LIVE UPDATES: No Signs of Kiev Preparing for Large-Scale Attack on Kherson Yet

On September 30, Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke in the Kremlin after the referendums, and later signed treaties with the new territories' heads on the admission of the regions to Russia. A few days after, Putin signed federal laws ratifying the admission of the territories to the Russian Federation.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said the operation aims to "protect people subjected to genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years." Western nations have imposed numerous sanctions on Russia and have been supplying weapons to Ukraine.

On September 30, Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke in the Kremlin after the referendums, and then he signed treaties with the new territories' heads on the admission of the regions to Russia. A few days later, Putin signed federal laws ratifying the admission of the territories to the Russian Federation.

Last week, leading members of the so-called collective West requested the United Nations Secretariat to conduct an investigation into Iran allegedly supplying drones to Russia for use in Ukraine. Nebenzia dismissed the allegations in a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and also criticized the Secretariat for siding with the West without having a legal mandate to conduct such an investigation.

In June, the EU General Affairs Council in Brussels said the EU members had reached a full consensus on granting Ukraine the EU candidate status.

On Tuesday, Russian Permanent Representative to International Organizations in Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov said that experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will head to Kiev and Zhovti Vody in the coming days after Russia's warnings about Ukraine preparing a "dirty bomb," and the preliminary results of the visit may be published within a few weeks.

Bloomberg previously reported that US and EU officials are no longer considering a price cap in the $40-$60 range and would instead set the cap above $60 to encourage continued output.

Burns and other US officials have said they see no evidence that Russia is preparing to use a nuclear weapon in Ukraine.

According to CBS, its commanders told the broadcaster that while they're there to defend NATO soil, if the fighting escalates or there's an attack on the alliance, they're fully prepared to cross into Ukraine.

President Joe Biden recently expressed concern that Republicans could jeopardize future aid for Ukraine after current House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy vowed to cease writing blank checks to Kiev if Republicans get the majority after the elections.

In general, US voters were not paying much attention to Ukraine or other foreign policy issues in the current election races, Zogby added.

More Russian citizens left the European Union over the past week compared to the number of Russians who entered the EU over the same period, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, Frontex, said on Wednesday.

"24,429 Russian citizens have entered the EU over the past week, a minor increase compared to the week before. At the same time, 25,684 Russian citizens left the EU," the agency wrote on Twitter.

Out of over 25,000 Russians that left the EU, almost 8,000 people came to Russia from Estonia, with another 7,200 entering Russia from Finland, according to Frontex.

In response to Russia's military operation in Ukraine, the West has launched a massive sanctions campaign against Moscow. In addition, the EU decided to limit the movement of Russian citizens, terminating its simplified visa regime agreement with Russia on September 12.

Estonia, along with Poland, Latvia and Lithuania agreed to put restrictions starting September 19 on Russians trying to enter their countries.

In late September, Finland also closed its borders for Russians with Schengen tourist visas, becoming the latest European country bordering Russia to do so.

The European Commission has not yet put forward any concrete proposal on a price cap on natural gas from Russia, Szijjarto added.

"We had a meeting of the energy ministers of the EU yesterday in Luxembourg, and there was no concrete proposal to be put on the table yet when it comes to gas," Szijjarto said in an interview. "The European Commission should put the proposal on the table soon, but I don’t know what time they will be ready."

Kiev is preparing a terrorist sabotage act with the use of a "dirty bomb," and Moscow will continue to encourage the world to prevent this irresponsible activity, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday.

"We have information that indicates an existing threat of a dirty bomb from Ukraine. We have information that indicates that Ukraine is preparing for such a terrorist act," Peskov told reporters.

Russia will convey this information to the world community to prevent such sabotage, the official added.

"We will vigorously continue to convey our point of view to the world community in order to encourage them to take active steps in terms of preventing such irresponsible behavior of the Kiev regime," he said.

Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, who heads the Russian radiation, chemical and biological defense forces, said on Monday that the Russian Defense Ministry had well-sourced information about Kiev's plans to use a "dirty bomb" and blame Moscow for this. Foreign ministers of France, the United Kingdom, and the United States dismissed these claims in a joint statement later in the day.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu had several calls with his foreign counterparts to discuss the dangers of the use of a "dirty bomb" by Kiev. Russia is also seeking to convene a meeting of the UN Security Council on the issue.

A dirty bomb is a radiological weapon in a form of a container with radioactive materials and an explosive charge. Such weapons disperse radioactive material over large areas when they explode, thus contaminating the environment and the population. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, if Ukraine detonates the "dirty bomb," radioactive isotopes will spread in the atmosphere to a range of up to 1,500 kilometers (930 miles) and can cover Poland.

Turkey makes efforts to return Russian agricultural products to world markets during talks on the extension of the UN-initiated grain deal, a source in Istanbul told Sputnik on Wednesday.

The deal is in force until November 19.

"Now the main task is to remove all obstacles to the entry of Russian agricultural products, in particular fertilizers, to the markets. Indeed, in addition to grain, there is a need for Russian fertilizers. It is also important that countries in need can receive these products freely," the source said.

The Holy See is ready to do everything possible to achieve peace in Ukraine, an informed source in the Vatican told Sputnik on Wednesday.

"The Holy See is ready to do everything possible to achieve peace. If both sides asked for mediation, the Holy See, of course, would not back down," the source said, answering about the Vatican's reaction to the latest proposals of French President Emmanuel Macron.

Earlier, French magazine Le Point reported that on Monday, during a visit to the Vatican, Macron had asked Pope Francis to call Russian and US leaders, Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden, in order to resolve the crisis in Ukraine. Macron also spoke of the need for the United States to sit down at the negotiating table to advance the settlement process. In this regard, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov pointed out that "Russia is open to all contacts, but we must proceed from the fact that Ukraine has codified the non-continuation of negotiations."

"Peskov announced Moscow's readiness to conduct a dialogue with the Pope, and this is good. As for Kiev's position, as you know, the rule in politics is 'never say never,'" the source noted.

He also noted the importance of what will be a reaction to these proposals from Washington and London.

The source recalled that Pope Francis had repeatedly confirmed his readiness to contribute to the peaceful resolution of the Ukrainian crisis and gave appropriate instructions to the Vatican's Secretary of State Pietro Parolin.

Switzerland has rejected several requests from the Ukrainian military to send helmets and body armor, citing the ban on military military supplies under its policy of neutrality, the Swiss Federal Council said on Wednesday.

"Body armor and helmets are military equipment. They are classified as the specific military property under Swiss law. As a result, Switzerland rejected applications for the supply of helmets and body armor to the Ukrainian army," the Council said in a statement.

Conversely, Switzerland granted Ukraine's requests for humanitarian aid, such as medical products and sleeping bags, as it does not belong in military supplies, the council said.

Switzerland has also introduced export restrictions on certain military-purpose goods to Ukraine, to retain parity between parties to conflict, the council said.

"Since the Federal Council has joined the EU sanctions against Russia, Switzerland has had to impose export restrictions in some areas against Ukraine," the statement said.

According to the statement, since Switzerland bans the export or transit of equipment suitable for military use for one of the parties to the conflict, neutrality obligates it to mirror the restriction onto the other side.

The Swiss government published a detailed report on the neutrality policy for the first time since 1993 due to criticism and misunderstanding of this policy after the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine in late February.