The operator of the damaged Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline has said that it has been unable to conduct its own inspection of its pipeline more than a week after suspected sabotage triggered massive leaks.
Ukrainian forces have continued to make advances into several areas that the Kremlin has declared its own, raising doubts about Moscow's capacity to control those territories even as President Vladimir Putin signed the decree incorporating them into Russia.
U.S. officials have said they have no information to corroborate media reports suggesting Russia is preparing to use a tactical nuclear weapon on or near the battlefield in Ukraine.
In a tit-for-tat move, Tokyo has ordered a senior Russian official stationed in the country to leave following Russia's decision last week to expel a Japanese diplomat over alleged spying.