UPDATES: Over 200,000 Troops Join Russian Military Amid Partial Mobilization, Defense Minister Says

He said the NATO members and their associates are brainwashing regional actors using various "schemes" in a coordinated manner.

On February 24, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine after the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk requested help to defend them from intensifying attacks by Ukrainian troops. The Russian Ministry of Defense said the operation is solely targeting Ukrainian military infrastructure and the civilian population is not in danger.

To date, the United States has committed more than $16.8 billion to the security needs of Ukraine since January.

The officials reached a framework agreement on the eighth package of sanctions against Moscow on Tuesday and will approve the final version of the text on Wednesday, it said.

The United States included four more HIMARS in its most recent security assistance package to Ukraine announced Tuesday, valued at up to $625 million. The Biden administration has given Ukraine over $17.5 billion in security assistance since taking office.

"Biden is continuing to direct his administration to engage with the Russian government through every available channel and make every effort to bring them home," Jean-Pierre said regarding Griner and Whelan during a press briefing.

However, the US has yet to see indications of changes to the Russian nuclear posture that would cause the Pentagon to adjust its own stance, White House Strategic Communications Coordinator John Kirby said on Tuesday.

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi will visit Kiev and then Moscow this week as part of continued consultations on establishing a nuclear safety and security zone around the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, the agency said on Tuesday.

"Director General Grossi will travel to Kyiv and then to Moscow later this week to continue his consultations aimed at agreeing and implementing a nuclear safety and security protection zone around the ZNPP as soon as possible," the statement says.

Kazakh Ambassador Yermek Kosherbaev was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry in connection with the situation with the Ukrainian ambassador to Astana, Pyotr Vrublevsky, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

Earlier, a video was published on social networks in which Vrublevsky stated that the Ukrainian regime was trying to kill as many Russians as possible. As the foreign ministry of Kazakhstan later reported, Vrublevsky was summoned to the Kazakh Foreign Ministry, he was given a note of protest in connection with his statements. On September 8, media reported that the ambassador had left Kazakhstan at the request of the authorities.

Moscow is outraged by the development of the situation around the Ukrainian ambassador to Kazakhstan, who scandalously "departed" to Kiev on September 8, Zakharova noted, saying that despite Astana's assurances that Vrublevsky would irrevocably leave Kazakhstan in the shortest possible time and "never return" to Astana, the promises were not kept.

"This person reappeared in the capital of Kazakhstan, and clearly not in order to 'ust pack his things and take his family.' Openly, he attends diplomatic receptions as head of the diplomatic mission. In view of the above circumstances, on October 4, the Ambassador of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kosherbaev was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry and was told that such a situation was categorically unacceptable," Zakharova said.

In this regard, she noted, Moscow expects that the Kazakh side, following not only the spirit of allied relations with Russia, but also the letter of its own legislation, Article 147 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan, which provides for up to 7 years in prison for inciting ethnic hatred, will not follow Kiev's lead and "take measures for the speedy final expulsion of this notorious nationalist."

The report found that the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict would impede post-pandemic economic recovery for emerging and developing economies in other parts of Europe and Central Asia. It predicted that economic activity would remain deeply depressed through next year, with minimal growth of 0.3% expected in 2023, as energy price shocks continued to impact the region. While global prices for oil, gas and coal had been rising since early 2021, the Russia-Ukraine conflict pushed inflation to levels not seen for decades in the region.

Murashov was expelled to the territory controlled by Ukraine on charges of carrying out activities aimed at discrediting the Russian authorities. He admitted to transmitting information to Kiev about what was happening at the plant, realizing that the shelling was coming from the Ukrainian troops.

TTF stock futures reached a low of $1,618 (-6.2%) at the opening and rose to $1,651 (-4.3%) as of 06:11 GMT.