POSSIBLY OVER 100 DEAD FROM IAN IN FLORIDA.

 POSSIBLY OVER 100 DEAD FROM IAN IN FLORIDA.

SIGNS IN THE SUN, MOON AND STARS-CHEMICAL WEAPONS

LUKE 21:11
11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences;(BIOLOGICAL/CHEMICAL/NUCLEAR) and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.

LUKE 21:25-26
25 And there shall be signs in the sun,(HEATING UP-SOLAR ECLIPSES) and in the moon,(MAN ON THE MOON-LUNAR ECLIPSES) and in the stars;(ASTEROIDS-PROPHECY SIGNS) and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity;(MASS CONFUSION) the sea and the waves roaring;(FIERCE WINDS)
26 Men’s hearts failing them for fear,(TORNADOES,HURRICANES,STORMS) and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth:(DESTRUCTION) for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.(FROM QUAKES,NUKES ETC)
REVELATION 16:21 80-120LB HAIL ON HUMANS
21And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent:(80-120 LBS) and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.

I HEARD THERE WAS 64 DEATHS AND POSSIBLY OVER 100 DEATHS. SO THIS 27 ONLY IS WAY OUT.

Hurricane Ian death toll may have surpassed 50-Those confirmed dead across eight counties range from age 22 to 92.ByTess Riski and Grethel AguilaMiami Herald

Florida officials estimate there may be more than 50 deaths across eight counties linked to Hurricane Ian.At least 18 of the people who died drowned. Three died when their oxygen machines stopped working due to power outages.The youngest fatality confirmed by the Florida Medical Examiners Commission was a 22-year-old woman in Manatee County. The oldest confirmed death was a 92-year-old man in Lee County.Here is a summary of what Florida officials have reported by county.CHARLOTTE COUNTY-There were 12 deaths in Charlotte County, all unconfirmed, said Kevin Guthrie, Florida’s emergency management director.The medical examiner must determine if a death is storm-related or not, Guthrie said, which is why several counties have reported some deaths as “unconfirmed” for the time being.-COLLIER COUNTY-Three deaths were confirmed to be from drowning. The victims included a 73-year-old woman who was found on Thursday; a 73-year-old woman who was found on Wednesday, and a 64-year-old woman who was found on Wednesday.Guthrie said Friday morning that there were eight unconfirmed deaths in Collier County.It was unclear if the three confirmed Collier County deaths announced Friday evening were included in the eight that Guthrie mentioned earlier in the day.LAKE COUNTY-The one death reported in Lake County was a 38-year-old man who died in a crash when his car hydroplaned on Wednesday, the Medical Examiners Commission said-LEE COUNTY-Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno on Friday afternoon announced 16 storm-related deaths and five non-storm-related deaths. Marceno didn’t provide further details.That’s the first preliminary fatality count out of the region that Gov. Ron DeSantis described as “ground zero” and “where the storm packed its biggest punch.”On Friday night, the Florida Medical Examiners Commission reported 12 deaths in Lee County. It’s unclear if those deaths were included in Marceno’s announcement.All but one of the deaths reported were caused by drowning. The one exception was ruled a natural death because the 82-year-old man had a history of disease.Three of the county’s fatalities had unconfirmed or unknown ages.MANATEE COUNTY-A 22-year-old woman died in the county after she was ejected from an ATV during a rollover on Friday due to road washout, according to the Medical Examiners Commission.POLK COUNTY-The county has one confirmed death, according to Guthrie.SARASOTA COUNTY-The county’s four deaths included a 71-year-old man who died from head injuries on Tuesday when he fell off a roof while putting up shutters, according to the Medical Examiners Commission.The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office provided details about the deaths of a 94-year-old man who lived near the Palmer Ranch area and an 80-year-old woman who lived near north Sarasota, saying both individuals relied on oxygen machines that were disabled from power outages.On Friday night, the Medical Examiners Commission announced the death of an 80-year-old man who collapsed after being unable to use oxygen.-VOLUSIA COUNTY-The county had four fatalities from drowning, including a 91-year-old man who was found on Thursday; a 79 year-old man also found on Thursday; a 67-year-old man who was found on Friday, and a 68-year-old woman who was swept into the ocean by a wave and found on Thursday, according to the Medical Examiners Commission.The official death toll has continued to rise as emergency responders from across the state descend into the hardest-hit areas.DeSantis noted on Friday that some of the newer buildings in the worst-hit areas like Fort Myers Beach, Captiva and Sanibel Island stood up to the storm.“But man, I’ll tell you, those older homes that just aren’t as strong built, they got washed into the sea, some of them,” DeSantis said at a press conference. “And so if you were hunkering down in that, that is something that I think would be difficult to be survivable.”In Sarasota County, where four deaths have been confirmed, Sheriff Kurt Hoffman described the storm as “significant and catastrophic.”“I’ve lived in this community for over four decades and I have never seen a storm of this strength that has done this much damage,” Hoffman said Friday.Guthrie described a grim situation at a home in an undisclosed location in Lee County with apparent drowning victims.“Let me paint the picture for you. The water was up over the rooftop but we had a Coast Guard rescue swimmer swim down into it and he could identify what appeared to be human remains.”Guthrie noted that there are “a couple of other situations” in the area with similar circumstances. Much of the county remains without power or water. There were 10-foot-high storm surges when the hurricane made landfall, Lee County Sheriff Marceno said.“It’s definitely the worst thing I’ve seen in my life, and I’m a lifelong Floridian,” Lee County Commissioner Brian Hamman told the Miami Herald on Friday. “We don’t even have water getting to the hospitals.”

Hurricane Ian destruction in southwestern Florida-By —Meg Kinnard, Associated Press By —Adriana Gomez Licon, Associated Press-Death toll rises to 27 in Florida in aftermath of Hurricane Ian-Nation Oct 1, 2022 10:31 AM EDT

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — Rescuers searched for survivors among the ruins of Florida’s flooded homes from Hurricane Ian while authorities in South Carolina waited for daylight to assess damage from its strike there as the remnants of one of the strongest and costliest hurricanes to ever hit the U.S. continued to push north.The powerful storm terrorized millions of people for most of the week, battering western Cuba before raking across Florida from the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean, where it mustered enough strength for a final assault on South Carolina. Now weakened to a post-tropical cyclone, Ian was expected to move across central North Carolina on Saturday morning and reach south-central Virginia by the afternoon.At least 30 people were confirmed dead, including 27 people in Florida mostly from drowning but others from the storm’s tragic aftereffects. An elderly couple died after their oxygen machines shut off when they lost power, authorities said.Meanwhile, distraught residents waded through knee-high water Friday, salvaging what possessions they could from their flooded homes and loading them onto rafts and canoes.“I want to sit in the corner and cry. I don’t know what else to do,” Stevie Scuderi said after shuffling through her mostly destroyed Fort Myers apartment, the mud in her kitchen clinging to her purple sandals.In South Carolina, Ian’s center came ashore near Georgetown, a small community along the Winyah Bay about 60 miles (95 kilometers) north of historic Charleston. The storm washed away parts of four piers along the coast, including two connected to the popular tourist town of Myrtle Beach.The storm’s winds were much weaker Friday than during Ian’s landfall on Florida’s Gulf Coast earlier in the week. Authorities and volunteers there were still assessing the damage as shocked residents tried to make sense of what they just lived through.Anthony Rivera, 25, said he had to climb through the window of his first floor apartment during the storm to carry his grandmother and girlfriend to the second floor. As they hurried to escape the rising water, the storm surge had washed a boat right up next to his apartment.“That’s the scariest thing in the world because I can’t stop no boat,” he said. “I’m not Superman.”Even though Ian has long passed over Florida, new problems continued to arise. A 14-mile (22-kilometer) stretch of Interstate 75 was closed late Friday in both directions in the Port Charlotte area because of the massive mount of water swelling the Myakka River.Ross Giarratana, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Tampa, said the Myakka was cresting at a record 12.73 feet (3.88 meters) Saturday morning.Further southeast, the Peace River was also at a major flood stage early Saturday in Polk, Hardee and DeSoto counties. The majority of those points have not yet crested, Giarratana said.“It was crazy to look at just how quickly the rivers were rising,’’ he said. “We knew that we were in for some record stuff.”The official death toll climbed throughout the day Friday, with authorities warning it would likely rise much higher once crews made a more comprehensive sweep of the damage. Searches were aimed at emergency rescues and initial assessments, Florida Division of Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie said. He described one submerged home as an example.“The water was up over the rooftop, right, but we had a Coast Guard rescue swimmer swim down into it and he could identify that it appeared to be human remains. We do not know exactly how many,” Guthrie said.The dead included a 68-year-old woman swept into the ocean by a wave and a 67-year-old man who who fell into rising water inside his home while awaiting rescue.Authorities also said a 22-year-old woman died after an ATV rollover from a road washout and a 71-year-old man suffered a fatal fall from a rooftop while putting up rain shutters. Another three people died in Cuba earlier in the week.Hurricane Ian has likely caused “well over $100 billion’’ in damage, including $63 billion in privately insured losses, according to the disaster modeling firm Karen Clark & Co., which regularly issues flash catastrophe estimates. If those numbers are borne out, that would make Ian at least the fourth costliest hurricane in U.S. history.In the Sarasota suburb of North Point, Florida, residents of the Country Club Ridge subdivision waded through waterlogged streets Friday. John Chihil solemnly towed a canoe and another small boat through the ankle-deep water.“There’s really not much to feel. It’s an act of God, you know?” he said. “I mean, that’s all you can do is pray and hope for a better day tomorrow.”___Gomez Licon reported from Punta Gorda, Florida; Associated Press contributors include Anthony Izaguirre in Tallahassee, Florida; Terry Spencer and Tim Reynolds in Fort Myers, Florida; Cody Jackson in Tampa, Florida; Freida Frisaro in Miami; Mike Schneider in Orlando, Florida; Daniel Kozin in North Port, Florida; Seth Borenstein in Washington; Bobby Caina Calvan in New York; and Jeffrey Collins in Columbia, South Carolina.

And here are the bounderies of the land that Israel will inherit either through war or peace or God in the future. God says its Israels land and only Israels land. They will have every inch God promised them of this land in the future.
Egypt east of the Nile River, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, The southern part of Turkey and the Western Half of Iraq west of the Euphrates. Gen 13:14-15, Psm 105:9,11, Gen 15:18, Exe 23:31, Num 34:1-12, Josh 1:4.ALL THIS LAND ISRAEL WILL DEFINATELY OWN IN THE FUTURE, ITS ISRAELS NOT ISHMAELS LAND.12 TRIBES INHERIT LAND IN THE FUTURE.

Lebanon receives written US-brokered proposal for maritime border deal with Israel-State news agency says Lebanese president spoke with senior officials ‘to provide a Lebanese response as soon as possible’ on draft accord to demarcate sea borderBy TOI staff-OCT 1,22-Today, 11:44 am 2

The United States handed over a long-negotiated written proposal to Lebanese President Michel Aoun on Saturday to potentially resolve a maritime border dispute between Israel and Lebanon.According to a tweet from the Lebanese presidency’s account, Aoun met with US ambassador to Lebanon Dorothy Shea and received the written proposal from US mediator Amos Hochstein for the demarcation of the maritime border with Israel.The Lebanese state news agency said Aoun then contacted Speaker of Lebanon’s Parliament Nabih Berri and Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati for a consultation on the US proposal.The report said Aoun discussed with the two “how to move forward to provide a Lebanese response as soon as possible.”No details were provided about the proposal.The maritime dispute relates to some 860 square kilometers (330 square miles) of the Mediterranean Sea that include lucrative offshore gas fields.The US-brokered talks on rights to the area, the subject of long-running negotiations between Jerusalem and Beirut and repeated threats from the Hezbollah terror group, have appeared to make progress in recent weeks.On Sunday, Israel’s Channel 13 news said security officials believe a deal will be reached in the next two weeks.The television report followed talks Prime Minister Yair Lapid held on preparations to produce gas from the Karish field, amid Hezbollah threats to attack Israel if it begins drilling there before a maritime border deal is reached.Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah said last week that his Iran-backed terror organization’s missiles were “locked on” Karish.Lebanon claims that the Karish gas field is in disputed territory, while Israel says it lies within its internationally recognized economic waters.Earlier this month, Lapid’s office vowed Israel would go ahead and extract gas from Karish with or without a deal on the maritime border with Lebanon. Those comments came hours after Aoun said that indirect talks with Israel to end a maritime border dispute are in their “final stages.”A spokesperson for Lapid issued a statement later that day saying: “Israel believes that it is both possible and necessary to reach an agreement on a maritime line between Lebanon and Israel, in a manner that will serve the interests of the citizens of both countries.”

Arab states said to warn UK that moving embassy to Jerusalem could risk trade deal-Ambassadors from countries, including Abraham Accords members, penned letter to British PM before she notified Lapid she’d be launching review of mission’s locationBy TOI staff-OCT 1,22-Today, 6:30 am 1

Ambassadors to London from every Arab country reportedly penned a letter to UK Prime Minister Liz Truss urging her not to go ahead with a plan she’s weighing to move the British embassy in Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.The Arab ambassadors wrote that such a move would be “illegal and ill-judged,” The Guardian reported on Friday.The letter was sent last week, just before Truss traveled to New York where she spoke before the United Nations General Assembly and also met with Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid, whom she informed that her office would be engaging in a review of the embassy’s current location.Signatories of the letter included the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, who signed the Abraham Accords with Israel in 2020 along with Morocco, which normalized ties with Israel shortly thereafter.The report said that the countries who back the Abraham Accords have been the most ardent opponents to a possible British embassy move as they fear that their decision to embrace Israel will be viewed as what led countries to subsequently break the supposed taboo of moving their missions to Jerusalem.Similar objections have been raised by the UK’s European allies, according to The Guardian.Israel views Jerusalem as its undivided capital, while most of the international community does not recognize it as such and deems the final borders of the city as dependent on peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.Only the US, Guatemala, Kosovo and Honduras have opened embassies in Jerusalem. Other countries, including Hungary, the Czech Republic, Serbia, and Australia, have official trade or defense branches in Jerusalem.While The Guardian did not cite any sources for its reporting, it said that some Arab diplomats have even warned that moving the British embassy to Jerusalem could place a long-negotiated free trade agreement between the UK and the Gulf Cooperation Council at risk, even as its set to be signed at the end of the year.Palestinian Ambassador to the UK Husam Zomlot warned in a statement: “Any embassy move would be a blatant violation of international law and the UK’s historic responsibilities. It undermines the two-state solution and inflames an already volatile situation in Jerusalem, the rest of the occupied territories, and among communities in the UK and worldwide. It would be disastrous.”An unnamed former British diplomat told The Guardian that Truss was a “pound-shop Trump” seeking to emulate the former president who was the first to make such a move in 2018. “She seems to think she should ape Donald Trump. The difference is that the US is big enough to get its way in the Middle East. The UK is not. If the UK shifted its embassy it would have a domino effect among some countries in the European Union, such as Hungary, but probably not, and will damage British interest in the Arab world.”When Trump announced his plan to relocate the US embassy in 2017, then-UK prime minister Theresa May was critical.Truss, however, told the UK’s Conservative Friends of Israel last month, before she became prime minister, that she would review the UK’s decision to remain in Tel Aviv if she became the British leader.“I understand the importance and sensitivity of the location of the British Embassy in Israel. I’ve had many conversations with my good friend Prime Minister Yair Lapid on this topic,” she said.Since the announcement, Truss has come under intense domestic pressure after her government announced a financial plan that fueled a crisis in an already struggling economy.

AMERICA (POLITICAL BABYLON)(NUKED BY SNEAK ATTACK FROM RUSSIA)

IN REVELATION 17 & 18 IS THE DESTRUCTION OF THE RELIGIOUS AND POLITICAL BABYLONS.IF YOU CAN NOT DECERN BETWEEN THE 2 BABYLONS IN REV 17 & 18.YOU WILL JUST THINK THEIR BOTH THE SAME.BUT NO-THERES A RELIGIOUS BABYLON (THE VATICAN IN REV 17)(AND THE POLITICAL BABYLON IN REV 18 (AMERICA OR NEW YORK TO BE EXACT)

ISAIAH 34:10
10  It (AMERICA-POLITICAL BABYLON) shall not be quenched night nor day; the smoke thereof shall go up for ever: from generation to generation it shall lie waste; none shall pass through it for ever and ever.

JEREMIAH 51:29-32 (CYBER ATTACK 1ST)
29  And the land shall tremble and sorrow: for every purpose of the LORD shall be performed against Babylon,(AMERICA-NEW YORK) to make the land of Babylon (AMERICA) a desolation without an inhabitant.
30  The mighty men of Babylon (AMERICA) have forborn to fight, they have remained in their holds: their might hath failed; they became as women: they have burned her dwellingplaces; her bars are broken.
031  One post shall run to meet another, and one messenger to meet another, to shew the king of Babylon (NEW YORK) that his city is taken at one end,
32  And that the passages are stopped,(THE WAR COMPUTERS HACKED OR EMP'D) and the reeds they have burned with fire, and the men of war are affrighted.(DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO)

COMPLETE SILENCE AFTER AN EMP GOES OFF
REVELATION 8:1
1 And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.

JEREMIAH 50:3,24
3 For out of the north (RUSSIA) there cometh up a nation against her, which shall make her land desolate, and none shall dwell therein: they shall remove, they shall depart, both man and beast.
24 I have laid a snare for thee, and thou art also taken, O Babylon,(AMERICA) and thou wast not aware: thou art found, and also caught, because thou hast striven against the LORD. (RUSSIA A SNEAK CYBER,EMP ATTACK,THEN NUKE ATTACK ON AM

JOEL 3:2 (WW3 OCCURS WHEN JERUSALEM IS DIVIDED)
2 I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people (ISRAEL) and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.(JERUSALEM)(WW3 STARTS BECAUSE JERUSALEM IS DIVIDED AND ISRAELIS UPROOTED FROM THEIR GOD GIVIN LAND BRINGS 3 DEAD BILLION IN WW3)

US CENTRAL BANK DIGITAL CURRENCY
https://www.federalreserve.gov/publications/files/money-and-payments-20220120.pdf

Analysis-US would know if Russia preparing nuclear strike on Ukraine, experts say-Analysts say preparations would be visible, and they are ‘quite certain’ there are no hidden facilities; likely Moscow would want West to see what it is doing as a warning-By Paul Handley-OCT 1,22-Today, 8:11 am 4

WASHINGTON (AFP) — The United States would almost certainly discover ahead of time if Russia was preparing a nuclear strike on Ukraine, and Moscow might very well want it known, nuclear weapons experts say.Russian President Vladimir Putin has raised the possibility of using nuclear weapons if Russia’s “territorial integrity” or existence is threatened.Moscow’s declaration Friday that it was annexing four partly-occupied regions of Ukraine potentially meant Russia could consider responding to attacks on the claimed territory with a nuclear strike.Should such an escalation materialize, it would probably be in the form of a smaller tactical nuclear weapon, likely launched on a short-range Iskander ballistic missile, according to experts.While military analysts downplay Moscow’s threats for now and US officials say they have seen no activity indicating such plans, Western defense and intelligence are closely watching to see if real atomic threats emerge.Preparations for an attack would be evident, Pavel Podvig, a senior researcher at the UN Institute for Disarmament Research in Geneva, told AFP.A 2017 report by the institute maps out 47 nuclear storage sites across Russia — 12 national-level facilities and 35 base facilities.These are monitored constantly by intelligence and military surveillance satellites of the United States and other countries.They can even be watched closely by commercial satellites, as shown by the widespread, regularly updated imagery of activities at North Korean nuclear facilities.Podvig says Russia has deployed its strategic or long-range nuclear warheads in the field, on missiles, bombers and submarines.But its non-strategic or tactical nuclear weapons, which number as many as 2,000, are stored and not installed on delivery vehicles like the Iskander, according to Podvig.“There are no Iskanders roaming around with nuclear-armed warheads. These weapons are in storage,” he said.How would we know? “I’m confident the United States would see any Russian preparations for using nuclear weapons,” said Mark Cancian, a former official in the US defense and energy departments who worked on nuclear weapons issues.“The weapons need to come out of storage, the units involved need to be alerted, and the Russians might also alert their strategic nuclear forces,” Cancian, now at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, told AFP.He said evidence would also come from likely visible preparations for Russia’s ground forces, issuing them protective equipment and instructions on how to act in a nuclear environment.“All of this would be visible,” he noted.Podvig said Moscow, like Washington, has for decades embraced the need for disciplined management of its nuclear warheads, and that system is fairly strong and visible.“We can be quite certain that there are no hidden facilities,” he said.“Nuclear weapons need a certain structure, people who are trained, and the maintenance. You cannot do that in a random place.”“Technically you could probably smuggle a couple of bombs out of a storage sight undetected,” he said.But doing so has risks, including provoking a preemptive attack from the West.“The Russians will never be certain that it is undetected. That would be a gamble,” said Podvig.Moreover, he added, it is more likely that Russia would want the West to see its preparations as a warning.“It would be the kind of escalatory step (and) Russia would want that to be visible,” Podvig said.Warning the world-The United States warned for weeks before the February 24 invasion that Russia intended to attack Ukraine, seeking to prepare Kyiv and allies — and possibly deter Moscow from acting.Would Washington warn the world openly if it detected Russia planning a nuclear assault? Doing so could spark unprecedented panic, not only in Ukraine but other areas that could be affected by radioactive fallout.Such alarm could go global if people expected an escalation to transcontinental nuclear war.The United States would almost certainly warn allies and other powers, including crucially China and India, hoping they would pressure Moscow to pull back or face international isolation.But Washington would likely see issuing public warnings as useful in adding to pressure on Russia, according to Podvig.“The strategy has to be based on isolation. The unacceptability of this has to be reinforced, that it is criminal,” he said.“That message might have deterrence value.”

Thousands of Russian troops ‘encircled’ as Ukraine’s forces enter key annexed town-Ukraine begins to recapture Lyman in Donetsk, which Putin declared as part of Russia on Friday-By AFP-OCT 01,22-Today, 5:21 pm 0

KYIV — Ukraine said Saturday it encircled several thousand Russian troops as it began to enter a key town in one of the four Moscow-held territories that President Vladimir Putin annexed a day earlier despite condemnation from Kyiv and the West.Putin staged a grand ceremony in the Kremlin on Friday to celebrate the annexations of four territories controlled by his army.“I want to say this to the Kyiv regime and its masters in the West: People living in Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia are becoming our citizens forever,” Putin said.US President Joe Biden condemned Friday’s ceremony in Moscow as a “sham routine” and pledged to continue backing Kyiv.On Saturday, Ukrainian forces were beginning to enter the key town of Lyman in Donetsk, which Moscow’s forces pummelled for weeks to capture this spring.“Ukrainian Air Assault Forces are entering Lyman, Donetsk region,” the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said on Twitter, posting a video of soldiers holding up a Ukrainian flag near a sign with the town’s name.Ukrainian Air Assault Forces are entering Lyman, Donetsk region. #UAarmy has and will always have the decisive vote in today's and any future "referendums". pic.twitter.com/gGIIk9rNkG— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) October 1, 2022-Ukraine’s army said Saturday that it had “encircled” a Russian grouping near the eastern town, estimating it to be around 5,000 troops.The governor of the neighboring Luhansk region, Sergiy Gaiday, said the surrounded soldiers have three options: “try to break through, all die together or surrender.”The Kremlin-backed leader of Donetsk said Friday that Russian troops and their allies were holding on to Lyman with “their last strength.”The four annexed territories create a crucial land corridor between Russia and the Crimean Peninsula, annexed by Moscow in 2014.Together, the five regions make up around 20 percent of Ukraine, where Kyiv in recent weeks has been clawing back territory.‘Illegal and illegitimate’ annexation-Washington announced “severe” new sanctions against Russian officials and the defense industry, and said G7 allies support imposing “costs” on any nation that backs the annexation.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky immediately urged the US-led military alliance NATO to grant his country fast-track membership.He also vowed never to hold talks with Russia as long as Putin was in power. NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg slammed the annexation as “illegal and illegitimate” but remained non-committal after Ukraine said it was applying to join the Western alliance.The United States and Canada voiced support for Ukraine’s membership but steered clear of promises to fast-track it.Turkey said Saturday Russia’s annexation was a “grave violation of the established principles of international law.”Despite warnings from Putin prior to the annexation that he could use nuclear weapons to defend the captured territories, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Kyiv would “continue liberating our land and our people.”Kuleba also said Ukraine brought the annexations to the International Court of Justice and urged the Hague-based court to hear the case “as soon as possible.”Nuclear plant boss detained-US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Friday that Washington would announce an “immediate” new weapons shipment for Kyiv next week.Sullivan also said that while there is a “risk” of Putin using nuclear weapons, there is no indication he would do so imminently.On Saturday, Ukraine’s nuclear agency said a “Russian patrol” detained the director general of the Moscow-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.Ihor Murashov was leaving the plant Friday when he was detained and “driven in an unknown direction” while blindfolded, Energoatom said.Zaporizhzhia — Europe’s largest nuclear energy facility — has been at the center of tensions in recent weeks after Moscow and Kyiv accused each other of strikes on and near the plant, raising fears of an atomic disaster.Russia on Friday vetoed a UN Security Council resolution condemning the annexation of the regions, while China, India, Brazil and Gabon abstained.Although Russia’s veto was a certainty, Western powers had hoped to demonstrate Moscow’s growing isolation on the world stage and will now take the condemnation effort to the General Assembly, where every nation has a vote and none can kill a resolution.At a UNESCO meeting Friday in Mexico City, representatives of dozens of countries walked out as Russia took the floor, symbolically condemning the invasion of Ukraine.

20 killed in Russian shelling of Ukrainian civilian convoy, Kyiv says-Second strike in two days to hit humanitarian convoy; Russia in retreat from most of Kharkiv region-By Jon Gambrell and Adam Schreck-OCT 1,22-Today, 4:51 pm 0

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A senior Ukrainian official said Russian forces on Saturday shelled a civilian evacuation convoy in the country’s northeast, killing 20 people. Bombardments have intensified as Moscow illegally annexed a swath of Ukrainian territory in a sharp escalation of the war.Kharkiv region Gov. Oleh Syniehubov said the convoy was struck in the Kupiansy district, calling the attack on people who were trying to flee the area to avoid being shelled “сruelty that can’t be justified.”Russian forces have not acknowledged or commented on the attack, apparently the second in two days to hit a humanitarian convoy. Russian troops have retreated from much of the Kharkiv region after a successful Ukrainian counteroffensive last month but continued to shell the area.The attack comes at a pivotal moment in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war. Facing a Ukrainian counteroffensive, Putin this week heightened threats of nuclear force and used his most aggressive, anti-Western rhetoric to date.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his military vowed to keep fighting to liberate the annexed regions and other Russian-occupied areas.Ukrainian officials said Saturday that their forces had surrounded thousands of Russian forces holding the strategic eastern city of Lyman, which is located in one of the four incorporated areas. Zelensky formally applied Friday for Ukraine to join NATO, increasing pressure on Western allies to help defend the country.Also on Saturday Ukraine’s nuclear power provider said that Russian forces blindfolded and detained the head of Europe’s largest nuclear plant. It appeared to be an attempt to secure Moscow’s hold on the newly annexed territory.Russian forces seized the director-general of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, Ihor Murashov, around 4 p.m. Friday, Ukrainian state nuclear company Energoatom said. That was just hours after Putin signed treaties to absorb Moscow-controlled Ukrainian territory into Russia, including the area around the nuclear plant.Energoatom said Russian troops stopped Murashov’s car, blindfolded him, and then took him to an undisclosed location.Russia did not immediately acknowledge seizing the plant director. The International Atomic Energy Agency, which has staff at the plant, said it was aware of the reports of Murashov’s capture and had contacted Russian authorities for clarification on what happened.“His detention by [Russia] jeopardizes the safety of Ukraine and Europe’s largest nuclear power plant,” said Energoatom President Petro Kotin said, demanding the director’s immediate release.The power plant repeatedly has been caught in the crossfire of the war in Ukraine. Ukrainian technicians continued running it after Russian troops seized the power station, and its last reactor was shut down in September as a precautionary measure amid ongoing shelling nearby.Amid growing international sanctions and condemnation of Russia, a Ukrainian counteroffensive that has embarrassed the Kremlin appeared on the verge of retaking more ground.A Ukrainian official said Saturday that the Russian-occupied city of Lyman was surrounded, with some 5,000 Russian forces trapped there. Luhansk Gov. Serhiy Haidai claimed that all routes to resupply Russian forces in Lyman were blockedt“The occupiers asked their leadership for the opportunity to leave, which they refused,” Haidai said in a television interview. “Now they have three options: to try to break through, to surrender or to die together.”His claims could not immediately be verified. Russia has not confirmed its forces were cut off, and Russian analysts had said Moscow was sending more troops to the area.The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, said Ukraine likely will retake Lyman in the coming days.Citing Russian reports, the institute said it appeared Russian forces were retreating from Lyman, some 160 kilometers (100 miles) southeast of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city. That corresponds to online videos purportedly showing some Russian forces falling back as a Ukrainian soldier said they had reached Lyman’s outskirts.It said Ukraine also was making “incremental” gains around Kupiansk and the eastern bank of the Oskil River, which became a key front line since the Ukrainian counteroffensive regained control of the Kharkiv region in September.The Russian army struck the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv twice overnight, once with drones and the second time with missiles, according to regional Gov. Vitaliy Kim. The first attack was conducted with Iranian Shahed-136 kamikaze drones and the second with S-300 missiles, he said on Telegram.One of the rockets hit a five-story apartment building in the city center, while windows of the surrounding houses were blown out. In another part of the city, a private house and a two-story residential building suffered extensive damage. Five people were injured, including a 3-month-old baby, Kim said.In its heaviest barrage in weeks, Russia’s military on Friday pounded Ukrainian cities with missiles, rockets, and suicide drones, with one strike in the Zaporizhzhia region’s capital killing 30 and wounding 88.In a daily intelligence briefing Saturday, the British Defense Ministry said the Russians “almost certainly” struck a humanitarian convoy there with S-300 anti-aircraft missiles. Russia is increasingly using anti-aircraft missiles to conduct attacks on the ground likely due to a lack of munitions, the British military said.“Russia is expending strategically valuable military assets in attempts to achieve tactical advantage and in the process is killing civilians it now claims are its own citizens,” it said.The attack came while Putin was preparing to sign the annexation treaties, which included the Zaporizhzhia region. Russian-installed officials in Zaporizhzhia blamed Ukrainian forces but gave no evidence.Russia now claims sovereignty over 15% of Ukraine, in what NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg called “the largest attempted annexation of European territory by force since the Second World War.” The NATO chief was meeting Saturday with Denmark’s prime minister amid investigations into explosions on Russian pipelines in the Baltic Sea.

Analysts: Ukraine counteroffensive close to retaking ground-Russia accused of kidnapping head of Ukraine nuclear plant after illegal annexations-State nuclear company says Russian troops stopped car of director-general of Zaporizhzhia plant, blindfolded him and took him to undisclosed location, hours after Putin declaration-By AP-OCT 1,22-Today, 11:12 am 0

KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine’s nuclear power provider accused Russia on Saturday of “kidnapping” the head of Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, a facility now occupied by Russian troops and located in a region of Ukraine that Russian President Vladimir Putin has moved to annex illegally.Russian forces seized the director-general of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, Ihor Murashov, around 4 p.m. Friday, Ukrainian state nuclear company Energoatom said. That was just hours after Putin, in a sharp escalation of his war, signed treaties to absorb Moscow-controlled Ukrainian territory into Russia.Energoatom said Russian troops stopped Murashov’s car, blindfolded him and then took him to an undisclosed location.“His detention by (Russia) jeopardizes the safety of Ukraine and Europe’s largest nuclear power plant,” said Energoatom President Petro Kotin said.Kotin demanded that Russia immediately release Murashov.Russia did not immediately acknowledge seizing the plant director. The International Atomic Energy Agency, which has staff at the plant, did not immediately acknowledge Energoatom’s claim of Murashov’s capture.The Zaporizhzhia plant repeatedly has been caught in the crossfire of the war in Ukraine. Ukrainian technicians continued running it after Russian troops seized the power station. The plant’s last reactor was shut down in September amid ongoing shelling near the facility.On Friday, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the war in Ukraine was at “a pivotal moment.” He called Putin’s decision to take over more territory – Russia now claims sovereignty over 15% of Ukraine – “the largest attempted annexation of European territory by force since the Second World War.”Elsewhere in Ukraine, however, a Ukrainian counteroffensive that last month embarrassed the Kremlin by liberating a region bordering Russia was on the verge of retaking more ground, according to military analysts.The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, said Ukraine likely will retake another key Russian-occupied city in the country’s east in the next few days. Ukrainian forces already have encircled the city of Lyman, some 160 kilometers (100 miles) southeast of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city.Citing Russian reports, the institute said it appeared Russian forces were retreating from Lyman. That corresponds to online videos purportedly showing some Russian forces falling back as a Ukrainian soldier said they had reached Lyman’s outskirts.The Ukrainian military has yet to claim taking Lyman, and Russia-backed forces claimed they were sending more troops to the area.Ukraine also is making “incremental” gains around Kupiansk and the eastern bank of the Oskil River, which became a key front line since the Ukrainian counteroffensive regained control of the Kharkiv region in September.Ukraine’s military claimed Saturday that Russia would need to deploy cadets before they complete their training because of a lack of manpower in the war. Putin ordered a mass mobilization of Russian army reservists last week to supplement his troops in Ukraine, and thousands of men have fled the country to avoid the call-up.The Ukrainian military’s general staff said cadets at the Tyumen Military School and at the Ryazan Airborne School would be sent to participate in Russia’s mobilization. It offered no details on how it gathered the information, though Kyiv has electronically intercepted mobile phone calls from Russian soldiers amid the conflict.In a daily intelligence briefing, the British Defense Ministry highlighted an attack Friday in the city of Zaporizhzhia that killed 30 people and wounded 88 others.The British military said the Russians “almost certainly” struck a humanitarian convoy there with S-300 anti-aircraft missiles. Russia is increasingly using anti-aircraft missiles to conduct attacks on the ground likely due to a lack of munitions, the British said Saturday.“Russia’s stock of such missiles is highly likely limited and is a high-value resource designed to shoot down modern aircraft and incoming missiles, rather than for use against ground targets,” the British said. “Its use in ground attack role has almost certainly been driven by overall munitions shortages, particularly longer-range precision missiles.”The British briefing noted the attack came while Putin was preparing to sign the annexation treaties.“Russia is expending strategically valuable military assets in attempts to achieve tactical advantage and in the process is killing civilians it now claims are its own citizens,” it said.

North Korea tests missiles for 4th time this week in response to rivals’ army drills-Officials estimate ballistic missiles flew 220 to 250 miles at altitude of 20 to 30 miles before landing in waters between Korean Peninsula and Japan-By Hyung-Jin Kim and Mari Yamaguchi-OCT 1,22-Today, 6:48 am 0

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea on Saturday fired two short-range ballistic missiles toward its eastern waters, South Korean and Japanese officials said, making it the North’s fourth round of weapons launches this week that are seen as a response to military drills among its rivals.South Korea’s military said that it detected the two North Korean missile launches 18 minutes apart on Saturday morning coming from the North’s capital region. Japan’s Defense Ministry said it also spotted the launches.“The repeated ballistic missile firings by North Korea are a grave provocation that undermines peace and security on the Korean Peninsula and in the international community,” South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.It said South Korea strongly condemns the launches and urges North Korea to stop testing ballistic missiles.Toshiro Ino, Japan’s vice defense minister, called the launches “absolutely impermissible.” He said the four rounds of missile testing by North Korea in a week is “unprecedented.”According to South Korean and Japanese estimates, the North Korean missiles flew about 350-400 kilometers (220-250 miles) at a maximum altitude of 30-50 kilometers (20-30 miles) before they landed in the waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan.Ino, the Japanese vice minister, said the missiles showed “irregular” trajectory. The five other ballistic missiles fired by North Korea on three occasions this week also show similar low trajectories.Some experts say that the weapons are a nuclear-capable, highly maneuverable missiles modeled after Russia’s Iskander missile. That Iskander-like missile is capable of striking strategic targets in South Korea, including US military bases there.Saturday’s launches came a day after South Korea, Japan and the United States held their first trilateral anti-submarine drills in five years off the Korean Peninsula’s east coast. Earlier this week, South Korean and US warships conducted bilateral exercises in the area for four days. Both military drills this week involved the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan and its battle group.North Korea views such military drills among its rivals as an invasion rehearsal and often responds with its own weapons tests.The North Korean missile tests this week also came before and after US Vice President Kamala Harris visited South Korea on Thursday and reaffirmed the “ironclad” US commitment to the security of its Asian allies.This year, North Korea has carried out a record number of missile tests in what experts call an attempt to expand its weapons arsenal amid stalled nuclear diplomacy with the United States. The weapons tested this year included nuclear-capable missiles with the ability to reach the US mainland, South Korea and Japan.South Korean and US officials say North Korea has also completed preparations to conduct a nuclear test, which would be its first in five years.Experts say North Korean leader Kim Jong Un eventually wants to use the enlarged nuclear arsenal to pressure the United States and others accept his country as a legitimate nuclear state, a recognition he views as necessary to win the lifting of international sanctions and other concessions.Multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions ban North Korea from testing ballistic missiles and nuclear devices. The country’s missile launches this year are seen as exploiting a divide at the UN council over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and US-China competitions.In May, China and Russia vetoed a US-led attempt to toughen sanctions on North Korea over its ballistic missile launches.“North Korea’s frequent short-range missile tests may strain the isolated state’s resources. But because of deadlock on the UN Security Council, they are a low-cost way for the Kim regime to signal its displeasure with Washington and Seoul’s defense exercises while playing the domestic politics of countering an external threat,” said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul.