AMSTERDAM (Reuters) -NATO chief Mark Rutte mocked Russia on Monday over the "limping" condition of one of its submarines as Russian authorities denied it had been forced to surface because of technical problems.

Russia launched its third large-scale aerial assault on Ukraine this month, with 465 drones and 32 missiles that primarily targeted the country’s energy infrastructure. Ukraine intercepted 420 projectiles,

A representative of Ukraine's state-owned rail company said the attacks coincide with Russia's "dramatic increase" in drone production.

The strike reportedly occurred around midnight, marking the second attack on the facility in a week — the previous one took place on Oct. 6, according to the Crimean Wind Telegram channel.

Russia has accused the U.K. of plotting a sabotage operation in a move that shows Moscow is setting the conditions for a conflict with NATO, according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

The Kremlin will only negotiate if missiles and drones bring the pain of war home to Russians, Ukrainian officials say.

Russia has hosted a delegation of Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban government and warned against any foreign military presence in the country.

Hungary has dropped its opposition to a proposed European Union-wide ban on liquified natural gas (LNG) from Russia, bringing the bloc's 19th sanctions package one step closer to reality as Brussels seeks a united front on raising the costs of Moscow's war against Ukraine.

In what observers might see as a significant diplomatic shift in Russia’s usual stance, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov explicitly stated Moscow’s openness to supporting Morocco’s Autonomy Plan for the Western Sahara,