Ukraine heeded a special request from the Donald Trump administration not to attack major Russian cities during a visit by CIA director John Ratcliffe. The US contacted Kyiv last week to request that it not strike Moscow, St Petersburg and a stretch of northern Russia while a plane carrying the senior US official was flying in and out of the Russian capital, sources told . The request covered Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and was only revealed hours after Ratcliffe left Russia late on Tuesday.
Subsequently, a large US military aircraft was confirmed to have travelled to Russia from the US via Latvia on Tuesday, flight tracking data confirmed. The purpose of Ratcliffe’s visit and the nature of his meetings in Russia were not immediately clear. It was the first known trip to Moscow by a US spy chief since his predecessor, William Burns, held talks with Vladimir Putin in November 2021.
Ukraine resumed strikes on Russia early on Wednesday after Ratcliffe's departure, with Russia saying it downed at least 426 drones overnight. Robert Gilman’s release from Russian custody this month heralded a long-awaited homecoming for the Marine veteran after more than four years behind bars. But as Harold Jezler followed the media coverage from the United States, he couldn’t help but notice Gilman’s gaunt and sickly appearance and think of the implications for his wife, Olga, who has been detained in Russia since 2022 and faces her own health problems.
It’s concerning for me and for all the families, I would imagine," Jezler said in an interview with The . "Is this what it takes for the government to really make a move and prioritize this — that the person is basically in dire straits? It was a very bittersweet thing to see that." Russia downed 426 drones overnight, Russian news agencies quoted the defence ministry as saying.
The figure includes Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine. The Russian defence ministry said that its forces had struck three cargo vessels carrying supplies for the Ukrainian military and a tanker at the Black Sea port of Pivdennyi yesterday. The ministry also said it had hit another cargo vessel in the nearby port of Odesa, as well as port infrastructure in Pivdennyi and Odesa and fuel storage facilities at the port of Chornomorsk.
A warehouse of Russian e-commerce giant Wildberries in Russia's Tambov region caught fire after a drone attack, local governor Evgeniy Pervyshov said on the Telegram messaging app. Pervyshov said one person was injured in the incident. Ukraine should mobilise women in its fight against Russia as they “fight no worse than men,” a former US special envoy has urged.
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