Ukraine war latest: 'Water surface drones' attack bridge linking Russia and Crimea - damaging key Putin supply line
A couple has been killed and their daughter injured after explosions were reported on the bridge linking Crimea and Russia. Ukraine attacked the bridge overnight using unmanned drones on the water surface, Russia's Anti-Terrorist Committee claims.
Russian politician threatens invasion of NATO's 'weakest link'
The chairman of the Russian parliament defence committee has threatened that Moscow could use mercenaries to invade a strip of land between Poland and Lithuania.
Reservist Colonel General Andrey Kartapolov said the Wagner group - which is currently stationed in Belarus - was ready to strike the Suwalki Corridor in a "matter of hours".
The 60-mile strip of land is in NATO territory, and is the only land link to the three ex-Soviet Baltic republics - Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia - for the West.
If Russia were to invade the corridor, it would give it a land link between the Baltic enclave of Kaliningrad and the Russian ally state of Belarus.
"It is clear that Wagner [mercenary army] went to Belarus to train the Belarusian armed forces…" Mr Kartapolov told Russian state TV
"There is such a place as the Suwalki Corridor. Should anything happen, we need this Suwalki Corridor very much…
"A strike force [based in Wagner forces in Belarus] is ready to take this corridor in a matter of hours."
The Suwalki Corridor could be the first point of contact between Russian and NATO forces, and Western military planners have warned it would like be one of Moscow's first targets if it ever chose to escalate the war into a confrontation with the West.
The principle of NATO is such that any attack on its territory should trigger a response from the rest of the alliance - but it's unclear whether leaders would choose to essentially be pulled into World War Three over the sparsely populated corridor
Russia confirms it won't extend Black Sea grain deal
We mentioned earlier this morning that Russia hadn't yet indicated whether it would rip up the deal - but it has now notified Ukraine, Turkey and the UN that it is against extending it.
The deal had allowed the safe export of Ukrainian grain, which is crucial for food in some of the world's poorest regions.
The agreement had been set to end today, but Russia had not signalled whether it intended to allow an extension.
Moscow has been demanding that obstacles be removed on its own grain and fertiliser exports.
Hours before Russia confirmed it was ending the deal, blasts were reported on the Kerch Bridge linking Crimea with Russia.
The Kremlin said the halting of the agreement, brokered by the UN and Turkey, had nothing to do with the attack.
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