Comments from Kremlin spox Dmitri Peskov hitting wires:
- Asked if Russia's nuclear umbrella extends to the annexed territories of Ukraine Peskov states: 'All these territories are parts of Russia and their security is provided for as with all other Russian territories'.
- Asked on the use of Iranian drones in Ukraine: 'We have no such information'.
- Peskov: 'We are unable to work in the area of the Nord Stream accident to conduct our own probe...NS sabotage is inflicting large damage to Russia's interest...the investigation is being conducted in such a way as to place the blame on Russia'.
There remains significant concern among some in the West that with Ukrainian forces now engaging in conflict in the annexed Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson oblasts that the Kremlin would argue NATO is engaged in a direct attack on Russian soil by supplying Ukrainian forces with weaponry. This would risk a major escalation in the conflict. At present, this outcome has not materialised, but that is not to say the Kremlin could not seek to argue this case should Ukraine's forces continue to press east and southwards.
