Counter-offensive: American ammo hitting Russians; Ukrainian drones strike Russian energy sites; Treasury sanctions leave Russian oil tankers on empty; Estonian might; No-limit, China & Russia?
Forbes: “American Ammunition Has Reached Ukrainian Brigades—And Now Those Brigades Are Blasting Russian Assault Groups”
The race was on — between Russian forces trying to capture Chasiv Yar and Ukrainian and allied logisticians rushing American-supplied ammunition to the embattled town.
The good news, for friends of a free Ukraine, is that the Ukrainians seem to have won the race. The garrison in Chasiv Yar is now flush with ammo, apparently—and wreaking havoc on Russian assault groups.
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By mid-May, the Ukrainians were much better-armed. So when that assault group tried to cross miles of open fields on Friday, it got hit the whole way — with 100-pound shells, 50-pound missiles and two-pound drones. The few Russians who reached the canal district didn’t last long.
Semafor: “Massive Ukraine drone strike hits energy infrastructure in Russia and Crimea”
A massive wave of Ukrainian drones and missiles struck oil refineries, ports, and electricity stations in southwestern Russia and Russian-occupied Crimea early Friday.
The strike, which Russian authorities said involved more than 100 Ukrainian drones, is Ukraine’s biggest attack in months, as Kyiv aims to destroy military infrastructure and cripple Russia’s oil sector.
Bloomberg: “Virtually Every Sanctioned Russian Oil Tanker Remains Idle and Empty Months After Sanctions”
Dozens of tankers remain stuck doing nothing months after being sanctioned by the Treasury Department — a signal of the US’s scope to disrupt Moscow’s petroleum supply chain if it chooses to.
Since October, 40 ships involved in Russia’s oil trade have been added to the Treasury’s list of designated entities, mostly for breaching a price cap that’s meant to restrict the Kremlin’s access to petrodollars.
Rikard Jozwiak, RFE/RL: “Bold But Also Vulnerable -- Estonia's Leading Role On Ukraine”
Estonia has put huge amounts of effort into gathering evidence of Russian war crimes in Ukraine and bringing perpetrators to justice. It came up with the idea of actually seizing frozen Russian assets in the European Union to pay for both Kyiv's war effort and the eventual reconstruction….Last week, its parliament voted in favor of a law that would allow the confiscation of assets in the country belonging to private Russian citizens if there is a proven link to the Russian war machine.
Tallinn has given Ukraine roughly $640 million worth of military, humanitarian, and financial aid. While perhaps that contribution isn't too much in absolute terms, it constitutes 1.6 percent of Estonia's total gross domestic product (GDP), more than any other country that has supplied Ukraine with aid.
We hear a lot about Russia and China’s ‘no limits partnership.’ But judging from today’s Russian papers, limits exist. Here’s what the Russian press is saying about Putin’s visit to China: