U.S. sees no indications Russia readying nuclear weapons, White House says

WASHINGTON, Nov 2 (Reuters) – The United States does not see any signs that Russia is making preparations to use nuclear weapons, White House spokesman John Kirby said on Wednesday, adding that he had no specific comment on a New York Times report about such Russian discussions.

“We’ve been clear from the outset that Russia’s comments about the potential use of nuclear weapons are deeply concerning, and we take them seriously,” Kirby said. “We continue to monitor this as best we can, and we see no indications that Russia is making preparations for such use.”

* Russia said on Wednesday it would resume its participation in a deal to free up vital grain exports from war-torn Ukraine after suspending it over the weekend in a move that had threatened to exacerbate hunger across the world.

The Russian defence ministry said it had received written guarantees from Kyiv not to use the Black Sea grain corridor for military operations against Russia.

In Other Developments:

FIGHTING

* Authorities in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv are preparing more than 1,000 heating points throughout the city in case its district heating system is disabled by continued Russian attacks, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.

* Russia told civilians to leave an area along the eastern bank of the Dnipro River in the Ukrainian province of Kherson, an extension of an evacuation order that Kyiv says amounts to the forced depopulation of occupied territory.

* The streets and boulevards of the Russian-held port of Kherson are virtually empty. Many shops and businesses have been closed. Evacuations have picked up as Ukrainian forces have advanced to the north and east of the strategic city.

* Russian security services have detained a Ukrainian citizen on suspicion of planning to “sabotage” a power line in Crimea, Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said on Wednesday.The FSB said a man in his 40s had been found carrying diagrams of power lines, three explosive devices and instructions on how to use them, and suspected the man had been recruited by Ukrainian intelligence.

TRADE

* A long-term defence is needed for Ukraine’s grain export corridor and the world must respond firmly to any Russian attempts to disrupt it, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said.

* The U.N. coordinator for the grain deal said he expects loaded ships to depart Ukrainian ports on Thursday.

DIPLOMACY

* The British government said it had sanctioned four Russian steel and petrochemical tycoons in relation to the war in Ukraine.