Russia strikes arsenal at military airfield near Odessa: Defense Ministry

The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed on Sunday that the Russian military struck a military airport near Odessa in Ukraine with high-precision missiles, destroying an arsenal that contained weapons and ammunition supplied by the U. S. and European countries, and damaging the airport runway.

The Ukrainian side said that Russian troops bombed the runway of Odessa airport on Saturday as they intensified their offensive in eastern Ukraine.

The Southern Ukrainian Combat Command said the sound of an explosion in Odessa came from a Russian drone shot down by Ukrainian anti-aircraft system. Ukraine said there are signs indicating that Russian forces are preparing to further intensify combat operations.

The governor of Russia’s western Kursk region said several shells were fired on Saturday at a checkpoint near its border from the direction of Ukraine.

Speaking in a video posted on his Telegram channel, governor Roman Starovoit said Russian border guards and troops quickly opened fire to suppress the fire from the Ukraine side and there were no casualties or damage.

The Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine has issued an order to close the ports of Berdiansk, Mariupol, Kherson and Skadovsk on Sunday until Ukraine’s control over them is regained.

As the current conflict between Russia and Ukraine rages on and the negotiations between the two sides are at an impasse, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres kicked off his mediation mission to end the Moscow-Kiev conflict on Tuesday. Just two days after the mediation visit of Guterres ending on Thursday, U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi arrived in Kiev.

Analysis said that the U.S. and some Western allies’ behavior of making inflammatory accusations will undoubtedly hinder the Russia-Ukraine negotiation process.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky posted on social platforms on Sunday that he had a meeting with U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi in Kiev. Pelosi is the latest U.S. senior official to visit Ukraine following U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. Before Pelosi’s unexpected visit, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Ukraine has been used by the United States and NATO as a tool to contain and stimulate Russia.

Sunday marks a full month after Russia’s ruble settlement order went into effect. At that time, the decree was jointly boycotted by multiple European countries. After one month, however, many European countries are facing gas shortages.

On April 27, Russia announced that it had suspended gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria, which are the first to be “suspended” after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the ruble settlement order on April 1. Since then, gas price hikes in the European market have hit as high as 20 percent. Analysis said that if Russia cuts the gas supply to more European countries, gas prices will rise further, which may even lead to natural gas rationing.