Kyiv was hit by another large round of missiles and drones, and tonight, it seems as if some were successful. At least one misfire of a Ukrainian air defense system was recorded, with the interceptor missile appearing to arc back into Kyiv. It's too soon to know what the damage done was, and with Ukraine prosecuting those who share air defense locations, we may never get a full picture. But suffice to say, tonight was one of the more successful bombardments Russia has launched against Kyiv over the past month or so.
As has become something of a tradition, the Russian oblasts bordering Ukraine's northeastern border came under fierce attack today. Kursk was wracked by explosions, while the RDK and the Legion attempted yet another incursion into Belgorod oblast. Their main target was the border town of Shebekino, which also was hit by supporting Ukrainian strikes. The incursion attempt was successfully repelled, but it does add to a pattern of Ukraine seemingly being mostly interested in launching probing attacks within Russia proper. They are, of course, almost assuredly merely diversionary tactics.
The front has shifted slightly in Donetsk oblast, as Russian forces made small yet notable advances within Marinka. Some over eager Russian sources proclaimed an incredibly premature victory in the ghost city. Russia has an undeniable advantage in the city as Ukrainian forces are increasingly being pushed to the western neighborhoods, and victory does seem to be within Russia's eventual grasp. However, Ukrainian troops do still retain control over a significant portion of the city.
Nearby, Ukraine has made very marginal advances near Vuhledar and a bit to the east, in the direction of Volnovakha. Volnovakha is a small city, but it sits along several key routes. Most importantly, it links the city of Donetsk to Mariupol. The closer Ukraine can push towards Volnovakha, the more they can disrupt Russia's supply lines running along the north shore of the Sea of Azov. Such supply lines may become increasingly important in the near future as a pair of images surfaced, purporting to show cracks along pillars supporting the Kerch Strait Bridge. While the authenticity of the images is not certain (I saw one claim that the images are legitimate though exaggerated), they are believable given the previous attack on the bridge, its rushed initial construction by inexperienced contractors, and a long history in the region of difficult terrain damaging previous bridges.
Zelenskyy made another unannounced trip outside of Ukraine, though he didn't go far. He popped over to Moldova for the European Political Community summit; the EPC was formed last in year in direct response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and includes virtually every country that might be considered European, with the largest exceptions being Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan. Moldova and Ukraine both won quite a bit of support from various countries during the summit, including from some historical fence sitters such as Azerbaijan, which pledged additional humanitarian support for Ukraine. A lot of attention was given to bolstering Moldova's internal security, as well as Ukraine s air defensive and offensive capabilities. An assortment of other promises were made, such as a German pledge of over a hundred additional armored vehicles, and a Romanian affirmation that the country would fully support Ukraine's efforts to integrate with the EU and NATO. Also, notably, a British spy plane flew over Moldova which is highly unusual. As they pertain to Ukraine, NATO intelligence gathering flights virtually always either stay over international waters or hug the borders of NATO members without straying into sovereign air space of non-NATO members. Such a flight might have been an increase in support for Moldova and Ukraine, or it may have simply been due to the ongoing summit; it will be worth watching to see if additional similar flights are detected over Moldova in the future.
A bit of misinformation went around, saying that Msova had offered to allow their territory to be used by Ukrainian troops. Such a decision would help to facilitate the flow of support to Ukraine, particularly in the south as there is one major supply line which at points runs over individual bridges. A simple attack by Russia can thus be fairly disruptive. In addition, it would have also ratcheted up tensions relating to Transnistria as fears persist that Russia aspires to seize the rest of Ukraine's coast to establish a direct ground route to Transnistria, which hosts a Russian garrison.
A scandal has become involving aid to Ukraine, stemming from Kuwait. A large amount of American equipment stored in Kuwait was eventually transferred to Ukraine, but it has been made publicly known that virtually all of it was not in working condition, and required repairs before it was delivered (for instance, every single howitzer was inoperable). The same contractors overseeing this batch of hardware also are associated with similar tasks in Germany and Poland, meaning that further hardwsre possibly destined for Ukraine may be in worse shape than believed. I have routinely critiqued Russia for being hampered by their own corruption issues within their military, but corruption exists everywhere. Fortunately for Ukraine, it seems to have less of a direct battlefield impact on their own capabilities.
The United States has moved last one crisis, with Congress passing legislation to avert a default until at least 2025. With Biden virtually guaranteed to sign the legislation, funding for Ukraine's military, reconstruction, humanitarian efforts, and fiscal needs should continue uninterrupted from its largest foreign backer for the foreseeable future.
Similarly, the EU is pressing hard for a resolution to the current tensions in Kosovo. The EU is exerting their influence to try to encourage a new round of elections in northern Kosovo which wouldn't be boycotted by large numbers of ethnic Serbians, while also getting Kosovo to establish an autonomous zone for the ethnic Serbians living in Kosovo, particularly in northern Kosovo. If the EU can successfully oversee the establishment of the Community of Serb Municipalities, one of the major sticking points between Serbia and Kosovo will be resolved. Larger issues, such as mutual recognition, will still be outstanding but it will at least put the two back onto a path of negotiations and a period of less inflamed tensions.