Back Story Newsletter
Good Morning,
War In Ukraine
Ukrainian authorities now say a total of 55 missiles were shot by Russia heavily damaging infrastructure across the war torn country. My friend in Kyiv said this morning electricity had finally come back on in the Capitol, after 12 1/2 hours.
Ukraine's Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said 18 targets, mostly energy infrastructure, were hit in missile and drone strikes on 10 Ukrainian regions on Monday.
Twelve ships exporting grain left Ukraine even though Russia has decided to suspend the Black Sea grain deal. The ships under escort by Turkey, and the exports of critical food organized by the UN.
Putin said the missile strikes were because of the drone attacks on the Black Sea fleet over the weekend that he blamed on Ukraine. Putin told a news conference on Monday that Ukrainian drones had used the same marine corridors that grain ships transited under the UN-brokered deal. The UN said that was false, and that the grain corridor wasn’t working at that time when drones were launched into Sevastopol.
The U.S. has accused Russia of weaponizing the worlds food supply. Mr. Putin did not rule out that Russia would honour the grain deal again. “We are not saying that we are stopping our participation in this operation,” Mr. Putin said. “We are saying that we are pausing it.”
Mr. Putin also confirmed the missile attacks on Ukraine were in response to Ukraines drone strikes saying “This is, in part, the case,” and adding “But this is not all that we could do.”
Other News…
-In India’s Gujarit State a bridge collapse in has killed at least 141 people. Officials said that most of victims were women, children and elderly people.
-South Korea’s police chief has said crowd control during rthe Itaewon crush was inadequate. He vowed a full investigation. The deadly incident killed 155 people and injured 152 others.
-Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro has yet to acknowledge his electoral defeat raising fears he could refuse to accept results and setoff unrest. Remind you of…someone with Orange hair?
-In one of the most controversial cases before the court this year, the U.S. Supreme Court's conservative majority questioned the use of race-conscious admissions at American colleges. During nearly five hours of heated arguments, justices debated litigation involving policies at Harvard and the University of North Carolina that permit admissions offices to weigh race as one of many factors that help decide who will be accepted. Should affirmative action exist to ensure minorities get special consideration to balance hiring and leadership roles of tomorrow?
-Israelii politicians made their final campaign pitches before the divided country on Tuesday as it holds its fifth election in less than four years, with former P.M. Benjamin Netanyahu eyeing a comeback despite allegations of criminal behaviour against him in the courts.
Have a good morning all!
Dana