Ukraine Latest: Biden Questions Putin’s Nuclear Denials

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(Bloomberg) -- President Joe Biden, asked whether Russian leader Vladimir Putin was sincere in saying he has no intention of using nuclear or chemical weapons in Ukraine, said: “If he has no intention, why’s he keep talking about it?”

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Putin said Thursday that there was no need for Russia to launch a nuclear strike on Ukraine, and denied his country had ever discussed the use of atomic weapons in the war, now in its ninth month.

Putin claimed Russia has only used “hints” in response to repeated US and European discussion of a possible atomic conflict, telling an audience of foreign-policy experts that the West was trying to influence Moscow’s friends and allies by showing “how terrible Russia is.”

China is willing to deepen its cooperation with Russia at all levels, according to a Chinese readout of a phone call between Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov that also said the pair discussed Ukraine. Russia hasn’t commented.

Ksenia Sobchak, the celebrity-journalist daughter of Putin’s political mentor fled Russia for Europe as police detained a close associate and raided her home as part of a criminal case for alleged extortion.

(See RSAN on the Bloomberg Terminal for the Russian Sanctions Dashboard.)

Key Developments

  • Biden Questions Putin Claim Russia Won’t Use Nuclear Weapons

  • Putin Plays Down Nuclear Threat in Ukraine as He Lambasts US

  • Putin-Linked Celebrity Journalist Sobchak Flees Russia

  • Is Putin Strangling Russia’s Golden Gas Goose? The IEA Thinks So

  • Russia Crisis Heralds Turning Point for Global Energy, IEA Says

  • What Is a ‘Dirty Bomb’ and Why Is Ukraine Worried?: QuickTake

On the Ground

Russian forces struck the Kyiv region and the southern city of Zaporizhzhia overnight, Ukrinform reported, citing local authorities. Ukraine’s “South” command said air defense downed a Russian Ka-52 helicopter and an Su-25 fighter jet in the Kherson region Thursday morning. Ukrainian troops downed 18 out of 20 Iranian-made Shahed-136 drones launched by Russia over the past 24 hours at the country’s critical infrastructure, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Valeriy Zaluzhnyi said on Telegram. Russian assaults near seven settlements in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions were repelled over the past day, the General Staff of the Ukrainian military reported on Facebook.

(All times CET)

Biden Questions Putin Claim on Nuclear Weapons (6:31 a.m.)

Biden questioned whether Putin was sincere in saying he had no intention of using nuclear or chemical weapons in Ukraine. “If he has no intention, why’s he keep talking about it?” Biden said after he was asked if he believes Putin’s denials in an interview with NewsNation, a cable outlet, broadcast on Thursday.

“Why does he talk about the ability to use a tactical nuclear weapon?” Biden added. “He’s been very dangerous in how he’s approached this. He can end this all. Get out of Ukraine.”

US to Send $275 Million in Aid, Report Says (1:30 a.m.)

The Pentagon plans to send $275 million in fresh military assistance to Ukraine, the Associated Press reported on Thursday evening. The aid does not contain new types of weapons, and will be dedicated to forces battling the Russian military in the south of Ukraine, according to the AP, which cited unnamed US officials.

The package will replenish ammunition for weapons systems, including the High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or Himars, the AP said.

Putin Keeps Up Suspense on G-20 Summit Plans (7:15 p.m.)

Putin said he still hasn’t decided whether to go to next month’s G-20 summit in Indonesia, as the US and its allies have pushed for him to be excluded over his invasion of Ukraine.

“We’ll think about how we’ll do it. Russia definitely will be represented at a high level,” Putin told a questioner from Indonesia at the Valdai Discussion Club outside Moscow. “I may still go.”

Most Russians Want Peace Talks With Ukraine, Survey Shows (6:36 p.m.)

For the first time, a majority of Russians favor opening peace talks with Ukraine, according to a poll by the independent Levada Center, which also found that just a third of respondents now support the war.

Those backing negotiations with Ukraine rose to 57% in October from 48% a month earlier, while the proportion supporting continuation of the invasion fell to 36% from 44% in September, according to the nationwide survey of 1,600 Russians conducted Oct. 20-26.

Support for peace talks was highest among 18-to-24-year-olds, at 68%, and lowest among those 55 years and older, at 42%, Levada said on its website. The figures were reversed when it came to backing Russia’s mobilization of reservists to fight in Ukraine, with 58% of the younger respondents opposed to the measure and 66% of older Russians in favor.

Putin Says Plan for Ukraine Operation Remains Unchanged (6:21 p.m.)

Putin said his plan for the “special military operation” in Ukraine remains to ensure the security of the Donbas region, but didn’t mention the sweeping goals of “de-Nazification” and “de-militarization” that he’d cited earlier in the invasion.

Putin, whose public statements of his goals for the war have shifted in the months since he dispatched troops, didn’t explain the apparent omission. He described the neighboring regions of Ukraine that Russia also illegally annexed last month as part of a historic ‘Novorossiya’ region.

His comments came in response to a question from the host of the Valdai event, foreign policy analyst Fyodor Lukyanov, who noted that “society doesn’t really understand what the plan is.”

US Defense Secretary Says No Sign Putin Plans Nuclear Attack (6 p.m.)

“We have not seen anything to indicate that Putin has made a decision to use a dirty bomb,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters at the Pentagon Thursday. “Nor have we seen any indications that the Ukrainians are planning such a thing. Ukrainians have, in fact, their leadership have indicated to us that is not in their plans.”

Austin said it was important to keep talking to both allies and adversaries to tamp down “dangerous talk.”

Putin Says ‘No Point’ in Making Nuclear Strike on Ukraine Weapons (5:48 p.m.)

“We don’t need a nuclear strike on Ukraine --there is no point, either military or political,” Putin said.

Former President Dmitry Medvedev has been among Kremlin officials warning that using tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine was possible. US and European defense officials said this week that a claim by Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu that Ukraine may use a so-called “dirty bomb” may be an indication the Kremlin is planning such an operation.

Pentagon Rejects Ban on Using Nukes Against Conventional Threats (5:36 p.m.)

Citing burgeoning threats from Russia and China, the Pentagon’s new National Defense Strategy rejects limits on using nuclear weapons long championed by arms control advocates and, in the past, by President Joe Biden.

Read more: Pentagon Rejects Ban on Using Nukes Against Conventional Threats

Ukraine Grain Group Says Exports May Hit 50M Tons, Urges Extension of Deal (3:25 p.m.)

If the safe-transit deal for Black Sea grain exports is renewed, shipments for the current marketing year could reach 50 million tns, the Ukrainian Grain Association said.

The group petitioned the UN to secure an extension beyond November for the agreement, which has seen more than 9 million tons shipped since August from three ports.

If the corridor is suspended, Ukraine will be able to send abroad a maximum of 35 million tns of grains and oilseeds, the group said. Either way, shipments will trail the 62 million tns exported in 2021-22.

Russia Authorizes Drafting Convicts to Fight in Ukraine (2:19 p.m.)

The Russian lower house of parliament has passed a law that allows for drafting convicts to fight in Ukraine, the state news service RIA Novosti reported.

The mechanism excludes prisoners convicted of the most serious crimes, such as terrorism, spying and treason, it said.

Separately, Russia’s Wagner mercenary group has recently been recruiting prisoners to fight in Ukraine, offering them early release.

Kyiv May Face 30% Power Deficit From Repeated Attacks (1:27 p.m.)

Kyiv may face a 30% power supply deficit due to additional heavy Russian strikes on local energy infrastructure on Thursday morning, the capital’s grid operator Yasno said in a Facebook statement. “The damage is serious. Therefore, we have a sharp shortage of energy supply,” the company said.

“Usually, Kyiv consumes 1,000-1,200 MW. Currently, the estimated available capacity is 600-800 MW.” Yasno said upcoming blackouts will be longer and will affect much larger number of consumers than before.

City authorities expect more widespread, stricter limits on power supply in the next days to avoid complete outages.

Putin Told Guinea-Bissau Leader He’s Still Ready for Ukraine Talks (12:20 a.m.)

Russian President Vladimir Putin told his Guinea-Bissau counterpart that his country remains ready for talks with Ukraine, while accusing Kyiv of refusing dialog, the Kremlin said.

Putin accepted an offer by President Umaro Sissoco Embalo to convey this message to Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call. The African leader met with Putin and Zelenskiy on consecutive days this week.

“Russia isn’t changing its position, we’re ready to talk at the table, but it’s a matter now of the complete refusal of Ukraine to negotiate,” Peskov said. Putin has so far refused to meet Zelenskiy. The Ukrainian leader has formally ruled out holding talks with Putin and tied negotiations with a future leader to a withdrawal by Russia from all the territory it’s occupied in Ukraine.

Russian Missile Attacks Become Less Intense, Official Says (11:45 a.m.)

The number of Russian missile attacks has fallen by almost two-thirds since Oct. 19 compared to a previous seven-day period, Ukrainian military spokesman Oleksiy Hromov said in a video briefing Thursday.

Ukrainian forces downed nearly half of the 52 missiles fired by Russia during the latest period, he said, which compares to Russia firing 146 missiles over the previous seven days. Single-use drone attacks declined by a third, with Ukraine shooting down 79% of the 114 drones fired.

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