Vladimir Putin, Russia’s head of state, has charged Ukraine with striking one of its liquefied natural‑gas vessels, which blew up and sank in the Mediterranean off Libya. The blast was reported on the Arctic Metagaz, a carrier loaded with 61,000 tonnes of LNG, on Tuesday night while the ship was roughly 150 miles (240 km) from the Libyan shoreline. Kyiv has offered no comment on the loss of the vessel, which had been subject to U.S. and EU sanctions. Moscow’s transport ministry asserted that Ukrainian drones launched from the Libyan coast had hit the Arctic Metagaz.
Ukrainian drones struck civilian infrastructure in Russia’s south‑western Saratov region, the governor Roman Busgarin said early Thursday. Saratov airport and several other airfields in the southern and central zones were shut down late Wednesday and early Thursday. Authorities recorded three injuries.
A lingering energy crunch triggered by the expanding conflict in the Middle East could provide a financial lifeline to Russia’s war effort just as it begins to feel pressure from its campaign in Ukraine. Disruptions in the Middle East might divert buyers toward Russian fuel, delivering a windfall, while a potential slowdown in Western arms deliveries to Kyiv—amid ongoing U.S. military actions in Iran—could further benefit Moscow.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that three‑way talks involving Washington and Moscow on ending the war in Ukraine would restart once conditions in Iran and the broader Middle East allow. He also said he had spoken on Wednesday with the king of Bahrain and the crown prince of Kuwait about the Middle‑East turmoil.
Kyiv declared it will boycott the opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games in Milan‑Cortina, Italy, on Friday, protesting the presence of Russian athletes. Competitors from Russia and Belarus had been barred from the 2022 Winter Paralympics because of the war in Ukraine, yet they were permitted to take part as neutral participants in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. The Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Latvia and Poland are expected to join Ukraine in the boycott on Friday.
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