[Live Update] The threat of nuclear war is real.

The threat of nuclear war is real, top Russian official says; U.S. wants to see Moscow ‘weakened’.

Russia has said that the threat of a nuclear war is extremely significant, with government minister Sergei Lavrov stressing the risks shouldn't be underestimated. However, he conjointly additional that there was a danger the risks were being “artificially” inflated.

Meanwhile, Washington desires to envision Russia “weakened” because it arms and supports land, Defense Secretary Harold Clayton Lloyd capital of Texas said Mon following a visit to Kyiv, the primary high-level visit to Ukraine from a U.S. official since the war began.

City of Kreminna believed to have fallen to Russian forces

The city of Kreminna in eastern Ukraine's Luhansk region is said to have fallen victim to Russian forces, according to the latest intelligence report from the British Ministry of Defense on Tuesday. 

 

 "The city of Kreminna is said to have fallen and heavy fighting is reported south of Izium, while Russian forces try to advance on the cities of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk from the north and east," the ministry said in an update on Twitter. although there were no more details. Russian forces are likely trying to encircle heavily fortified Ukrainian positions in eastern Ukraine, the ministry said, adding that Ukrainian forces were preparing defenses in Zaporizhia, a town on the Dnipro River in southeastern Ukraine, in preparation for a possible Russian attack . Stroke.

— Holly Ellyatt

Russia and India were reportedly in talks to restart coking coal trade.

Officials from Russia and India met last week hoping to resolve coking coal supply issues, Reuters reported, citing sources. 

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 Russian coking coal exports to Indian steelmakers have been stagnant since March due to payment methods, a trade source and an Indian government source said, according to Reuters. And this despite the fact that New Delhi last year signed a plan to import coking coal from Russia. 

 

 Coking coal is essential for steel production, with Russia typically supplying about 30% of the coke needs of the European Union, Japan and South Korea. Russian trade officials are reportedly concerned about Western sanctions and have urged India to go ahead with the deal, the sources said.Indian officials have been invited to visit Russia to develop a strategy on how to ensure smooth shipments of coking coal, the sources said, according to Reuters. 

 

 — Chelsea Ong