Here are the highlights of events related to the war in Ukraine over the past 24 hours:

Russia claims to the UN that prohibited biological activities are taking place in Ukraine

Russia has asked the UN Security Council to create a commission to investigate violations by the United States and Ukraine of the convention banning the use of biological weapons, the Associated Press agency notes.

A draft resolution circulated to council members says that under Article VI of the Convention, Russia has filed a formal complaint alleging that prohibited biological activities are taking place in Ukraine.

In fact, soon after the beginning of the military actions on Ukrainian territory, Russia made accusations against the USA and Ukraine that there were secret American laboratories in the country that participated in biological warfare

Russia's permanent representative to the United Nations, Vasily Nebenzya, said he was circulating the resolution, along with about 300 pages of material, ahead of a Security Council meeting that Moscow is calling Thursday on biological activities in Ukraine. Russia also plans to consult Council experts on the draft resolution.

The draft resolution should now authorize the Security Council to establish a commission to investigate the allegations and report the results of the investigation by the end of November and to the parties to the convention at a conference in Geneva by December 16.

Russia's Security Council: It's time to "de-Satanize" Ukraine

There are "hundreds of sects" in Ukraine and therefore "de-satanization" must be carried out. This was stated by the Assistant Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation Alexei Pavlov, quoted by TASS.

According to Pavlov, Ukraine has become a "totalitarian hypersect" in which citizens have abandoned Orthodox values.

"Using network manipulation and psychotechnologies, the new authorities turned Ukraine from a state into a totalitarian hypersect. Moreover, the rulers in Kyiv were the first to turn into militant fanatics whose views are directly opposed to the views of normal people," Pavlov said.

He also noted that as the "special military operation" deepens, it becomes increasingly urgent to carry out the "de-satanization" of Ukraine.

Pavlov did not think it out of place to justify his calls for a crusade against infidels by referring to the Muslim leader of the Chechen Republic, Ramzan Kadyrov, who called for the "complete de-Satanization" of Ukraine.

Poland is considering building a fence along its border with the Kaliningrad region

Poland may erect fences on its border with Russia's Kaliningrad region to stem a flow of African and Asian migrants who may begin trying to cross in the coming weeks, a senior Polish official said, Reuters and BTA quoted him.

The general secretary of the ruling Law and Justice party, Krzysztof Sobolewski, said that Warsaw is considering building a fence along the border with the Kaliningrad region, similar to the one on the Belarusian border.

"We will have to strengthen our forces on this section of the border and we are also considering building border fortifications similar to those we now have on the Polish-Belarusian section," he said.

Russian media reported that the Kaliningrad region has opened its skies to flights from the Middle East and other parts of Asia in a bid to attract more airlines and tourists.

"After what we had to face and are still facing on the Polish-Belarusian border, and given the opening of the skies over the Kaliningrad region to aircraft from Turkey, Syria and Belarus, it could happen in the coming weeks," later said Sobolewski to Reuters, referring to the growing number of migrant arrivals.

Moscow has announced that it will not interfere in such a decision.

"History proves every time the stupidity of decisions to build walls, because after years or decades all walls fall," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

According to Sobolewski, there are signs of the appearance of larger groups of migrants at the Belarusian border.

Poland accuses Russia and its ally Belarus of using migrants as part of a "hybrid war" to destabilize Europe. Amid heightened tensions over the war in Ukraine, Polish authorities fear a repeat of the crisis in 2021, when thousands of migrants from Africa and the Middle East tried to cross the border from Belarus.

Over 40 settlements in Ukraine have been hit in the last 24 hours

Over the past 24 hours, units of the defense forces have repelled the attacks of the invaders in a number of regions of Ukraine, including Ivangrad, Bakhmut, Soledar and others, according to information from the General Staff of the Ukrainian Army.

The adversary tries to hold the temporarily occupied territories and concentrates its efforts on stopping the actions of the defense forces in certain directions. At the same time, they did not give up attempts to conduct offensive operations in the Bakhmut and Avdeev directions.

Russian forces are violating international humanitarian law, the laws and customs of war by continuing to strike critical infrastructure and civilian homes.

More than 40 settlements have been subjected to enemy strikes in the last 24 hours.

Reznikov: The Russians cannot escape from Kherson

“Ukrainian soldiers control all the bridges over the Dnieper River in Kherson, so the occupiers will not be able to escape the city, as they did in Izyum.”

This was stated by the Ukrainian Minister of Defense Oleksiy Reznikov in an interview with the American television channel Fox News.

According to him, it is life-threatening for the occupiers to stay in Kherson and fight street battles with the Ukrainian Armed Forces, as there will be no escape routes.

"I don't believe that the Russians will be able to conduct street battles. Because this is not the best option for them. We control all the bridges on the Dnieper River with the help of HIMARS and other artillery. And it is risky for them to stay in Kherson, because then they won't be able to escape like they did in Izyum," Reznikov said.

The minister emphasized that the war in Ukraine is in the third stage of the gradual liberation of the occupied territories. According to him, the first stage was to stop the Russian army. The second stage was to stabilize the situation along the entire front line.

At the end of August, the armed forces of Ukraine launched a counter-offensive in the Kherson region. As of October 21, 88 settlements in this region were liberated. The de-occupation continues.

The Institute for the Study of War suggests that the Russians are preparing to leave significant areas.

President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that the invaders had mined the Kakhovskaya HPP. Despite the threat of floods, the Ukrainian armed forces continue to destroy the enemy in the southern part of the country.

Russia informed the US about the exercises of its nuclear forces

The United States State Department said it had been informed by Russia of the conduct of routine annual exercises of its nuclear forces.

Washington has said it expects Moscow to test-fire ICBMs.

According to the United States, Russia's notification ensures that there are no surprises and reduces the risks of misjudgment.

"The US has been notified. And, as we've emphasized before, this is a routine annual Russian exercise. In this regard, Russia is honoring its arms control obligations and its commitment to transparency in making these notifications. We continue to monitor the situation. There is no further information, to provide at this time," said Patrick Ryder, a spokesman for the US State Department.

Finland is preparing a ban on Russians buying property on its territory

In Finland, the possibility of a complete ban on the purchase of real estate by Russian citizens is being discussed.

Real estate deals with Russians in Finland pose a threat to national security, said Hannah Smith of the European Center for Countering Hybrid Threats.

According to her, the experience of other European countries shows that real estate can be used for intelligence purposes.

In this way, foreign intelligence agents were trying to become part of society and find people who could be useful to them, Smith told Finnish public television.

The properties were used for reconnaissance operations near strategic sites.

Last week, the Finnish government submitted a bill to parliament that aims to limit the ability of foreigners to buy real estate in Finland.

Micah Carey, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, confirmed that a complete ban on Russians buying property was also being discussed.

Two officers in charge of supplying combat drones to the Russian army have been shot dead in Iran

Two senior officers of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), in charge of supplying combat drones to Russia, were shot dead in a car in the city of Zahedan in Sistan and Baluchistan province in southeastern Iran, reported Iran's Tasnim news agency. Their killing and martyrdom has been confirmed by the Quds Air Force base.

The victims were Colonel Mehdi Molashehi of the IRGC and General Javad Keyha Jahantig, a member of the Basij People's Militia, which is also part of the Guards Corps. The attack against the two was carried out on "Naster" square in Zahedan at a time when both were on their way home from work on Tuesday evening. Their vehicle was opened fire by another vehicle. All IRGC employees are on alert to identify the killers, but so far there is no information about their identity.

According to RIA Novosti, both killed were employees of the Salman unit, which is a corps structure headquartered in Zahedan, and Tasnim specifies that both were involved in the supply of combat drones for the Russian army.

Zahedan has been the scene of unrest in recent weeks, culminating in a protest against the rape of a Baloch girl by a police colonel. The riot was brutally suppressed, with security forces reportedly killing more than 90 protesters by direct fire. The non-commissioned officer from the intelligence of the Guards Corps, Hamidreza Hashemi, died in the clashes.

Two days ago, Iran admitted for the first time that it was supplying drones to Moscow, but the strategy that Tehran chose for its defense was that it did not know that the drones were being used in the war in Ukraine. During a meeting of the 18th session of the General Assembly of the Association of Information Agencies of the Asia-Pacific Region, the Foreign Minister of Iran stated that his country is ready to send military experts to Ukraine to participate in an investigation into the delivery of kamikaze-drones for Russia. The news was reported by the official news agency IRNA. The diplomat has announced readiness for direct negotiations with Ukraine and said he has conveyed this to the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell.

"I told Mr. Borrell that if ... we become aware that Russia has used Iranian drones in the war against Ukraine, we will certainly not remain indifferent to this issue," Hussein Amir-Abdollahian said, quoted by IRNA.

Left-wing Democrats backed off the call for Biden to negotiate with Putin on Ukraine

The progressive wing of the Democrats in the United States has abandoned a letter calling for peace talks with Russia over Ukraine.

The organization claims that the words were distorted after they were interpreted in public as advocating negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin. One reason, according to the group's chairperson, Pramila Jayapal, is that the letter was drafted months ago and released without approval (at least one of the Democratic signatories expressed surprise that it was being released in the run-up to the election). Among the signatories is the leader of the socialist wing of the party, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

The call sparked a row within the party weeks before midterm elections in November. A Democrat in another wing called it "an olive branch to a war criminal who is losing the war."

The letter, signed on June 30, called for "diplomatic efforts" to be made for direct talks with Russia aimed at a "negotiated and truce settlement" given the risks of hunger and poverty around the world and high US energy and food prices during the war.

Such calls were read as a blow to President Joe Biden's administration, which says Moscow is not ready for diplomacy right now. Jayapal regretted that the words were not interpreted as a call for dialogue.

The call for Biden to consider "incentives" for Russia to end hostilities, such as loosening sanctions, was particularly controversial.

After a pushback from Democrats, Jayapal shifted his campaign criticism to Republicans, accusing them of cutting financial and military aid to Ukraine if they won a majority in Congress. American media, however, note that this appears to be the first tangible divergence on Ukraine within the Democratic Party itself, which has so far stood solidly behind Biden's policies. Such have already emerged among Republicans as they vote on military aid packages this summer.

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