Ukrainian and Russian-backed officials reported deadly attacks in the occupied city of Melitopol on Saturday night, both saying that a recreational center was struck and that there were deaths and injuries. The pro-Moscow officials blamed Ukraine, though Kyiv has not taken responsibility.
Meanwhile, fallout from the prisoner swap of Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout for WNBA star Brittney Griner continues. Some conservatives were angry that American negotiators couldn’t land a deal for Paul Whelan, the Marine turned corporate security executive serving a 16-year sentence in a Russian prison on espionage charges. John Kirby, spokesman for the National Security Council, said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week” that the Russian negotiators are “treating Paul very separately, very distinctly because of these sham espionage charges they levied against him. And then it kind of came together last week in the end game with just a Bout-for-Griner deal.”
