Ukraine struck an ammunition dump in Crimea with a drone, Sergey Aksyonov, the peninsula’s Kremlin-installed governor, said on Telegram. No-one was hurt but local residents were evacuated and railroad traffic was halted for a time. There’s been no comment from Kyiv. Unconfirmed images on social media showed dark smoke billowing in the area. Russia attacked southeastern Ukraine with Iranian “Shahed” drones early Saturday, with all five UAVs shot down, Ukrainian General staff said.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told the Aspen Security Forum that Ukraine’s counteroffensive is on the way to “gaining momentum” as troops painstakingly clear territories extensively mined by Kremlin forces. “We are approaching a moment when relevant actions can gain pace,” Zelenskiy said in a video address on Friday.
Zelenskiy spoke late Friday with Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan as he looks for ways to restart grain shipments after Moscow withdrew from the Black Sea safe-transit agreement. “The parties coordinated efforts to restore the operation” of the initiative, Zelenskiy’s office said on its website. The US wants Erdogan’s government, which brokered the original deal along with the UN, to again play a “leadership role” in helping prod Russia back into the agreement, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday.
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Coming Up
- Sunday meeting between Putin and Belarus’ Lukashenko
- Russia’s invasion hits 17-month mark on Monday
Markets
Wheat Slumps as Traders Shrug Off Ukraine Angst
Wheat futures fell more than 4% on Friday, taking a breather after surging about 11% over three days as traders focused on ample global supplies even amid continued tensions in the Black Sea.
Both Ukraine and Russia warned this week that ships headed to each other’s ports could be considered military targets, setting off alarm bells. Friday’s comments by Russia’s deputy foreign minister suggested the worst of the worries were overblown.
