Free Republic

Russia has attacked at least eight Ukrainian energy facilities since March 18 when Moscow says it halted such attacks, a senior Ukrainian presidential official said on Wednesday. Ihor Zhovkva, speaking on national television, also said that, contrary to Russian statements, no preconditions were discussed with U.S. officials as they agreed a Black Sea truce with Russia during talks in Saudi Arabia this week. The Kremlin said earlier that a number of conditions must be met before the Black Sea maritime security deal negotiated with the United States can be activated.

A Ukrainian widow living in the battle-scarred city of Kherson said she has come to resemble “a living corpse” after having her hands boiled and nails pulled out during hours of torture — and being subjected to a mock execution at her husband’s grave by Russian soldiers. The tale of Oksana Minenko’s torment and survival has emerged as part of a gut-wrenching expose published by Reuters, revealing gruesome details about the alleged treatment of Ukrainians living in Kherson during the city’s nine-month Russian occupation. Minenko, a 44-year-old accountant whose husband died defending Kherson’s Antonivskyi bridge on the first day of...