Explosions are two Russian airbases hundreds of miles form the front seem to mean that the Ukraine military is reaching INTO Russia itself….
This is NOT a good look for the Russian President….
Nor should it be a comfort for Russian near military assets in Russia used against the Ukraine…
It also means that that the Ukraine forces can do this in ANY of the territory that Russia has taken over…INCLUDING the Crimea….
Russia has responded to the attacks with rocket attacks on the Ukraine whichg is unfortaunatly a normality…
This IS an escalation in the conflict that American President Biden has been VERY afraid of…
(Could the Ukraine move to take Russian territory as a baganing chip in the end?)
Decades ago the Ukraine gave Russia it’s tactical nukes….
THAT will ‘newver’ happen again says a Ukraine offical….
It would seem that everyday Putin loses more to use in the eventual settlment of the conflict….
Here’s what we know:
Hours after blasts were reported at two military bases deep inside Russia, Ukraine said that Moscow had launched a new barrage of airstrikes.
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Russia fires a barrage of missiles across Ukraine.
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Explosions hit two Russian bases in Russia, but the cause is unclear.
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An E.U. embargo of Russian oil and the G7’s price cap take effect.
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A woman is shot and killed trying to cross into Ukrainian-held territory in Kherson.
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Ukraine will auction a yacht seized from a Putin ally.
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To help Ukraine, a widow parts with a rare emerald from a 1622 shipwreck.
Explosions rocked two Russian military bases on Monday, according to Russian media reports, including an airfield that Kyiv officials said has been used as a staging location for the bombers whose missiles have ravaged Ukraine’s energy grid.
It was not immediately clear what caused the explosion at either military installation, and the full extent of any damage was also unclear.
One explosion hit the Engels-2 air base, which is near the southwestern city of Saratov, hundreds of miles from the Ukrainian border, and hosts Russian strategic bombers, according to Astra, a Russian news outlet. Security footage from an apartment complex near the base showed a fireball lighting up the sky.
In Washington, a Defense Department official said that the Pentagon had seen evidence of an explosion at the Engels base. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.
Earlier on Monday, an explosion at a military base in the city of Ryazan killed three people and wounded six others, the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported. It said that a fuel truck had exploded, citing a statement from the local emergency services, but did not say what had caused the explosion.
Ukraine did not take responsibility for either blast. In the past it has remained deliberately ambiguous about its military’s involvement in strikes in Russian territory….
Here’s the latest on the war and its ripple effects across the globe.
- Water supply and electric public transport were cut off in Odessa after a Russian attack damaged two infrastructure sites, Ukrainian officials said. One person was hospitalized. The internet observatory organization NetBlocks published a chart showing plunging connectivity in Ukraine after the barrage of Russian missile strikes Monday. Ukraine’s electricity operator Ukrenergo said staff were working to restore power in Odessa and other regions, but that “part of the power plants will not be able to work at full capacity for a certain time.” The company said there would be emergency shutdowns across Ukraine. “During the period of lack of electricity, please take care of yourself and your relatives, as well as help those who need it nearby,” the statement added.
- Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called for allies to send more weapons to Ukraine “to end Russian terror sooner.” Bridget Brink, U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, promised continued air defense support and energy assistance to Ukraine, while national security spokesman John Kirby called the latest strikes “another reminder of how Putin tries to bring people to their knees.”
- Neighboring Moldova also reported disruptions to its electricity system. Moldelectrica, the Moldovan electricity operator, warned of “chances of disconnections” in a Facebook post Monday. Moldova, which is connected to Ukraine’s power grid, has suffered blackouts from recent Russian attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure. Separately, the country’s Internal Affairs Ministry said Monday that a rocket had fallen in an orchard near Briceni, a city bordering southwestern Ukraine. No injuries were reported. Pro-Kremlin Telegram channels alleged it was a Ukrainian air-defense rocket. Moldovan Foreign Minister Nicu Popescu said an investigation is underway, but called the missile fragments “yet another demonstration of how Russian war on Ukraine affects Moldova’s security.”
- Russian President Vladimir Putin drove a car across a repaired bridge in Crimea on Monday, Russian media reported. The Crimean Bridge, also called the Kerch Bridge, connects mainland Russia to the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia annexed illegally in 2014. Russia has been racing to repair damage caused by a powerful explosion in early October. Moscow accused Kyiv of orchestrating a truck bombing; Ukraine has not claimed responsibility for the blast.
- The European Union’s embargo on seaborne Russian crude and the Group of Seven’s oil price cap went into effect, sending oil markets into uncharted territory as the West seeks to hit Russia’s oil revenue without creating price spikes. The Kremlin will still sell oil to countries that “will work with us on market conditions,” Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak told the Russian news agency Tass. He added that Russia is “looking at mechanisms to ban the use of the price cap instrument, regardless of the limit it sets.” He did not provide any details of those plans.
- Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukraine’s presidential office, noted the 28th anniversary of the Budapest Memorandum, under which Ukraine gave up its Soviet-era nuclear arsenal for security guarantees. “Never again,” he wrote on Twitter. “No more Budapest Memorandums.”
- Ukraine’s air force spokesman confirmed that Russia launched a new missile attack Monday. There were unconfirmed reports of explosions in the center, east and south of Ukraine, as well as in Kyiv. Two people were killed and two others were injured in the town of Novosofiivska in Zaporizhzhia, according to a preliminary assessment shared by Kyrylo Tymoshenko, the deputy head of Ukraine’s presidential office. The northeastern Ukrainian region of Sumy was left without power as a result of the attack, the local provider said.
- Russia is deploying fewer tactical combat aircraft in its war against Ukraine, Britain’s Defense Ministry said. This fleet “now probably conducts tens of missions per day,” down from a high of up to 300 per day at the start of Russia’s invasion, ministry analysts said in an intelligence update. The dip in sorties is “likely a result of continued high threat from Ukrainian air defences, limitations on the flying hours available to Russian aircraft, and worsening weather,” they added.
- Ukrainian forces are indicating they plan to stay on the offensive this winter to capitalize on recent battlefield successes and prevent Russian troops from regrouping. Frozen ground allows heavy wheeled and tracked vehicles to maneuver, and a military spokesman told Ukrainian media that Kyiv is preparing troops and equipment for winter operations, equipping its forces with special clothing and ammunition….
More…