Editorial Note: The following news reports are summaries from original sources. They may also include corrections of Arabic names and political terminology. Comments are in parentheses. Share the link of this article with your facebook friends

 

Ukrainian Attack on Kerch Bridge and Russian Retaliation Escalate NATO-Russian Conflict to Nuclear Threats

October 12, 2022

 

Ukrainian civilians injured by Russian missile attacks, on October 10, 2022	Black smoke billows from a fire on the Kerch bridge that links Crimea to Russia, after a truck exploded, near Kerch, on October 8, 2022

 

NATO prepares for nuclear drills

RT TV, October 12, 2022

NATO has confirmed that it’s sticking to plans for its annual nuclear drill, even as the escalating Russia-Ukraine conflict spurs fears of a direct and catastrophic confrontation between Moscow and the Western military bloc.

“This is routine training, which happens every year, to keep our deterrent safe, secure and effective,” NATO secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg told reporters on Tuesday. The exercise, known as Steadfast Noon, will be held next week. It typically brings together dozens of aircraft from member nations and practices a nuclear strike mission. The jets typically don’t carry live warheads.

US President Joe Biden warned last week that Russia and the West face a greater threat of nuclear “Armageddon” than at any time since the Cuban Missile Crisis 40 years ago. President Vladimir Putin has vowed that Russia will use “all the means available to us” to defend its people and territory – a statement that Washington and its NATO allies have interpreted as a threat to deploy nuclear weapons.

Asked whether the 30 NATO members had discussed the potential for the Steadfast Noon drill to cause a miscalculation amid heightened tensions with Russia, Stoltenberg dismissed such concern. “Now is the right time to be firm and to be clear that NATO is there to protect and defend all allies. And this is a long-time-planned exercise, actually planned before the invasion of Ukraine.”

The secretary-general added that it would send a “very wrong signal” if NATO canceled the nuclear drill because of the Ukraine crisis. “We need to understand that NATO's firm, predictable behavior – our military strength – is the best way to prevent escalation. We are there to preserve peace, to prevent escalation and prevent any attack on NATO-allied countries.”

So if we now created the grounds for any misunderstanding, miscalculation in Moscow about our willingness to protect and defend all Allies, we would increase the risk of escalation, and that's the last thing we will do.

NATO’s preparedness to defend against any attack deters nuclear threats, Stoltenberg said. “This was important before the invasion of Ukraine, it has become even more important after, not least in light of the nuclear rhetoric from President Putin and from Russia,” he added.

Last week, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky demanded that NATO carry out preventive strikes on Russia to deter the use of nuclear weapons. After Moscow accused him of trying to spark a third world war, Zelensky walked backed the statement, claiming it was mistranslated and that he really meant to say preemptive sanctions, not “preemptive strikes.”

The alliance is closely monitoring Russia’s nuclear forces and hasn’t seen any changes in their posture, Stoltenberg said. He added that NATO ministers will make decisions on Wednesday to increase weapons stockpiles. Media reports in recent weeks have indicated that members of the bloc are struggling to procure weapons quickly enough as aid to Ukraine depletes their supplies. The German Army, for instance, has enough ammunition for only one or two days of warfare, Business Insider reported on Saturday.

NATO prepares for nuclear drills — RT World News

***

Biden clarifies nuclear ‘Armageddon’ warning

RT TV, October 12, 2022

US President Joe Biden has said he does not believe Russia will deploy nuclear weapons in Ukraine, toning down prior remarks in which he suggested the conflict could result in all-out “Armageddon.”

Speaking to CNN’s Jake Tapper for an interview on Tuesday, Biden was asked whether he thought his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin would authorize the use of a tactical nuclear weapon.

“I don’t think he will. I think it’s irresponsible for him to talk about it, the idea that a world leader of one of the largest nuclear powers in the world says he may use a tactical nuclear weapon in Ukraine,” the president said.

Though Putin has never made such a threat, and has made no mention of a “tactical” weapon in particular, he vowed on multiple occasions to defend Russia’s territory and people using “all the means available to us” – remarks widely interpreted as a nuclear warning by Western pundits and officials.

During a fundraiser last week, Biden declared that nuclear tensions were at their highest point since the Cuban Missile Crisis of the 1960s, and warned that the war raging in Ukraine could ultimately lead to “Armageddon.” Asked to elaborate on those comments by Tapper, the commander in chief pointed to potential “mistakes” and “miscalculations.”

“The whole point I was making was it could lead to just a horrible outcome. And not because anybody intends to turn it into a world war or anything, but just once you use a nuclear weapon, the mistakes that can be made, the miscalculations, who knows what would happen,” Biden said.

In the days since Biden’s warning of “Armageddon,” administration officials have clarified that they have seen no “new indications” that Russia plans to use nuclear weapons, with National Security Council spokesman John Kirby stating that there’s no sign Moscow has made such a decision, or even “done anything to get closer to that decision making process.”

Asked how the United States would respond if Russia used a nuclear weapon in Ukraine, Biden declined to offer details, stating that while there had been “discussions” about that possibility, “it would be irresponsible of me to talk about what we would or wouldn’t do.”

Biden clarifies nuclear ‘Armageddon’ warning — RT World News

***

Crimea bridge: Putin accuses Ukraine of 'terrorism'

By Aoife Walsh

BBC News, October 10, 2022

Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused Ukraine of attacking the bridge to Russian-annexed Crimea, saying that it was an "act of terrorism".

President Putin said Ukraine's intelligence forces had aimed to destroy a critically important piece of Russia's civil infrastructure.

He was speaking at a meeting with the head of the Investigative Committee of Russia, Alexander Bastrykin.

Officials say three people were killed in the blast on the bridge.

The victims were in a nearby car when a lorry blew up, Russian officials say.

"There is no doubt, this is an act of terrorism aimed at destroying Russia's critical civilian infrastructure," Mr Putin said.

"Its authors, perpetrators and beneficiaries are the security services of Ukraine."

Mr Bastrykin said that citizens of Russia and some foreign states had aided preparations for the attack.

According to Mr Bastrykin, investigators have established that the truck which they say blew up travelled through Bulgaria, Georgia, Armenia, North Ossetia and Krasnodar Territory.

He has ordered an investigation into the incident which brought down sections of the roadway.

Ukrainian officials have not indicated that their forces were behind the attack.

But an adviser to Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, Mykhailo Podolyak, denied Mr Putin's accusation.

He wrote that there is "only one terrorist state here" and that the "whole world knows who it is".

"Does Putin accuse Ukraine of terrorism? It looks too cynical even for Russia," he said.

On Saturday, President Volodymyr Zelensky acknowledged the incident in his nightly address, saying: "Today was not a bad day and mostly sunny on our state's territory."

"Unfortunately, it was cloudy in Crimea. Although it was also warm," he added.

Russian authorities partially re-opened the roadway part of the bridge hours after the attack but for light traffic only.

The railway part of the bridge - where oil tankers caught fire - has also reopened.

The 19km (12-mile) bridge, the longest in Europe, is an important supply route for Russian forces fighting in Ukraine.

Russia has used the bridge to move military equipment, ammunition, and personnel from Russia to battlefields in southern Ukraine.

It was opened by Mr Putin in 2018, four years after Russia's annexation of Crimea.

Security camera footage released on social media showed a truck - allegedly from the Russian city of Krasnodar, an hour's drive from the crossing - moving west across the bridge at the time of the explosion.

The footage shows a huge fireball erupting just behind - and to one side - of the truck as it begins to climb an elevated section of the bridge.

The speed with which the truck bomb theory started to spread in Russian circles was suspicious. It suggested the Kremlin preferred an act of terrorism to a more alarming possibility: that this was an audacious act of sabotage carried out by Ukraine.

"I've seen plenty of large vehicle-borne IEDs [improvised explosive devices] in my time," a former British army explosives expert told me. "This does not look like one."

A more plausible explanation, he said, is a massive explosion below the bridge - probably delivered using some kind of clandestine maritime drone.

"Bridges are generally designed to resist downwards loads on the deck and a certain amount of side loading from the wind," he said. "They are not generally engineered to resist upward loads. I think this fact was exploited in the Ukrainian attack."

Some observers have noted that in one of the other security camera videos, something that looks like the bow wave of a small boat appears next to one of the bridge supports, a split second before the explosion.

Crimea bridge: Putin accuses Ukraine of 'terrorism' - BBC News

***

Russia unleashes deadly strikes on cities across Ukraine after Crimea bridge attack

Daryna Mayer and Mariia Ulianovska and Lawahez Jabari and Artem Grudinin and Mithil Aggarwal and Yuliya Talmazan 

NBC, October 11, 2022

Russia unleashed a barrage of deadly attacks on cities across Ukraine on Monday, hitting the heart of the country's capital as part of a wave of strikes against civilians and infrastructure not seen since the very earliest days of the war.

From Lviv in the west to Kharkiv in the northeast, missiles tore through rush hour traffic and into energy facilities, in apparent revenge for what the Kremlin called a “terrorist” blast that damaged a key bridge to Crimea over the weekend.

After a series of humiliating setbacks that have piled pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin, the attacks suggested an escalation that showed Moscow retained the capacity to terrorize Ukraine's population ahead of winter if not defeat its military.

The country's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and other officials blamed Russia for the explosions that shattered months of relative calm in Kyiv and beyond. At least 8 people were killed and 24 others injured in the capital city, Ukrainian officials said.

NBC News has not verified the claims.

Ukrainian cities had been attacked by Russian missiles and drones, targeting civilians and energy facilities throughout the country, Zelenskyy said in a recorded video.

“They want panic and chaos, they want to destroy our energy system. They are hopeless,” he said, adding that the timing and targets of the attacks signal Moscow wanted to “cause as much damage as possible.”

Eleven "important infrastructure facilities" were damaged in eight regions of the country and the capital, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said, adding that Ukrainians need to be prepared for temporary interruptions in the supply of electricity and water.

The blasts came hours after Putin accused Ukraine of "terrorism" after the bridge connecting Russia and annexed Crimea was severely damaged, in a huge explosion that dealt a strategic and symbolic blow to the Kremlin. Putin directly blamed Ukraine's special services for the attack, but Kyiv has not taken responsibility for the incident.

A series of failures on the battlefield and the chaotic call-up of hundreds of thousands of military reservists have led to growing criticism of the Kremlin at home, with some prominent figures urging escalation in an effort to reverse the course of the conflict.

After Putin’s comments Sunday, Ukraine was braced for retribution that appeared to arrive by the next morning.

A number of blasts were heard in the center of Kyiv early Monday by NBC News. Smoke was seen rising off buildings, while images and videos verified by NBC News showed incinerated cars and a crater near a playground in a city park. Residents were sent scrambling for shelter in underground subway stations, while air raid sirens sounded in other major cities across the country.

Kyiv's mayor, Vitalii Klitchko, said the explosions occurred in the central distinct of Shevchenko, where several key government offices are located. Explosions were also heard in the Solomyansky district in western Kyiv, he said.

Klitschko later said the city’s critical infrastructure was hit, and there were an unidentified number of victims. He pleaded with local residents to seek shelter and stay in place amid fears of further attacks.

Rostislav Smirnov, an adviser to the Minister of Internal Affairs, said in a Facebook post that at least 8 people had been killed and 24 injured in one of the capital's districts.

Explosions were also reported in cities in central Ukraine and in the country’s west, as regional governors and mayors across the nation warned people to seek shelter. Five explosions were also heard in Kharkiv, in the northeast, by NBC News.

Army chief Valerii Zaluzhny said at least 75 rockets had been launched by the Russian military Monday morning, of which 41 had been intercepted.

The U.S. embassy in Kyiv issued an alert, urging Americans to shelter in place and leave Ukraine using ground transportation when it’s safe to do so, while the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, Bridget Brink, tweeted: “Russia escalates its barrage of attacks on Ukrainian civilians.”

“On the 229th day, they are trying to destroy us and wipe us off the face of the earth,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on the Telegram messaging app.

His foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, called Putin “a terrorist who talks with missiles.” Ukraine's defense minister, Oleksii Reznikov, called for the country's Western allies to step up their supply of anti-aircraft and anti-missile systems as the best way to respond to what he said was “Russian missile terror.”

Putin, who appointed a new commander of his forces in Ukraine over the weekend, is expected to hold a meeting with Russia’s security council later on Monday.

There has been no official reaction from Moscow so far, but Russian state media has reported widely on the attacks.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com

Russia unleashes deadly strikes on cities across Ukraine after Crimea bridge attack (msn.com)

***

Putin blames Europe for energy crisis as EU works on price cap

By Alan Charlish  and Robert Muller

Reuters, October 12, 2022

Summary

Germans, Dutch try to break EU impasse Putin says Russia not to blame for high energy prices Oil pipe leak in Poland seen as accident Britain acts to curb gains of low-carbon producers

WARSAW/PRAGUE, Oct 12 (Reuters) -

Russia's president said Europe was to blame for its energy crisis with policies that starved the oil and gas industry of investment and said price caps would make it worse, as EU states tried to forge a deal on ways to contain soaring energy costs.

Worries about the security of energy supplies were heightened on Wednesday when a leak in Poland on the Druzhba pipeline from Russia reduced the flow of oil to Germany.

Poland said the leak was probably caused by an accident but it came as European Union nations are seeking to wean themselves off a reliance on Russian energy in response to the invasion of Ukraine in February.

The Nord Stream gas link that serves Germany is currently out of action after a leak last month that both Russia and the West have blamed on sabotage, without identifying who was behind it.

President Vladimir Putin said the leaks in the two Nord Stream pipelines running from Russia to Europe were an "act of international terrorism" and about depriving people of cheap energy.

Putin said gas could still be supplied by one intact part of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline but it was up to the EU whether or not it wanted the gas. Germany cancelled the Nord Stream 2 project after Russia sent troops into Ukraine.

Speaking at an energy forum in Russia, Putin said Russia was not to blame for the sky-high energy prices in Europe.

The impact of efforts to use less Russian energy, plus steep cuts in supplies from Russia, have been felt across the 27-nation EU, with gas prices almost 90% higher than a year ago and fears of rationing and power cuts over the coming winter.

EU energy ministers were meeting in Prague on Wednesday to try to agree new measures to tackle the crisis.

Most EU countries say they want a gas price cap, but disagree on its design. Some countries, including Germany, Europe's biggest gas market, remain opposed, arguing it risks choking off supplies.

Germany and the Netherlands put forward their own proposals before Wednesday's meeting in the Czech capital - suggesting 10 "no-regret" EU measures, including a new benchmark price for liquefied natural gas, tougher targets to save gas, and negotiating lower prices with other suppliers, such as Norway.

In neighbouring Poland, pipeline operator PERN said a leak was detected on Tuesday evening in a section of the Druzhba oil pipe around 70 kilometres (43 miles) from the central Polish city of Plock.

The Druzhba pipeline, whose name means "friendship" in Russian, is one of the world's largest, supplying Russian oil to much of central Europe, including Germany, Poland, Belarus, Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Austria.

"Here we can talk about accidental damage," Poland's top official in charge of energy infrastructure Mateusz Berger told Reuters by telephone.

Germany's PCK Refinery in the eastern town of Schwedt said it was still receiving oil deliveries from the Druzhba pipeline but at reduced capacity.

SUPPLY FEARS

Across Europe, analysts have put the gas supply shortfall at almost 15% of average winter demand and said Germany needed to cut energy consumption by around a fifth, with worrying implications for Europe's biggest economy whose industry has relied on abundant, affordable energy supplies.

The energy crisis has had knock-on effects across the whole of Europe as businesses have passed on extra costs, squeezing household budgets.

Governments are also trying to figure out how to fund emergency measures taken to protect customers and smooth out the distortions caused by the surge in prices.

EU member Portugal plans to inject 3 billion euros ($2.9 billion) into its electricity and natural gas systems to curb prices paid by companies next year, the government said on Wednesday.

In Britain, the new government set out plans for a temporary revenue limit on low-carbon electricity generators, which the industry said was a "de-facto windfall tax" on renewable energy producers.

Rocketing gas prices across Europe and Britain have driven up the cost of electricity.

Putin blames Europe for energy crisis as EU works on price cap | Reuters

***

Share the link of this article with your facebook friends