LIVE UPDATES: Russia Seeks Setting Up Commission on US, Ukraine Bio Labs Under UN Auspices

"In 2016-2017, the Constitutional Court of Moldova adopted a ruling, in line with which the status of neutrality does not play any role at all. It is written there that if the government considers it necessary for some forces to intervene to solve its security problems, this can be done despite the neutral status. There is such a decision of the Constitutional Court, it is in force, no one has canceled it," Dodon said.

The Pentagon did not immediately respond to Sputnik for requests for comment on this matter.

It is expected that the commission would produce a report that would then be discussed by the parties to the BTWC during the Ninth Review Conference set to be held in Geneva on November 28 - December 16.

On February 24, Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine after the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk requested help to defend them from intensifying attacks by Ukrainian troops. Western countries have imposed comprehensive sanctions on Russia that include airspace closures and restrictive measures targeting numerous Russian officials and entities, media, financial institutions and sectors of the economy.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba denied the allegations and said that Kiev remained committed to the Treaty on Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. The top diplomats of France, the United Kingdom and the United States also rejected Russia's claims as false.

On March 15, Russia decided to withdraw from the Council and the European Convention on Human Rights in response to the suspension of its membership over the military operation in Ukraine. On the following day, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe voted in favor of excluding Russia from the organization.

Svyrydenko said on Monday that the unemployment rate in Ukraine is expected to reach 30% by the end of the year.

"Today I promised Mr. president [Zelensky] that two MARS systems, as well as four of our Panzerhaubitze 2000 howitzers, will soon be transferred. In the coming days, they will be transferred to Ukraine," Steinmeier said during a briefing in Kiev.

The US has provided Ukraine material and informational assistance since the launch of Russia’s special military operation on February 24.

Russia will conduct its annual strategic nuclear exercise Grom that tests the country's nuclear-capable systems. While the location of the Grom exercise is currently unknown, NATO's similar Steadfast Noon exercise is set to take place some 600 miles away from Russia, according to US officials.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, in turn, denied the allegations and said that Kiev remained committed to the Non-Proliferation Treaty. The top diplomats of France, the UK, and the US also rejected Russia's claims as false and said that "the world would see through any attempt to use this allegation as a pretext for escalation."

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, in turn, denied the allegations and said that Kiev remained committed to the Non-Proliferation Treaty. The top diplomats of France, the UK, and the US also rejected Russia's claims as false and said that "the world would see through any attempt to use this allegation as a pretext for escalation."

"We requested a meeting in two days in line with Article 6 of the Biological Weapons Convention," the statement said on Tuesday.

Swiss President Ignazio Cassis reaffirmed on Tuesday that Bern, while remaining an important partner to Kiev, would not supply Ukraine with weapons.

"Switzerland remains a dependable partner. We are focusing our efforts on those areas where our added value is the biggest and where our expertise is most useful. As a neutral country, we do not supply weapons," Cassis said on the sidelines of the International Expert Conference on the Recovery, Reconstruction and Modernization of Ukraine in Berlin.

Cassis added that Switzerland recognizes Ukraine's territorial integrity and national sovereignty and called for dialogue among all parties involved to help rebuild the country.

Steinmeier came to Ukraine on Tuesday for the first time since the start of Russia's special military operation to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kiev.

Russia has conveyed its comments to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on the idea of ​​its director general Rafael Grossi to create a safety zone around the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, but Ukraine has not yet responded to the agency's proposal, Russia's permanent representative to the IAEA, Mikhail Ulyanov, said on Tuesday.

"Grossi, the Director General of the IAEA, proposed an alternative concept — the creation of a zone of protection of nuclear and physical nuclear safety. Its essence, in a nutshell, is that you cannot shoot from the territory of the station and you cannot shoot at this station. Quite a reasonable idea, which we generally support. But, as always, the question is in the details," Ulyanov said.

The envoy said that in late September in New York, Grossi "handed over his sketches to the foreign ministers of Russia and Ukraine."

"We reacted. On October 11, the day our president received Grossi, there were consultations before this meeting. We conveyed our comments, proposals on the content of a possible agreement, but the Ukrainians, as far as I know, have not done this, although a lot of time has passed," Ulyanov said.

At the same time, he stressed that "arguments about the demilitarization (of a nuclear power plant) are completely inappropriate, because no one has ever militarized it," there are no Russian troops and heavy weapons, but "there is the Russian Guard, performing the necessary security functions."

Experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will head to Kiev and Zheltie Vody in the coming days after Russia's warnings about Ukraine preparing a "dirty bomb," Russian Permanent Representative to International Organizations in Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov said on Tuesday.

"Several [IAEA] inspectors will visit Kiev and Zheltie Vody in the coming days," Ulyanov said.

As a rule, the preliminary results of these visits will be within about a week, and the final ones will not appear soon, the diplomat added.

Ukraine’s external financing needs will total $3 billion per month in 2023 under the best-case scenario, but could rise up to $5 billion under the worst-case scenario, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said on Tuesday.

"We assess that in this recovery period through 2023 the best-case scenario would require $3 billion a month," Georgieva said at the Berlin-hosted International Expert Conference on the Recovery, Reconstruction and Modernization of Ukraine.

However, the cost "could go easily to $4 billion a month" if Ukraine’s infrastructure, particularly its energy sector, requires additional support, she added.

"And in a worst-case scenario, if the bombing is even more dramatic, that could go up to $5 billion," Georgieva said.

French President Emmanuel Macron said earlier in the day that the United States should actively participate in negotiations to reach progress in political settlement of the conflict in Ukraine, as he urged Pope Francis to talk to US President Joe Biden on the matter.

The European Commission is working with member states to provide Ukraine with 1.5 billion euros ($1.4 billion) on a monthly basis to enable the country to meet its recurrent costs, including the payment of salaries and pensions, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Tuesday.

"According to the international financial institutions and Ukraine, there is a need of 3 to 5 billion euros a month just to cover these recurrent running costs, here reliable support is needed from the EU, from our friends in the US, and of course from our friends in the international financial institutions ... I am working with the member states that the union could support Ukraine with up to 1.5 billion euros every month of the war which would be in sum, roundabout 18 billion euros in 2023," von der Leyen said at the International Expert Conference on the Recovery, Reconstruction and Modernization of Ukraine.

For months, Kiev has been receiving billions of dollars in aid from the West that has enhanced its financial support since the beginning of Russia's military operation in Ukraine. The US Congress has approved some $70 billion in aid to Ukraine since February 24.

Turkish Minister of Finance and Treasury Nureddin Nebati told the Financial Times that Ankara was expecting "good news" about a requested delay in some payments for Russian gas and the possibility of discounts on it.

Ankara is seeking a decrease in Russian gas prices, given high volumes of blue fuel it imports from the country, Nebati was cited as saying by the media outlet. According to the minister, Turkey has also asked Russian energy giant Gazprom to delay payments for gas.

A positive decision on both requests can reduce the pressure on the Turkish lira and therefore improve the image of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ahead of the 2023 general elections in the country, Nebati told the newspaper.

Russia is the main supplier of gas to Turkey. Earlier in October, Bloomberg reported, citing sources, that Turkey had asked Russia to defer part of Ankara's payments for gas until 2024 so that it could mitigate the economic damage from higher energy prices. However, a source in Ankara told Sputnik that Turkey and Russia were negotiating not the postponement of payments for Russian gas, but its price, and there were no problems in this regard.

"We need air defense, it is vital for us. We want our refugees to return to Ukraine, we need to revive our economy, so that children could go to school and society could live a full life again. And for this we need weapons against airstrikes and to ensure the safety of civilians," Zelensky said in an interview with the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera.

Zelensky says Ukraine hopes for help from Italy, France and Germany, since they produce air defense systems.

New Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni gave assurances about "full support for Ukraine," Zelensky said, adding that the prime minister is now "engaged in discussions in Brussels" to send Ukraine a new military package. The president added that he invited Meloni to visit Kiev and she promised to come.

A terrorist attack near the building of the ZaTV broadcaster in the city of Melitopol located in the Zaporozhye region on Monday left five people injured, including employees of ZaMedia group and other civilians, the first deputy chairman of Russian Civic Chamber’s commission for information society commission.

"Five people were injured — employees of ZaMedia group and other civilians. There are no soldiers here," Alexander Malkevich said on Telegram.

Significant damage was caused to the broadcaster’s property, the official noted.

According to Malkevich, the power of the explosive device was 1.5-2 kilograms (3-4 pounds) of TNT.

Air raid alerts went off on Tuesday in the Kiev Region and Kiev itself, where German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier is currently on an unannounced visit, the local authorities said.

"Air alert [went off] in the Kiev Region. Follow further messages," the Kiev regional military administration said on Telegram.

Five people were injured in the blast, one of them was hospitalized.