Volodymyr Zelenskiy says Ukraine is preparing for renewed Russian attacks on its energy infrastructure ahead of winter; Russia claims to have conducted a simulated nuclear strike

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Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said Ukraine is preparing for renewed Russian attacks on its energy infrastructure ahead of the second winter of Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion of the country – and that the country is ready to counterattack if targeted. “We are preparing for terrorist attacks on our energy infrastructure,” Zelenskiy said. “This year we will not only defend ourselves, but also respond.”

Russia claims it has tested its ability to deliver a retaliatory nuclear strike in an exercise involving the launch of missiles by land, sea and air. News of the exercise was delivered on Russian state TV by the defence minister, Sergei Shoigu.

The exercise followed Russia’s parliament completing the passing of a law that withdraws Moscow’s ratification of the global treaty banning nuclear weapons tests. Russia’s upper house, the Federation Council, approved the law by 156 votes to zero earlier today after the lower house, the Duma, had also passed it unanimously. Russia says it is revoking its withdrawal of the treaty only to bring itself in line with the US, which signed but never ratified the same document.

Russia’s military claimed on Wednesday that its air defence forces had shot down two long-range US-made ATACM missiles fired by Ukraine at Russian targets in what state media said was the first downing of its kind. Russia’s defence ministry reported the interception in one of its regular updates on the war in Ukraine, something Moscow still calls “a special military operation.” It did not provide further details. The Reuters news agency was unable to independently verify Moscow’s claim and there was no immediate comment from Kyiv or Washington.

A drone attack by Russia near Ukraine’s Khmelnytskyi nuclear power plant temporarily cut power to some off-site radiation monitoring stations, the International Atomic Energy Agency said. “This incident again underlines the extremely precarious nuclear safety situation in Ukraine,” said the IAEA’s director general, Rafael Mariano Grossi.

In his nightly address, Zelenskiy accused Russia of targeting the power plant. “It is most likely that the target for these drones was the Khmelnytskyi nuclear power station. The shockwave from the explosion shattered windows, including on the nuclear power station’s premises,” he said.

The attack involved 11 Shahed drones and injured 16 people according to local authorities. Power lines were also damaged, with two towns close to the nuclear power plant, Netishyn and Slavuta, facing power cuts. Ukraine’s air force said it stopped all the drones that were launched.

Russian forces are disregarding heavy losses and pressing on with a drive to capture the eastern city of Avdiivka, Ukrainian officials have claimed. “The enemy is trying to move forward and then we beat them back,” Oleksandr Shtupun, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s southern groups of forces, said on national TV. Russia has focused on the eastern Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk since failing in its initial drive on the capital Kyiv after mounting its invasion in February 2022.

Ukraine said it was aiming to increase domestic manufacture of its own drones, producing tens of thousands every month by the end of the year. Kyiv has relied heavily on foreign-made drones in the war so far, but is looking to ramp up its output despite the challenge posed by Russia’s invasion.

Volodymyr Zelenskiy says it is a ‘question of time’ before Ukraine regains control over Crimea; Russian forces continue pounding eastern Ukrainian city of Avdiivka

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Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, vowed to maintain military pressure on Russian-occupied Crimea. “We have not yet gained full fire control over Crimea and surrounding waters, but we will,” Zelenskiy told a meeting of the Crimea Platform, a diplomatic initiative he launched in 2021. “This is a question of time.”

Russian forces continued to pound the eastern Ukrainian city of Avdiivka on Tuesday, Ukrainian officials are quoted as saying. Heavy losses forced Russia to switch to air attacks instead of ground advances, they claimed.

Two civilians have been killed in an artillery strike on a village near Kupiansk, Kharkiv’s regional governor, Oleh Synehub, has said. Russian forces have reportedly been attacking further north in the area of Kupiansk – a town initially seized by Russia after the invasion but recaptured by Ukraine last year.

Russian has claimed successful artillery and air strikes near Bakhmut - a town to the north-east captured by Russian forces in May after months of battles. Reuters says it could not independently verify accounts of battlefield activity on either side.

Australia says it’s sending a 3D metal printer and anti-drone systems to Ukraine as part of a A$20m ($12.8m )military assistance package. Prime minister Anthony Albanese is quoted as saying “Australia remains steadfast in supporting Ukraine to defend itself against Russia’s illegal and immoral invasion”. It takes the country’s total aid to about A$910m ($582m) since Russia invaded. It is understood the Australian Prime Minister will discuss the Ukraine confclit with Joe Biden during his state visit to the US.

Moldova blocked access to more than 20 Russian media websites on Tuesday, saying they had been used as part of an information war against the country. A decree published online by Moldova’s Intelligence and Security Service listed 22 Russian news resources to be blocked, including prominent ones such as Russia Today, NTV, Ren TV, state media holding VGTRK and others. The Russian foreign ministry is quoted as saying the move is a “hostile step” aimed at denying Moldovans access to alternative news sources. Moldova restricted TV broadcasts of Russia-produced news, analytical and military-related content in June 2022 following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

Joe Biden’s request for Ukraine aid remains in limbo, as US House Republicans continue to struggle to elect a speaker.

Ukraine has set up a joint defence venture with German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall AG to service and repair western weapons sent to help Kyiv against Russia’s full-scale invasion, officials said.

Ukraine expects Germany to provide it with an additional €1.4bn to enhance its air defences and help it get through a second winter at war with Russia, Ukraine’s prime minister, Denys Shmyhal, said.

The EU is on track towards its goal of ending its reliance on Russian fossil fuels within this decade, the European Commission said.

Two people died and others were injured in Russian shelling of Kherson, the local governor claimed.

Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, met the Iranian president, Ebrahim Raisi, in Tehran earlier. Russia and Iran were firming up bilateral relations in a “trusting” atmosphere, Russia’s foreign ministry said early on Tuesday.