This has been CNBC's live blog covering updates on the war in Ukraine. [Follow the latest updates here.]
Washington and Kyiv slammed allegations by Moscow that Ukraine is planning to use a "dirty bomb" on its own territory, calling them "transparently false" and a "pretext for escalation." A "dirty bomb" is made to contaminate a large area with radioactivity, making it harmful or uninhabitable for residents there, without using a nuclear explosion.
Ukrainian forces continue to advance on Kherson, which was illegally annexed by Moscow last month. Russian authorities there say 25,000 residents have been evacuated since Tuesday.
Meanwhile, more than 1 million households in Ukraine are without electricity as Russia continues to attack critical energy infrastructure around the country.
The World Bank has distributed another $500 million to Ukraine to help finance the country's critical spending needs.
The financing, provided by its lending arm, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, had been supported by $500 million in loan guarantees from the United Kingdom that were announced on Sept. 30, the bank said.
In total, the bank said it has authorized $13 billion in emergency financing for Ukraine, of which $11.4 billion has been distributed.
A report published in September by the World Bank, the Ukrainian government and the European Commission estimated reconstruction and recovery costs totaled $349 billion as of June 1. However, the number is expected to keep increasing as the war drags on.
— Natalie Tham
The organization overseeing the export of grain from Ukraine said it has approved four vessels to leave the besieged country.
The Black Sea Grain Initiative, a deal announced in July among Ukraine, Russia, the United Nations and Turkey, said the vessels are carrying 159,662 metric tons of grain and other crops.
Two ships will depart from Ukraine's Yuzhny-Pivdennyi for China and Italy carrying corn and sunflower meal. One vessel will leave Odesa for Vietnam and is carrying nearly 57,000 metric tons of wheat. The fourth ship will depart from Chornomorsk to Algeria carrying 14,270 metric tons of wheat.
Read more about the Black Sea Grain Initiative here.
— Amanda Macias
The International Atomic Energy Agency will visit two nuclear locations in Ukraine, following a request from Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba to disprove Russian allegations that Ukraine plans to use a "dirty bomb."
"The IAEA inspected one of these locations one month ago and all our findings were consistent with Ukraine's safeguards declarations," IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said in a statement. "No undeclared nuclear activities or material were found there."
Both sites are under the U.N. nuclear watchdog's safeguards and receive regular visits from IAEA regulators, according to the agency. The IAEA said the purpose of the upcoming visit is to detect any undeclared nuclear activities or materials that could be consistent with Russia's "dirty bomb" allegations.
— Rocio Fabbro
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy released a statement touting the achievements of the Ukrainian military, marking exactly eight months since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine.
"We defended the independence of our state and Russia cannot change that," he wrote in a Telegram post. "We are liberating Ukrainian land step by step. Donbas, Kharkiv region, Kherson region."
He also expressed hope regarding two other Russian occupied regions, Zaporizhzhia and Crimea, claiming that "the time will come and all of Ukraine will be free."
Zelenskyy pointed to Russia's weakened global stature as a result of the war, with the loss of the country's gas and military influence and growing political isolation. He also referred to Russian allegations that Ukraine was prepared to use a "dirty bomb" on its territory as an attempt to "squeeze something out of Western countries" by "inventing various nonsense about Ukraine."
"Ukraine is breaking the so-called second army of the world and from now on Russia will only be a beggar," he said.
— Rocio Fabbro
Sweden's center-right government will fulfil all requirements under a deal with Turkey to join NATO and will concentrate external relations to its immediate neighborhood while dropping the previous administration's "feminist foreign policy," the country's top diplomat said.
Foreign Minister Tobias Billström said the new government shares Turkey's concern about the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, which is considered a terrorist organization in Turkey, Europe and the United States.
"There will be no nonsense from the Swedish government when it comes to the PKK," Billström told the Associated Press in an interview. "We are fully behind a policy which means that terrorist organizations don't have a right to function on Swedish territory."
Turkey stalled Sweden and Finland's historic bid to join NATO over concerns that the two countries — Sweden in particular — had become a safe haven for members of the PKK and affiliated groups.
— Associated Press
Yum Brands said that it reached a deal to sell its KFC restaurants in Russia to a local operator there, paving a path to fully exit the country.
The restaurant operator, which also owns the Taco Bell and Pizza Hut brands, will transfer ownership of its Russian KFC locations, operating system and master franchise rights to Smart Service Ltd, which is run by existing Russian KFC franchisees Konstantin Yurievich Kotov and Andrey Eduardovich Oskolkov, Yum said in a press release.
The buyer will be responsible for re-branding the restaurants and retaining existing employees.
Many Western companies have sold their Russian assets to local managers as they scramble to comply with sanctions over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
— Reuters
The U.S. has seen no indications that Russia is preparing to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine, State Department spokesman Ned Price said.
"At this time, we haven't seen any reason to adjust our own nuclear posture, nor do we have indications that Russia is preparing to use nuclear weapons, but we've heard these very concerning statements," Price told reporters during a daily press briefing.
The U.S. is closely monitoring Russia's nuclear rhetoric, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters on a separate call.
— Amanda Macias
The U.S. slammed Russian claims that Ukraine plans to use a "dirty bomb," adding that there is "absolutely nothing to the Russian allegation."
The U.S. is concerned about the allegations, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters on a conference call.
"They [the Russians] are the ones that made a public issue of this and obviously, we know that they're false and that there is no plan by the Ukrainians to do this," Kirby said.
"We're obviously taking the issue seriously," he added.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said earlier on Monday that the Kremlin was concerned "about possible provocations by Ukraine with the use of a 'dirty bomb,'" according to Russia's defense ministry.
— Amanda Macias
The organization overseeing grain exports from Ukraine said it is working to address the backlog of 113 vessels awaiting inspection.
The Joint Coordination Center, or JCC, said in a statement that it "is concerned that the delays may cause disruption in the supply chain and port operations."
"The JCC is discussing ways to address the backlog noting that the next harvest is approaching and silos in the Ukrainian ports covered under the Initiative will be soon full again," the group wrote.
The JCC has enabled the movement of over 8.5 million metric tons of food products under the Black Sea Grain Initiative, a deal announced in July among Ukraine, Russia, the United Nations and Turkey.
Read more about the Black Sea Grain Initiative here.
— Amanda Macias
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg condemned Russia's "false claim" that Ukraine was planning to use a "dirty bomb" within its own territories.
"NATO Allies reject this allegation," he wrote in a tweet. "Russia must not use it as a pretext for escalation."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pushed back against the Russian allegations, arguing that this claim only indicates that Russia itself is likely preparing to use the "dirty bomb." The United States, United Kingdom and France have also spoken out against Russia's allegations.
NATO allies have provided extensive support to Ukraine, implementing enhanced measures in 2014 after Russia's annexation of Crimea. Following the 2022 NATO Summit in Madrid, member countries agreed to enhance the existing Comprehensive Assistance Package to Ukraine due to the Russian invasion.
This led to more support in several security areas, including communications, cyber defenses, medical supplies, body armor, safety equipment and anti-drone systems.
— Rocio Fabbro
WNBA star Brittney Griner's appeal hearing before a Russian court is set for Tuesday.
Earlier this month a Russian judge decided to hear Griner's appeal after she was convicted on drug charges and sentenced to nine years in prison. Griner has been held in a Russian detention center for more than eight months since her arrest earlier this year.
Griner will appear via video conference at the hearing, which is expected to last about an hour. The judge's verdict is expected later on Tuesday.
— Amanda Macias
U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley spoke with Chief of Russian General Staff Gen. Valery Gerasimov by phone.
"The military leaders discussed several security-related issues of concern and agreed to keep the lines of communication open. In accordance with past practice, the specific details of their conversation will be kept private," wrote Joint Staff spokesperson Col. Dave Butler in a readout of the call.
Milley's call comes as U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin held two calls with his Russian counterpart in the past week.
— Amanda Macias
Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov contended the threat of a "dirty bomb" is real, even though the United States, Great Britain and France denied the possibility.
"Their distrust of the information provided by the Russian side does not mean that the threat of using such a 'dirty bomb' ceases to exist. The threat is obvious," Peskov said in a press briefing.
Peskov's statements followed claims by Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu that Ukraine was planning provocations using a "dirty bomb," which contaminates surrounding areas with radioactivity without the use of a nuclear explosion. The U.K., U.S. and France all denounced the allegations as "transparently false."
Peskov also said there are currently no planned calls for Russian President Vladimir Putin, after a slew of international calls made by Shoigu over the last few days, including with the U.S. and other Western allies.
— Rocio Fabbro
Ukraine's top soccer club on Monday urged FIFA to remove Iran from the World Cup because of the country's alleged military support to the Russian invasion.
Shakhtar Donetsk chief executive Sergei Palkin accused Iran of "direct participation in terrorist attacks on Ukrainians," suggesting his own country's team should play in Qatar instead as a replacement.
"This will be a fair decision that should draw the attention of the whole world to a regime that kills its best people and helps kill Ukrainians," Palkin said in a statement one day before his team plays at Celtic in the Champions League.
The White House said Thursday that the U.S. has evidence that Iranian troops are "directly engaged on the ground" in Crimea supporting Russian drone attacks on Ukraine's infrastructure and civilian population. And the head of Ukraine's intelligence service, Kyrylo Budanov, said in a published interview on Monday that Russian forces had used about 330 Iranian-built "Shahed" drones as of Saturday — and that more had been ordered.
— Associated Press
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin spoke with his Russian counterpart over the weekend, the third known call since the Kremlin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in late February.
Pentagon press secretary Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said Austin spoke with Russian Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu on Sunday following a Friday morning phone call. Ryder said that Shoigu requested the follow-up call.
"Secretary Austin rejected any pretext for Russian escalation and reaffirmed the value of continued communication amid Russia's unlawful and unjustified war against Ukraine," a Pentagon readout of the call said.
— Amanda Macias
The United Nations has confirmed 6,374 civilian deaths and 9,776 injuries in Ukraine since Russia invaded its ex-Soviet neighbor on Feb. 24.
The Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights said the death toll in Ukraine is likely higher, because armed conflict can delay fatality reports.
The international organization said most of the civilian casualties recorded were caused by the use of explosive weapons with a wide impact area, including shelling from heavy artillery and multiple launch rocket systems, as well as missiles and airstrikes.
— Amanda Macias
Pope Francis met at the Vatican with French President Emmanuel Macron, with the war in Ukraine looming large in both leaders' concerns.
The Vatican in a brief statement said that after Macron spoke with Francis, the French leader met with the Holy See's secretary of state and its foreign minister.
"During the cordial discussions, which took place in the Secretariat of State, the parties focused on matters of an international nature, starting from the conflict in Ukraine, with special attention to the humanitarian situation," the Vatican said. "Particular consideration was given to the region of the Caucasus, the Middle East, and Africa."
A French presidency official indicated the focus on Ukraine was in line with Macron's speech on Sunday evening to a peace-promoting forum, which Francis will address later this week. Macron used that speech to argue that it's up to Ukraine to decide the moment and terms of peace to end the war.
— Associated Press
Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed concerns over Russia's prolonged inspection of vessels, which have caused shipping delays along the Black Sea grain corridor.
"We have reason to believe that the delays in Russia's inspections of the grain initiative's vessels are politically motivated," the ministry said in a statement.
Ukraine contended that Russia's actions "undermine global food security." The backlogs "have already prevented Ukraine from exporting an additional 3 million tons of grain," enough to feed 10 million people worldwide, the Foreign Affairs Ministry said.
The United Nations-backed Black Sea Grain Initiative, which was agreed to in July to ease the effects of the war on grain exports from Ukraine, is up for renewal on Nov. 20. Russia has demanded new benefits from the deal, threatening to reject the renewal if its terms are not met.
— Rocio Fabbro
German Development Minister Svenja Schulze said she believes it is important to start rebuilding Ukraine now.
"You probably have to do a lot of things in parallel and also expect that one or the other can be destroyed again," Schulze said on ARD Mediathek's morning program. "But it's important that the children continue to have schools, that the local hospital works, that electricity, that water is there."
Germany is already helping with reconstruction, she added. About 200 million euros of the 426 million euros Germany has sent to Ukraine for rebuilding efforts have gone directly to people in Ukraine, Schulze said.
It could cost up to $350 billion to rebuild Ukraine after the war, according to a report released early last month by the World Bank, Ukrainian government and European Commission.
— Rocio Fabbro
Moscow says that France and Germany have shown "no desire" to take part in mediation over the Ukraine conflict, and it is praising Turkey's willingness to broker talks.
"[Turkish capital] Ankara takes a different position from that of Paris and Berlin... and has declared its readiness to continue mediation efforts," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
He added that French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz have so far demonstrated "no desire to listen to Russia's position or participate in mediation efforts."
Macron said on Sunday that the terms of peace should be dictated by Ukraine.
— Natasha Turak