TOP HEADLINES

· Ukraine's allies announced the delivery of new air defenses and recommitted to providing it robust, enduring military assistance at a meeting at NATO headquarters on Wednesday, saying Russian missile strikes two days ago only further united them. 

· A Russian nuclear strike would change the course of the conflict and almost certainly trigger a "physical response" from Ukraine allies and potentially from NATO, a senior NATO official said. Any use of nuclear weapons by Moscow would have "unprecedented consequences" for Russia, the official warned.

· At least seven people were killed and eight injured in a Russian strike on a crowded market in the town of Avdiivka, the governor of Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region said.

· Russia's defense ministry said it hit "all designated targets" in a massive missile attack on Ukrainian military, communications and energy infrastructure on Monday. Ukraine's Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko told CNN in an interview that Russia hit about 30 percent of Ukraine's energy infrastructure in its missile attacks. READ MORE BELOW

· Ukraine said it had retaken five more settlements in the southern region of Kherson as Kyiv continues its counteroffensive. "Ukrainian armed forces have liberated five more settlements in Beryslav district (of Kherson region): Novovasylivka, Novogrygorivka, Nova Kamyanka, Tryfonivka, Chervone," the presidency said in its daily report.

· Russia's FSB security service said it had foiled two attempted attacks allegedly planned by Kyiv on Russian territory – one near Moscow and another in a city close to the Ukrainian border.

· President Vladimir Putin said Europe was to blame for its energy crisis with policies that starved the oil and gas industry of investment and said price caps would make it worse, as EU states tried to forge a deal on ways to contain soaring energy costs.

· Putin said his country was a reliable energy supplier and blamed the West for disruptions on the market at an energy forum in Moscow. After the Nord Stream pipelines connecting Russia to Europe were damaged by explosions, Putin said "the ball was in the EU's court" to resume deliveries. "If they want to, then the taps can be turned on and that's it," Putin said. READ MORE BELOW

· Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the United States had long been involved in the war in Ukraine. "It seems to me that the Americans have been participating de facto in this war for a long time," Lavrov told Russian state television. "This war is being controlled by the Anglo-Saxons." Lavrov also said Moscow will not turn down a meeting between Putin and Biden at a forthcoming G20 meeting and would consider the proposal if it receives one. SEE VIDEO BELOW

· The EU has reached agreement on the contours of a big military mission to train 15,000 Ukrainian armed forces personnel in several member countries, diplomats said. The idea of the EU mission was announced in August by the bloc's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.

· Moscow believes Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will "officially" offer at an upcoming meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Kazakhstan to mediate negotiations with Ukraine, a Kremlin aide said. "The Turks are offering their mediation. If any talks take place, then most likely they will be on their territory: in Istanbul or Ankara," Kremlin foreign policy advisor Yuri Ushakov told reporters in Moscow. 

IN DETAIL

Nord Stream pipelines: Putin says 'the ball was in the EU's court'

Russian President Vladimir Putin said his country was a reliable energy supplier and blamed the West for disruptions on the market at an energy forum in Moscow.

After the Nord Stream pipelines connecting Russia to Europe were damaged by explosions, Putin said "the ball was in the EU's court" to resume deliveries.

"If they want to, then the taps can be turned on and that's it," Putin said.

Moscow is "ready to start deliveries" through parts of the pipeline not affected by the leaks, he added.

The Russian leader also said the leaks were the result of "international terrorism" that would benefit the United States, Poland and Ukraine. 

Ahead of the winter, European leaders have rushed to come up with a plan to tackle rising energy costs while maintaining sanctions on Russia.

More than half of the bloc's members have pushed for a price cap.

But Putin said Russia "would not supply energy to the countries that limit their prices."

Referring to the price cap, he said that "with their cavalier decisions, some Western politicians are destroying the global market economy and are in fact posing a threat to the wellbeing of billions of people."

"Ordinary Europeans are suffering," Putin said, adding: "the population, like in the Middle Ages, has begun to stock up on firewood for the winter."

Moscow: 'All designated targets were hit'

Russia's defense ministry said it hit "all designated targets" in a massive missile attack on Ukrainian military, communications and energy infrastructure.

Russia said the goals of the missile strikes had been achieved, in one of the largest coordinated Russian attacks against Ukraine since the first weeks of the war. 

Accusing Russia of terrorism, Ukraine said the rush-hour attacks in eight regions appeared to have been deliberately timed to kill people.

"Today, Russia's armed forces have inflicted a massive strike with high-precision long-range weapons against Ukrainian military, communications and energy targets," the Russian defense ministry said in its daily briefing.

"The goal of the strike has been achieved. All designated targets were hit," it added.

Earlier, President Vladimir Putin said the attacks were retaliation for what he called Ukraine's "terrorist attack" against a vital bridge linking Russia to the Crimean peninsula. 

He promised a "harsh" response to any further such attacks.