Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 244

Here is the situation as it stands on Tuesday, October 25.

Conflict

Rebuffed by Western countries, Russia doubled down on its claim that Kyiv is preparing to use a “dirty bomb” in Ukraine on Tuesday.
Russia told people in the occupied city of Kherson to flee as more residents joined an exodus to escape an anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive. Russia said its forces had prevented a bid by Ukraine to break through its line of control.
The Russian-installed administration of the Kherson region announced it was forming a militia, saying all men remaining in the city could join.
An October 21-23 poll conducted after two weeks of heavy Russian shelling of Ukrainian cities showed that an overwhelming majority of Ukrainians backed continued armed resistance against Moscow.

Diplomacy

Diplomats said that Russia plans to raise its accusation at the United Nations Security Council that Ukraine is planning a “dirty bomb” attack. Russia also contacted a few Western countries about its suspicions.
The United Kingdom, France and the United States said they were committed to supporting Ukraine “for as long as it takes” and rejected Russia’s warning about a “dirty bomb”.
A US military official told reporters the United States had no indications that Russia had decided to use a nuclear, biological or chemical weapon.
Iran condemned a call by Britain, France and Germany for the United Nations to investigate accusations that Russia had used Iranian-origin attack drones.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on Israel to join the fight against Russia and repeated a request for Israeli air defence systems.
Thirty liberal US congressional Democrats urged President Joe Biden to shift his strategy for the Russia-Ukraine war by pursuing a negotiated settlement.

Economy

A UN spokesperson said “much more needs to be done” to clear a backlog of more than 150 ships involved in a Black Sea grain-export deal, and Ukraine, Russia, Turkey and the United Nations had all acknowledged the problem.
Ukraine said seven vessels sailed from its ports laden with grain for Asia and Europe, but accused Russia of blocking the full implementation of the Black Sea deal.
The World Bank said it had disbursed an additional $500m to help Ukraine meet urgent spending needs created by the war.