Live blog: Moscow to train forces for 'massive' retaliatory nuclear strike

Wednesday, October 25, 2023

Russian President Vladimir Putin oversaw ballistic missile drills, the Kremlin said, with Moscow's Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu announcing forces will practise a "massive" retaliatory nuclear strike.

The exercises came after Moscow moved to revoke a key nuclear test ban treaty, 20 months into Russia's Ukraine offensive.

The landmark agreement outlaws all nuclear explosions, including live tests of nuclear weapons.

During the dragging conflict, Putin and Russian officials have given mixed signals about the possible use of nuclear weapons, prompting alarm in the West.

Last year, Putin said he was "not bluffing" about his readiness to use destructive weapons should Russia face an existential threat.

He has also sent tactical nuclear arms to Russia's ally Belarus, which neighbours the EU and helped Moscow launch its Ukraine offensive last year.

Tactical nuclear arms are battlefield weapons that, while devastating, have a smaller yield compared to long-range strategic weapons.

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1824 GMT — Russia downs US ATACMS missiles in Ukraine

Russia said it shot down two US ATACMS missiles in the "special military operation" zone in Ukraine, the first time since the long-range weapons were delivered to Kiev.

"Over the past day, two US-made ATASMS tactical missiles, a S-200 anti-aircraft missile converted to defeat ground targets, as well as two HARM anti-radar missiles and two HIMARS multiple launch rocket systems manufactured in the USA were intercepted," the Defence Ministry said in a statement.

Defence Minister Sergei Shoygu in a separate statement said that despite the deliveries of the more advanced weapons, the capabilities of Ukraine's armed forces were decreasing.

"Today's situation shows that the opponent's capabilities are decreasing," Shoygu said at a meeting with Russian servicemen in Moscow.

1411 GMT — Ukraine plans to ramp up monthly drone output by year-end, minister says

Ukraine aims to produce tens of thousands of drones every month by year-end as it ramps up its defence industry output despite the challenge posed by Russian attacks, the minister for strategic industries said.

Drones have played a central role in the 20-month-old Russia-Ukraine war, used in huge numbers by both sides for surveillance and attack. Kiev has focused on increasing its output, but has relied heavily on foreign-made drone engines.

Speaking at a NATO Industry Forum in Stockholm, Oleksandr Kamyshin, the minister who oversees Ukraine's defence industry, did not disclose detailed current drone production figures, but put the number in the thousands per month.

Facing depleting Western weapons warehouses as the war drags on, Ukraine wants to boost local production of different military equipment and munitions in order to secure stable and faster supplies.

1248 GMT — Ukraine will hit back if Russia launches winter bombing campaign: Zelenskyy

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine would strike back against Russia this winter and not only be on the defensive if Moscow conducts an air campaign aimed at crippling the national power grid.

Ukraine fears Russia plans to bomb key energy infrastructure to demoralise the population. Millions of Ukrainians faced sweeping power cuts and other outages last winter as Russia attacked power facilities with missiles and drones.

Russia, which has called energy infrastructure a legitimate target, conducted regular long-range strikes using strategic bombers and warships last winter to fire cruise missiles from hundreds of miles away with Ukraine largely unable to respond.

Though it still does not have such long-range armaments at its disposal, Ukraine has since increased its strike capabilities significantly, producing drones and obtaining Western weapons like Storm Shadow cruise missiles and long-range ballistic missiles known as ATACMS.

1033 GMT — Ukraine says Russian drones hit area near nuclear plant in west

A Russian drone attack damaged buildings near the Khmelnytskyi nuclear power plant in western Ukraine and 20 people were wounded, officials said.

The air force destroyed all 11 Russian drones launched in the overnight attacks on Wednesday, the military said. Damage was caused by blast waves and falling debris, according to the interior minister.

"At night, the enemy struck territory near the Khmelnytskyi nuclear power plant. As a result of the explosion, windows in administrative and laboratory buildings have been damaged," the Energy Ministry said on the Telegram messaging app.

Power lines were also damaged, it added, with more than 1,800 consumers in the towns of Netishyn and Slavuta facing power cuts. Netishyn is about 5 km from the Khmelnytskyi nuclear power plant; Slavuta is about 20 km away.

It was unclear exactly how close the damage was to the nuclear plant.

0953 GMT — Russia's Shoigu says Moscow exhausting Ukrainian army

Russia has claimed it was exhausting Ukraine's army, 20 months into a campaign where neither side has made significant gains.

Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu made the comments during a visit to east Ukraine, the defence ministry said.

"The situation today suggests the enemy has fewer and fewer opportunities. And they will continue to be reduced, thanks exclusively to your combat work," Shoigu told Russian soldiers.

0842 GMT — Europe must not weaken support to Ukraine: Italy PM

Europe must not weaken its common support to Ukraine, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said.

"We must not make the mistake of weakening our common support to Ukraine," Meloni told the Senate ahead of a meeting of European Union leaders.

0835 GMT — Falling debris from Russian drones injures 16

At least 16 people were injured overnight as debris from Russian drones fell in Ukraine’s western Khmelnytskyi region, local authorities said on Wednesday.

“In the city of Slavuta, Shepetivka district, 11 apartment buildings and 9 private buildings, two educational institutions, an administrative building, a shop and cars were damaged due to the fall of UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) debris,” Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said on Telegram.

Klymenko said that 16 people were injured and sought medical help, while fire and police department buildings located in Slavuta and Netishyn were also damaged.

0827 GMT — Russian parliament completes passage of law shifting stance on nuclear test ban treaty

Russia's parliament completed the passage of a law that withdraws Moscow's ratification of the global treaty banning nuclear weapons tests.

The upper house, the Federation Council approved the law by 156 votes to zero after the lower house, the Duma, had also passed it unanimously. It now goes to President Vladimir Putin for signing.

Putin urged lawmakers earlier this month to make the change in order to "mirror" the position of the United States, which signed but never ratified the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT).

0758 GMT — Russia's Shoigu inspects forces in eastern Ukraine

Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu inspected command posts of Russian troops in Ukraine's Donetsk region, his ministry said on Wednesday, during a working visit close to the war's front lines.

Shoigu, savagely criticised by mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin until the latter was killed in a plane crash in August, has been shown several times this month in televised clips designed to project confidence about the state of Russia's war inside Ukraine.

He told assembled servicemen that their efforts were giving Ukrainian forces "fewer and fewer opportunities".

2000 GMT — Russian forces pound eastern Ukraine's Avdiivka

Russian forces have pounded the shattered eastern Ukrainian city of Avdiivka, but heavy losses forced them to switch to air attacks and rely less on full-on ground advances, Ukrainian officials alleged.

Russia appears to have focused for the moment on Avdiivka — a town known for its vast coking plant and now a hallmark of Ukrainian resistance.

"The enemy dropped about 40 guided aerial bombs in two nights. But the number of ground assaults has been reduced, half of what it was yesterday and the day before," Oleksandr Shtupun, spokesperson for Ukraine's southern group of forces, told national television.

"This is not surprising as over the past five days, the enemy has lost about 2,400 dead and wounded in Donetsk region."

Most of those casualties, he said, were near Avdiivka and the nearby long-contested town of Maryinka Vitaliy Barabash, head of Avdiivka's military administration, said the town was enduring unrelenting artillery and air attacks.

For our live updates from Tuesday (October 24), click here.