Moscow has said that if the US resume nuclear weapons testing it will do so too, sparking fears of a renewed arms race.
The remarks by a Kremlin official on Thursday came after Donald Trump said he had ordered the US military to resume testing “immediately”.
Trump made the announcement after Vladimir Putin announced a successful test of a Poseidon nuclear-powered submarine torpedo which experts have warned is capable of causing a “radioactive tsunami”. The Russian president said the test of the weapon had been a “great success”, in a move that came days after Trump described Moscow’s test of a nuclear missile as a mistake.
There are few confirmed details about the Poseidon in the public domain but experts say it is capable of triggering radioactive ocean swells to render coastal cities uninhabitable, according to the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists.
Putin last week held a nuclear launch drill and on Sunday announced that Russia has successfully tested its nuclear-powered Burevestnik cruise missile, a nuclear-capable weapon Moscow says can pierce any defence shield.
Key Points
- Trump given stark warnings over his nuclear testing plan
- UN secretary-general says 'nuclear testing can never be permitted'
- Child among seven killed in Russian attacks on Ukraine's energy grid
- How Putin is provoking Ukraine’s European allies over land, air and sea
Mapped: A look at Russia's violations and drone incursions across Europe
08:05 , Arpan RaiTrump-Putin summit cancelled after Moscow sent memo to Washington – report
07:50 , Arpan RaiThe United States has cancelled a planned Budapest summit between president Donald Trump and Russian president Vladimir Putin following Russia's firm stance on hardline demands regarding Ukraine, the Financial Times reported today.
The decision came after a tense call between the two countries' top diplomats, the Financial Times said.
The intended summit between Trump and Putin was put on hold on last week after Moscow refused to budge on its red lines for ending the war in Ukraine.
Trump said on Tuesday that he did not want to have a "wasted meeting" with Putin after officials concluded that the gap between the two sides was two big to begin negotiations.
Russia says drones hit power plant's pipeline in western Oryol
07:36 , Arpan RaiRussian western city of Oryol is restricting supply of heat and hot water after Ukrainian drones hit a pipeline at a local power plant today, local authorities said.
"It will be necessary to limit the heat and hot water supply to buildings in the Sovetsky, Zheleznodorozhny and Severny districts of the city of Oryol," the governor of the Oryol region, Andrey Klychkov, wrote on social media.
Both Ukraine and Russia have intensified attacks on each other's energy infrastructure in the past several weeks as peace talks hit a dead end.
Separately, Russia's defence ministry said its forces shot down 130 Ukrainian drones overnight, mainly over the western regions as well as the Yaroslavl and Moscow regions.
Local authorities also said infrastructure was hit near the city of Vladimir, while a kindergarten in Yaroslavl, some 280 km (175 miles) northeast of Moscow, has been closed following a drone attack.
In photos: Firefighters extinguish blaze caused by Russian attacks overnight in Sumy
07:25 , Arpan Rai
Russia says peace talks with Japan only possible if Tokyo abandons 'anti-Russian course'
07:04 , Arpan RaiAny dialogue from Russia with Japan regarding a peace treaty to formally end the Second World War could only begin once Tokyo abandoned what Moscow described as a damaging "anti-Russian" stance.
Soviet troops took control of four islands off Japan's Hokkaido - known in Russia as the Kurils and in Japan as the Northern Territories - at the end of the war and they have remained in Moscow's hands ever since.
Japan's new prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, in a speech last week, scolded Russia for its "aggression against Ukraine" but also said that Japan maintains "its policy of resolving the territorial issue and concluding a peace treaty”.
Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said she had not seen anything new in the remarks by Takaichi, and that for any progress Tokyo would have to change its tone.
"We have repeatedly stated before that the path to resuming dialogue with Japan will open only after Tokyo actively abandons its anti-Russian course aimed at harming our country and its citizens," Zakharova told reporters when asked by Reuters about the prospects for a peace deal.
Zakharova said Tokyo's "unfriendly" policy towards Russia had led relations towards a deadend.
"This unfriendly deadend approach was chosen by the Japanese side, not by us," Zakharova added.
Watch: Two dead in Russian attack on power station in Sloviansk, says Zelensky
06:55 , Arpan RaiRussia attack injures 11, including four children, in Sumy
06:40 , Arpan RaiRussia launched an overnight attack on the northeastern Ukrainian city of Sumy, injuring 11 residents, including four children, Ukraine's emergency services said this morning.
The Sumy region borders Russia and has been under constant attack from both drones and missiles.
The emergency services said Russia had struck a residential multi-storey building, private houses and infrastructure facilities.
Local governor Ihor Kalchenko said Russia had attacked the railway depot, destroying several carriages and damaging buildings.
Russia says drones hit power plant's pipeline in western Oryol
06:27 , Arpan RaiRussian western city of Oryol is restricting supply of heat and hot water after Ukrainian drones hit a pipeline at a local power plant today, local authorities said.
"It will be necessary to limit the heat and hot water supply to buildings in the Sovetsky, Zheleznodorozhny and Severny districts of the city of Oryol," the governor of the Oryol region, Andrey Klychkov, wrote on social media.
Both Ukraine and Russia have intensified attacks on each other's energy infrastructure in the past several weeks as peace talks hit a dead end.
Separately, Russia's defence ministry said its forces shot down 130 Ukrainian drones overnight, mainly over the western regions as well as the Yaroslavl and Moscow regions.
Local authorities also said infrastructure was hit near the city of Vladimir, while a kindergarten in Yaroslavl, some 280 km (175 miles) northeast of Moscow, has been closed following a drone attack.
Russia downs 130 Ukrainian drones overnight
06:00 , Arpan RaiRussian forces shot down 130 Ukrainian drones over Russian regions overnight, the country’s defence ministry said.
While most the Ukrainian drones targeted the bordering regions, one drone was also downed in the capital city Moscow.
The Nuclear Club: The 9 countries armed with nukes as US set to resume weapons testing
05:43 , Arpan RaiThe US is to resume nuclear weapons testing “immediately”, Donald Trump has announced, raising fears of renewed proliferation between the world’s two biggest stockpiles of atomic weaponry.
The American president has outwardly pursued a rapprochement in US-Russian relations since returning to the White House in January, but continued provocations from Moscow have pressed Washington to change its stance.
Between them, Russia and the US maintain 87 per cent of the world’s total inventory of nuclear weapons, a hangover from the arms race of the Cold War. Many are earmarked for disassembly, though remain relatively intact.
Of the 9,614 warheads believed to be in military stockpiles around the world today, around 2,100 US, Russian, British and French warheads are on high alert and ready for use on short notice, according to the US think tank the Federation of American Scientists.
The 9 countries with nuclear weapons as US set to resume testing after 30 years
Trump-Putin summit cancelled after Moscow sent memo to Washington – report
05:41 , Arpan RaiThe United States has cancelled a planned Budapest summit between president Donald Trump and Russian president Vladimir Putin following Russia's firm stance on hardline demands regarding Ukraine, the Financial Times reported today.
The decision came after a tense call between the two countries' top diplomats, the Financial Times said.
The intended summit between Trump and Putin was put on hold on last week after Moscow refused to budge on its red lines for ending the war in Ukraine.
Trump said on Tuesday that he did not want to have a "wasted meeting" with Putin after officials concluded that the gap between the two sides was two big to begin negotiations.
Kremlin responds to Trump's nuclear testing plans
05:19 , Arpan RaiThe Kremlin has reacted cautiously to Donald Trump's remarks about the resumption of nuclear weapons testing by the United States, saying that Russia had not tested but that Moscow would follow suit if Washington did.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov responded to a question about Trump’s remarks and whether it marked the start of a new arms race between Russia and the US.
"Still no," he said.
"Trump mentioned in his statement that other countries are allegedly testing nuclear weapons... If the Burevestnik test is somehow meant, then it is not a nuclear test,” Peskov said.
Trump ordered the US military yesterday to immediately resume testing nuclear weapons after a gap of 33 years, minutes before beginning a meeting with Chinese president Xi Jinping.
“President Trump mentioned in his statement that other countries are engaged in testing nuclear weapons. Until now, we didn't know that anyone was testing,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
Russia, he said, had received no prior notification from the United States about a change to Washington's position on nuclear testing.
Ukraine bolsters Pokrovsk defences as Russia sends troops 'non-stop'
04:44 , Arpan RaiUkraine is intensifying efforts to defend the strategic hub of Pokrovsk, aiming to secure supply and evacuation routes and root out Russian infantry infiltrating the city, the country’s top army commander said.
Russia's army has been inching towards Pokrovsk in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region for more than a year.
Ukraine's army chief Oleksandr Syrskyi visited his troops in the area as Russia, almost four years into its invasion of Ukraine, increased its assaults.
"The enemy infantry, avoiding combat, is gathering in urban areas and changing locations, so the primary task is to locate and destroy them," Syrskyi said on his Telegram channel.
Ukraine was taking steps to "strengthen the stability of defences" in the city and protect supply and evacuation routes, Syrskyi said.
According to Ukraine's military, at least 200 Russian military personnel have entered the city as small-arms firefights raged in the former logistics hub.
Taking Pokrovsk could enable advances in the Donetsk region, which Russia aims to fully occupy, and the neighbouring Dnipropetrovsk region, said Oleksandr Kovalenko, a Ukrainian military analyst.
Russia was sending groups of three to four soldiers "non-stop," Kovalenko said.
Watch: Putin claims successful test of nuclear-capable Poseidon torpedo
04:23 , Arpan RaiKremlin says it will test nuclear weapons too if US resumes programme
04:13 , Arpan RaiThe Kremlin has reacted cautiously to Donald Trump's remarks about the resumption of nuclear weapons testing by the United States, saying that Russia had not tested but that Moscow would follow suit if Washington did.
Trump ordered the US military yesterday to immediately resume testing nuclear weapons after a gap of 33 years, minutes before beginning a meeting with Chinese president Xi Jinping.
“President Trump mentioned in his statement that other countries are engaged in testing nuclear weapons. Until now, we didn't know that anyone was testing,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
Russia, he said, had received no prior notification from the United States about a change to Washington's position on nuclear testing.
Asked if the Kremlin felt that a new nuclear arms race had been triggered by Trump's remarks, Peskov said: “Not really.”
Putin, who commands the world's biggest nuclear arsenal, has repeatedly said that if any country tests a nuclear weapon then Russia will do so too.
“I want to recall President Putin's statement, which has been repeated many times: if someone departs from the moratorium, Russia will act accordingly,” Peskov added.
Russia says peace talks with Japan only possible if Tokyo abandons 'anti-Russian course'
04:12 , Arpan RaiAny dialogue from Russia with Japan regarding a peace treaty to formally end the Second World War could only begin once Tokyo abandoned what Moscow described as a damaging "anti-Russian" stance.
Soviet troops took control of four islands off Japan's Hokkaido - known in Russia as the Kurils and in Japan as the Northern Territories - at the end of the war and they have remained in Moscow's hands ever since.
Japan's new prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, in a speech last week, scolded Russia for its "aggression against Ukraine" but also said that Japan maintains "its policy of resolving the territorial issue and concluding a peace treaty”.
Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said she had not seen anything new in the remarks by Takaichi, and that for any progress Tokyo would have to change its tone.
"We have repeatedly stated before that the path to resuming dialogue with Japan will open only after Tokyo actively abandons its anti-Russian course aimed at harming our country and its citizens," Zakharova told reporters when asked by Reuters about the prospects for a peace deal.
Zakharova said Tokyo's "unfriendly" policy towards Russia had led relations towards a deadend.
"This unfriendly deadend approach was chosen by the Japanese side, not by us," Zakharova added.
Ukraine announces limits on power supply as winter attacks begin
03:38 , Arpan RaiThe power supply will be limited in parts of Ukraine as Russian attacks hit energy facilities in central, western, and southeastern regions, Ukrainian officials said.
The government announced nationwide limits on electricity supplies to retail and industrial consumers. In some regions, water supplies and heating were also disrupted.
Regional officials said two energy facilities in the western Lviv region had been damaged. DTEK, Ukraine's largest private energy company, said its thermal power stations in a number of regions were under attack.
"(T)his attack is a bad blow to our efforts to keep power flowing this winter," said Maxim Timchenko, DTEK's CEO.
"Based on the intensity of attacks for the past two months, it is clear Russia is aiming for the complete destruction of Ukraine's energy system."
Six children were among the 17 people wounded in strikes on Zaporizhzhia, its governor said. Four people were injured in the Vinnytsia region, officials said.
Mapped: A look at Russia's violations and drone incursions across Europe
03:22 , Arpan RaiChild among seven killed in Russian attacks on Ukraine's energy grid
03:17 , Arpan RaiAt least seven people, including a seven-year-old girl, was injured after Russia launched a barrage of drones and missiles at Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and other targets yesterday, officials said.
Regional officials said two men were killed in the southeastern industrial city of Zaporizhzhia, and a seven-year-old girl from the central Vinnytsia region died in hospital from injuries sustained in the attacks.
The regional governor said a later drone strike on a village south of Zaporizhzhia killed one person and injured another.
Ukrainian prime minister Yulia Svyrydenko accused Moscow of targeting Ukrainian people and power supplies as the cold winter months approach.
“Its goal is to plunge Ukraine into darkness. Ours is to preserve the light," Svyrydenko said on the Telegram app. "To stop the terror, we need more air defence systems, tougher sanctions, and maximum pressure on the aggressor,” she said.
From airspace violations to drone incursions: How Putin is provoking Ukraine’s European allies over land, air and sea
03:04 , Arpan RaiEurope’s Nato allies have been shaken by Russian provocations on the bloc’s eastern frontier in recent months, reporting a string of drone incursions and scrambling jets to shadow aircraft flying over the Baltic.
Concern has mounted since September, when nearly two dozen drones crossed over into Poland amid a large-scale Russian drone attack on Ukraine. Days later, three Russian military jets violated Estonia’s airspace for 12 minutes.
Subsequent activity near the border has forced European countries to close airports and borders, and to reconsider how equipped they are to deal with foreign intrusions.
Analysts say that Russia is deliberately provoking Nato to see how it reacts, gathering information that might be useful when it decides the time is right to make a move against an alliance member.
Airspace violations and drone incursions: How Putin is provoking Ukraine’s allies
Trump given stark warnings over his nuclear testing plan
02:00 , Harriette BoucherTrump’s decision to resume nuclear weapons tests in the US is facing domestic criticism - and a stark warning it could lead to escalation.
Representative Dina Titus, a Democratic member of the U.S. Congress from Nevada, condemned the move, saying on X: “I'll be introducing legislation to put a stop to this.”
Daryl Kimball, director of the Arms Control Association think tank, said it would take the US at least 36 months to resume contained nuclear tests underground at the former test site in Nevada.
“Trump is misinformed and out of touch. The US has no technical, military or political reason to resume nuclear explosive testing for the first time since 1992," he said on X.
Trump's announcement, he added, could “trigger a chain reaction of nuclear testing by US adversaries, and blow apart the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.”
Everything we know about Putin’s new nuclear-armed underwater drone Poseidon
01:00 , Harriette BoucherPresident Vladimir Putin says Russia has conducted a successful test of a new atomic-powered and nuclear-capable underwater drone, declaring that the new weapon can't be intercepted.
Speaking at a meeting with soldiers wounded in Ukraine, Putin said the Poseidon drone was tested while running on nuclear power for the first time Tuesday, describing it as a “huge success.”
He said Poseidon is unmatched in speed and depth and “there is no way to intercept it.”
He said the nuclear reactor that powers Poseidon is “100 times smaller” than those on submarines, and the power of its nuclear warhead is “significantly higher than that of our prospective Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile”.
Read more here:
Putin says Russia's nuclear-armed underwater drone was tested successfully
Trump could 'trigger a chain reaction', says arms control director
00:00 , Harriette BoucherDaryl Kimball, the executive director of the Washington-based Arms Control Association, called Trump “misinformed and out of touch” after he announced that the US would be testing nuclear weapons.
“By foolishly announcing his intention to resume nuclear testing, Trump will trigger strong public opposition in Nevada, from all U.S. allies, and it could trigger a chain reaction of nuclear testing by U.S. adversaries, and blow apart the nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.
UN secretary-general says 'nuclear testing can never be permitted'
Thursday 30 October 2025 23:00 , Harriette BoucherThe United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres attacked Trump's order to the US military to test nuclear weapons, saying the “current nuclear risks are already alarmingly high."
"We must never forget the disastrous legacy of over 2,000 nuclear weapons tests carried out over the last 80 years.
"Nuclear testing can never be permitted under any circumstances."
Russian attack on energy system kills six people, including seven-year-old girl
Thursday 30 October 2025 22:38 , Harriette BoucherRussia has killed six people, including a seven-year-old girl, in its latest round of attacks on Ukraine’s energy system.
Regional officials said two men were killed in the southeastern industrial city of Zaporizhzhia, and a seven-year-old girl from the central Vinnytsia region died in hospital from injuries sustained in the attacks.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address that a bomb attack on a thermal power plant in Slovyansk killed two people and injured several others.
Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko has accused Moscow of targeting Ukrainian people and power supplies as the cold winter months approach.
Svyrydenko said: "Its goal is to plunge Ukraine into darkness. Ours is to preserve the light.
"To stop the terror, we need more air defence systems, tougher sanctions, and maximum pressure on the aggressor."
How many nuclear weapons are there in the world and who has the most?
Thursday 30 October 2025 22:00 , Harriette BoucherThe United States is to resume nuclear weapons testing “immediately”, Donald Trump has announced, raising fears of renewed proliferation between the world’s two biggest stockpiles of atomic weaponry.
James C Reynolds and Maryam Zakir-Hussain look at what countries are armed with nuclear weapons:
The 9 countries with nuclear weapons as US set to resume testing after 30 years
Watch: Vance brags about his Oval Office ambush on Zelensky
Thursday 30 October 2025 20:50 , Harriette BoucherUS nuclear weapons test a 'reckless decision', says US senator
Thursday 30 October 2025 19:45 , Harriette BoucherMassachusetts Senator Ed Markey has condemned Trump’s decision to test nuclear weapons, calling it a “reckless decision”.
“Donald Trump just directed the Pentagon to test nuclear weapons before meeting with China,” he said in a post on X.
“The US has not conducted a nuclear test since 1992 and we must not resume. This is a reckless decision that will only make us less safe and lead to a new nuclear arms race.”
When was the last time the US tested nuclear weapons?
Thursday 30 October 2025 18:45 , Harriette BoucherDonald Trump ordered the US military on Thursday to immediately resume testing nuclear weapons after a gap of 33 years.
Although the US military regularly tests its missiles, it has not detonated the weapons since 1992.
The Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, which the US signed but did not ratify, has been observed since its adoption by all countries with nuclear weapons, other than North Korea.
Trump said the changes are necessary as other countries were testing weapons.
Ukrainian PM accuses Moscow of 'systematic energy terror'
Thursday 30 October 2025 17:45 , Sam RkainaThe latest in a sustained Russian campaign of massive drone and missile attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure brought power outages and restrictions in all the country's regions Thursday, officials said.
The Ukrainian prime minister describing Moscow's tactic as “systematic energy terror.”
Ukrainian cities use centralised public infrastructure to run water, sewage and heating systems, and blackouts stop them from working.
Months of attacks have aimed to erode Ukrainian morale as well as disrupt weapons manufacturing and other war-related activity almost four years after Russia's full-scale invasion of its neighbor.
“Russia continues its systematic energy terror — striking at the lives, dignity, and warmth of Ukrainians on the eve of winter.
“Its goal is to plunge Ukraine into darkness; ours is to keep the light on,” Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said.
Moscow will only hold peace talks with Japan if it 'ends anti-Russian stance'
Thursday 30 October 2025 17:05 , Sam RkainaRussia has said any dialogue with Japan regarding a peace treaty to formally end World War 2 can only begin once Tokyo abandoned what Moscow described as a damaging "anti-Russian" stance.
Japan's new prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, scolded Russia for its “aggression against Ukraine” in a speech last week but also said that Japan maintains “its policy of resolving the territorial issue and concluding a peace treaty.”
Soviet troops took control of four islands off Japan's Hokkaido at the end of the war and they have remained in Moscow's hands ever since.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday she had not seen anything new in the remarks by Takaichi, and that for any progress Tokyo would have to change its tone.
“We have repeatedly stated before that the path to resuming dialogue with Japan will open only after Tokyo actively abandons its anti-Russian course aimed at harming our country and its citizens,” Zakharova said.
Trump given stark warnings over his nuclear testing plan
Thursday 30 October 2025 16:34 , Sam RkainaTrump’s decision to resume nuclear weapons tests in the US is facing domestic criticism - and a stark warning it could lead to escalation.
Representative Dina Titus, a Democratic member of the U.S. Congress from Nevada, condemned the move, saying on X: “I'll be introducing legislation to put a stop to this.”
Daryl Kimball, director of the Arms Control Association think tank, said it would take the US at least 36 months to resume contained nuclear tests underground at the former test site in Nevada.
“Trump is misinformed and out of touch. The US has no technical, military or political reason to resume nuclear explosive testing for the first time since 1992," he said on X.
Trump's announcement, he added, could “trigger a chain reaction of nuclear testing by US adversaries, and blow apart the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.”
How Putin is provoking Ukraine’s European allies over land, air and sea
Thursday 30 October 2025 15:59 , Sam RkainaEurope’s NATO allies have been shaken by Russian provocations on the bloc’s eastern frontier in recent months, reporting a string of drone incursions and scrambling jets to shadow aircraft flying over the Baltic.
Concern has mounted since September, when nearly two dozen drones crossed over into Poland amid a large-scale Russian drone attack on Ukraine.
Days later, three Russian military jets violated Estonia’s airspace for 12 minutes.
Subsequent activity near the border has forced European countries to close airports and borders, and to reconsider how equipped they are to deal with foreign intrusions.
Click here for more on how Putin has been provoking Ukraine’s allies over land, air and sea.
Russian plane had its transponder turned off
Thursday 30 October 2025 15:25 , Sam RkainaThe Polish Army Operational Command later described the incident on social media platform X.
“On October 30, 2025, before 9.00 a.m., the on-duty pair of MiG-29 fighters of the (Polish) Air Force carried out another interception this week of a Russian Federation reconnaissance aircraft Il-20 conducting a flight over the Baltic Sea,” it said.
“The aircraft, flying in international airspace without a filed flight plan and with its transponder turned off, was intercepted, identified, and escorted out of the area of responsibility. There was no violation of Polish airspace.”
Countries on NATO's eastern flank have been on high alert for potential airspace incursions since September when three Russian military jets violated Estonia's airspace for 12 minutes, days after more than 20 Russian drones had entered Polish airspace.
More on the Polish aircraft incident
Thursday 30 October 2025 14:55 , Sam RkainaPolish MiG-29 fighter aircraft intercepted a Russian reconnaissance plane over the Baltic Sea on Thursday in the second such incident this week, Polish Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said.
Poland's army said on Wednesday that Polish jets had intercepted a Russian aircraft flying a reconnaissance mission in international airspace over the Baltic Sea on Tuesday.
“Today MiG-29s intercepted a Russian reconnaissance plane over the Baltic Sea,” Kosiniak-Kamysz said, describing it as just like the incident on Tuesday.
Russia's year long crawl towards Pokrovsk
Thursday 30 October 2025 14:25 , Sam RkainaRussia has been inching towards Pokrovsk in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region for more than a year, slowly but steadily taking control of the small villages to its south.
On Sunday, Ukraine's general staff said that at least 200 Russian military personnel entered the city in separate groups as small-arms firefights raged in the former logistics hub.
Ukraine was taking steps to “strengthen the stability of defences” in the city and aimed at bolstering its logistics by improving defence of supply and evacuation routes, Syrskyi said.
“The main priority is to save the lives of our soldiers,” he said. Logistics for the city were complicated due to Russia's FPV drones “but possible”, Ukraine's 7th Rapid Response Corps operating in the area said in a statement on Facebook.
The brigade added that Russia mostly used infantry to attack Pokrovsk, but also deployed armed vehicles to advance on Myrnohrad, around 4 miles to the northeast.
Ukraine bolsters Pokrovsk defences as Russia escalates assaults
Thursday 30 October 2025 13:59 , Sam RkainaUkraine is intensifying its efforts to defend the strategic hub of Pokrovsk, aiming to secure key supply and evacuation routes and root out Russian infantry infiltrating the city, the top army commander said on Thursday.
Oleksandr Syrskyi said he visited the area to meet his troops as Russia - almost four years into its invasion of Ukraine - continued to increase its assaults.
He dismissed Moscow's assertion that its forces had trapped the Ukrainian troops inside the eastern stronghold.
“The enemy infantry, avoiding combat, is gathering in urban areas and changing locations, so the primary task is to locate and destroy them,” Syrskyi said on the Telegram app.
Which country has the most nuclear weapons?
Thursday 30 October 2025 13:30 , Sam RkainaWith nuclear sabre-rattling from both Trump and Putin, there is renewed focus on number of such weapons around the world.
There are nine countries that possess nuclear weapons, and although they don’t generally give confirmed figures on how many there are widely reported estimates.
Despite Trump’s claims that the US has the largest number, it is believed Russia has the highest number of nuclear weapons though Moscow’s lack of transparency makes this difficult to confirm.
For more on the so-called ‘Nuclear Club’, click here.
Ukraine gives more details on casualties from latest Russian attack
Thursday 30 October 2025 12:59 , Sam RkainaSix children were among the 17 people wounded in strikes on Zaporizhzhia, its governor said.
Four people were injured in the Vinnystia region, officials said. Air alerts lasted for nearly the entire night in Kyiv, where residents took shelter in deep underground metro stations.
“There's nothing good in it. We are doing our best to hide,” Viktoria, 39, mother of a six-year-old boy, told Reuters at a metro station.
“There's a lot of stress involved. When you wake your child in the middle of the night, he cries because he doesn't understand why he has to do it.”
Trump downplays the threat of nuclear escalation
Thursday 30 October 2025 12:28 , Sam RkainaPresident Donald Trump downplayed the resumption of U.S. nuclear testing for the first time in more than three decades by pointing to other countries who are doing the same.
In a Truth Social post Thursday, the president said he directed the Pentagon to “immediately” testing nuclear weapons “on an equal basis” with other countries with nuclear powers.
Trump wrote the post just before his meeting with China’s President Xi Jinping.
After the meeting, on his way back to Washington, DC on Air Force One, reporters asked him what prompted the decision.
"With others doing testing, I think it's appropriate that we do also," the U.S. president told reporters. “We have more nuclear weapons than anybody. We don’t do testing—halted it many years ago. With others doing testing, I think it’s appropriate that we do testing also.”
When pressed as to when the nuclear testing would begin, Trump said the timing would “be announced.”
Kremlin says it will test nuclear weapons too if US resumes programme
Thursday 30 October 2025 12:02 , Sam RkainaThe Kremlin has reacted cautiously to Donald Trump's remarks about the resumption of nuclear weapons testing by the United States, saying that Russia had not tested but that Moscow would follow suit if Washington did.
Trump ordered the U.S. military on Thursday to immediately resume testing nuclear weapons after a gap of 33 years, minutes before beginning a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
“President Trump mentioned in his statement that other countries are engaged in testing nuclear weapons. Until now, we didn't know that anyone was testing,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
Russia, he said, had received no prior notification from the United States about a change to Washington's position on nuclear testing.
Asked if the Kremlin felt that a new nuclear arms race had been triggered by Trump's remarks, Peskov said: “Not really.”
Putin, who commands the world's biggest nuclear arsenal, has repeatedly said that if any country tests a nuclear weapon then Russia will do so too.
“I want to recall President Putin's statement, which has been repeated many times: if someone departs from the moratorium, Russia will act accordingly,” Peskov added.
Russia launched nearly 600 drones in latest attack
Thursday 30 October 2025 11:50 , Sam RkainaUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia launched more than 650 drones and 50 missiles overnight.
“Many were shot down, but unfortunately, there have been hits,” he wrote on X.
Air defence units shot down 592 drones and 31 missiles, the air force added. The attacks hit energy facilities in central, western, and southeastern regions, Ukrainian officials said.
Seven year old girl among three killed in overnight Russian drone strike
Thursday 30 October 2025 11:22 , Sam RkainaRussia launched a barrage of drones and missiles at Ukraine's energy infrastructure overnight, forcing nationwide power restrictions and killing three people, including a seven-year-old girl, officials said on Thursday.
Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko accused Moscow of targeting Ukrainian people and power supplies as the cold winter months approached.
“Its goal is to plunge Ukraine into darkness. Ours is to preserve the light,” Svyrydenko said on the Telegram app.
“To stop the terror, we need more air defence systems, tougher sanctions, and maximum pressure on the aggressor.”
British military instructor accused of spying for Russia arrested in Ukraine
Thursday 30 October 2025 10:15 , Arpan RaiA British national accused of spying for Russia in Ukraine and preparing to carry out terrorist attacks has been arrested, Ukrainian prosecutors said on Wednesday.
Ukrainian officials alleged that the man, who they did not name, collaborated with Russia’s special services and agreed to sell military information in exchange for money.
The Briton, who has been detained in Kyiv at his “temporary residence”, was accused of “unauthorised dissemination of information about the defence forces in conditions of martial law”.
British military instructor accused of spying for Russia arrested in Ukraine
Ukraine rejects Russia's claims to have surrounded two key cities
Thursday 30 October 2025 10:00 , Arpan RaiUkraine has denied Vladimir Putin’s assertions that Russian forces have surrounded Ukrainian forces in two key eastern cities.
Putin has claimed Ukrainian troops are encircled in Pokrovsk, a key Ukrainian stronghold in the eastern Donetsk region, and in Kupiansk, an important rail junction in the northeastern Kharkiv region.
The Russian president has also offered to negotiate a deal for the surrender of the Ukrainian cities.
Speaking at a meeting with wounded soldiers at a Moscow military hospital, Putin said the Russian military was ready to open safe corridors for Ukrainian and Western journalists to “let them see with their own eyes what’s going on”.
Ukrainian military officials have categorically rejected claims of Kupiansk being surrounded as “fabrications and fantasies”.
The situation in Pokrovsk is “hard but under control”, said Hryhorii Shapoval, spokesperson for Ukraine’s eastern forces.
The Ukrainian Army's 7th Rapid Reaction Corps, which is defending Pokrovsk, said Russia had deployed some 11,000 troops in a bid to encircle the city.
Some Russian units had managed to infiltrate Pokrovsk, it acknowledged in a social media post.
Russian officials have in the past made claims about capturing Ukrainian strongholds that have turned out not to be true.
Zelensky says frontline situation most difficult in Pokrovsk
Thursday 30 October 2025 09:45 , Arpan RaiPresident Volodymyr Zelensky said the most difficult situation on Ukraine's frontline remained the eastern city of Pokrovsk.
Kyiv's forces were having more success defending their positions around the northeastern city of Kupiansk, Zelensky said.
“The most difficult area now is the Pokrovsk direction. As in previous weeks, this is the area with the most intensive combat activity," Zelensky said in his nightly video address after a discussion with Ukraine's top commander.
He said the situation in Kupiansk "remains complicated, but out forces have more control in recent days. We are continuing to defend our positions”.
Kremlin says it will 'destroy' foreigners fighting for Kyiv
Thursday 30 October 2025 09:30 , Arpan RaiThe Kremlin said on Tuesday that Russian troops were constantly hearing foreign languages spoken by those fighting for Ukraine on the front line, and promised that such fighters would be "destroyed".
Russia has long claimed that Nato military personnel have been present in Ukraine and that its eavesdropping services have picked up English and French being spoken repeatedly at the front lines.
"Our military hears foreign speech, they constantly hear foreign languages at the front," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters when asked about claims that France was preparing to deploy some soldiers to Ukraine.
"So, these foreigners are there, we are destroying them. Our military will continue to do their job."
Everything we know about Putin’s new nuclear-armed underwater drone Poseidon
Thursday 30 October 2025 09:10 , Arpan RaiPresident Vladimir Putin says Russia has conducted a successful test of a new atomic-powered and nuclear-capable underwater drone, declaring that the new weapon can't be intercepted.
Speaking at a meeting with soldiers wounded in Ukraine, Putin said the Poseidon drone was tested while running on nuclear power for the first time Tuesday, describing it as a “huge success.”
He said Poseidon is unmatched in speed and depth and “there is no way to intercept it.”
He said the nuclear reactor that powers Poseidon is “100 times smaller” than those on submarines, and the power of its nuclear warhead is “significantly higher than that of our prospective Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile”.
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Putin says Russia's nuclear-armed underwater drone was tested successfully
Will Ukraine be able to defend Pokrovsk? Military analysts confirm 'difficult situation'
Thursday 30 October 2025 08:50 , Arpan RaiUkrainian forces are struggling to fend off intensifying Russian advances around the eastern city of Pokrovsk, the military and open-source analysts have said.
In a statement, Ukraine's 7th Corps said Russian forces had deployed some 11,000 troops in an attempt to encircle the greater Pokrovsk area.
Enemy groups that had already infiltrated the city were attempting to push further north and northwest, it said.
Ukrainian open-source group DeepState said Russia has been able to break a military logistics route to the neighbouring city of Myrnohrad through infantry ambushes and drone attacks.
It warned that Ukraine would need to deploy a brigade-level force, rather than smaller units, to block further Russian infiltration of Pokrovsk.
"The situation in Pokrovsk is on the verge of critical and continues to deteriorate to the point that fixing everything may be too late," the group said.
It also posted what it said was footage of Ukrainian forces destroying a Russian flag that had been briefly hoisted over the city gates.
