month. It was not clear from the imagery if the liquid-fueled Sarmat failed during a launch or if there was an accident during defuelling. “By all indications, it was a failed test. It’s a big hole in the ground,” said Pavel Podvig, an analyst based in Geneva, who runs the Russian Nuclear Forces project. “There was a serious incident with the missile and the silo.” The 35-meter RS-28 Sarmat, known as Satan II, has a range of 18,000km and a launch weight of over 208 tonnes. It can carry up to 16 multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicle nuclear warheads as well as some Avangard hypersonic glide vehicles, according to Russian media.
Pictured: Ukranian soldiers fire an AS-90 self-propelled howitzer towards Russian troops
Russia takes two more Donetsk region villages, says defence ministry
Russia’s Defence Ministry has said that its forces have taken control of the villages of Hostre and Hryhorivka in Ukraine‘s eastern Donetsk region.
Fighting ongoing in Ukraine's Vuhledar, Russia's RIA reports
Denis Pushilin, the Russian-installed head of Ukraine‘s Donetsk region, has said that fighting was ongoing in Vuhledar, a longtime Ukrainian stronghold in the region, Russian state news agency RIA reported.
Earlier it was reported Vuhledar has resisted Russian attacks since the beginning of the war in 2022, but Russian forces have now entered the town – according to Russian war bloggers and state media.
Ukraine has not confirmed this development.
Russia’s defence ministry said its forces had defeated Ukrainian units at a series of settlements including Vuhledar, which Russians call Ugledar, and that the Eastern Grouping of Russian forces had improved their tactical positions. It gave no further details on Vuhledar.
Zelenskyy's victory plan sets Ukraine's terms in a desperate war against Russia
Read the full report below:
Zelenskyy's victory plan sets Ukraine's terms in a desperate war against Russia
The victory plan that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will present to the White House this week asks the Biden administration to do something it has not done in two and a half years of Russia's full-scale invasion: take swift action to support Kyiv's campaign
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