Ukraine-Russia war – latest news: UN Security Council to vote on Putin’s dirty bomb claims

Moscow has launched a Soyuz rocket carrying a military satellite into space, Russian news agencies reported, citing the defence ministry.

The rocket – a Soyuz-2.1b medium-class launch vehicle – was launched at 9:48 a.m. Moscow time (0648 GMT) from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome, the ministry was quoted as saying.

It did not provide details about the purpose of the satellite.

Ships loaded with grain have departed Ukraine despite Russia suspending its participation in the UN-brokered deal that ensures safe wartime passage of food supplies.

The UN said that three ships carrying 84,490 metric tons of corn, wheat and sunflower meal left Ukraine through the humanitarian sea corridor set up in July, while 36 other vessels cleared inspections near Turkey to head to their final destinations.

The corridor, brokered by Turkey and the UN, was seen as a breakthrough to ensure Africa, the Middle East and parts of Asia would receive grain and other food from the Black Sea region during Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Russia backed out of the deal last weekend.

The UN said that while ships sailed on Tuesday, such vessels would not travel on Wednesday, raising fears about the future of the initiative.

Amir Abdulla, the agreement’s UN coordinator, said that ships are expected to sail again on Thursday.

Mykhailo Podolyak, a senior Ukrainian adviser and a chief negotiator, said to The Independent that Russia had one aim: “to destroy the civilian population of Ukraine” by making them freeze to death.

Mr Podolyak wants Ukraine’s allies, particularly the UK, to help reconstruct damaged facilities and to send more weapons.

Read Bel Trew’s exclusive report from Kyiv:

Russia has started its semi-annual military recruitment drive for the autumn amid reports of continuing covert mobilisation for the war in Ukraine.

2,700 draft committees across the country have begun the process of calling up 120,000 men, Russian defence minister Sergey Shoigu was quoted as saying by The Kyiv Independent.

Experts say that Russia is continuing to enlist and mobilise soldiers despite the minister’s earlier statements announcing the conclusion of partial mobilisation and transition into the conscription period on 28 October.

Russian president Vladimir Putin has said that Moscow may consider resuming a deal allowing grain exports from Ukrainian seaports but only after securing “real guarantees” from Kyiv.

According to a statement released by the Kremlin, Mr Putin told his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan on a phone call that Russia has sought “real guarantees from Kyiv about the strict observance of the Istanbul agreement, in particular about not using the humanitarian corridor for military purposes”.

Last weekend Russia claimed a Ukrainian drone attack against its Black Sea fleet in announcing that it was suspending its participation in the grain deal.

The Kremlin statement added that Russia wants “a detailed investigation into the circumstances of this incident”.

Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko said that authorities in Ukraine’s capital are preparing more than 1,000 heating points in case its district heating system is disabled by continued Russian attacks.

“The worst one is where there will be no electric power, water or district heating at all,” he said in a post on Telegram.

“For that case, we are preparing over 1,000 heating points in our city.”

He added that the locations will be equipped by generators and have a stock of necessities such as water.

Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky has sought stronger defence of the UN-backed grain corridor.

In a late night address on Tuesday, Mr Zelensky said that while ships were still moving out of Ukrainian ports with cargoes a long term defence is needed.

“But a reliable and long-term defence is needed for the grain corridor.”

“Russia must clearly be made aware that it will receive a tough response from the world to any steps to disrupt our food exports.”

“At issue here clearly are the lives of tens of millions of people.”

The UN-brokered Black Sea grain export deal is aimed at easing a global food crisis.

Russia withdrew from the accord last week and said it could not guarantee safety for civilian ships because of an attack on its Black Sea fleet.

The UN Security Council will vote on a resolution that calls for a commission to probe Russia’s claims that Ukraine and the US are carrying out “military biological” activities that violate the convention prohibiting the use of biological weapons.

Russia called the meeting last week, after making unsubstantiated allegations that Ukraine is planning to use a “dirty bomb” and blame Moscow for the blast.

The claim has been dismissed by Kyiv and many western states as “transparently false”.

According to diplomats it is highly unlikely that the Russian draft resolution will be adopted by the Security Council.