Russia Hits Homes In Ukraine, Warns Of "Uncontrolled Escalation"

Mykolaiv: Under pressure in southern Ukraine, Russia fired missiles and drones at Ukrainian-occupied Mykolaiv on Sunday, destroying an apartment block in the shipbuilding town near the front line and saying the war is tending toward "uncontrolled escalation."
Mykolaiv is about 35 km (22 miles) northwest of the front line to occupied Kherson, the southern region where Russia has urged 60,000 people to flee a Ukrainian counteroffensive "to save their lives."
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, whom some Russian nationalists blame for Moscow's setbacks since the Feb. 24 invasion, discussed the "rapidly deteriorating situation" in talks with French, British and Turkish counterparts, the ministry said.
He also spoke by phone with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin for the second time in three days. The Pentagon report said Austin told Shoigu that he "rejects any pretext for Russian escalation"

Without providing evidence, Shoigu said Ukraine could escalate with a "dirty bomb" - conventional explosives laced with radioactive material. Ukraine has no nuclear weapons, while Russia has said it could protect Russian territory with its nuclear arsenal.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba rejected the claim, calling it "absurd" and "dangerous. He added: "Russians often blame others for what they themselves are planning."

The White House National Security Council also rejected Shoigu's claims. "The world would see through any attempt to use this allegation as a pretext for escalation," the council said in a statement.
Communication channels

In his nightly video message, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said only Russia is capable of deploying nuclear weapons in Europe and that Shoigu's "telephone carousel" made that clear.

"Everyone understands very well," Zelenskiy said. "They understand who is the source of all the dirty things that can be imagined in this war."
Ukraine claims Russia has used Iranian Shahed-136 attack drones. Tehran denies supplying the drones to Moscow - a claim Washington believes is untrue.

Kim said Russia also attacked with S-300 missiles, one of which hit the five-story apartment building.
Winter misery looms

Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of planning to blow up the Nova Kakhovka Dam, which holds about as much water as the Great Salt Lake in the U.S. state of Utah. A breach of the dam could flood much of southern Ukraine, including Kherson.

Neither side has provided evidence to support its claims about the dam, which supplies water to Crimea and the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant.

Zelenskiy said Russian attacks on energy infrastructure have taken on a "very large scale."

As the war enters its ninth month and winter approaches, icy misery looms.