Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 244

Here is the situation as it stands on Tuesday, October 25.

Conflict

• Rebuffed by Western countries, Russia doubled down on its claim that Kyiv is preparing to use a “dirty bomb” in Ukraine on Tuesday.
• Russia told people in the occupied city of Kherson to flee as more residents joined an exodus to escape an anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive. Russia said its forces had prevented a bid by Ukraine to break through its line of control.
• The Russian-installed administration of the Kherson region announced it was forming a militia, saying all men remaining in the city could join.
• An October 21-23 poll conducted after two weeks of heavy Russian shelling of Ukrainian cities showed that an overwhelming majority of Ukrainians backed continued armed resistance against Moscow.

Diplomacy

• Diplomats said that Russia plans to raise its accusation at the United Nations Security Council that Ukraine is planning a “dirty bomb” attack. Russia also contacted a few Western countries about its suspicions.
• The United Kingdom, France and the United States said they were committed to supporting Ukraine “for as long as it takes” and rejected Russia’s warning about a “dirty bomb”.
• A US military official told reporters the United States had no indications that Russia had decided to use a nuclear, biological or chemical weapon.
• Iran condemned a call by Britain, France and Germany for the United Nations to investigate accusations that Russia had used Iranian-origin attack drones.
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on Israel to join the fight against Russia and repeated a request for Israeli air defence systems.
• Thirty liberal US congressional Democrats urged President Joe Biden to shift his strategy for the Russia-Ukraine war by pursuing a negotiated settlement.

Economy

• A UN spokesperson said “much more needs to be done” to clear a backlog of more than 150 ships involved in a Black Sea grain-export deal, and Ukraine, Russia, Turkey and the United Nations had all acknowledged the problem.
• Ukraine said seven vessels sailed from its ports laden with grain for Asia and Europe, but accused Russia of blocking the full implementation of the Black Sea deal.
• The World Bank said it had disbursed an additional $500m to help Ukraine meet urgent spending needs created by the war.