Russia-Ukraine war latest updates: Moscow deflects after Makiivka attack
The fallout from a deadly attack in the occupied city of Makiivka in Ukraine’s Donetsk region has led to finger-pointing by Russian officials. The Russian Defense Ministry on Wednesday said the attack was a result of illicit cellphone use among Russian soldiers, in what some observers see as an attempt to shift culpability from Moscow.
The attack, which the Russian Defense Ministry said killed 89 — Ukraine has estimated a higher death toll at 400 — prompted rare public mourning in Russia.
On Wednesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will hold a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Erdogan’s spokesman Ibrahim Kalin told Turkish news agency NTV. Afterward, Erdogan will speak with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Kalin said.
Here’s the latest on the war and its ripple effects across the globe.
3. From our correspondents
Tinder in the trenches: How war has changed love and sex in Ukraine. When a 30-year-old Ukrainian soldier racked up 200 matches on Tinder in Kharkiv, he was enticed by the potential for a hookup. But as he started meeting up with dates, he quickly realized he lacked his normal charm and didn’t have the energy for conversation. The death and destruction of his daily life at war weighed on him too heavily.
Russia’s invasion has upended all aspects of life in Ukraine, and intimacy is no exception, write Jeff Stein, Samantha Schmidt and Kostiantyn Khudov. “It’s a real trauma, and trauma and romance don’t go together,” said Alexander Kolomiychuk, a sex therapist in Kyiv. “In war, there is no time for pleasure. There is no time for recreation.”