A major European city, Odesa, was hit with a ballistic missile in broad daylight, after a 5-hour long major drone attack overnight, during the funeral of a mother and her 4-month month old baby, who were killed last week with four other children. One dozen people died in that attack.
Z’s motorcade arrived in Odesa on Wednesday just before the latest strike, which killed five more people, for a meeting with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who was in the vicinity of the blast and had a great view of the “mushroom cloud” (as filmed by a member of the Greek PM’s delegation on his smartphone below).
Ukraine's Defence Forces have denied the strike on Odesa was planned to coincide with Z's visit, but nobody believes that.
Meanwhile, the number of people injured in the shelling of Borova in Kharkiv region increased to seven. Among the victims are teenagers aged 12 to 16, most diagnosed with mild to moderate injuries, and a 24-year-old woman, a 73-year old man and a 44-year old woman. A 70-year old man died, according to Kharkiv Regional Military Administration.
Carlotta at The New York Times writes about Ukraine’s hairy retreat from frontline positions in the east of the country1.
Matthew at Politico looks at Olaf’s just-enough-to-survive strategy for Ukraine2.
You decide: Wirklich beängstigend or echt uberangst (truly terrified versus genuinely overafraid)?
Some video of fighting outside of Novomykhailivka, Donetsk region.
We’re all waiting for cleverly worded watered-down remarks in tonite’s State of the Union address about Team USA’s abject failure to support Ukraine adequately during the last two years.
Uncle Joe might blame Speaker Mike, Elon and Viktor, who support Trump openly in the 2024 presidential election, and oppose additional US military and humanitarian support to Ukraine.
The Hungarian prime minister will meet with Trump on March 8 in Mar a Lago, Florida. The two main topics at the beano will be re-establishing peace in Europe and restoring Hungarian-American bilateral relations.
Looking on the bright side, more than 1,000 dead invaders. KIA counts have been high this week.
Too Little Ammunition, Too Many Russians: The Harrowing Retreat From Avdiivka. The fall of the city, when it came in mid-February, was brutal and fast. Soldiers fought for their lives. Many did not make it (The New York Times, March 6, 2024)
Germany’s Ukraine policy is incoherent for a reason. The German chancellor is driven by a deep-seated fear of Russia and a desire to be seen as a “peace chancellor” (Politico, March 6, 2024)
Ich bin verrueckte Petya. SOTU looks like an ordeal.