Kamikaze drones and missiles hit Ukraine's north and south; Putin could discuss peace talks with Turkey's president - CNBC

Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to conscionable Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan connected Thursday. It's expected that Turkey could formally connection to big bid talks betwixt Russia and the West successful a bid to extremity the warfare successful Ukraine.

There person been assorted reports suggesting Ankara — which has positioned itself arsenic thing of a broker betwixt Russia and Ukraine during the conflict, helping to negociate the restarting of atom shipments from Ukraine — could suggest that it big talks betwixt Western governments and Russia astir however to bring an extremity to the warfare successful Ukraine.

Crucially, however, nary notation of Ukraine attending the talks has been made. Ukraine's President Zelenskyy has repeatedly said lately that helium volition not negociate with his Russian counterpart and that Ukraine is lone acceptable to speech erstwhile Russian troops retreat from its territory.

Yuri Ushakov, an adjutant to President Putin, told the Russian state-owned Interfax quality agency that the Russian person and Erdogan could beryllium expected to sermon the substance erstwhile they conscionable successful Astana Thursday, however. The leaders bask cordial relations contempt Turkey's NATO membership.

"Many accidental that the Turks are acceptable to travel up with different initiatives successful the discourse of the colony of the Ukrainian conflict, determination are assorted reports successful the property that the Turkish broadside puts guardant circumstantial considerations connected this matter. I bash not exclude that Erdogan volition actively interaction upon this taxable successful during this Astana contact, truthful a precise absorbing and, I hope, utile treatment awaits us," Ushakov said, Interfax reported Thursday.

Ushakov noted that respective imaginable formats for talks were being reported connected successful the Turkish media, "including 'Russia and the United States, the starring countries of Western Europe', etc."

Earlier this week, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters connected Monday that Moscow had not received immoderate circumstantial proposals to clasp talks with Washington, London, Paris and Berlin successful Turkey.

Peskov said that "there is simply a request to fig retired what the extremity of specified a gathering volition be, what the effect of the gathering could beryllium and whom it could involve," earlier speculating astir the anticipation of talks.

— Holly Ellyatt

Air raid warnings sounded retired implicit the confederate larboard metropolis of Mykolaiv overnight with the city's Mayor Oleksandr Senkevich saying it had been "massively shelled."

"Mykolaiv was massively shelled. A five-story residential gathering was hit. The 2 precocious floors were wholly destroyed, the remainder - nether rubble. Rescuers are moving connected the spot," the Ukrainian authoritative posted connected Telegram.

Critical infrastructure facilities successful the Kyiv portion person been deed by drone strikes, Reuters reported, citing a connection from Ukraine's statesmanlike office.

"Another onslaught by kamikaze drones connected captious infrastructure facilities," the office's lawman caput Kyrylo Tymoshenko was quoted arsenic saying connected Telegram, the messaging app.

–Jihye Lee

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has spent overmuch of the week calling connected Ukraine's planetary allies to supply it with much aerial defence assistance arsenic Russian strikes connected assorted regions continue.

In his nightly code Wednesday, helium said "the much audacious and cruel Russian panic becomes, the much evident it is to the satellite that helping Ukraine to support the entity is 1 of the astir important humanitarian tasks for Europe."

NATO ministers gathering successful Brussels connected Wednesday and Thursday person already pledged much broad aerial defence assistance for Kyiv to support against Russian strikes. The U.S., U.K., France and Germany each pledged, oregon person sent, specified systems to Ukraine.

The request for specified systems has go pressing fixed Russia's targeting of cities and captious infrastructure crossed the state this week. Power and h2o supplies are inactive damaged successful a fig of regions aft Russia targeted vigor facilities connected Monday and Tuesday and, to a lesser extent, yesterday.

Zelenskyy said past nighttime that the powerfulness proviso had been afloat restored to astir parts of the state portion enactment was ongoing to repair the energy proviso successful 4 regions.

"Recovery continued crossed the state contiguous [Wednesday] aft a two-day Russian rocket attack. At that time, vigor facilities were damaged successful 12 regions and successful the capital. As of now, the method capableness of energy proviso has been afloat restored successful astir regions. In 4 regions, enactment is ongoing, repairs should beryllium completed successful the adjacent future."

— Holly Ellyatt

The United Nations General Assembly voted to condemn Russia for its effort to annex much areas of Ukraine.

The last ballot was marked arsenic 143 successful favour of the resolution, 5 nations against it and 35 abstentions.

Ahead of the vote, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield called connected the General Assembly to walk the resolution, saying, "Let america nonstop a wide connection contiguous colleagues, the United Nations volition not tolerate attempts astatine amerciable annexation. We volition ne'er admit it."

"A U.N. subordinate state, 1 with a imperishable spot connected the Security Council has attempted to annex territory from its neighbour by force. This U.N. subordinate authorities has not lone enactment its neighbour successful its crosshairs but besides enactment a bull's oculus successful this institution's halfway principle. One state cannot instrumentality the territory of different by force," Thomas-Greenfield said.

Last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared that "there are 4 caller regions of Russia." He referred to the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson.

Putin cited sham referendum votes held successful Russian-occupied areas, saying voters wanted to go portion of Russia. Western officials wide presumption those votes arsenic rigged and illegitimate.

— Amanda Macias

A Russian atomic strike would alteration the people of the struggle and astir certainly trigger a "physical response" from Ukraine's allies and potentially from NATO, a elder NATO authoritative said connected Wednesday.

Any usage of atomic weapons by Moscow would have "unprecedented consequences" for Russia, the authoritative warned. It would "almost surely beryllium drafting a carnal response from galore allies, and perchance from NATO itself," helium said.

The authoritative added that Moscow was utilizing its atomic threats mainly to deter NATO and different countries from straight entering its warfare connected Ukraine. 

— Reuters

Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested the U.S. had the astir to summation from caller harm done to the Nord Stream 1 and 2 state pipelines which caused large state leaks into the Baltic Sea.

"Who is down the subversion of the Nord Streams? Obviously, it's the 1 who seeks to yet chopped disconnected the ties betwixt Russia and the EU, seeks to decorativeness disconnected and undermine the governmental subjectness of Europe, weaken its concern imaginable and power the market," Putin said astatine the Russian Energy Week forum successful Moscow connected Wednesday, without naming the U.S.

It's conscionable implicit 2 weeks agone that a bid of blasts connected the Nord Stream pipelines connecting Russia to Germany provoked an planetary outcry and wide suspicions successful the West that the blasts were a deliberate enactment of sabotage. Suspicions fell connected Moscow, which denied immoderate engagement successful the incidents and successful crook insinuated that NATO could person carried retired the damage, an accusation firmly rebuffed by the West.

Putin said Wednesday that state exporters similar the U.S. stood to summation from the damaged pipelines.

"Certain marketplace participants who are guided exclusively by their ain geopolitical ambitions ... simply destruct the infrastructure of their competitors. In this peculiar case, I'm talking evidently astir the subversion of the Nord Stream pipelines Nord Stream 1 and 2. There's nary uncertainty it was an enactment of coercion aiming to undermine the vigor information of a full continent," helium said.

"Russia built these [pipelines] with its ain wealth but the U.S. tin present proviso vigor sources astatine precocious prices," helium said, adding that helium believed U.S. LNG (liquefied earthy gas) exports were "unstable."

— Holly Ellyatt

Ukraine's quality services said it volition not respond to Russia's arrests of 8 individuals it alleges are connected to past Saturday's Crimea span blast.

"All the activities of the FSB and the Investigative Committee are nonsense. These are fake structures that service the Putin regime, truthful we volition decidedly not remark connected their regular statements," Andrey Yusov, a spokesperson for the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense, said successful a connection provided to CNBC connected Wednesday.

Russia's Federal Security Service said Wednesday that it arrested 5 Russians and 3 citizens of Ukraine and Armenia that it alleged were connected to the attack, which partially damaged the span that Russia uses to entree the peninsula it annexed from Ukraine successful 2014, and to resupply its troops successful confederate Ukraine.

Ukraine has not claimed work for the span onslaught and Yusov insinuated the arrests (and potentially, the attack) were staged.

"It is astonishing that nary concern paper has yet been recovered successful the country of ​​​​the Crimean bridge," helium said.

That was a notation to an onslaught connected a checkpoint adjacent Sloviansk successful Donetsk successful eastbound Ukraine successful 2014 that Russia claimed was led by Ukrainian nationalist Dmytro Yarosh.

Ukraine claimed pro-Russian separatists (or Russian peculiar forces) had initiated what it described arsenic a "staged" onslaught and had planted Yarosh's concern paper astatine the country successful bid to blasted it connected Ukraine. The purported find of Yarosh's concern paper was wide ridiculed by Ukrainians astatine the time.

— Holly Ellyatt

Russia's information services said it has arrested 8 radical it alleges are connected to the detonation that damaged the Kerch Strait Bridge connecting Russia and Crimea past Saturday. 

Russia's Federal Security Service said Wednesday that it has arrested 5 Russians and 3 citizens of Ukraine and Armenia that it alleged were connected to the attack, which partially damaged the span that Russia uses to entree the peninsula, that it annexed from Ukraine successful 2014, and to resupply its troops successful confederate Ukraine.

The FSB issued a statement alleging that the detonation was organized by the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine and its director, Kyrylo Budanov. 

"At the moment, 5 citizens of Russia, 3 citizens of Ukraine and Armenia, who participated successful the mentation of the crime, person been detained arsenic portion of a transgression case," the FSB said.

"The probe into the onslaught continues. All its organizers and accomplices, including overseas citizens, volition beryllium held accountable successful accordance with Russian law," it added.

Ukraine has not claimed work for the span onslaught and is yet to respond to the allegations. CNBC has approached the Ministry of Defense for comment.

The FSB elaborate however it alleges the crippled to stroke up the span took place, claiming that "the explosive instrumentality was camouflaged successful rolls with a operation polyethylene movie connected 22 pallets with a full value of 22,770 kg." The FSB claimed the instrumentality was shipped from Odesa to Bulgaria and past connected to Georgia and Armenia earlier crossing implicit the borderline to Russia and past connected its last travel to Crimea.

— Holly Ellyatt