Russia-Ukraine updates: Putin suspends key US-Russia nuclear treaty in speech denouncing West

President Vladimir Putin said he'd sought an "open dialogue" with the West.

Almost a year after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine, the two countries are engaged in a struggle for control of areas throughout the east and south.

Putin's forces pulled out of key positions in November, retreating from Kherson as Ukrainian troops led a counteroffensive targeting the southern port city. Russian drones have continued bombarding civilian targets throughout Ukraine, knocking out critical power infrastructure as winter sets in.

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Latest headlines:

Here's how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Oct 08, 2022, 6:38 AM EDT

Truck blast caused bridge damage, Russia says

Russian officials said the explosion that damaged the key bridge linking Crimea and Russia came from a truck.

"Today at 6:07 a truck was blown up on the automobile part of the Crimean Bridge from the side of the Taman Peninsula," Russia's National Anti-Terrorism Committee posted online. "It resulted in the ignition of seven fuel tanks of the train, along the direction of the Crimean Peninsula. There was a partial collapse of two automobile spans of the bridge. The arch over the navigable part of the bridge was not damaged."

People watch as a helicopter puts out a fire on the Kerch bridge in the Kerch Strait, Crimea, on Oct. 8, 2022.
Stringer/Reuters

Russian investigators were at the scene, attempting to "establish the circumstances of the explosion," the committee said.

Russian supply lines into Crimea were likely to be disrupted by the blast. Crimean authorities said they would instead get supplies from Russia's newly annexed territories.

-ABC News' Somayeh Malekian and Tanya Stukalova

Oct 08, 2022, 4:45 AM EDT

Bridge 'down' between Russia and Crimea

The bridge between Russia and Crimea was partially destroyed on Saturday, Ukrainian officials said.

Ukraine's Ministry of Defense said the Kerch Bridge had "gone down."

People look out at damaged sections of the Kerch Bridge in the Kerch Strait, Crimea, Oct. 8, 2022.
Stringer/Reuters

"The guided missile cruiser Moskva and the Kerch Bridge -- two notorious symbols of Russian power in Ukrainian Crimea -- have gone now," the ministry said on Twitter, referencing Russia's Moskva vessel, which was destroyed in April. "What's next in line, russkies?"

A view shows a blaze and damaged sections of the Kerch Bridge in the Kerch Strait, Crimea, Oct. 8, 2022.
Stringer/Reuters
A view shows a fire on the Kerch bridge at sunrise in the Kerch Strait, Crimea, Oct. 8, 2022.
Stringer/Reuters

Videos and photos posted by official Ukrainian accounts on social media on Saturday appeared to show the aftermath of an explosion, with plumes of smoke rising above the water.

At least one section of the bridge appeared to have partially fallen into the Kerch Strait, the waterway between the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea.

A railway bridge running alongside the vehicle bridge also appeared to be damaged.

Oct 07, 2022, 4:07 PM EDT

Russian officials say its premature, there is no need to cancel New Year, Christmas festivities to put funds toward war

A source in the Kremlin said Saint Petersburg, Russia, authorities choosing to cancel Christmas and New Year citywide events to funnel the funds toward the war in Ukraine is premature, according to Russian News Agency Interfax.

"We consider it clearly premature and undeveloped," the source said according to Interfax.

The Russian Defense Ministry also said its armed forces have all the necessary equipment for the war in Ukraine, saying there is no need to cancel events in Russian regions to save funds for military personnel, said Colonel-General Viktor Goremykin, Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation.


Earlier on Friday, St. Petersburg officials announced they had decided to cancel the planned festivities and the funds would be used to equip the mobilized. A similar decision was made by the authorities of the Leningrad region.

-ABC News' Natalia Shumskaia

Oct 07, 2022, 2:16 PM EDT

Shelling outside Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant damaged power line to reactor, IAEA says

Shelling outside the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant, Europe's largest, damaged the power line to one of the reactors, International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi said Friday.

The damage was caused to reactor six on Thursday, forcing the unit to temporarily rely on emergency diesel generators, according to Grossi.

Two of the experts who had been at the plant for over five weeks, were replaced Friday. There are now four IAEA experts at the Zaporizhzhya plant.

"Again and again, the plant’s courageous, skilled and experienced operators find solutions to overcome the severe problems that keep occurring because of the conflict. However, this is not a sustainable way to run a nuclear power plant. There is an urgent need to create a more stable environment for the plant and its staff," Grossi said in a statement.

-ABC News' Alexandra Faul

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