Russia resumes attacks on grain infrastructure

A NATO official on Wednesday backed off his suggestion that Ukraine give up land to Russia in exchange for membership in the alliance, a proposal dismissed as "ridiculous" and unacceptable in Ukraine.

Stian Jenssen, chief of staff to NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, raised the possibility of such an approach to end the war at an event Tuesday in Norway. Jenssen added any peace deal would have to be acceptable to Ukraine, a position the Biden administration also has stressed.

Russia illegally annexed four regions of Ukraine in September and has occupied Crimea since 2014. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has vowed to return all the land to Ukrainian control. Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to Zelenskyy, said ceding any of its territory to Russia would be a "triumph" for Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Hi! I'm Nicole with the latest headlines about Russia and Ukraine and other world news. But first, here are a few more updates from Paste BN's Russia-Ukraine Live Blog:

• Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Paul Whelan, an American security executive imprisoned in Russia, “Keep the faith and we’re doing everything we can to bring you home as soon as possible,” in a phone call Wednesday, CNN reported.
• The Ukrainian government has spent more than $14 billion, almost one-third of overall spending this year, on pay for military personnel, the Finance Ministry said.
• A container ship carrying more than 30,000 tons of cargo, including food products, became the first vessel to sail out of Odesa since July 16, according to Ukrainian officials. However, it doesn't appear many others will follow.

Russia bombards grain ports and storage facilities 

Officials say Russia has resumed its targeting of grain infrastructure in Ukraine’s southern Odesa region, using drones in overnight strikes on storage facilities and ports along the Danube River. Kyiv has increasingly used those terminals for grain transport to Europe after Moscow broke off a key wartime export deal through the Black Sea.

Russian drones pounded grain storage facilities and ports along the Danube River that Ukraine has increasingly relied on as an alternative transport route to Europe, after Moscow broke off a key wartime shipping agreement using the Black Sea.

Why the Ukrainian counteroffensive is making little progress against Russian defense.

Ukraine’s economy, crunched by the war, is heavily dependent on farming. So is the world's food supply. A month ago, the Kremlin tore up an agreement brokered last summer by the U.N. and Turkey to ensure safe Ukraine grain exports through the Black Sea. Since then, Kyiv has sought to reroute transport through the Danube and road and rail links into Europe. But transport costs that way are much higher, some European countries have balked at the consequences for local grain prices, and the Danube ports can’t handle the same volume as seaports.

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