For the second time in a short space of time, a freight train derailed after an explosion near the Russian border near Ukraine. In the Bryansk region not far from the settlement of Belye Berega last night a locomotive and around 20 wagons went off the rails "due to illegal interference with the work of railway transport", the Russian railway RZD announced on Telegram. A train derailed in the same region on Monday after strangers blew up the rails.

Before the expected counter-offensive: Attacks are piling up

The governor of Bryansk, Alexander Bogomas, wrote of an "unknown explosive device" that had exploded. According to initial reports, no one was injured. It was initially unclear who was behind the alleged sabotage.

A little later yesterday evening, Russian Telegram channels also reported that a drone had dropped an explosive device near a defense facility under construction in the Belgorod region, which also borders Ukraine. A man was injured in the process. This was not officially confirmed at first.

Russia has been waging a war of aggression against neighboring Ukraine for more than 14 months. Attacks by unknown perpetrators on Russian infrastructure and supply routes have increased in recent weeks. For example, last weekend a fuel depot on the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, annexed by Russia, caught fire as a result of a drone attack. Some observers suspect that this is a preparation for the Ukrainian counter-offensive, which is expected to begin soon.

London suspects Russian strategy change

According to British intelligence services, there are signs of a shift in Russia's strategy in the Ukraine war. Instead of attacks on the power grid, Ukraine's military and industrial infrastructure is said to be increasingly being attacked, according to a short report by the British Ministry of Defense on Twitter on Wednesday.

In recent days, Russia has attacked Ukraine with cruise missiles said to have been shot down by long-range strategic bombers. The British said fewer projectiles were used than in previous attacks. London suspects that the Russians want to conserve their ammunition reserves.

Ukraine reports multiple drone strikes

According to Ukrainian authorities, the Russian military again attacked several regions of the country with drones on Wednesday night. In the Kirovohrad region, near the regional capital of Kropyvnytskyi, there were hits at an oil storage facility, Governor Andriy Raikovitch said on his Telegram channel. "There were no casualties. All emergency services acted quickly." Raikowitsch reported three drones. There is no information yet on the extent of the damage, he added.

According to the Ukrainian General Staff, Russia has launched a total of 26 drones from the Bryansk region and the east shore of the Sea of ​​Azov. Of these, 21 were intercepted. All drones were shot down over the Ukrainian capital Kiev. For Kiev, it was the third drone attack in the past six days.

According to the regional administration, the Dnipropetrovsk region was again the target of attacks. Seven missiles were shot down. One damaged an administration building and caused a fire there.

Zelenskyj: Must strengthen Euro-Atlantic security

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called for Western countries to stick together in view of the forthcoming NATO summit in July. "The most important thing that unites us is security for all Europeans, stability and therefore the further development and strengthening of the European and Euro-Atlantic community," Zelenskyy said in his evening video address.

Zelenskyi had previously made it clear that he expected the Vilnius summit to pave the way for his country's admission into the western military alliance. Kiev is getting support for its demands from Central and Eastern European countries such as the summit host, Lithuania. According to diplomats, however, it is currently considered unlikely that NATO partners such as the USA can be persuaded to give Ukraine, which has been attacked by Russia, a concrete membership perspective.

Selenskyj: I didn't find out about the US data leak in advance

In other respects, too, the Ukrainian leadership does not seem happy with the behavior of the US government. According to his own statements, Selenskyj was not informed in advance by the USA about the explosive data leak with secret documents circulating on the Internet. This emerges from an excerpt from an interview by the Washington Post with the Ukrainian president, which the newspaper published yesterday on its website.

"I was not informed in advance from the White House or the Pentagon," Zelenskyj said. "We didn't have that information, and neither did I personally." That is clearly a bad thing. The Washington Post report says that Zelenskyi found out about it from the news.

US media first reported on the leak shortly before Easter. Secret documents from US agencies on the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine had been circulating on the Internet for weeks - with information on arms deliveries, assessments of what was happening in the war and also details on alleged US spying campaigns against partners. A 21-year-old member of the US military is suspected of having published them in a closed chat room. From there, they spread further until authorities and the media became aware of them. The man must answer in court. The US authorities are investigating further.

Zelenskyy described the revelations in the interview as unfavorable for Kiev, for the reputation of the White House and the United States. The Washington Post, citing papers from the data leak and its own sources, reported that the United States had doubts about the hoped-for success of Ukraine's planned spring offensive against the Russian attackers.

EU Commission restricts Ukrainian agricultural imports

In the dispute over cheap grain from Ukraine, the EU Commission has restricted the import of four Ukrainian agricultural products after pressure from several EU countries. According to the EU Commission, wheat, corn, rapeseed and sunflowers may no longer be traded freely in Bulgaria, Poland, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia until June 5th. However, it is still possible to bring agricultural products through the affected countries to other EU countries. The background to the conflict is, among other things, that farmers in countries particularly affected by imports had complained about the competition.

Due to the severely restricted export routes via the Black Sea caused by the war, Ukraine is currently much more dependent on bringing goods to the world market by train, truck or ship.

What is important today

While Russia is nervous about the increasing number of acts of sabotage, fighting continues in Ukraine. The fighting is particularly heavy in the eastern town of Bakhmut.