The Pentagon does not know what weapons were used in a powerful attack that hit a Russian air base in Crimea this week, a senior military official told reporters Friday.
The official, speaking on the condition of anonymity under terms set by the Pentagon, provided a list of the various items that the United States finds to have been damaged in the incident, including “a number of Russian aircraft, fighters, fighter bombers, surveillance aircraft,” and “a pretty significant cache of munitions,” along with an ammunition dump, some other structures and the airfield.
Here’s the latest on the war and its ripple effects across the globe.
On the Kherson front lines, little sign of a Ukrainian offensive: On the front line in southeastern Ukraine, there is little sign that a major counteroffensive is brewing, Washington Post correspondents report from the Mykolaiv region.
“For weeks, Western intelligence and military analysts have predicted that a Ukrainian campaign to retake the strategic port city of Kherson and surrounding territory is imminent,” they write.
But less than a mile from Russian positions, Ukrainian forces are hunkering down in trenches, and the progress they had made in retaking villages has largely stalled.
The latest: The United Nations has expressed hope that the first grain shipments from blockaded Ukrainian ports could start Friday. However, the exact coordinates needed to ensure a safe passage for ships were still being negotiated on Thursday, U.N. aid chief Martin Griffiths said.
The fight: Russia’s recent operational pause, which analysts identified in recent weeks as an effort to regroup troops before doubling down on Ukraine’s south and east, appears to be ending. Russia appears set to resume ground offensives, with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu telling troops on Saturday to intensify attacks “in all operational sectors” of Ukraine.
The weapons: Ukraine is making use of weapons such as Javelin antitank missiles and Switchblade “kamikaze” drones, provided by the United States and other allies. Russia has used an array of weapons against Ukraine, some of which have drawn the attention and concern of analysts.
Photos: Post photographers have been on the ground from the very beginning of the war — here’s some of their most powerful work.
How you can help: Here are ways those in the U.S. can help support the Ukrainian people as well as what people around the world have been donating.
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