Norway announced Monday $242 million in new military aid for Ukraine, including help securing access to the country’s vital Black Sea ports.

“It is essential to protect the Ukrainian population and Ukrainian infrastructure from attacks by Russia’s Black Sea Fleet,” Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said in a statement.  “It is also important to protect exports by sea of grain and other products, which generate crucial revenues for Ukraine.”

The aid includes funding for training Ukrainian soldiers as well as mine clearance operations.

Norway’s Defense Minister Bjørn Arild Gram said mines are a “significant threat” in the Black Sea and that the aid will help Ukrainian forces detect and defuse mines near the coast.

Ukraine’s military said Monday it shot down 27 of the 49 drones that Russian forces deployed in overnight attacks.

The intercepts took place over the Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Khmelnytskyi and Sumy regions, the Ukrainian air force said.

Cherkasy Governor Ihor Taburets said debris from a destroyed drone damaged power lines, but caused no casualties.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said Monday its forces destroyed three Ukrainian aerial drones over the Kursk region.

Some information for this story was provided by Reuters
…