TOP HEADLINES

· Russian President Vladimir Putin has said the risk of a nuclear war is growing and Russians would "defend ourselves with all the means at our disposal." "We haven't gone mad, we realize what nuclear weapons are," he added, "but we aren't about to run around the world brandishing this weapon like a razor."

· Speaking during a televised meeting of his human rights council, Putin went on to say the West saw Russia as "a second-class country that has no right to exist at all," and that fighting in Ukraine could continue for a long time.

· Western officials are in talks with their Turkish counterparts to resolve an oil tanker traffic jam in Turkish waters after the G7 and EU rolled out a new oil price cap on Russian exports. "There is no reason for ships to be denied access to the Bosporus Straits for environmental or health and safety concerns," a UK Treasury official said. 

· Russia is considering its options to counter the oil price cap imposed by Western powers, including banning oil sales to some countries and setting maximum discounts at which it would sell its crude.

· A third Russian airfield was set ablaze by a drone strike, a day after Ukraine showcased its apparent new ability to attack hundreds of kilometers into Russian airspace with two strikes on its air bases. The twin attacks on the bases have raised questions about why Moscow's defenses failed and how vulnerable its military infrastructure is to drone attack.

· U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington had not "enabled" Ukraine to carry out the strikes inside Russia. Kyiv has not directly claimed responsibility for the attacks, which killed three people and damaged long-range bombers and a fuel depot. READ MORE BELOW

· A Ukrainian priest from a church affiliated with Russia has been sentenced to 12 years in prison after being found guilty of assisting Moscow. Kyiv is currently drawing up a law on banning churches affiliated with Russia under moves President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said were necessary to prevent Moscow being able to "weaken Ukraine from within."

· Hungary has vetoed a $19 billion loan to Ukraine from the EU as its row with the bloc over democratic standards continues, while the other 26 member states delayed a decision on releasing billions of aid to Budapest.

· Belarus is planning to move military equipment and units of security forces on Wednesday and Thursday, part of a response to what it called possible acts of terrorism.

· Belarusian lawmakers also gave their initial backing to a proposal to introduce the death penalty for treasonous officials and soldiers, and to make discrediting the army a criminal offence punishable by up to four years in jail.

IN DETAIL

U.S. denies enabling drone attacks on Russia

The U.S. said it has not "encouraged" Ukraine to attack Russia inside its airspace after drone strikes considered to have been carried out by Kyiv hit several of Moscow's air bases deep within its territory.

"We have neither encouraged nor enabled the Ukrainians to strike inside of Russia," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.

"But the important thing is to understand what Ukrainians are living through every day with the ongoing Russian aggression," he said, accusing Russia of "weaponizing winter" through attacks on civilian infrastructure.

Blinken vowed "our determination to make sure that they have in their hands – along with many other partners around the world – the equipment that they need to defend themselves, to defend their territory, to defend their freedom."

Analysts believe Ukraine penetrated Russian airspace with simple Soviet-era drones –  not those bought with the billions of dollars in military financing given by Western powers since Moscow launched its February attack. 

However, speaking next to Blinken after talks with their Australian counterparts, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Washington was not stopping Ukraine from developing long-range missiles on its own.

"The short answer is no. We're absolutely not doing that," Austin said. "We are not working to prevent Ukraine from developing their own capability."

Russia said three people were killed and two aircraft damaged in the attacks Monday on three bases deep into its territory.

State Department spokesperson Ned Price refused to say whether Ukraine had carried out the attacks, for which Kyiv has yet to claim responsibility. 

"We are providing Ukraine with what it needs to use on its sovereign territory – on Ukrainian soil – to take on Russian aggressors," Price told reporters. 

He declined to comment on a Wall Street Journal report that the U.S. has altered the game-changing HIMARS rocket system sent to Ukraine to prevent them firing into Russia.

President Joe Biden has publicly said he will not offer longer-range missile capacities to Kyiv, fearing an escalation that would mean a more direct standoff between U.S. and Russia, countries which have the world's biggest nuclear arsenals.