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Russia's military said Tuesday it quashed what appeared to be one of the most serious cross-border attacks from Ukraine since the war began, claiming to have killed more than 70 attackers in a battle that lasted around 24 hours. Moscow blamed the raid that began Monday on Ukrainian military saboteurs. Kyiv portrayed it as an uprising against the Kremlin by Russian partisans. It was impossible to reconcile the two versions, to say with certainty who was behind the attack or to ascertain its aims. The battle — which took place in southwest Russia's Belgorod region, about 80 kilometers (45 miles) north of the city of Kharkiv, in eastern Ukraine — was a fresh reminder of how Russia itself remains vulnerable to attack, along with Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine. The region is a Russian military hub holding fuel and ammunition depots and was included in Russian President Vladimir Putin's order last year to increase the state of readiness for attacks and improve defenses. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov refused to say how many attackers were involved in the assault or comment on why efforts to put down the attackers took so long. Such cross-border attacks embarrass the Kremlin and highlight the struggles it faces in its bogged-down invasion of Ukraine. The Belgorod region, like the neighboring Bryansk region and other border areas, has witnessed sporadic spillover from the war, which Russia started by invading Ukraine in February 2022. Far from the 1,500-kilometer (932-mile) front line in southern and eastern Ukraine, Russian border towns and villages regularly come under shelling and drone attacks, but this week's attack is the second in recent months that also appears to have involved an incursion by ground forces. Another difference from earlier cross-border attacks is that Russia's effort to repel it continued into a second day for the first time. Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov claimed local troops, air strikes and artillery routed the attackers. “The remnants of the nationalists were driven back to the territory of Ukraine, where they continued to be hit by fire until they were completely eliminated,” Konashenkov said, without providing evidence. He did not mention any Russian casualties. Russian forces destroyed four armored combat vehicles and five pickup trucks the attackers used, he said. Local officials alleged the invaders also used drones and artillery. The governor of the Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said the raid targeted the rural area around Graivoron, a town about 5 kilometers (3 miles) from the border. Twelve civilians were wounded in the attack, he said, and an older woman died during an evacuation. The Russian news portal RBK, quoting unidentified sources in the regional interior ministry and territorial police, said Graivoron came under heavy shelling that lasted about five hours early Monday. After that, tanks fired at the Graivoron border checkpoint while the adjacent village of Kozinka came under mortar and rocket fire, RBK said, citing the same sources. Gladkov later reported that a Koznika villager had been killed. The attacking force was made up of 10 armored vehicles and an unspecified number of troops, RBK said. Earlier Tuesday, the regional governor urged residents who had evacuated not to return home until they received official instructions to do so. He said a “counterterrorism operation” was completed by early Tuesday evening. Gladkov also said fire from the Ukrainian side of the border on Tuesday hit the Borisovka area, about 20 kilometers (20 miles) northeast of Graivoron. No casualties were reported, he said without elaborating on the incident. The regional governor complained in a video late Tuesday that federal authorities' claims for the past year that “everything is under control” do not ring true in light of this attack and prior assaults. He appealed again to the Kremlin to strengthen defenses. Since the war began, drones, explosions and missiles have hit fuel and ammunition depots, railroad equipment, bridges and air bases on Russian territory and Russia-occupied areas of Ukraine. Assassinations of Russian-appointed government officials and other public figures have also taken place in those areas. Ukraine said Russian citizens belonging to murky groups called the Russian Volunteer Corps and the Freedom of Russia Legion were behind the assault. Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said the attackers were Russian dissidents unhappy about Putin’s policies. “These are Russian patriots, as we understand it. People who actually rebelled against the Putin regime,” she said. The Freedom of Russia Legion said on Telegram the goal was to “liberate” the region. The Russian Volunteer Corps implied on Telegram that the attack was over, adding: “One day, we’ll come to stay.” The post went up at around the same time as the Russian Defense Ministry claimed to have quashed the assault. The U.K. Defense Ministry said it was “highly likely” that Russian security forces were fighting partisans in at least three locations in Belgorod. “Russia is facing an increasingly serious multi-domain security threat in its border regions, with losses of combat aircraft, improvised explosive device attacks on rail lines and now direct partisan action,” it said Tuesday. Russia’s Investigative Committee, its top law enforcement agency, announced an investigation into alleged terrorism and attempted murder in connection with the raid. Belgorod officials earlier this year said they had spent nearly 10 billion rubles ($125 million; 116 million euros) on fortifications to protect the region. Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, said the raid “elicits deep concerns” and that a "bigger effort” was required to prevent future attacks. The Russian Volunteer Corps claimed to have breached the border in early March. The shadowy group describes itself as “a volunteer formation fighting on Ukraine’s side.” It's not clear if it — or the Freedom of Russia Legion — has any ties with the Ukrainian military. Elsewhere, Ukrainian forces made minor progress against Russian forces on the edge of Bakhmut, the eastern Ukrainian city that Moscow claims to have captured, according to Maliar, the Ukrainian deputy defense minister. She said Tuesday that Ukrainian troops still controlled the southwestern outskirts of the city and that fighting was continuing in the suburbs, on Russia’s flanks.

The head of the Russian private army Wagner says his force lost more than 20,000 fighters in the drawn-out battle for Bakhmut, with about 20% of the 50,000 Russian convicts he recruited to fight in the 15-month war dying in the eastern Ukrainian city. The figure was in stark contrast with claims from Moscow that it lost just over 6,000 troops in the war, and is higher than the official estimate of the Soviet losses in the Afghanistan war of 15,000 troops between 1979-89. Ukraine hasn't said how many of its soldiers have died since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022. Analysts believe the nine-month fight for Bakhmut alone have cost the lives of tens of thousands of soldiers, among them convicts who reportedly received little training before being sent to the front. Russia’s invasion goal of “demilitarizing” Ukraine has backfired because Kyiv’s military has become stronger with the supply of weapons and training by its Western allies, Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said in an interview published late Tuesday with Konstantin Dolgov, a pro-Kremlin political strategist. Prigozhin also said the Kremlin’s forces have killed civilians during the war, something Moscow has repeatedly and vehemently denied. Prigozhin, a wealthy businessman with longtime links to Russian President Vladimir Putin, is known for his bluster -- often spiced with obscenities -- and has previously made unverifiable claims, some of which he later backtracked on. Earlier this month, his spokespeople published a video of him shouting, swearing and pointing at about 30 uniformed bodies lying on the ground, saying they were Wagner fighters who died in a single day. He claimed the Russian Defense Ministry had starved his men of ammunition and threatened to give up the fight for Bakhmut. He also said in Tuesday's interview it was possible that Kyiv’s anticipated counteroffensive in coming weeks, given continued Western support, might push Russian forces out of southern and eastern Ukraine as well as annexed Crimea. “A pessimistic scenario: the Ukrainians are given missiles, they prepare troops, of course they will continue their offensive, try to counterattack," he said. "They will attack Crimea, they will try to blow up the Crimean bridge (to the Russian mainland), cut off (our) supply lines. Therefore, we need to prepare for a hard war.” The Ukrainian General Staff said Wednesday that “heavy fighting” is continuing inside Bakhmut, days after Russia said that it completely captured the devastated city. Bakhmut lies in Donetsk province, one of four provinces Russia illegally annexed last fall and only partially controls. The head of Ukraine’s ground forces, Oleksandr Syrskyi, said that Kyiv’s forces “are continuing their defensive operation” in Bakhmut, and have attained unspecified “successes” on the city’s outskirts. He gave no further details. Ukrainian officials have insisted the battle for Bakhmut isn’t over. A Ukrainian commander in Bakhmut told The Associated Press on Tuesday that the Ukrainians have a plan to push the Russians out of all occupied territory. “But now we don’t need to fight in Bakhmut, we need to surround it from flanks and block it,” Yevhen Mezhevikin said. "Then we should ‘sweep’ it. This is more appropriate, and that’s what we are doing now.” Elsewhere, Russian forces shot down “a large number” of drones in Russia’s southern Belgorod region, a local official said Wednesday, a day after Moscow announced that its forces crushed a cross-border raid in the area from Ukraine. The drones were intercepted overnight over the province, Belgorod Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov said in a Telegram post. He said that no one had been hurt, but unspecified administrative buildings, residential buildings and cars were damaged. Ukrainian officials made no immediate comment. Russia said the previous day that it beat back one of war’s most serious cross-border attacks, with the Defense Ministry saying that more than 70 attackers were killed in a battle in the Belgorod region that lasted around 24 hours. It made no mention of any Russian casualties. Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said that local troops, airstrikes and artillery routed the attackers. Twelve local civilians were wounded in the attack, officials said, and an older woman died during an evacuation. Details of the incident in the rural region, lying about 80 kilometers (45 miles) north of the city of Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine and far from the front lines of the almost 15-month war, are unclear. Moscow blamed the incursion that began Monday on Ukrainian military saboteurs. Kyiv described it as an uprising against the Kremlin by Russian partisans. It was impossible to reconcile the two versions, to say with certainty who was behind the attack or to ascertain its aims. The region is a Russian military hub holding fuel and ammunition depots. Moscow officials declined to say how many attackers were involved in the assault or comment on why efforts to put down the attackers took so long. The Belgorod region, like the neighboring Bryansk region and other border areas, has witnessed sporadic spillover from the war, which Russia started by invading Ukraine in February 2022. At least three civilians died and 18 others were wounded in Ukraine on Tuesday and overnight, the Ukrainian presidential office reported Wednesday, including in the southern Kherson region where two elderly people died in air strikes.

Authorities raided 15 properties across Germany on Wednesday and seized assets in an investigation into the financing of protests by the Last Generation climate activist group, prosecutors said. Munich prosecutors said they were investigating seven people, ranging in age from 22 to 38, on suspicion of forming or supporting a criminal organization. They launched the inquiry following numerous criminal complaints they received since mid-2022. Members of Last Generation have repeatedly blocked roads across Germany in an effort to pressure the government to take more drastic action against climate change. In recent weeks, they have brought the traffic to a halt on an almost daily basis in Berlin, gluing themselves to busy intersections and highways. Over the past year, they have also targeted various art works and exhibits. Their tactics have drawn sharp criticism. On Monday, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he thought it was "completely nutty to somehow stick yourself to a painting or on the street." Prosecutors said the people under investigation are accused of organizing and promoting a campaign to "finance further criminal offenses" by the group and collecting at least 1.4 million euros ($1.5 million). Two of them also are suspected of trying to sabotage an oil pipeline that connects the Bavarian city of Ingolstadt with the Italian port of Trieste. Wednesday's searches — accompanied by orders to seize two bank accounts and other assets — aimed to secure evidence on the membership structure of Last Generation and on its financing. There were no arrests. Last Generation has acknowledged that its protests are provocative, but it argues that by stirring friction it can encourage debate within society about climate change.    

Official figures show that inflation in the U.K. has fallen to its lowest level since the immediate aftermath of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which caused energy and food costs to surge. The Office for National Statistics said Wednesday that the consumer price index dropped to 8.7% in the year to April from 10.1% in March, largely because last year's energy spike in the wake of the invasion dropped out of the annual comparison. The fall took inflation to its lowest level since March 2022, a month after the war began. Though welcome, the fall wasn't as big as anticipated. The consensus in financial markets was that it would ease back further to 8.3%, The main reason why inflation is consistently running higher than anticipated is that food prices remain elevated. "The rate of inflation fell notably as the large energy price rises seen last year were not repeated this April, but was offset partially by increases in the cost of second-hand cars and cigarettes," the statistics agency's chief economist Grant Fitzner said. "However, prices in general remain substantially higher than they were this time last year, with annual food price inflation near historic highs," he added.  

The European Union's foreign policy chief said Tuesday that the U.S. green light to allow Ukrainian pilots get training to fly F-16s has created an inexorable momentum that will inevitably bring the fighter jets to the Ukrainian battlefield. "You know, it's always the same thing, we discuss, at the beginning everybody is reluctant," said Josep Borrell, giving the example of the long debate and initial opposition to the dispatch of advanced Leopard battle tanks to Ukraine. "And at the end — with the Leopards, with the F-16 at the end — the decision comes to provide this military support because it is absolutely needed." He added that training for Ukrainian pilots had already begun in Poland and some other countries, though authorities in Warsaw could not immediately confirm the news. The Netherlands and Denmark, among others, are also making plans for such training. No decision on actually delivering fourth-generation fighter jets has been taken yet, but training pilots now — a process that takes several months — will help speed up battle readiness once a formal decision is taken. "We can continue and also finalize the plans that we're making with Denmark and other allies to start these these trainings. And of course, that is the first step that you have to take," said Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren. "We will continue discussing with our allies and with countries that might have F-16s available about that next step. But that's not on the table right now," Ollongren said. Ukraine has long begged for the sophisticated fighter to give it a combat edge as it battles Russia's invasion, now in its second year. And this new plan opens the door for several nations to supply the aircraft and for the U.S. to help train the pilots. With the decision, the Biden administration has made a sharp reversal after refusing to approve any transfer of the aircraft or conduct training for more than a year due to worries that it could escalate tensions with Russia. U.S. officials also have argued against the F-16 by saying that learning to fly and logistically support such an advanced aircraft would be difficult and take months.  

Russian officials claimed that Ukrainian military saboteurs launched an attack across the border Monday, wounding eight people in a small town. Kyiv officials denied any link with the group and blamed the fighting on a revolt by disgruntled Russians against the Kremlin. Neither version of events could be independently verified in an area that has witnessed sporadic spillover from the almost 15-month war in Ukraine. The governor of Russia's Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine, said that a Ukrainian Armed Forces saboteur group entered the town of Graivoron, about five kilometers (three miles) from the border. The town also came under Ukrainian artillery fire, he said. Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov said eight people were wounded and most residents had left the area, but the situation remained "tense." In nearby Zamostye village, a projectile hit a kindergarten and caused a fire. One woman was wounded in her hand, Gladkov said. He also reported that Russian anti-aircraft systems shot down an unmanned aerial vehicle over Belgorod region. Gladkov said a counterterrorist operation was underway and that authorities were imposing special controls, including personal document checks and stopping the work of companies that use "explosives, radioactive, chemically and biologically hazardous substances." Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russian President Vladimir Putin was informed about the alleged saboteur incursion. An effort to "push them out from the Russian territory and liquidate them" was underway, he said. Peskov described the action as an attempt by Ukraine to divert attention from the eastern city of Bakhmut, which Moscow claimed to have captured after months of battle but where Kyiv says it is still fighting. But Ukrainian military intelligence officials didn't confirm that Kyiv had deployed saboteurs. Instead, they claimed that Russian citizens seeking regime change in Moscow were behind the Graivoron incursion. Ukraine intelligence representative Andrii Cherniak said Russian citizens belonging to murky groups calling themselves the Russian Volunteer Corps and the "Freedom of Russia" Legion were behind the assault. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's advisor, Mykhailo Podolyak, said on Twitter that Ukraine "has nothing to do with it." He suggested an "armed guerrilla movement" was behind the attack. The Russian Volunteer Corps claimed in a Telegram post it had crossed the border into Russia again, after claiming to have breached the border in early March. The Russian Volunteer Corps describes itself as "a volunteer formation fighting on Ukraine's side." Little is known about the group, and it is not clear if it has any ties with the Ukrainian military. The same is true for the "Freedom of Russia" Legion.. The RVC was founded last August and reportedly consists mostly of anti-Putin far-right Russian extremists who have links with Ukrainian far-right groups. Earlier Monday, Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, Europe's largest atomic power station, spent hours operating on emergency diesel generators after losing its external power supply for the seventh time since Russia's full-scale invasion of its neighbor, the head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog said. "The nuclear safety situation at the plant (is) extremely vulnerable," Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said in a tweet. Hours later, national energy company Ukrenergo said on Telegram that it had restored the power line that feeds the plant. But for Grossi, it was another reminder of what's at stake at the Russian-occupied plant which has seen shelling close by. "We must agree to protect (the) plant now; this situation cannot continue," Grossi said, in his latest appeal for the area to be spared from the fighting between Ukrainian and Russian forces. IAEA staff are deployed at the plant, which is occupied by Russian troops. The plant's six nuclear reactors, which are protected by a reinforced shelter able to withstand an errant shell or rocket, have been shut down. But a disruption in the electrical supply could disable cooling systems that are essential for the reactors' safety even when they are shut down. Emergency diesel generators, which officials say can keep the plant operational for 10 days, can be unreliable. Grossi said it was the seventh time the plant had lost its outside power supply since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022. The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant is one of the 10 biggest atomic power stations in the world. Ukraine's presidential office said Monday morning that at least three Ukrainian civilians were killed and 16 others were injured in Russian assaults over the previous 24 hours. The Ukrainian Air Force reported that four out of 16 Russian missiles and all 20 drones launched against Ukrainian targets were shot down. Military targets and public infrastructure in Dnipro, Ukraine's fourth-largest city in the center of the country, were singled out for Russian attacks, which injured eight people, officials said. The Dnipro fire department was affected, and 12 houses, shops, and a kindergarten were damaged, according to Governor Serhii Lysak.  

A 7.7 magnitude earthquake caused a small tsunami to wash ashore on South Pacific islands Friday. No damage has been reported, and the threat passed in a few hours. Waves 60 centimeters (2 feet) above tide level were measured off Lenakel, a port town in Vanuatu, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said. Smaller waves were measured by coastal or deep-ocean gauges elsewhere off Vanuatu and off New Caledonia and New Zealand. Vanuatu's National Disaster Management Office advised people to evacuate from coastal areas to higher grounds. The office said people should listen to their radios for updates and take other precautions. New Zealand’s National Emergency Management Agency said it expected coastal areas would experience strong and unusual currents, with unpredictable surges at the shoreline. The PTWC said small waves of 20 centimeters (8 inches) above tides were measured at North Cape, New Zealand. The tsunami danger passed within a few hours, though the center said small sea level changes may continue. The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake's epicenter was near the Loyalty Islands, a province in the French territory of New Caledonia. The quake was 37 kilometers (23 miles) deep. The area is southwest of Fiji, north of New Zealand and east of Australia where the Coral Sea meets the Pacific. The region is part of the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of seismic faults around the Pacific Ocean where most of the world's earthquakes occur.

For months, Western allies have shipped billions of dollars’ worth of weapons systems and ammunition to Ukraine with an urgency to get the supplies to Kyiv in time for an anticipated spring counteroffensive. Now summer is just weeks away. While Russia and Ukraine are focused on an intense battle for Bakhmut, the Ukrainian spring offensive has yet to begin. Last week Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said it's been delayed because his country lacks enough Western weapons to succeed without suffering too many casualties. Weather and training are playing a role too, officials and defense experts say. Officials insist the counteroffensive is coming. Preliminary moves by Ukraine to set the conditions it wants for an attack have already begun, a U.S. official said on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters. A look at the factors delaying the counteroffensive and the preparations both sides are making in anticipation of it starting soon. WEATHER A big part of the delay is the weather. It's taken longer than expected for Ukraine's frozen ground to thaw and dry, due to an extended, wet, cold spring, which has made it difficult to transition into an offensive. Instead, the ground has retained a deep mud that makes it more difficult for non-tracked vehicles to operate. The mud is like a soup, the official said. "You just sort of sink in it." TRAINING In the past few months, tens of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers have been trained by the U.S. and allies for the fight. But the final Ukrainian battalion the U.S. is currently training is just finishing its course now. This final class brings the total number of Ukrainians the U.S. has trained for this fight to more than 10,700. Those forces have learned not only field and medical skills but advanced combined arms tactics with the Stryker and Bradley armored fighting vehicles and Paladin self-propelled howitzers. It also includes highly skilled forces who were trained to operate the Patriot missile defense system. According to U.S. Army Europe-Africa, as many as 11,000 additional Ukrainian troops a day are in other training programs run by more than 30 partner nations. Soon a new phase will begin: The U.S. will start training Ukrainians on Abrams tanks at the Grafenwoehr Training Area in Germany. But the Ukrainians won't wait for the tank training to be finished before they launch their counteroffensive, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov told reporters in late April. WEAPONS ARRIVALS In just the past five months alone, the U.S. has announced it would send more than $14 billion in weapons and ammunition to Kyiv, most of which is being pulled from existing stockpiles in order to get the supplies to Ukraine faster. NATO and Western allies have responded too, pledging billions in tanks, armored vehicles and air defense systems. But a lot of that gear still hasn't arrived, said Ben Barry, a former British intelligence official who is now the senior land warfare fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. For example, of the approximately 300 tank systems pledged — such as the Leopard 2 tanks promised by countries including Denmark, the Netherlands, Spain and Germany — only about 100 have arrived. Of the 700 or so pledged fighting vehicles, such as British Marauders and U.S. Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, only about 300 have arrived, he said. Ukraine will also need enough ammunition on hand to sustain a higher tempo fight once the counteroffensive begins, When it comes to the ammunition needed, Ukraine's chief military logistician will also have a strong say in when the army is ready to launch, Barry said. In just one munition — the 155mm howitzer round — Ukraine is firing between 6,000 and 8,000 rounds per day, Ukrainian parliamentary member Oleksandra Ustinova told reporters in April. COUNTEROFFENSIVE CLUES Both Russia and Ukraine are taking steps in anticipation of the counteroffensive. Russia has approximately 200,000 troops along a 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) battle line, dug in using the same type of trench warfare tactics used in World War I, a Western official said on the condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters. These troops are not as highly trained as Russia's initial invading force, which sustained heavy casualties. But they are defended by ditches, minefields and dragon's teeth — above ground triangle-shaped concrete barriers that make it difficult for tanks to move. Meanwhile, Ukraine has begun shaping operations, such as targeting Russia's forward lines with long-range artillery fire. That may indicate that Ukraine is about to push forward on that location — or it could be a decoy to draw Russia's attention from its actual planned first strike, the official said. When Ukraine does try to punch through those lines — whether in a limited area or a complex campaign carried out in multiple locations — that will be the likely indicator the offensive has begun, both Barry and the Western official said. Barry said when Ukrainian brigades start crossing into Russian-held territories and try to attack the first line of Russian defenses, "that's going to be a dead giveaway I think."  

Russia fired 30 cruise missiles against different parts of Ukraine early Thursday in the latest nighttime test of Ukrainian air defenses, which shot down 29 of them, officials said. One person died and two were wounded by a Russian missile that got through and struck an industrial building in the southern region of Odesa, according to Serhiy Bratchuk, a spokesperson for the region's military administration. Read more: Russia agrees to extend Ukraine grain deal in a boost for global food security Loud explosions were heard in Kyiv as the Kremlin's forces targeted the capital for the ninth time this month in a clear escalation after weeks of lull and ahead of a much-anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive using newly supplied advanced Western weapons. Debris fell on two Kyiv districts, starting a fire at a garage complex. There was no immediate word about any victims, Serhiy Popko, head of the Kyiv Military Administration, said in a Telegram post. Ukraine also shot down two Russian exploding drones and two reconnaissance drones, according to authorities. Read more: Russia freezes bank accounts of Finland's diplomatic missions, prompting cash payments The missiles were launched from Russian sea, air and ground bases, General Valerii Zaluzhnyi, the Ukrainian commander in chief, wrote on Telegram. Several waves of missiles were aimed at areas of Ukraine between 9 p.m. Wednesday and 5.30 a.m. Thursday, he said. Russian forces used strategic bombers from the Caspian region and apparently fired X-101 and X-55-type missiles developed during Soviet times, Kyiv authorities said. Russia then deployed reconnaissance drones over the capital. In the last major air attack on Kyiv, on Tuesday, Ukrainian air defenses bolstered by sophisticated Western-supplied systems shot down all the incoming missiles, officials said. That attack used hypersonic missiles, which repeatedly have been touted by Russian President Vladimir Putin as providing a key strategic advantage. The missiles, which are among the most advanced weapons in Russia's arsenal, are difficult to detect and intercept because of their hypersonic speed and maneuverability. Read more: G-7 leaders likely to focus on the war in Ukraine and tensions in Asia at summit in Hiroshima But sophisticated Western air defense systems, including American-made Patriot missiles, have helped spare Kyiv from the kind of destruction witnessed along the main front line in the country's east and south. While the ground fighting is largely deadlocked along that front line, both sides are targeting each other's territory with long-range weapons. Meanwhile, Kremlin-installed authorities in occupied Crimea reported the derailment of eight train cars Thursday due to an explosion. Russian state media reported the train was carrying grain. Quoting a source within the emergency services, state news agency RIA Novosti said that the incident occurred not far from the city of Simferopol. The Crimean Railway reported that the derailment was caused by "the interference of unauthorized persons" and that there were no casualties. The Russia-installed head of Crimea, Sergei Aksyonov, said that train services on the affected section of the line were suspended. Also, two people were wounded in a drone attack in Russia's southern Kursk region, which borders Ukraine, the regional governor reported Thursday. In a Telegram post, Roman Starovoit claimed Ukrainian forces dropped an explosive device from a drone on a sports and recreation complex.  

Russia agreed to a two-month extension of a deal that has allowed Ukraine to ship grain through the Black Sea to parts of the world struggling with hunger, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced Wednesday, a boost to global food security after the war drove up prices. Turkey and the U.N. brokered the breakthrough accord with the warring sides last summer, which came with a separate agreement to facilitate shipments of Russian food and fertilizer that Moscow insists hasn't been applied. Also read: Ukraine welcomes EU deal on continued farm exports Russia had threatened to bow out if its concerns were not ironed out by Thursday. Such brinkmanship isn’t new: With a similar extension in the balance in March, Russia unilaterally decided to renew the deal for 60 days instead of the 120 days outlined in the agreement. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Wednesday that problems would need to be resolved “at the technical level.” Neither she nor Erdogan mentioned any concessions Moscow may have received. "We will continue our efforts to ensure that all the conditions of the agreement are fulfilled so that it continues in the next period,” said Erdogan, who announced the highly anticipated decision two days after being forced into a runoff in Turkey's presidential election. Extending the Black Sea Grain Initiative is a win for countries in Africa, the Middle East and parts of Asia that rely on Ukrainian wheat, barley, vegetable oil and other affordable food products, especially as drought takes a toll. The deal helped lower prices of food commodities like wheat over the last year, but that relief has not reached kitchen tables. “Ukrainian and Russian products feed the world,” U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said. “They matter because we are still in the throes of a record-breaking cost-of-living crisis.” Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Kubrakov welcomed the extension, but emphasized that the deal “has to work effectively.” On Facebook, he blamed Russia for dragging its heels on joint inspections of ships by Russian, Ukrainian, U.N. and Turkish officials. Average daily inspections — meant to ensure vessels carry only food and not weapons that could aid either side — have steadily dropped from a peak of 10.6 in October to 3.2 last month. Shipments of Ukrainian grain also have declined in recent weeks. Also read: Russia rejoins key deal on wartime Ukrainian grain exports Russia had denied slowing the work. No vessels have been cleared to enter Ukraine’s three open ports since May 6, and Kubrakov says nearly 70 vessels are waiting in Turkish waters to participate. Russia, meanwhile, is shipping record amounts of its wheat through other ports. Critics say that suggests Moscow was posturing or trying to wrest concessions in areas such as Western sanctions. The deal has allowed over 30 million metric tons of Ukrainian grain to be shipped, with more than half that going to developing nations. China, Spain and Turkey are the biggest recipients, and Russia says that shows food isn't going to the poorest countries. Guterres has said developed countries bring in Ukrainian corn for animal feed, while emerging economies receive “a majority” of grain for people to eat. He noted exports bring prices down for everyone. “Looking ahead, we hope that exports of food and fertilizers, including ammonia, from the Russian Federation and Ukraine will be able to reach global supply chains safely and predictably," the U.N. chief said Wednesday. The U.S. said Russia should stop creating hurdles to the deal. "We should not need to remind Moscow every few weeks to keep their promises and to stop using people’s hunger as a weapon in their war against Ukraine,” State Department deputy spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters. Russia is expected to export more wheat than any country ever has in one year, at 44 million metric tons, said Caitlin Welsh, director of the Global Food Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Trade flows tracked by financial data provider Refinitiv show that Russia exported just over 4 million tons of wheat in April, the highest volume for the month in five years, following record or near-record highs in several previous months. Exports since last July reached 32.2 million tons, 34% above the same period from last season, according to Refinitiv. Welsh says Russia knows that the less grain Ukraine can export, the more it can make up for the shortfall. And restrictions on Black Sea shipments mean the war-torn country would have to rely more on land routes through the European Union, which has stirred anger from its neighbors. “The more it restricts Ukraine’s access to Black Sea ports, the better it is for its political influence with trading partners and the better it is for Russia in the sense that it’s straining unity among EU member states and their support for Ukraine,” she said. With Ukraine’s wheat harvest coming up in June and the need to sell that crop in July, maintaining a Black Sea shipping corridor is key to avoid “taking another large chunk of wheat and other grains off the market,” said William Osnato, a senior research analyst at agriculture data and analytics firm Gro Intelligence. It comes as places including Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Syria and East Africa — big importers of food — are facing drought and economic issues that are likely to keep food prices high. “Shortages of food in the system and lack of affordable fertilizer continues to push up prices, making it difficult for families in countries like Somalia to predict if they will be able to afford a meal the next day,” said Shashwat Saraf, emergency director for East Africa at the International Rescue Committee.