Russia-Ukraine war live: Putin says ‘ball in EU’s court’ over gas supply; power to Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant restored

Putin says he is ready to supply the EU with gas via Nord Stream 2; head of IAEA says morning power station outage caused by Russian shelling

Serhai Haidai, Ukraine’s governor of Luhansk, has posted an update on Telegram on Ukraine’s military progress in the occupied Luhansk region. He writes:

The armed forces of Ukraine are moving forward little by little. The Russians are shelling our positions mainly with rocket and barrel artillery. The occupiers are building a multi-layer defence line in Luhansk region, the entire first section of the front line is mined by them. Our military has already encountered the first wave of partially mobilised Russians.

The Federal Security Service, together with the Investigative Committee, established that the organiser of the terrorist attack on the Crimean Bridge was the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Defence Ministry, its head Kyrylo Budanov, employees and agents.

Currently, five citizens of Russia, three citizens of Ukraine and Armenia, who participated in the preparation of the crime, have been detained within the framework of the criminal case.

This is Martin Belam taking over the live blog in London. You can contact me at martin.belam@theguardian.com

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Oil pipeline to Germany partly shut after leak found in Poland

Cause of leak in Druzhba line, which supplies oil from Russia, not yet known, says operator

The Druzhba oil pipeline linking Russia and Germany has been partly shut after a leak was discovered in Poland, the Polish operator Pern said on Wednesday.

“The cause of the incident is not known for the moment. Pumping in the affected line was immediately stopped. Line 2 of the pipeline is functioning normally,” the operator said.

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Ukraine crowdfunding raises almost $10m in 24 hours to buy kamikaze drones

Money raised after wave of Russian strikes on Ukrainian cities on Monday will be used to support army

A crowdfunding appeal that was launched after Russian attacks on cities across the country on Monday has raised $9.6m (£8.7m) in 24 hours for the purchase of kamikaze drones for the Ukrainian armed forces.

An initial 50 Ram II drones, unmanned aerial vehicles with a 3kg explosive payload, designed and built by Ukrainian companies, will be bought with the money, along with three control stations.

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Lockdown babies slower to meet some milestones, study finds

Irish research shows infants were slightly less likely to speak, point or wave at 12 months but were more likely to crawl

Babies born during the first lockdown met fewer developmental milestones aged one compared with those born before the pandemic – although they may have been faster to crawl, data suggests.

About 600,000 babies were born in Britain, and a further 60,000 in Ireland, during 2020 – when Covid restrictions and mask wearing put a stop to many social activities, including toddler rhyme-times, antenatal group outings and cuddles with grandparents. Since then, parents and psychologists have pondered the impact of such enforced isolation on babies’ social development.

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Putin ‘totally miscalculated’ Russia’s ability to occupy Ukraine, Biden says

US president tells CNN he believes Putin’s objectives in Ukraine invasion were irrational but that he would not use a nuclear weapon

Joe Biden has said he believes Vladimir Putin is a “rational actor” who badly misjudged his prospects of occupying Ukraine, but does not believe he would resort to using a tactical nuclear weapon.

The US president told CNN on Tuesday that he believed his Russian counterpart had underestimated the ferocity of Ukrainian defiance in the face of invasion.

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Australia is considering offering training to Ukraine troops, Anthony Albanese says

PM conveys condolences for Russia’s ‘horrific’ targeting of civilians in call to Volodymyr Zelenskiy

Anthony Albanese is considering offering training to Ukrainian troops after telling Volodymyr Zelenskiy in a phone call that Australia stands “with the courageous people of Ukraine”.

The Australian defence force would not carry out the training on Ukrainian soil. A number of countries including New Zealand, Sweden and Finland have sent trainers to the UK, where new Ukrainian troops have travelled for training.

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National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine announces UK tour

Biggest tour in orchestra’s history reflects boom in interest in Ukrainian culture since Russian invasion

The National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine (NSOU) has announced its first UK tour in more than 20 years, and the biggest in its history, to reflect venues and audiences’ newfound interest in Ukrainian culture since the Russian invasion.

During the three-week tour the orchestra will play works by Ukrainian composers such as Borys Lyatoshynsky alongside classical greats such as Finland’s Jean Sibelius and Germany’s Richard Strauss across 17 venues in October and November 2023. No Russian music will be played.

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UK trade regulators struggling to cope due to poor Brexit planning, MPs say

Commons committee warns there are still shortages of staff to deal with UK’s new status as a third country

UK regulators are struggling to cope with the post-Brexit trading environment because of “poor preparation and planning”, a House of Commons committee investigation has found.

Almost two years after the UK quit the EU, there are still shortages of vets, toxicologists, lawyers and economists to deal with the UK’s new status as a “third country”, found the public accounts committee report, Regulating After EU Exit.

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Elon Musk denies report he spoke to Putin about use of nuclear weapons

Tesla boss, who recently floated his own peace plan, rejects claim he talked to Russian president about the war in Ukraine

Elon Musk has denied a report that he spoke to Vladimir Putin, including about the potential for using nuclear weapons, before floating a peace plan that suggested that Ukraine cede territory to Russia.

The head of the Eurasia Group political risk consultancy, who made the original claim, had insisted that his source was Musk himself. “Elon Musk told me he had spoken with Putin and the Kremlin directly about Ukraine,” Ian Bremmer said in a tweet after Musk’s tweeted denial. “He also told me what the kremlin’s red lines were.

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G7 leaders warn Putin over use of nuclear weapons; Zelenskiy calls for international mission along Belarus border – as it happened

Leaders warn of ‘severe consequences’; Ukrainian president accuses Russia of trying ‘to directly draw Belarus into this war’

Despite – or because of – yesterday’s missile strikes on several Ukranian cities, people in Lviv, which was among the cities targeted by Russia, went dancing last night.

Wall Street Journal correspondent Matthew Luxmoore posted the below video on Twitter late on Monday night, adding that “Ukranian songs were interspersed tonight with chants of ‘Death to Enemies!’ and ‘Putin is a dick’!’”

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Prominent fascist’s remains to be removed from Spain’s Valley of the Fallen

Family of José Antonio Primo de Rivera act before new legislation designed to honour civil war and dictatorship victims takes effect

The family of José Antonio Primo de Rivera, the founder of Spain’s fascist Falange party, will exhume his remains from the Valley of the Fallen outside Madrid before they are removed under new legislation designed to honour the victims of the civil war and the Franco dictatorship.

Primo de Rivera, who was executed in prison in November 1936, was eventually laid to rest in the valley’s basilica in 1959. The remains of the basilica’s most infamous occupant, Gen Francisco Franco, were removed almost three years ago to end what Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, called “the moral insult that the public glorification of a dictator constitutes”.

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Russia-Ukraine war latest: what we know on day 230 of the invasion

Death toll from Monday’s strikes rises to 19 as Russian continues to attack Ukrainian cities with missiles; GCHQ boss says ‘No signs Russia is preparing to use nuclear weapon’

The death toll from Monday’s Russian missile attacks on a swathe of Ukrainian cities has risen to 19 people, with over 100 wounded, according to figures from the Ukrainian state emergency services.

Strikes continued on Tuesday. An attack on the Lviv region in western Ukraine on Tuesday left parts of the city without electricity. Governor Maksym Kozytskyi has said “At this moment, it is known about three explosions at two energy facilities in the Lviv region”. Mayor of the city, Andriy Sadovyi, appealed to residents to keep water supplies on hand ahead of expected service interruptions.

The Ladyzhyn thermal power plant (LTPP) in the Vinnytsia region was struck on Tuesday morning. Regional head Serhiy Borzov said: “An attack was launched on the LTPP. Two Shahed-136 kamikaze drones.”

There has been a lengthy air raid warning in place all morning in Kyiv, with governor Oleksiy Kuleba claiming that at least one rocket had been shot down.

Valentyn Reznichenko, the governor of Dnipro, has claimed that air defence systems had shot down four missiles over the region. Vitaliy Kim, the governor of Mykolaiv, has said that “there are still missiles in the air” and that Ukraine’s air defences continue to work.

The head of GCHQ has said the UK spy agency has not seen any indicators that Russia is preparing to use a tactical nuclear weapon in or around Ukraine despite recent bellicose statements from Vladimir Putin. Jeremy Fleming, speaking on Tuesday morning, said it was one of GCHQ’s tasks to monitor whether the Kremlin was taking any of the preliminary steps needed before a tactical weapon was being made ready.

Fleming is expected to say in a rare public speech delivered later on Tuesday that Putin is making strategic errors due to unconstrained power. “Far from the inevitable Russian military victory that their propaganda machine spouted, it’s clear that Ukraine’s courageous action on the battlefield and in cyberspace is turning the tide,” Fleming will say. “With little effective internal challenge, Putin’s decision-making has proved flawed”

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No signs Russia is preparing to use nuclear weapon, says GCHQ boss

UK spy chief says Kremlin does not appear to be engaged in preliminary steps despite Putin’s threats

The head of GCHQ has said the UK spy agency has not seen any indicators that Russia is preparing to use a tactical nuclear weapon in or around Ukraine despite recent bellicose statements from Vladimir Putin.

Jeremy Fleming, speaking on Tuesday morning, said it was one of GCHQ’s tasks to monitor whether the Kremlin was taking any of the preliminary steps needed before a tactical weapon was being made ready.

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Tuesday briefing: After Russia retaliates, what might happen next?

In today’s newsletter: Russia responded to an attack on a military supply line with a devastating blitz on civilian targets. Peter Beaumont speaks from Kyiv about defiance, destruction and what to expect

Good morning. On Saturday, Vladimir Putin called a blast at a vital bridge linking Russia and Crimea an “act of terror” carried out by “Ukrainian secret services”; yesterday, the Kremlin took horrifying revenge. The missile and kamikaze drone attacks on Ukrainian cities and key civilian infrastructure were roundly condemned as war crimes; they hit a playground and a tourist bridge, power plants and waterworks. Today, Volodymyr Zelenskiy will tell a virtual G7 summit: “We are dealing with terrorists. They have two targets: energy infrastructure and people.”

If Putin is seeking retribution, he does not appear to be satisfied yet. There were reports of 15 more Russian rockets fired on the city of Zaporizhzhia overnight; Ukraine’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Emine Dzheppar, said they targeted residential buildings and “an educational institution”. There were also reports that a power plant in the southwestern city of Vinnytsia has been shelled. And this morning, air raid sirens are going off in Kyiv again.

Economy | Kwasi Kwarteng will need to find £60bn of savings by 2026 to fill the gap left by tax cuts, new analysis by the Institute of Fiscal Studies suggests. Meanwhile, Liz Truss overruled Kwarteng’s top appointment at the Treasury and handed the role to a veteran Treasury official.

UK news | A nurse poisoned two newborn babies and was the “constant malevolent” presence on a hospital neonatal unit when other infants died or unexpectedly collapsed, a court has been told. Lucy Letby, 32, is accused of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder another 10 between June 2015 and June 2016.

Scotland | Nicola Sturgeon has told the Scottish National party’s annual conference that “we are the independence generation”. Her speech came as the UK supreme court prepared to hear arguments on Tuesday on whether Holyrood can set up an independence referendum without Westminster’s approval.

Iran | The UK has announced sanctions against Iran’s morality police as well as its national chief and the head of its Tehran division, in response to the violent suppression of recent protests over the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in their custody.

Labour | The former shadow minister Sam Tarry has been deselected as an MP after a bitter row in the Ilford South constituency. Tarry, who helped organise Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership campaign, was defeated by local council leader Jas Athwal, a close ally of neighbouring MP and shadow cabinet minister Wes Streeting.

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Jürgen Wittdorf: Berlin gallery revives homoerotic art of communist era

In what would have been artist’s 90th year, first retrospective at Biesdorf Palace has been a surprise success

Seven men wash the sweat off their toned bodies in a communal shower. Unless you squint and mistake a tightly gripped bar of soap for something else, their limbs are suspended in tantalising proximity but never quite touch.

The German artist Jürgen Wittdorf’s 1963 linocut print, from a series titled Youth and Sport, may look like something out of a top-shelf graphic novel or the virile drawings of the gay liberation icon Tom of Finland.

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Russia-Ukraine war live: US and UN condemn brutality and escalation after deadly wave of missile strikes across Ukraine

Biden deplores Putin’s ‘utter brutality’ while Guterres ‘deeply shocked’ by Russia’s most widespread air strikes since start of invasion

Meanwhile, a series of images shared by Zaporizhzhia’s administrative head Anatoly Kurtev shows the aftermath of the overnight missile attack.

A series of blasts have rocked Ukraine’s capital of Kyiv, according to local media reports and regional officials.

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GCHQ head: Putin making strategic errors due to unconstrained power

British spy agency director to say in rare public address that Ukraine is ‘turning the tide’ against Russia

Vladimir Putin has made strategic errors in his pursuit of the war in Ukraine partly because there are so few restraints on his leadership, the head of the British spy agency GCHQ will say in a speech on Tuesday.

Russia’s soldiers are running out of supplies and munitions and initial gains made by Moscow are being reversed, Jeremy Fleming is expected to add in a rare public address.

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Ukraine to demand step-change in western aid after Russian missile blitz

Kyiv presses military and diplomatic wishlist as French president sees ‘profound change in nature of this war’

Volodymyr Zelenskiy will address G7 leaders on Tuesday to demand a significant increase in their military and diplomatic support after the biggest Russian missile attack on Ukrainian cities since the start of the war.

The French president, Emmanuel Macron, described the attack, in which cruise missiles and armed drones rained down on parks, playgrounds, power stations and other civilian targets, as “a profound change in the nature of this war”.

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‘This only unites us’: defiance as deadly strikes bring war back to Kyiv

Series of missiles shatter several months of calm but normal life quickly returns amid the destruction

Shevchenko Park in central Kyiv is a tranquil public garden, where the trees are turning golden against the city’s blue, autumnal skies. Presiding over the park is a statue of Taras Shevchenko, Ukraine’s national poet, persecuted by the Russians in the 19th century for writing in Ukrainian.

But on Monday that sense of calm was violently shattered when a series of missiles hit the city centre. War had returned to what had been, for several months, a mostly peaceful – if anxious – city.

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