Russian forces unleashed a fresh wave of aerial attacks across Ukraine early Friday morning, killing at least nine people and damaging or destroying several buildings. Most of the casualties came on strikes to high-rise apartment buildings in Uman.
(Bloomberg) — Russian forces unleashed a fresh wave of aerial attacks across Ukraine early Friday morning, killing at least nine people and damaging or destroying several buildings. Most of the casualties came on strikes to high-rise apartment buildings in Uman.
Explosions were heard in the capital, Kyiv, marking the first Russian assault there in more than a month. Ukraine’s air defenses shot down an estimated 21 of 23 cruise missiles.
Russia on Thursday rejected a US Embassy request to visit jailed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich. The move came after the US declined to issue visas to Russian journalists for Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s visit to New York this week to preside over the UN Security Council.
Key Developments
- The Hard Part for Xi Starts Now After Finally Calling Zelenskiy
- Russia Launches Deadly Aerial Assault on Ukraine, Hits Kyiv
- Ukraine Holds Rates as Improved Outlook Points to Easing
- Russia Bars US Embassy Visit to Jailed Reporter in Visa Backlash
(All times CET)
At Least Nine Killed in Fresh Round of Air Strikes (7:52 a.m.)
Russia unleashed a fresh wave of aerial strikes early Friday, killing at least nine people and destroying several buildings. Explosions were heard in the capital, Kyiv, for the first time in over a month.
A woman and a child were killed in Dnipro. At least seven people were killed and nine have been hospitalized in Uman, southeast of Kyiv, where Russian rockets damaged about 10 apartment buildings. Rescue efforts are under way.
The attacks involved Tu-95 strategic aircraft coming from the Caspian Sea region as well as drones, Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Valeriy Zaluzhnyi said on Telegram. Ukraine’s air defenses destroyed 21 out of 23 Kh-101/Kh-555 cruise missiles as well as two drones, he said. Explosions were also heard in a number of regions including Kremenchuk, Dnipro, Mykolayiv, Poltava and Cherkasy, according to Ukrainian TV channel TSN.
Read more: Russia Launches Deadly Aerial Assault on Ukraine, Hits Kyiv
Russia Launches Strikes, Explosions Heard (4:15 a.m.)
Russia launched new strikes on Ukraine early Friday. Several explosions were heard in the capital, Kyiv, marking the first such assaults there in more than a month.
Officials in Kyiv said that air defense systems were working.
Explosions were also heard in Kremenchuk, Dnipro, Mykolayiv, Poltava and Cherkassy regions, Tass reports, citing Ukrainian TV channel TCH.
Russia Signals Rosneft Will Manage Seized Uniper, Fortum Units (6:16 p.m.)
Russian oil giant Rosneft PJSC may get control of local utilities owned by Germany’s Uniper SE and Finland’s Fortum Oyj after the government announced it will transfer the management of seized international assets to domestic companies that have been hit by sanctions.
Top managers from Rosneft were appointed to head the Fortum and Uniper units, the companies announced Wednesday, after a presidential order allowed state control of such assets in certain conditions. “The management will be carried out by a company that has suffered from unfriendly countries,” Russian Deputy Finance Minister Aleksey Moiseev said Thursday, according to Interfax news service.
Russia Denies Consular Visit to Jailed WSJ Reporter in Visa Row (2:30 p.m.)
Russia said its decision to reject a request by the US embassy in Moscow to visit jailed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich came in retaliation for a failure to issue visas to its journalists for Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s visit to New York.
The ministry said it protested to a senior US diplomat for “provocative” actions that prevented visa processing for Russian media. Lavrov this week chaired sessions of the UN Security Council under Russia’s rotating presidency.
Gershkovich, 31, is being held in Moscow’s Lefortovo prison on allegations of espionage after he was arrested in March while on a reporting trip to the city of Yekaterinburg in Russia’s Urals region.
Fed’s Powell Tricked by Russian ‘Pranksters’ Posing as Zelenskiy (2:06 p.m.)
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell held a call with a pair of Russian pranksters posing as Zelenskiy, according to video shown on Russian state television.
Apparently thinking he was speaking to Zelenskiy, the video shows Powell answering questions on topics from the outlook for inflation to the Russian central bank. There were several clips lasting about 15 minutes, and it’s unclear if the footage was altered.
Ukraine Holds Rates Steady, Raises Growth Forecast (1:30 p.m.)
Ukraine’s central bank held interest rates unchanged and increased its outlook for economic growth by more than sixfold, indicating it may begin reversing wartime monetary tightening earlier than expected.
Policy makers raised their 2023 economic growth outlook to 2%, from 0.3% earlier, and cut the end-year inflation forecast to 14.8% from 18.7%.
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