Main Topic: Russian warship firing warning shots on a Palau-flagged cargo ship in the Black Sea.
Key Points:
1. Russia scuppered a U.N.-brokered grain deal that allowed Ukraine to export agricultural produce via the Black Sea.
2. Russia warned that all ships heading to Ukrainian waters would be considered potentially carrying weapons.
3. Ukraine and the West view Russia's actions as a de-facto blockade of Ukrainian ports, threatening the flow of agricultural products to world markets.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his forces in occupied southern Ukraine are determined to retain control of Crimea, as it is key to Russia's regional power projection and allows them to dominate the Black Sea region, project force into the Mediterranean, and supply their units in neighboring oblasts.
Ukrainian forces have regained control of gas and oil offshore drilling platforms near Crimea, previously occupied by Russia, in a strategic operation that deprives Russia of military capabilities and brings Ukraine closer to regaining Crimea.
The Ukrainian military claims to have recaptured strategic gas and oil drilling platforms from Russia in the Black Sea, taking back an asset that Russia seized in 2015 and increasing Ukraine's control over the waters of the Black Sea.
Britain has accused Russia of targeting and launching a missile attack on a civilian cargo ship in the Black Sea, but it was successfully intercepted by Ukrainian defenses.
The Sevastopol Shipyard in Crimea was set on fire after Ukraine launched a missile attack, injuring at least 24 people, according to the governor of Sevastopol.
Ukraine's missile attack on the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol has caused significant damage and could have long-term consequences for Moscow's military capabilities, potentially impacting repair facilities and reducing combat potential, according to the Institute for the Study of War.
Russia claims to have foiled a coordinated Ukrainian attack on Crimea, with drones also targeting Moscow and causing disruptions to air traffic, while a fire at an oil depot in southwest Russia was reportedly caused by a Ukrainian drone.
Explosions reported in the Crimean city of Sevastopol were claimed by Ukrainian intelligence sources to be a joint operation by Ukraine's military intelligence and Navy, while the Moscow-installed governor said they were due to harmless aerosol camouflage used by the Black Sea Fleet.
Russia conducted a major missile attack on Ukraine, targeting energy facilities and causing power cuts in several regions, marking the beginning of a new air campaign against the Ukrainian power grid.
The Ukrainian army claims to have struck a Russian military airfield near the Crimean town of Saky, while several cities and towns in Ukraine were hit by Russian rockets, killing two and injuring others; Poland has announced it will no longer supply weapons to Ukraine amid a growing rift between the two countries over grain.
Ukraine launched a missile attack on the headquarters of Russia's Black Sea Fleet in Crimea, causing a serviceman to go missing and the main building to catch fire.
Ukraine conducted another attack on Sevastopol in Crimea following a strike on the headquarters of Russia's Black Sea Fleet, while Russian air defenses intercepted missiles headed towards the city and Russia's Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, suggested the resumption of a grain export deal was unlikely.
### Summary
The commander of Russia's Black Sea Fleet, Viktor Sokolov, was reportedly killed in an attack on the naval headquarters in Crimea, while Ukraine's port city of Odesa came under fire from Russian missiles and drones.
Russia accused the United States and the United Kingdom of assisting Ukraine in planning a missile strike on the headquarters of Russia's Black Sea Fleet in Crimea.
