Almost a year after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine, the two countries are engaged in a struggle for control of areas throughout the east and south.
Putin's forces pulled out of key positions in November, retreating from Kherson as Ukrainian troops led a counteroffensive targeting the southern port city. Russian drones have continued bombarding civilian targets throughout Ukraine, knocking out critical power infrastructure as wintersets in.
Here's how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Oct 03, 2022, 7:26 AM EDT
Putin's nuclear threats 'irresponsible rhetoric,' official says
Russian President Vladimir Putin's threats that his country could strike Ukraine with nuclear weapons were "irresponsible rhetoric" from a nuclear power, a Pentagon official said.
"They are continuing to be irresponsible rhetoric coming from a nuclear power," Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said on "Good Morning America" on Monday. "There's no reason for him to use that kind of bluster, those kinds of threats."
Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby on “Good Morning America” on Oct. 3, 2022.
ABC News
But the U.S. was still taking the threats seriously, he said. The U.S. was "ready and prepared" to defend every inch of NATO territory, he said.
"We have to take these threats seriously. We must. It'd be easier if we could just blow it off, but we can't," Kirby said. "These are serious threats made by a serious nuclear power."
Oct 03, 2022, 5:55 AM EDT
Russia 'likely struggling' to train reservists, UK says
Russian officials are "likely struggling" to find officers and provide training for many of the reservists who've been called up as part of President Vladimir Putin's mobilization, the U.K. Ministry of Defense said.
"Local officials are likely unclear on the exact scope and legal rationale of the campaign," the ministry said in a Monday update. "They have almost certainly drafted some personnel who are outside the definitions claimed by Putin and the Ministry of Defence."
Some of the reservists are assembling in tented transit camps, the ministry said.
Oct 02, 2022, 10:42 AM EDT
Former CIA chief Petraeus says Putin's losses puts him in 'irreversible' situation
Former CIA chief David Petraeus said Sunday that Russian President Vladimir Putin has put himself in an "irreversible" situation amid the Kremlin's annexation of Russian-controlled Ukrainian regions.
General David Petraeus talks about Ukraine and Russia with Jon Karl on ABC News' This Week, Oct. 2, 2022.
ABC News
Petraeus said Putin "is losing" the war, despite "significant but desperate" recent moves. On Friday, Putin said he was annexing four regions of Ukraine -- a move denounced by Ukraine, the U.S. and other Western countries as a violation of international law -- and, in late September, the Russian leader said he was calling up some 300,000 reservists, triggering protests and a mass exodus from Russia.
In a rare acknowledgment Thursday, Putin admitted "mistakes" in how the country carried out the mobilization.
Oct 02, 2022, 9:19 AM EDT
Pope's plea to Putin: 'Stop this spiral of violence'
In his Sunday Mass at the Vatican, Pope Francis directed his sermon at Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying, "stop this spiral of violence and death" in Ukraine.
Speaking to worshipers in St. Peter's Square, the pontiff denounced Putin's veiled threats of nuclear war as "absurd," according to The Associated Press.
Pope Francis waves from the window of the Apostolic Palace during the weekly Angelus prayer in the Vatican, Oct. 2, 2022. - Pope Francis on Sunday deplored Russia's annexation of Ukrainian territory and called on the Russian leader to stop the war and on Ukraine's president to be open to talks. (Photo by Laurent EMMANUEL / AFP) (Photo by LAURENT EMMANUEL/AFP via Getty Images)
Laurent Emmanuel/AFP via Getty Images
In a message to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Francis asked him to "be open" to serious peace talks.
The pope implored the international community to "use all diplomatic instruments" to end the war, describing the seven months of fighting as a "huge tragedy" and "horror."
Pope Francis leads Sunday Angelus prayer from the window of his office, in St. Peter's Square, Vatican City, Oct. 2, 2022. Pope Francis' Angelus prayer at the Vatican City, Italy - 02 Oct 2022
Angelo Carconoi/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
"How the war is going in Ukraine has become so grave, devastating and threatening that it sparks great worry," Francis said. "In fact, this terrible, inconceivable wound of humanity, instead of shrinking, continues to bleed even more, threatening to spread."
In apparent reference to Putin's annexation of four Russian-controlled regions of eastern and southern Ukraine, the pope said the actions are "contrary to the principles of international law."
"It, in fact, increases the risk of a nuclear escalation, to the point of fearing uncontrollable and catastrophic consequences on the world level," he said.
