Ukraine war live updates: U.S. brushes off Putin's ‘nuclear war' threat; Ukraine's forces shelling nuclear plant, Russia claims

The White House dismissed comments made by Russian President Vladimir Putin, stating that there is no reason to adjust the US nuclear posture. Meanwhile, Russian-installed officials at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine accused Ukraine’s armed forces of shelling critical infrastructure at the plant. The officials claimed that the action could have had dire consequences. Russia has occupied the plant since March 2022, which has been a source of tension between Ukrainian and Russian forces. The International Atomic Energy Agency was notified of the incident. Russia has also accused the US of planning cyberattacks on its electronic voting system during its elections. The European Union ambassadors have agreed in principle to provide aid worth 5 billion euros to Ukraine. Russia has announced that it will not participate in a peace conference on the war in Ukraine. Ukraine’s security service has claimed responsibility for drone attacks on Russian oil refineries. In response, Russia’s defense ministry claimed to have destroyed numerous drones and missiles fired by Ukraine in the past 24 hours. Several major Russian oil refineries have been shut down or had their operations halted following the drone attacks.