Russian missile strikes in Ukraine's Odesa region have killed four people, including a 10-year-old girl.

The strikes coincide with the 80th anniversary of the city's liberation from the Nazis during World War Two.

Ukraine war: Russian missiles hit Odesa on WWII anniversary - BBC News

It's not related to the war in any way but JFC...

How does Mike expect to please everyone with his Ukraine bill when he can't control his own party on every other bill?

This party is a fucking mess.

I'm going to be counting every day that passes by without that bill put forth.

He has had 6 months and multiple week-long breaks, there's no excuse for even one extra day.

Agree the US politics is unbelievable. The longer this war goes due to the US bullshit politics, the more I can see Eastern European countries saying fuck it we developing nuclear weapons as we can't rely on our allies for help. So then it wiil lend up a col war of nuclear neighbours.

I'm fairly certain that Poland will acquire their own nukes in the future. Poland already "warned" America about it.

"Some countries will start hedging their bets, and others will consider developing their own nuclear weapons programs," Sikorski said.

Can't really blame them either, Western Europe shows weakness, America under Republicans aren't an ally, Eastern European countries will need further deterrence to Russia and nukes are the best deterrence, I could see the Baltics acquiring nukes too, it's a shame that we're maybe heading towards a future of even more nukes but I see little alternative.

Strikes on energy infrastructure in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Lviv and Zaporizhia.

Fuck Republicans. If only I believed in Hell, they'd be a special place reserved for them.

And for the cowards in the Biden admin.

After how much Trump damaged America's foreign policy, how much effort Biden put in to restore it and it has led to this.

America's foreign policy is a fucking joke lately and Western Europe, step the fuck up already.

The US recently sent Ukraine its first batch of new long-range precision bombs with the potential to strike deep within Russian-occupied territory. Despite the weapons’ extended range, however, Ukraine won’t be able to use them to hit military targets inside Russia itself. Why? The US won’t allow it out of fear that American weapons taking out targets within Russia could escalate the conflict.

From American bombs to British and French cruise missiles, Kyiv’s Western partners provide their most potent weapons on the condition that Ukraine only use them within its own borders (including Crimea; the Ukrainian peninsula occupied by Russia since 2014). This restriction is a mistake, and one easily remedied by simply informing Ukraine that it has been lifted. Amid gridlock in Congress and delays in European ammunition production, Kyiv’s Western allies can help Ukraine overnight with this one change in policy.

Limiting Kyiv’s use of Western weapons puts Ukraine in a difficult position because the missiles hitting Ukrainian cities are often launched over Russian territory by planes taking off from airfields inside Russia. The same is true for Russia’s one-way attack drones, which depart bases in Russia only to crash into Ukrainian apartment buildings and explode on impact.

Restricting Ukraine’s use of Western munitions doesn’t entirely prevent strikes inside Russia, but it pushes Kyiv to use more unconventional means – drones, vehicle-borne bombs, and sabotage. Ukraine also uses a limited supply of old, and less precise, Soviet missiles. But Kyiv’s one-way attack drones move slower than Western missiles and bombs, which can make them more vulnerable to Russian air defenses. And when debris from intercepted drones falls on Russian cities, it feeds Putin’s propaganda machine. Clearly, more precise Western weaponry will reduce collateral damage in Russia, and reduce civilian casualties.

While Ukraine is working hard to develop its own long range missiles, it will take time for them to be ready for widespread use on the battlefield. Meanwhile, Western weapons have proven effective when used on Russian military bases in occupied Ukrainian territory, where Kyiv has permission to use munitions like US-supplied ATACMS and cruise missiles from France and the UK. Strikes with these weapons have leveled Russia’s Black Sea Fleet headquarters, wrecked a Russian submarine, and destroyed dozens of Russian helicopters. In response, the Kremlin has moved several of its valuable warships and aircraft out of occupied Ukraine and into bases and ports in Russia.

Restrictions on Kyiv’s use of Western weapons are a gift of particular value to Moscow because Russia has far more aircraft than they have hangars to hold them. This leaves valuable military planes and helicopters out in the open. The Kremlin knows that many of its aircraft are vulnerable to Ukrainian strikes, which is why Moscow’s forces have taken to painting flat aircraft decoys at their air bases. These decoys don’t look very convincing when viewed in high-resolution satellite imagery, but they could mislead Ukrainian attack drones reliant on basic cameras. Advanced Western weapons are less likely to have this issue.

Western officials worry that their weapons being used on Russian territory will lead to escalation – even “Armageddon”– or feed into Putin’s propaganda machine, which paints Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine as a war against the West. But fears of such escalation are unfounded. Russia already claims, without publishing evidence, that Western munitions have been used in attacks on targets inside Russian territory. 

When explosions rocked the Russian city of Belgorod late last year, the Kremlin baselessly blamed Ukraine’s use of Czech-supplied weapons. When a transport plane was shot down over Russian airspace, the Kremlin asserted that a US-supplied air defense system was used. Meanwhile, Russia has not hesitated to lob North Korean missiles and Iranian drones at Ukraine. Russian missiles have also violated the airspace of Poland – a Nato member– before striking Ukraine.

Ukraine is fighting an existential war and Kyiv’s victory against the increasingly dangerous Putin is critical for the security of Europe, of Nato, and of the United States. But aid to support that victory has consistently come a day late and a weapon system short. Ukraine will have a difficult year fending off Russian attacks while building the capacity to retake occupied territory. Putin has made it clear that he has no interest in negotiations. Western partners should trust Ukraine to protect its citizens and not risk its allies with the weapons we provide.

• Ukraine you are allowed to fight back but only if you fight back gently.
• Ukraine you must fight a war like nobody in history has fought a war before, with kid gloves.
• Ukraine you can't do this! You can't do that!
• Ukraine you can't have this! We need it in case Russia attacks us!