Ukraine-Russia war live: Putin’s ‘third wave’ advance bogged down

Arpan Rai has the full report:

The Kremlin has issued another warning over the risk of “nuclear, chemical and biological weapons” being used amid its invasion of Ukraine.

Nikolai Patrushev, the Russian security council secretary and a close ally of Putin, hit out at what he described as the “destructive” policies of the US and its allies, that were increasing the risk that nuclear, chemical or biological weapons would be used, Reuters reports.

“The natural consequence of the United States’ destructive policies is the deterioration in the global security,” the state news agency Tass reported him as saying.

“The risk that nuclear, chemical and biological weapons will be used is increasing. The international arms control regime has been undermined.”

Ukraine’s military said on Tuesday its troops had repelled Russian assaults in widely separated sectors of the war and braced for a fresh attempt to capture the key frontline eastern town of Avdiivka.

Russia is engaged in a slow-moving campaign in eastern areas of the 1,000-km (600-mile) front line after failing in its bid to march on Kyiv in the conflict’s early days. Ukraine has registered only limited progress in a counteroffensive launched in the east and south in June.

Ukraine’s General Staff, in its evening report, said its forces had beaten back 15 attacks near Kupiansk in the northeast and 18 attacks near Maryinka further south, where battles have raged for months.

Nine attacks were repelled in and near Avdiivka, where Moscow launched the latest of several drives in mid-October.

Vitaliy Barabash, head of Avdiivka’s military administration, said several days of rain had for the moment ruled out any new Russian advance – what he described as the “third wave”.

“We’ve had nearly a week of heavy rain,” he told the public broadcaster Suspilne. “The terrain is too difficult and equipment cannot move.”

The Karakurt-class Askold warship was launched in 2021 and had not been yet commissioned into the Russian navy, the MoD said, citing Ukrainian and Russian sources. The Russian word “Karakurt” means “Black Widow spider”.

NATO allies condemned a decision by Russia on Tuesday to withdraw from the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe, a key post-Cold War agreement, and said they would suspend its operation in response.

Russia formally withdrew from the security treaty, which limited key categories of conventional armed forces, blaming the United States for undermining post-Cold War security with the enlargement of the NATO military alliance.

“Allies condemn Russia’s decision to withdraw from the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE), and its war of aggression against Ukraine which is contrary to the Treaty’s objectives,” NATO said in a statement.

The Russian move was its latest action that systematically undermined Euro-Atlantic security, it said.

The UK and Poland defence industries have signed a deal worth £4bn to continue the next stage of Poland’s future air defence programme.

UK firm MBDA has signed a sub-contract with Polish defence company PGZ, in a programme that will provide Polish forces with an enhanced ground-based air defence system capable of launching missiles to engage air threats.

This includes cruise missiles and fighter jets, at ranges of more than 40 kilometres. The deal will create more than 1,000 Common Anti-Air Modular Missiles – Extended Range (CAMM-ER) and over 100 iLaunchers.

Grant Shapps, the defence secretary, said: “This is another crucial step forward for our historic defence ties with Poland, supplying next generation air defence capabilities to act as a clear deterrent to our adversaries.

“We continue to fully back our thriving UK defence industry, and this landmark export deal is yet another example of the huge potential our collective defence sectors boast.”

The Ministry of Defence says the deal “will bolster European security in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.”

Chris Allam, managing director of MBDA UK,  said: “The scale and ambition of NAREW is truly impressive – building a Polish air defence shield using our CAMM family missiles and iLaunchers that will protect the entirety of Poland’s skies.

“The transfer of technology in NAREW will be transformative for Poland’s sovereign complex weapons capabilities, and we are deeply proud of the trust placed in us by Poland and excited for the future of our partnership with PGZ.”

There was no way for the US to stay in the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe, a key post-Cold War agreement, after Russia pulled out, White house national security spokesman John Kirby said on Tuesday.

“I don’t know how we can justify not pulling out” of the treaty after Russia did, Kirby said.

He said the U.S. will meet all Article Five commitments to NATO allies, which could force changes.

Earlier, Nato announced the formal suspension of the treaty in the wake of Russia withdrawing from the deal.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has ruled out holding a presidential vote in the spring and urged his countrymen to avoid political divides, saying they must concentrate all resources on fighting Russia.

Mr Zelensky, who was elected for a five-year term in March 2019, had previously avoided definitive statements on the question. His associates had said he was pondering various possibilities.

“Now, in wartime, when there are so many challenges, it is absolutely irresponsible to throw the topic of elections into society in a light-hearted and playful way,” he said, adding that “the waves of any politically divisive things must stop”.

“We must realise that now is the time of defence, the time of the battle that determines the fate of the state and people, not the time of manipulations, which only Russia expects from Ukraine,” he said.

“I believe that now is not the right time for elections.”

G7 support for Ukraine will not be affected by the intensifying Middle East conflict, Japan said as the group’s foreign ministers prepared to hold virtual talks with Kyiv during a meeting in Tokyo.

The Group of Seven (G7) wealthy nations – Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States – as well as the European Union will meet in Tokyo today and tomorrow to discuss issues including Russia’s war in Ukraine and the Israel-Gaza crisis.

“Our commitment to continue strict sanctions against Russia and strong support for Ukraine has not wavered at all, even as the situation in the Middle East intensifies,” Japan’s foreign minister, Yōko Kamikawa, said.

Moscow’s continuing war in Ukraine will test its relationship with both Iran and Israel, according to Kimberly Kagan, the president for the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) think-tank.