For today, links to reports from the Associated Press, Reuters, Tass, and Agence France-Presse, followed by links to commentary from the Berkshire Eagle and Kyiv Post; others are accessible by clicking on the sources’ names or initials below. — MCM
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Russian drone strikes on Odesa region hit port area and cut ferry service to Romania, by Illia Novikov | AP KYIV — Russia struck the Black Sea region of Odesa in a drone barrage that damaged a warehouse, charred dozens of trucks and injured two drivers in fiery explosions that led to the suspension of the ferry service between Romania and Ukraine, officials said today. Romanian Border Police said . . . READ MORE . . .
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Russian Black Sea commander shown working after Ukraine said it killed him. From Reuters. MOSCOW — Viktor Sokolov, the commander of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet and one of Russia’s most senior navy officers, was shown today attending a video conference, a day after Ukrainian special forces said they had killed him. In video and photographs released by the Russian defence ministry, Sokolov . . . READ MORE . . .
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Ukrainian drone downed over Kursk Region. From Tass. MOSCOW —Russian air defense systems today downed a Ukrainian drone over the Kursk Region, the Russian Defense Ministry said. “At about 05:30 local time, another attempt of the Kiev regime to carry out a terrorist fixed-wing drone attack . . . READ MORE . . .
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Kremlin says U.S. Abrams tanks ‘will burn’ in Ukraine. From AFP. The Kremlin said today that U.S. Abrams tanks supplied to Ukraine would not change the outcome of its offensive and would “burn” after Kyiv received shipments of the vehicles. “All this can in no . . . READ MORE . . .
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What Russia’s Black Sea retreat means for Ukraine, by James Brooke | The Berkshire Eagle A year ago, Russian warships roamed Ukrainian waters of the Black Sea at will, shelling Odesa and blocking exports of wheat and corn from Ukraine, the world’s fifth-largest grain exporter. In a sharp turnaround, foreign grain ships started last week to come and go from Odesa’s ports. Entering through Turkey’s Bosporus . . . READ MORE . . .
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The West’s geostrategic dilemma in promoting a Russian-Ukrainian truce, by Andreas Umland | Kyiv Post In recent weeks there has been an upsurge in Western and non-Western demand for a land-for-peace deal to end Russia’s war in Ukraine. For the sake of its own, and humankind’s, survival, so the story goes, Ukraine should forego some of its territory and/or sovereignty. Presumably, such a concession by Kyiv would provide an off-ramp for Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the Russian aggression. The problem with this . . . READ MORE . . .