MI6 chief urges Russians to share info

The head of the British Secret Service MI6, Richard Moore, urged Russians who are against the war to "share" information or documents they possess with the British secret services, to bring the war to a faster end. In an interview with Politico from the British Embassy in Prague, 55 years after the Prague Spring, where students flooded the Czech capital protesting against the Soviet occupation, resulting in casualties under the treads of Russian tanks, Moore claimed that the number of "disillusioned" people within Russia is increasing daily.

"The Ukrainians have recaptured more territory than Russia managed to seize in a year," he estimated and added that "it is not our intention to humiliate the great nation of Russia or personally Vladimir Putin. The message is clear: withdraw the troops. Ukraine will decide on the terms of the negotiations, not us. Our goal is to put them in the strongest possible negotiating position, and that is what we intend to continue doing." Referring to those who feel outraged by the unjust bloodshed in Ukraine, Moore appealed to cooperate with MI6 by providing any information they have and believed could help the Ukrainian defense. "I call on them to do what so many others have been doing for the past 18 months by joining hands with us," he said. "People indeed continue to come to us, and of course, by doing so, they take a risk. However, we take care of those who cooperate with us, and, of course, the successes we achieve are never made public," he added.

The port of Odesa experienced a second "night of chaos" with dozens of attacks launched against targets inside and around it. Strong explosions and sirens were heard everywhere in the early hours of Wednesday, and at least one missile struck a target within the urban area, as Russia attacked grain storage facilities in the major Ukrainian port. The Ukrainian Air Force announced that Russia fired 63 missiles and dozens of drone attacks on various targets throughout the country, stating that most of the missiles were intercepted by the air defense. Sergey Bratsuk, a spokesperson for the military administration in Odessa, said the night was "truly hellish," explaining that the attack was "severe and very massive."

On the other hand, a barrage of attacks also occurred in Russian-occupied Crimea. An ammunition depot on the grounds where Russian military training takes place caught fire, causing the central highway of the peninsula to close and the evacuation of residents. Kremlin-appointed governor Sergey Aksyonov stated that the highway "Tavrida," which connects the major cities of Crimea, had to be closed, and at least 2,200 residents were evacuated from the area for safety. "There was a fire in a military camp. Investigations will be conducted to determine the causes," said Aksyonov. Pro-Russian bloggers later wrote that if it was an attack, it is likely to have been carried out with Ukrainian-made long-range Grim-2 missiles or British Storm Shadow missiles.

Kyiv did not take responsibility for the destruction of the ammunition depot, with Andrey Yusef, a representative of Ukraine's defense intelligence service, stating, "We cannot confirm or deny."