Putin says the war is to end West's dominance; power supply gravely hit in Ukraine

247 days. That's how long Russia's invasion of Ukraine has been and the war doesn't seem to be ending anytime soon. Electricity supply in Ukraine has been deteriorating every day with more Russian air strikes. Residents of Kyiv and surrounding areas have been warned of more blackouts. 

• People are also leaving packets of snacks in lifts in case someone gets stuck inside during a power cut. 
• On the other hand, the battle has intensified in the Donetsk region, while another battle looms big in Kherson. 

In the latest: Russian President Vladimir Putin made some important statements on the war in Ukraine on Thursday, October 27. 

• Putin said Russia's war in Ukraine is part of Moscow's bigger struggle against the Western dominance. 
• He also said that Russia has no intentions of using nuclear weapons in Ukraine. 

• US President Joe Biden reacted to Putin's remarks on nuclear weapons by asking why the Russian President keeps talking about nuclear weapons when he has no intention of using them. He also asked why Putin keeps talking about Russia's ability to use nuclear weapons. 
• Russia has been accusing Ukraine of trying to use 'dirty bombs' or radioactive bombs in the war, though Kyiv has denied it. Now, the UN nuclear watchdog, IAEA, is set to conduct an independent verification of the claims. 

• Russia has also called on the UN to investigate Ukraine's use of military-grade biological weapons in the war in collaboration with the US. Ukraine and US have both denied the claims. 
• Ukraine and its allies suspect Russia of staging false flag operations using dirty bombs and biological weapons and trying to pin the blame on the other. 

On the other side: Another well-known Russian celebrity also known as Russia's Paris Hilton, Ksenia Sobchak, has fled the country. 

• Sobchak is a politician in the liberal opposition party with close family ties with Vladimir Putin. She is in fact the goddaughter of Putin. 
• However, she had been vocal about her criticism of Putin. Sobchak left Russia as the police raided her home in a criminal case. 

• Vladimir Putin in his speech on Thursday, also praised India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his economic policies. 
• South Korea's President Yoon Suk-yeol on Friday said that Seoul has not provided Ukraine with any weapons for the war after Putin remarked on Thursday that such a decision would destroy bilateral relations between the two countries.