Putin says there is 'no need' to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine; Biden casts doubt on the claims - CNBC

U.S. President Joe Biden expressed skepticism toward Russian President Vladimir Putin's claims successful a caller code that helium had nary request oregon volition to usage atomic weapons successful Ukraine.

"If helium has nary intention, wherefore does helium support talking astir it? Why is helium talking astir the quality to usage a tactical atomic weapon?" Biden said during an interrogation with NewsNation. "He's been precise unsafe successful however he's approached this."

Putin, successful a code Thursday, downplayed the anticipation of a atomic struggle and denied that Russia had threatened to usage atomic weapons. He said that Moscow was lone responding to "nuclear blackmail" from the West.

In earlier weeks, however, Putin and different high-level Kremlin officials had expressed Russia's readiness to usage each means astatine their disposal, including atomic weapons, to support the territorial integrity of Russia, which was understood to see the illegally annexed territories of Ukraine.

— Natasha Turak

Russian President Vladimir Putin poured acold h2o connected claims that Russia would deploy atomic weapons implicit Ukraine, contempt repeatedly citing his quality to usage specified weapons if Russia's "territorial integrity" was threatened.

"We spot nary request for that," Putin said Thursday, speaking astatine a league of overseas argumentation experts. "There is nary constituent successful that, neither political, nor military."

Putin had antecedently vowed to usage "all means disposable to support Russia," which observers took to mean atomic weapons, but the president said successful his latest remarks that that was simply a effect to what helium called "nuclear blackmail" by Western leaders.

He made peculiar notation to erstwhile U.K. Prime Minister Liz Truss's comments successful August that she would beryllium prepared to usage atomic weapons arsenic leader.

— Natasha Turak

Russia is apt utilizing mobilized reservists to boost its units westbound of Ukraine's Dnipro river, but unit numbers are already precise debased there, Britain's Ministry of Defense said successful its latest quality update connected Twitter.

"In September 2022, Russian officers described companies successful the Kherson assemblage arsenic consisting of betwixt six and 8 men each. Companies should deploy with astir 100 personnel," the ministry tweeted.

"In the past six weeks determination has been a wide determination from Russian crushed forces to modulation to a long-term, antiaircraft posture connected astir areas of the beforehand enactment successful Ukraine," the ministry said.

"This is apt owed to a much realistic appraisal that the severely undermanned, poorly trained unit successful Ukraine is presently lone susceptible of antiaircraft operations."

It continued, "Even if Russia succeeds successful consolidating semipermanent antiaircraft lines successful Ukraine, its operational plan volition stay vulnerable."

— Natasha Turak

IAEA manager wide Rafael Mariano Grossi said that its inspectors volition get successful Ukraine this week connected the heels of Russian allegations that Kyiv is preparing to usage a "dirty bomb."

"I americium precise grateful for the openness that the Ukrainian authorities and I had a precise broad treatment with Ukrainian overseas curate Kuleba astir this. He came to the decision and I hold that the champion mode to dispel immoderate uncertainty is to let the inspectors successful and this is what we're going to do," Grossi told reporters astatine the United Nations.

Grossi added that it volition apt lone instrumentality a fewer days to transportation retired the inspections.

The U.S. and its allies person dismissed Russian allegations that Ukraine is assembling a 'dirty bomb.'

— Amanda Macias

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield told her colleagues earlier the U.N. Security Council gathering that she would support her remarks abbreviated due to the fact that "frankly, this gathering is simply a discarded of everyone's time."

"Russia has called america here, erstwhile again, for the sole intent of spreading disinformation. We each cognize these claims are axenic fabrications, brought distant without a shred of evidence," Thomas-Greenfield said referencing caller Moscow claims that Kyiv has a biologic weapon.

 "We perceive Russia rise alarms that biologic weapons volition beryllium delivered by birds and bats and present adjacent mosquitoes. Birds and bats," she said, calling Russia's allegations "absurd."

"Russia's assertions are absurd for galore reasons, including due to the fact that specified species, adjacent if they could beryllium weaponized, would airs arsenic overmuch a menace to the European continent and to Ukraine itself arsenic they would to immoderate different country," Thomas-Greenfield said.

— Amanda Macias