{"id":170744,"date":"2025-11-05T15:47:06","date_gmt":"2025-11-05T15:47:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/ukraine-war-latest-putin-makes-fresh-nuclear-test-demand-after-trump-threat-the-independent\/"},"modified":"2025-11-05T15:47:06","modified_gmt":"2025-11-05T15:47:06","slug":"ukraine-war-latest-putin-makes-fresh-nuclear-test-demand-after-trump-threat-the-independent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/ukraine-war-latest-putin-makes-fresh-nuclear-test-demand-after-trump-threat-the-independent\/","title":{"rendered":"Ukraine war latest: Putin makes fresh nuclear test demand after Trump threat – The Independent"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Donald Trump said the US would be running nuclear tests last week sparking fears of a renewed hostility between the countries
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Russian President Vladimir Putin<\/a> has ordered preparations for nuclear testing <\/a>after President Donald Trump<\/a> said the US would be running tests last week.
“I am instructing the Foreign Ministry, the Defence Ministry, the special services and relevant civilian agencies to do everything possible to collect additional information on the issue, analyse it at the Security Council and make agreed proposals on the possible start of work on the preparation of nuclear weapons tests,\u201d Putin said on Wednesday.
Defence Minister Andrei Belousov told the Russian leader that remarks by the US made it “advisable to prepare for full-scale nuclear tests” immediately.
Last week, Donald Trump announced that the United States is to resume nuclear weapons testing \u201cimmediately\u201d, <\/a>raising fears of renewed proliferation between the world\u2019s two biggest stockpiles of atomic weaponry.
Between them, Russia<\/a> and the US maintain 87 per cent of the world\u2019s total inventory of nuclear weapons<\/a>.
Not a word of what the Russian defence ministry says is credible<\/a>. Its claims that Russian troops have surrounded Ukrainian<\/a> forces in Pokrovsk, Kostyantynivka and Kupiansk, in eastern Ukraine,<\/a> are agitprop.
But Volodymyr Zelensky\u2019s<\/a> statement from the frontline that his country\u2019s fighters<\/a> are \u201cunder pressure\u201d is also misleading – and something of an understatement.
The Independent\u2019s foreign correspondent Sam Kiley reports:<\/em>
Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered top officials to begin drafting proposals on nuclear testing after US President Donald Trump said that he would resume tests last week.
“I am instructing the Foreign Ministry, the Defence Ministry… the special services and relevant civilian agencies to do everything possible to collect additional information on the issue, analyse it at the Security Council and make agreed proposals on the possible start of work on the preparation of nuclear weapons tests,” Putin said on Wednesday.
Ukraine\u2019s general staff denied Russian statements that its military surrounded Kyiv troops.
The military said that it had strengthened its units to defend the strategic city, which is located in the eastern Donetsk region.
It said combat work was underway to reinforce the flanks around Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad area and secure logistics routes, according to the statement on the Telegram app.
Ukraine\u2019s military units are competing with each other by launching deadly drone attacks to earn points that can be used to buy more weapons.
The video game-style rewards system is proving to be very popular, Ukraine\u2019s first deputy prime minister said, with hundreds of units participating. Launched a year ago, it is now being expanded to reconnaissance, artillery and logistics operations<\/a>, according to reports.
Bryony Gooch reports:<\/em>
Volodymyr Zelensky has expressed his desire for Ukraine to join the EU by 2030.
“Ukraine is fighting for its independence, and our future is in the EU, which is part of our independence \u2026 and for us, it is an important factor that we are highly assessed in this [report],” he said, speaking during a visit to frontline troops near Pokrovsk.
The president said he “would not like this [accession] process to be too long,” but acknowledged that this “does not depend on us”.
“The quicker Ukraine is able to open the clusters and to have the fully fledged negotiations, the better it is for us,” he added.
His statement comes after the EU’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, said the EU could admit new members by 2030.
\u201cRussia\u2019s full-scale invasion in Ukraine and the geopolitical shifts make the case for enlargement very clear cut,\u201d Kallas told reporters.
\u201cIt is a necessity if we want to be a stronger player on the world stage.\u201d
She added that \u201cnew countries joining the European Union by 2030 is a realistic goal\u201d and said Montenegro was the most advanced in the accession process.
President Volodymyr Zelensky\u2019s visit to the frontline shows that the battle between Ukraine and Russia is continuing to intensify rather than slow down.
\u201cZelensky’s visit to the troops near an embattled town is a clear sign that a ceasefire deal is firmly off the table – at least in the short run,\u201d Dr Bari\u015f \u00c7elik, an academic specialising in security and defence policies in Europe at the University of Sheffield, told The Independent.<\/em>
\u201cThe visit shows that Zelensky’s government is understandably invested in a defensive struggle to maintain Ukraine’s territorial integrity, even if this means a continued and protracted fight against a sustained flood of Russian troops.
\u201cThis in turn adds to the doubts over a potential ceasefire between Russian and Ukrainian forces, let alone an end to the ongoing war.\u201d
The historic Russian city of Oryol came under Ukrainian attack on Wednesday as the governor of the region urged residents to \u201cremain calm\u201d.
Governor Andrey Klychkov claimed that Ukrainian drones were targeting the region and that Russian air defense units destroyed the UAVs.
Debris from the intercepted drones is said to have damaged some homes and an outbuilding, he said.
Footage circulated on social media shows the aftermath of explosions around 1 to 1.5km from the Oryol thermal plant.
\u201cSpecialists are working on site. Recovery efforts will begin at daylight. Please remain calm. All essential systems are operating normally,\u201d Avdeyev said.
Ukraine\u2019s<\/a> navy<\/a> says it has struck an \u201celite\u201d Russian special unit<\/a> located on a Black Sea<\/a> oil rig.
An anti-tank missile crew was killed in the strike<\/a> and reconnaissance equipment was destroyed at the Syvash drilling rig, near Russian-occupied Crimea<\/a>, the naval forces said in a Telegram post.
Russia has disputed the account by distributing a video that alleges a Ukrainian naval boat was destroyed by a Lancet drone<\/a>, but Kyiv<\/a>\u2019s forces said the video actually showed them deploying a kamikaze drone<\/a> successfully.
Bryony Gooch reports:<\/em>
There has been renewed focus on nuclear arsenals after Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine.
James C Reynolds and Maryam Zakir-Hussain report: <\/em>
Ukraine seeks to introduce fixed-term military contracts to allow recruits more flexibility over their futures as the war with Russia shows no sign of ending.
Its current system of conscription enlists soldiers under open-ended contracts, which has led to an army worn down by the relentless intensity of fighting since Russia\u2019s invasion in February 2022.
The new system will allow current service members and recruits to sign deals lasting between one and five years, according to the country\u2019s defence minister Denys Shmyhal who announced the news on Tuesday. The plan will seek to ease the strain on existing military members, and replenish Ukraine\u2019s forces.
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