US accuses Putin of utilizing chemical weapons in Ukraine – stay updates immediately

A senior US official urged China and Russia to decide to the understanding that solely people, and never artificial intelligence, might be allowed to make choices on deployment of nuclear weapons.

Washington has made a “clear and strong commitment” underlining that people have complete management over nuclear weapons, State Department arms management official Paul Dean informed a web based briefing on Thursday. The UK and France have additionally adopted swimsuit, the official stated.

“We would welcome a similar statement by China and the Russian Federation,” Mr Dean, who’s the principal deputy assistant secretary within the Bureau of Arms Control, Deterrence and Stability, stated.

The Swiss authorities stated on Thursday that Russia has not been invited “at this stage” to talks to be held in Switzerland in mid-June aimed toward serving to result in peace within the battle between Moscow and Ukraine.

“Switzerland is convinced that Russia must be involved in this process,” the Swiss authorities stated in a press release. “A peace process without Russia is not possible.”

WNBA star Brittney Griner stated she thought of killing herself throughout her first few weeks in a Russian jail after her 2022 arrest on drug-related expenses.

Griner spoke for the primary time about her monthslong detention in Russia throughout an hourlong interview that aired Wednesday evening on ABC. Her memoir, “Coming Home,” is about to be launched on May 7.

Griner was detained after arriving at a Moscow airport after Russian authorities stated a search of her baggage revealed vape cartridges allegedly containing oil derived from hashish.

Russian vitality producer Gazprom stated it will ship 42.4 million cubic metres (mcm) of pure gasoline to Europe through Ukraine on Thursday, in step with the amount despatched on Wednesday.

Ukrainian drones tried to assault vitality infrastructure in Russia‘s Smolensk region, governor Vasily Anokhin said on the Telegram messaging app on Thursday.

He did not say what particular facilities had been targeted, but said emergency workers have been deployed. Many drone attacks in recent months have targeted oil refineries and depots.

The US has sanctioned practically 300 firms and people from China, Russia, and several other different international locations for allegedly supporting Russia’s defence business and serving to it evade American sanctions over the battle in Ukraine.

The US Department of the Treasury stated on Wednesday that it had imposed sanctions on practically 200 entities and the State Department on greater than 80 to “degrade Russia’s ability to sustain its war machine” in Ukraine.

The sanctioned entities, situated in Azerbaijan, Belgium, China, Russia, Turkey, the UAE and Slovakia, have allegedly enabled Russia to “acquire desperately needed technology and equipment from abroad”.

A Russian ballistic missile struck a postal depot within the Ukrainian port of Odesa late on Wednesday, injuring 14 individuals and triggering a big hearth, regional governor Oleh Kiper stated.

It was the third missile assault on the town in as many days.

Pictures and a video posted on-line confirmed flames and billowing clouds of smoke engulfing buildings and firefighters coaching their hoses on areas nonetheless ablaze. Most of the loading space appeared to have been decreased to a shell.

The United States accused Russia of violating the worldwide ban on chemical weapons by deploying the choking agent chloropicrin towards Ukrainian troops.

Chloropicrin causes extreme irritation to the eyes, pores and skin and lungs, and was utilized in massive portions throughout World War I, in keeping with the US’s National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety.

In a press release on Wednesday, the State Department stated: “The use of such chemicals is not an isolated incident and is probably driven by Russian forces’ desire to dislodge Ukrainian forces from fortified positions and achieve tactical gains on the battlefield.”