Nord Stream investigation points to ‘gross sabotage’ – latest

Ukraine’s Volodymr Zelensky has addressed the inaugural meeting of the newly-formed European Political Community, which today sees the leaders of 44 countries meet in Prague, in what many called a united stand against Vladimir Putin’s war.

Ukrainian prime minister Denys Shmyhal was in Prague for the meeting, while the country’s president addressed the leaders by video link, saying: “There are no representatives of Russia with us here — a state that geographically seems to belong to Europe, but from the point of view of its values and behavior is the most anti-European state in the world.

“We are now in a strong position to direct all possible powers of Europe to end the war and guarantee long-term peace,” he said. “For Ukraine, for Europe, for the world.”

Norway’s government on Thursday said it would restrict access to its ports by Russian fishing vessels, the Nordic country’s latest tightening of security following last week’s discovery of major leaks from the Nord Stream gas pipelines.

Russian trawlers will from now on only be allowed to visit three ports and must undergo security checks when they do so, Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt told a news conference.

Russia has submitted preliminary objections to a genocide case against Moscow brought by Ukraine, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) said Thursday.

At the ICJ, the United Nations highest court for disputes between states, parties can file preliminary objections if they believe the court does not have jurisdiction in a case.

The filing, which the court tweeted Thursday it had received on Oct. 3, has not been made public.

In a letter to the United Nations court in March, Moscow argued that the ICJ, also known as the World Court, did not have jurisdiction because the genocide convention does not regulate the use of force between states.

The filing signifies a change in Moscow’s attitude to the ICJ case. Russia is now engaging with the court, whereas it has previously skipped hearings and not filed documents directly with the court.

Ukraine filed a case with the ICJ shortly after Russia‘s invasion began on Feb. 24, saying that Moscow’s stated justification, that it was acting to prevent a genocide in eastern Ukraine, was unfounded.

During hearings in March, Ukraine said there was no threat of genocide in eastern Ukraine, and that the U.N.’s 1948 Genocide Convention, which both countries have signed, does not allow an invasion to prevent one.

After those hearings, which Russia had skipped, ICJ judges ordered Russia to stop the invasion of Ukraine as an emergency measure while it looked into the merits of Ukraine‘s claim.

The next step in the case will be a hearing on the objections against the jurisdiction of the court. No date for such a hearting has been set yet, but it is expected to be several months away.

A Swedish investigation of the damaged Nord Stream natural gas pipelines has revealed detonations were set off, strengthening suspicions of “gross sabotage”.

“After completing the crime scene investigation, the Swedish Security Service can conclude that there have been detonations at Nord Stream 1 and 2 in the Swedish economic zone that have caused extensive damage to gas pipelines,” they said in a statement.

Undersea blasts damaged the gas pipelines last week, leading to huge methane leaks. Investigators said the blasts have involved several hundred pounds of explosives.

Although no officials have publicly blamed Russia for the explosions, Western officials are suspicious that Moscow was behind the attack, and say the leaks are a result of deliberate action.

Moscow has denied reports that 700,000 Russians have fled the country since Vladimir Putin last month announced a mobilisation order to increase numbers fighting in Ukraine.

However, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov conceded he did not have an exact figure for how many people had left the country since the announcement on 21 September.

“I don’t think those numbers should be taken seriously,” Peskov said when asked about some reports in Russian media that up to 700,000 Russians could have left the country.

“I don’t have exact figures, but of course they are far from what’s being claimed there.”

A Russian rocket strike destroyed a five-storey apartment block in the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, killing at least three people and leaving other residents trapped under rubble, the regional governor and emergencies service said on Thursday.

Firefighters rushed through the streets to tackle the blazes after the overnight attack, and more explosions were heard on Thursday morning in what local officials said was a renewed Russian strike.

“Another enemy missile attack. Stay in shelters!” Oleksandr Starukh, governor of the Zaporizhzhia region, told residents on the Telegram messaging app.

He later told Ukrainian television that one woman was killed in the overnight shelling, but said another woman who was earlier reported dead had survived.

Ukrainian emergencies service said later on Thursday a total of three bodies had been pulled from the rubble.

Twelve people were wounded, including a three-year-old child. Five were still under the rubble, Starukh said.

The Kremlin on Thursday denied reports that 700,000 Russians have fled the country since Moscow announced a mobilisation drive to call up hundreds of thousands to fight in Ukraine.

In a briefing with reporters, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he did not have exact figures for how many people had left the country since President Vladimir Putin’s announcement of a “partial mobilisation” on Sept. 21.

“I don’t think those numbers should be taken seriously,” Peskov said when asked about some reports in Russian media that up to 700,000 Russians could have left the country.

“I don’t have exact figures, but of course they are far from what’s being claimed there.”

Tens of thousands of Russians, mostly military-age men, have fled the country in a bid to avoid being called up to serve in Ukraine. Kazakhstan, Georgia and Mongolia – which all share land borders with Russia – reported a surge in the number of border crossings following Putin’s announcement.

But getting exact figures on how many have left for good is tricky.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia on Thursday of “nuclear blackmail” over its seizure of the Zaporizhzhia power plant in southern Ukraine.

Russia captured the plant in March, shortly after invading Ukraine, and President Vladimir Putin ordered his government on Wednesday to take control of it. The plant is Europe’s largest, and Ukrainian staff have continued to operate it.

“(The) capturing of Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (stands) for nuclear blackmail and for exerting pressure on the world and on Ukraine,” Zelensky said in a video address to the Sydney-based Lowy think tank via a translator.

“You’re not using the weapons, but you can still be blackmailing by not having the nuclear power plant working for the people – the people are not receiving the electricity.”

Before the Russian invasion, the plant provided Ukraine with about one-fifth of its electricity.

Moscow and Kyiv accuse each other of shelling the territory of the plant, risking a nuclear catastrophe.

US intelligence agencies believe parts of the Ukrainian government authorised a car bomb attack near Moscow in August that killed Darya Dugina, the daughter of a prominent Russian nationalist, the New York Times reported.

Reuters could not immediately verify the report, which cited unidentified U.S. officials. Ukraine repeated on Thursday its denial of any involvement in the attack.

The United States took no part in the attack on Dugina and was not aware of it ahead of time, the Times reported. American officials later admonished Ukrainian officials over the assassination, the Times said.

Dugina, 29, was killed when a car bomb tore through the Toyota Land Cruiser she was driving on Aug. 20. Her father, Alexander, who had been in a separate car, was pictured holding his head in shock as he surveyed the wreckage of the vehicle.

After the killing, Ukraine denied any involvement, while Russia‘s Federal Security Service (FSB) accused Ukraine‘s secret services of being behind it.

If Ukraine were behind the killing, it would illustrate Kyiv’s ability to strike at targets in Moscow while also potentially opening up the Ukrainian elite in Kyiv to revenge attacks from Russia.

“The involvement of the Ukrainian state in this terrorist act, in this murder of a young girl was argued and proven by our special services,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday.

Peskov said the Times report was positive in the sense that it appeared that U.S. intelligence agreed with Russia on who was behind the killing.

However, he added: “I really want to hope that this is not some attempt by our American colleagues to absolve themselves of responsibility for any preparations for future terrorist acts which the Ukrainian state, the Ukrainian regime, might prepare.”

Seven Russian missiles have struck a residential block in the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, killing at least one woman and injuring several others, a local official has said.

Residents were left trapped in the rubble of their homes of the five-story building after the strikes rained down in the city close to Europe’s biggest nuclear power plant on Thursday.

Governor Oleksandr Starukh told Ukrainian television that one woman was killed in shelling overnight, and another who had been reported dead had survived.