Latest news on Russia and the war in Ukraine

A group of 30 progressive Democrats in Congress have signed a letter asking U.S. President Joe Biden to directly engage with Russia in order to bring an end to the conflict in Ukraine.

The two-paged letter signed by Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., Reps. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., Ro Khanna, D-Calif., and others calls for a renewed diplomatic push, including direct talks with the Kremlin.

“If there is a way to end the war while preserving a free and independent Ukraine, it is America’s responsibility to pursue every diplomatic avenue to support such a solution that is acceptable to the people of Ukraine,” the letter reads.

“Such a framework would presumably include incentives to end hostilities, including some form of sanctions relief, and bring together the international community to establish security guarantees for a free and independent Ukraine that are acceptable for all parties, particularly Ukrainians.”

— Amanda Macias

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with his Ukrainian counterpart and reaffirmed U.S. support amid false Russian claims that Kyiv was preparing to use a “dirty bomb.”

“He noted our commitment to work with allies and partners to continue meeting Ukraine’s security assistance needs on the battlefield,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement.

Earlier this week, the Kremlin said Ukraine plans to use a so-called “dirty bomb” on its own territory in order to blame Russia and escalate the conflict further. Ukrainian and Western officials have denounced the claim as a “pretext for aggression.”

— Amanda Macias

Brittney Griner’s attorney Maria Blagovolina said the basketball star will have to decide whether to make a last effort to appeal her sentence, but today’s decision has caused her to lose hope.

Griner has about eight years left on her sentence though another appeal is possible through Russia’s court of cassation, the highest court of appeals. It is not clear if her lawyers will pursue another appeal.

“We think we should use all legal tools available but that is her decision to take,” Blagovolina told reporters outside of the court. She added that the two-time Olympic gold medalist was disappointed to hear the decision from the three-judge panel.

“She had some hope but that vanished today,” Blagovolina said.

— Amanda Macias

A Russian court rejected Brittney Griner’s appeal after the U.S. basketball star was convicted on drug charges earlier this year and sentenced to nine years in jail.

Read the full story here.

— Sam Meredith

The Russian state prosecutor in U.S. WNBA star Brittney Griner’s appeal hearing told the judges presiding over her case that the nine-year jail term for possession and smuggling of drugs was “fair,” according to Reuters.

Griner, who was convicted on drug charges earlier this year, was seen listening via video link to a live translation of the proceedings from a detention center just outside Moscow.

A lawyer for Griner said her nine-year jail term was excessive and asked the court to acquit her, Reuters reported.

Griner’s lawyers told NBC News before the hearing that the two-time Olympic gold medalist was “quite pessimistic” that the judge will overrule the court’s original verdict.

— Sam Meredith

Rishi Sunak said in his first speech as British prime minister that the Ukraine war must be seen successfully to its conclusion.

“I understand how difficult this moment is after the billions of pounds it cost us to combat Covid, after all the dislocation that caused in the midst of a terrible war that must be seen successfully to its conclusions,” Sunak said from outside 10 Downing Street.

“I fully appreciate how hard things are,” he added.

Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron congratulated Sunak on becoming Britain’s new prime minister, saying via Twitter he would look forward to working with him on common challenges such as the war in Ukraine.

— Sam Meredith

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier paid a surprise visit to Kyiv Tuesday, his first since the Russian invasion began on Feb. 24.

In what appeared to be an effort to redeem himself, Steinmeier stressed his support for Ukraine after previously facing criticism from Kyiv for his erstwhile role in creating closer economic ties between Russia and Germany.

“My message to Ukrainians: you can count on Germany,” the president said.

In the months since the war began, Steinmeier expressed regret for his work with Russia, saying in early April, “My sticking to … Nord Stream 2, that was definitely a mistake. We held on to bridges that Russia no longer believed in, and of which our partners warned us.” Nord Stream 2 was a multi-billion dollar Baltic sea pipeline project that would have enabled more Russian gas to flow to Germany. The project was suspended in the days leading up to Russia’s invasion.

— Natasha Turak

The remaining men in occupied Kherson are being encouraged to join a new local Russian-backed militia that would fight the incoming Ukrainian forces that have gradually been taking back land.

Russian authorities are urging civilians to leave the territory as Ukrainian forces approach, and say that 25,000 residents have left in the last week.

It’s not clear if the men remaining in the Kherson are being forced to fight on the Russian side, but making civilians serve in the armed forces of an occupying country is considered a violation of the Geneva Convention.

Kherson is one of four territories in eastern Ukraine that was illegally annexed by Russia in late September.

— Natasha Turak

Russia intends to raise at the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday its accusation that Ukraine is planning a “dirty bomb” attack and has urged U.N. chief Antonio Guterres to do all he can to “prevent this heinous crime from happening.”

“We will regard the use of the ‘dirty bomb’ by the Kiev regime as an act of nuclear terrorism,” Russia’s U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia wrote in a letter – seen by Reuters – to Guterres and the Security Council.

“We urge the Western countries to exert their influence on the regime in Kiev to abandon its dangerous plans threatening international peace and security,” he wrote. “We call on the Secretary-General of the United Nations to do everything in his power to prevent this heinous crime from happening.”

With Ukrainian forces advancing into the strategic Russian-occupied province of Kherson, top Russian officials phoned Western counterparts on Sunday and Monday to tell them Moscow suspected Ukraine of planning to use a so-called “dirty bomb” laced with nuclear material.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has responded by accusing Russia of planning such an attack itself to blame on Ukraine. Western countries also rejected Russia’s allegation as a pretext for intensifying the eight-month-long war, which began in February when Russian forces invaded neighboring Ukraine.

Russia has told council counterparts it will bring up the issue during a closed-door meeting on Tuesday, diplomats said.

— Reuters

The International Atomic Energy Agency will visit two nuclear locations in Ukraine, following a request from Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba to disprove Russian allegations that Ukraine plans to use a “dirty bomb.”

“The IAEA inspected one of these locations one month ago and all our findings were consistent with Ukraine’s safeguards declarations,” IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said in a statement. “No undeclared nuclear activities or material were found there.”

Both sites are under the U.N. nuclear watchdog’s safeguards and receive regular visits from IAEA regulators, according to the agency. The IAEA said the purpose of the upcoming visit is to detect any undeclared nuclear activities or materials that could be consistent with Russia’s “dirty bomb” allegations.

— Rocio Fabbro

The World Bank has distributed another $500 million to Ukraine to help finance the country’s critical spending needs.

The financing, provided by its lending arm, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, had been supported by $500 million in loan guarantees from the United Kingdom that were announced on Sept. 30, the bank said.

In total, the bank said it has authorized $13 billion in emergency financing for Ukraine, of which $11.4 billion has been distributed.

A report published in September by the World Bank, the Ukrainian government and the European Commission estimated reconstruction and recovery costs totaled $349 billion as of June 1. However, the number is expected to keep increasing as the war drags on.

— Natalie Tham