Ukraine Update…450 days into the Russian move on Ukraine…F-16 hopes for the Ukraine….

Here’s the latest on the war and its ripple effects across the globe.

• The Patriot’s radar was not damaged in Tuesday’s attack, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the incident. The Patriot is an air defense suite with several components that are often spread out, which helps reduce risk to the system as a whole. The radar is a vital component that helps make it the most advanced air defense system in U.S. stocks. Ukraine’s security service said Wednesday it identified and searched the homes of six “bloggers” who posted footage of the Russian attack — video that could expose the location and workings of Ukraine’s air defenses, an offense punishable by up to eight years in prison.
• United Nations Secretary General António Guterres hailed the extension of the grain deal Wednesday as “good news for the world” during a “record-breaking cost-of-living crisis,” noting that 30,000 tons of wheat just left Ukraine for Sudan on a ship chartered by the World Food Program. Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the United Nations will continue to discuss outstanding issues, Guterres told reporters.
• China’s special representative for Eurasian affairs, Li Hui, wrapped up a two-day visit to Ukraine on Wednesday, Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Li discussed Ukraine-China relations with Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, who emphasized that Kyiv “does not accept any proposals that would involve the loss of its territories or the freezing of the conflict,” the statement said, in an apparent reference to China’s 12-point peace proposal. Beijing and Moscow have maintained warm relations throughout the conflict, and Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in March. Li’s trip to Ukraine comes after a phone call between Xi and Zelensky last month.
• Britain is willing to help other countries send fighter jets and other military assistance to Ukraine, British Defense Minister Ben Wallace said Wednesday at a news conference with German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius. “Any nation that comes to us and says we want to get tanks into Ukraine … we will help with that process,” Wallace said. On Tuesday, Britain and the Netherlands agreed that they would build a global coalition “to provide Ukraine with combat air capabilities, supporting with everything from training to procuring F-16 jets,” according to the British government.
• But Germany won’t go in on supplying Western jets, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Wednesday. Germany is instead concentrating on tanks, ammunition, air defenses and the establishment of “a working system for repairs,” he said. Zelensky has long called on other nations to provide jets as part of their support for Ukraine in the war. In March, Poland became the first NATO country to deliver an initial batch of Soviet-made MiG-29s.
• European leaders announced the creation of a register of damage sustained during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The initiative, announced by top officials gathered in Reykjavik, Iceland, for a two-day Council of Europe summit, will be based in The Hague and aims to take stock of “damage, loss or injury caused by the Russian aggression against Ukraine” as a step toward accountability for war crimes and compensation for victims, the council said in a news release Wednesday. More than 40 countries and the European Union have joined or said they intend to join the project.

• Wagner chief Yevgeniy Prigozhin claimed that an American national fighting for Ukraine was killed in the Bakhmut region. In comments posted to a Wagner-linked Telegram channel on Tuesday, he said that his forces were in possession of the body and would hand it over to the United States. A State Department spokesperson said the administration is aware of the reports and is seeking additional information. “Our ability to verify reports of deaths of U.S. citizens in Ukraine is extremely limited,” the spokesperson said.
• Ukraine claims to have taken about 12 square miles of territory around Bakhmut. Maliar, the deputy defense minister, announced the gains in the northern and southern outskirts of the city on Tuesday, adding Wednesday that “fierce battles” are raging inside Bakhmut itself, where Russia has made some progress. The Washington Post could not verify the claims.
• Russia has probably lost several of its Kinzhal hypersonic missiles amid attempts to neutralizeUkraine’s improved air defense capabilities, Britain’s Ministry of Defense said Wednesday, referring to the long-range air-launched missile by its NATO name, Killjoy. Ukraine’s air defenses are exposing an “apparent vulnerability” that “is likely a surprise and an embarrassment for Russia,” the ministry said in an intelligence update.
• Russian shelling in the Kherson region killed a child and injured two more people, Andriy Yermak, head of Ukraine’s presidential office, said in a Telegram post Wednesday.

• President Biden is traveling to Japan on Wednesday to attend a Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima. Ukraine will be a topic of discussion there, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters. “And you’ll see concrete action to further isolate Russia and weaken its ability to wage its brutal war,” he said.
• Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenska is visiting South Korea. In a speech Wednesday at an event in Seoul, she echoed her husband’s call for air defense weapons, saying that humanitarian aid alone cannot stop a criminal from trying to kill, according to the Seoul Shinmun, a local newspaper. Meeting the day before with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, Zelenska requested nonlethal military aid such as demining equipment and ambulances, according to Yoon’s office.
• A Kyrgyzstan court sentenced a man to 10 years in prison on charges of serving as a mercenary, fighting on behalf of Russia in Ukraine, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported. The Kyrgyz Embassy in Moscow had warned citizens in September against joining hostilities on foreign state territory, citing the Kyrgyz criminal code.
• Hungary blocked an E.U. military support package for Ukraine meant to be distributed by the European Peace Facility, a Hungarian government spokesman’s office told Reuters on Tuesday. The off-budget instrument was established in 2021 to allow the E.U. to allocate money to “preserve peace, prevent conflicts and strengthen international security,” according to the Peace Facility’s website. “Hungary does not agree with the fact that the European Union … uses the European Peace Facility solely with regard to Ukraine as this does not allow sufficient funds to be channelled to promote the EU’s interests in other areas,” the spokesman’s office said.
• The leaders of six African countries will visit Moscow and Kyiv with the aim of finding “a peaceful resolution” to the war, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said. “I presented an African leaders peace mission … on behalf of African heads of state from Zambia, Senegal, Congo, Uganda, Egypt and South Africa,” he told reporters. Putin and Zelensky have agreed to the visits, and U.N. Secretary General António Guterres has “welcomed the initiative,” Ramaphosa said. He made the remarks as a South African military delegation arrived in Moscow to discuss bilateral military cooperation, according to the Russian Defense Ministry. Ramaphosa has dismissed accusations by the United States that South Africa has taken Russia’s side amid the war in Ukraine.
• Communication about Paul Whelan and Evan Gershkovich, two Americans detained in Russia, takes place only at the presidential level, according to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. “We do not communicate at the ministerial level,” he said Wednesday. Whelan is a former Marine who was convicted of espionage and is serving a 16-year sentence in a Russian prison. He says he was set up and maintains his innocence. Wall Street Journal reporter Gershkovich has also been accused of spying — an allegation he vehemently denies — and is behind bars awaiting trial…..

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