Here’s the latest on the war and its impact across the globe.
1. Key developments
- Russia’s Defense Ministry announced the return of 63 prisoners of war from Ukraine on Saturday, describing the negotiation process for their release as complex. The group that returned includes people of a “sensitive category” whose exchange was made possible with mediation by the United Arab Emirates, the ministry said.
- Ukraine secured the release of 116 of its forces in the swap, said Andriy Yermak, head of the Ukrainian presidential administration. They include fighters from the port city of Mariupol and snipers from the Bakhmut region gripped by fighting, he said Saturday. “We will continue to work. We will bring everyone back,” he wrote on Telegram, adding that Ukraine had also returned the bodies of two foreign volunteers — Christopher Matthew Perry and Andrew Tobias Matthew Bagshaw. Britons Perry and Bagshaw were killed in eastern Ukraine in January while attempting a humanitarian evacuation, their families said.
- The small diameter bombs promised by the U.S. have an approximate range of 95 miles, nearly twice the capability previously provided by the United States. However, the munitions are part of a package drawn from the U.S. defense industry, not existing military stockpiles, so it could take months for the ammunition to arrive on the battlefield, according to U.S. officials. Washington has until now refused to supply such weapons for fear that Ukrainian forces will use them to strike inside Russia.
- Crews were restoring electricity after an accident and fire at an Odessa substation knocked out power to nearly 500,000 customers, authorities said Saturday. Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushchenko said later that critical infrastructure had been restored, the Ukrenergo utility reported, and that about one-third of homes had electricity. Volodymyr Kudrytsky, Ukrenergo’s chairman, blamed Russia for attacks on the grid, but he did not give further details of the accident’s cause.
- Pete Reed, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and medical volunteer, was killed in an explosion in Bakhmut, according to his wife and Global Outreach Doctors, where he served as country director for Ukraine. The organization, which works in areas facing famine and violence, said 33-year-old Reed had joined the team last month. “Pete was a beacon of humanitarian work — an incredible visionary, leader, compassionate care provider, and an inspiration to us all,” it said. “He was just such a special person,” his wife, Alex Potter, said in an interview. “Everything he did in life was to help other people.”…