Kremlin-Special Op To Continue; UKR Can't, Doesn't Want To Conduct Talks

Wires carrying comments from Kremlin spox Dmitri Peskov. States that the 'special military operation' in Ukraine will continue, and that Ukraine 'can't, doesn't want to conduct talks'.

• Last few days have been seen in the context of Ukrainian forces retaking the key southern city of Kherson. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the city yesterday for the first time since the invasion. Situation could be set up for a stalemate, with Russian forces occupying the eastern bank of the Dnipro River, a formidable geographic barrier to Ukrainian troops seeking to retake the whole of the Kherson oblast.
• The comments come as reports emerge that Russia is set to agree to the extension of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, a Turkey and UN-backed deal that sees ships transporting grain and fertiliser from Ukrainian and Russian ports on the Black Sea given safe passage. The deal is currently set to expire on 19 November.
• Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that the deal could be extended as long as the Russian part is implemented. Lavrov speaking from the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, where he - as the most senior Russian representative at the summit - has been on the receiving end of strong criticism from Western leaders over the invasion of Ukraine.