Black Sea Security: A Strategic Chessboard in Perpetual Conflict
Over three years into Russia’s war of aggression, Ukraine continues to sacrifice blood and treasure—seeking only steadfast support, not concessions.
Catch My Hot-Take Analysis from Day One of the Black Sea Security Forum in Odesa
Due to some connectivity hiccups yesterday, this Friday edition comes to you with a slight delay—thanks for your patience, and apologies for the wait.
Russia launched a large-scale drone attack on the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv overnight Thursday/Friday as Donald Trump's special envoy, Keith Kellogg, said the US president was growing "frustrated" with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin over delays in reaching a cease-fire to help bring an end to Europe's deadliest conflict since World War II. Oleh Syniehubov, head of the Kharkiv region that borders Russia, said in a post on Telegram that at least eight people were injured in the attack early on May 30, including two children. Mayor Ihor Terekhov said the strikes targeted "a municipal enterprise." He gave no further details. Russia has pounded Ukrainian targets in recent weeks amid intensified pressure to agree to a cease-fire to pave the way for a comprehensive peace plan more than three years after the Kremlin launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. "His [Trump's] frustration is that he's put forward some reasonable proposals and reasonable discussions and he's seen a level of unreasonableness [from Putin] that really frustrates him. It frustrates me as well," Kellogg said in an interview with ABC News. Trump, who made reaching a peace deal quickly one of the cornerstones of his foreign policy during last year's election campaign, warned on May 28 he would determine within "about two weeks" whether Putin is serious about ending the fighting. Moscow said on May 30 it was sending a team of negotiators to Istanbul on June 2 for a possible second round of direct talks with Ukraine, though Kyiv has yet to confirm whether it will attend - RFE/RL
Russia's military has committed war crimes and crimes against humanity in its drone attacks on civilian targets in the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson, a new United Nations report has found. The report by Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, issued on May 28, was the latest evidence pointing to possible crimes allegedly committed by Russian civilian or military authorities in Ukraine. "Russian armed forces have committed the crimes against humanity of murder and the war crimes of attacking civilians, through a months-long pattern of drone attacks targeting civilians on the right bank of the Dnieper River in Kherson Province," the commission report said. - RFE/RL
The Kremlin sent North Korea an advanced air defence system in exchange for thousands of troops that battled Ukrainian forces inside Russia. Since late last year, Russia has supplied at least one Pantsir mobile air defence system, electronic warfare systems and other military support to Pyongyang, an international monitoring report showed on Thursday. The transfer marks a major violation of international sanctions and signals Moscow’s deepening military alliance with North Korea following the signing of a strategic partnership treaty last June. Moscow, according to the findings, also helped its ally improve missile performance in return by supplying data. The group behind the report - the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team - was launched last year to monitor UN sanctions against Pyongyang after a Security Council panel was scrapped by Russia and China. It found that Pyongyang has supplied more than 20,000 containers of munitions since September 2023, enabling an increase in attacks on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure. The shipments include nine million rounds of artillery, more than 100 ballistic missiles and over 200 heavy artillery munitions, as well as anti-tank guided missiles and rockets. These transfers make up enough supplies to equip three full brigades, the report released by South Korea’s foreign ministry - Telegraph
Britain’s undersea infrastructure is highly vulnerable to Russian sabotage.
That's the stark warning from defense and energy experts ahead of the country's major strategic defense review, expected next week. They warn that critical gas pipelines, power lines and data cables are the “soft belly of British security” — leaving the country exposed to potentially “catastrophic” sabotage at the hands of Russia or other enemies - Politico
A man who lives in Toronto and runs a Hong Kong-based business that exports microelectronic parts is facing charges for allegedly violating Canada's sanctions against Russia amid its invasion of Ukraine. Anton Trofimov, 43, was arrested by the RCMP on May 5 and charged with one count of exporting a restricted good to Russia and one count of exporting a good to Russia for the purpose of manufacturing weapons, according to documents filed in the Ontario Court of Justice. The charges fall under the federal Special Economic Measures (Russia) Regulations introduced in 2014 that were amended to add more punishing sanctions at the start of the full-scale invasion in 2022 - CBC
A Federal appeals court temporarily blocked a ruling from the Court of International Trade that barred most of the Trump administration’s sweeping tariffs on global trading partners. The legal development reignited uncertainty, sparking renewed sell-offs in US stock markets. However, European markets rose on Friday afternoon despite the reinstatement. The decision provides the White House with additional time to defend the legality of the president’s efforts to reshape global trade relations. Federal officials signalled that the same level of import levies could be reintroduced under alternative legal authorities, although enacting tariffs via other sections of the Trade Act could take several months. “I can assure the American people that the Trump tariff agenda is alive, well, healthy and will be implemented to protect you, to save your jobs and your factories, and to stop shipping foreign wealth — our wealth — into foreign hands,” Peter Navarro, Trump’s top trade adviser, said on Thursday. Trump had invoked the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose the so-called reciprocal tariffs announced in early April. However, on Wednesday, the trade court ruled that the president does not have the authority to impose such broad levies under the IEEPA. - Euronews
There were multiple explosions near a newly opened aid distribution point opened by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation in the centre of the Strip, as desperate Palestinians struggle to find food and the United Nations warns the “window to prevent famine is closing fast”. Israeli attacks on Gaza have killed at least 70 people so far yesterday, including nine killed in an Israeli bombing near as-Saraya junction in Gaza City. Meanwhile, the Israeli government has approved 22 illegal settlements on Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank, the largest one-time approval in history - Al Jazeera
The White House will fix errors in a much-anticipated federal government report spearheaded by U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., which decried America’s food supply, pesticides and prescription drugs. Kennedy’s wide-ranging “Make America Healthy Again” report, released last week, cited hundreds of studies, but a closer look by the news organization NOTUS found that some of those studies did not actually exist. Asked about the report’s problems, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the report will be updated. “I understand there was some formatting issues with the MAHA report that are being addressed and the report will be updated.” Leavitt told reporters during her briefing. “But it does not negate the substance of the report, which, as you know, is one of the most transformative health reports that has ever been released by the federal government. Kennedy has repeatedly said he would bring “radical transparency” and “gold-standard” science to the public health agencies. But the secretary refused to release details about who authored the 72-page report, which calls for increased scrutiny of the childhood vaccine schedule and describes the nation’s children as overmedicated and undernourished - AP
A Shakira concert was abruptly canceled hours before doors were slated to open Thursday with organizers crediting “unforeseen circumstances” as the reason. The singer was slated to perform at Boston’s Fenway Park as part of her Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran tour. Country performers Jason Aldean and Brooks & Dunn also had their May 30 shows at the same venue canceled as well. “Due to unforeseen circumstances, the Shakira and Jason Aldean and Brooks & Dunn performances originally scheduled for May 29th and May 30th respectively at Fenway Park have been canceled,” Live Nation and Fenway Concerts said in a statement. “Refunds will be available at your point of purchase. We apologize for the inconvenience.” A source close to the situation told Rolling Stone that some structural elements were discerned to be not up to standard during a pre-show check. Boston’s 7News similarly reported that the inspectional services department spotted a safety concern when examining the stage’s structure. The “Hips Don’t Lie” singer recently took an accidental fall while performing in Montreal earlier this week, but swiftly jumped right back on her feet - Daily Beast
The journals…
