Russian forces unleashed a fresh wave of aerial attacks across Ukraine, killing at least 19 people, mostly in the central city of Uman, where a high-rise apartment building was hit.
(Bloomberg) — Russian forces unleashed a fresh wave of aerial attacks across Ukraine, killing at least 19 people, mostly in the central city of Uman, where a high-rise apartment building was hit.
Ukraine’s defense chief said final preparations are under way for a counteroffensive that’s expected to attempt to dislodge Russian forces from parts of Ukraine’s southeast.
Russian President Vladimir Putin approved new measures to punish residents of occupied parts of Ukraine that oppose Moscow’s rule.
Key Developments
- Russia Strikes Across Ukraine as Kyiv Says New Offensive Nears
- Bank of Russia Sees Economy Growing as Sanctions Shock Fades
- Russian Oil Still Powering Europe’s Cars With Help of India
- Russia Bars US Embassy Visit to Jailed Reporter in Visa Backlash
(All times CET)
Czechs, Ukraine Work on Joint Weapon Production (3:45 p.m.)
The Czech Republic has six projects to jointly produce and repair weapons with Ukraine, Czech President Petr Pavel said during a visit to Kyiv.
The projects will produce weapons and ammunition, repair tanks and potentially manufacture training aircraft, Pavel said.
Putin Tightens Rules for Residents of Occupied Lands (3:32 p.m.)
Putin signed a new law allowing authorities to strip citizenship from people who’ve obtained it in occupied territories if they violate the strict rules against criticizing the invasion or join public protests.
Russia has issued hundreds of thousands of passports in the regions its forces have seized. A new presidential decree allows occupation forces to deport residents of the zones who decline to become Russian citizens if they are found to pose a threat to Russia.
EU Lets Some Eastern Members Ban Ukraine Grain Imports (3:25 p.m.)
Poland and four other European Union member states agreed to restrictions on Ukrainian grain products as part of an agreement with the bloc’s executive arm, replacing their unilateral bans on imports in response to plummeting prices.
The measures apply to wheat, corn, rapeseed, sunflower and sunflower oil — and will be in place until June 5, with the possibility of being extended through the end of the year, Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski told reporters in Warsaw Friday. The transit of Ukrainian foodstuffs to other member states will continue, he said.
India, Russia Agree to Bolster Military Ties (3:14 p.m.)
India and Russia agreed to strengthen defense cooperation as military supplies to the South Asian nation have stalled for want of a payment mechanism that doesn’t violate US sanctions.
The two countries discussed “wide-ranging bilateral defense cooperation, including military-to-military ties and partnerships,” according to a statement issued after India’s Defense Minister Rajnath Singh met his Russian counterpart, Sergei K. Shoigu, in New Delhi.
The two countries “reiterated their commitment” to strengthen their “partnership,” the statement said.
Russia Sees Economy Growing as Sanction Shock Fades (2:02 p.m.)
Russia’s central bank said the economy will recover this year, growing as much as 2% as the the impact of sanctions imposed over the invasion of Ukraine fades.
Gross domestic product is likely to reach pre-war levels by the end of 2024, policymakers said. That’s far earlier than many economists had expected and reflects the more-limited impact of the restrictions the US and its allies have slapped on Russia.
Read more: Bank of Russia Keeps Hawkish Bias in Leaving Rates on Hold Again
Ukraine Seeks to Join NATO Support and Procurement Organization (12:30 p.m.)
Ukraine’s defense minister said he hopes Kyiv’s participation in the NSPO will be approved at the NATO summit in Vilnius in July. The step won preliminary approval at the meeting of Ukrainian military donors in Ramstein air base in Germany last week, Oleksii Reznikov told reporters in Kyiv. Joining NSPO will de jure move Ukraine closer to NATO membership, the minister said.
EU States Will Extend Ukraine Free Trade Arrangements (12:30 p.m.)
European Union ambassadors have agreed to extend free trade arrangements with Ukraine for another year. The agreement, adopted in 2022 and due to expire at the end of June, removes all tariffs and quota requirements on Ukrainian exports.
A deal was delayed after several member states, including Poland and Hungary, protested about supply gluts created by Ukrainian grain and other farm produce. Warsaw and Budapest, along with Slovakia and Bulgaria, imposed bans on several types imports from Ukraine.
That move was criticized by other member states and the EU. The European Commission has put together a package of support for the affected countries.
Read more: EU Says Poland, Hungary Halts on Ukraine Grain ‘Unacceptable’
Toll From Overnight Air Strikes Still Climbing as Bodies Recovered (12:30 p.m.)
Russia unleashed a fresh wave of aerial strikes early Friday, killing at least 19 people and destroying several buildings. Explosions were heard in the capital, Kyiv, for the first time in over a month.
In Uman, south of Kyiv, a missile slammed into multi-story apartment blocks, killing at least 17 people, including two children, and wounding at least 16. The toll may rise as rescue efforts continue. Separately, a woman and a child were killed in Dnipro.
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
Ukraine Finalizing Counteroffensive Preparations: Defense Minister (11:30 a.m.)
Weapons and equipment for the Ukraine’s counteroffensive have been partially delivered, Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov told reporters in Kyiv on Friday.
The training for armed personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles provided by partner countries is at final stages, he said. Ukraine will also use Leopard 2 and Challenger tanks for the counteroffensive and Leopard 1 tanks at later stages, Reznikov said.
Ukraine has already deployed Patriot surface-to-air defense systems, he said. Germany followed through the pledge to supply Patriots to Ukraine last week, according to a list of military support.
Russian Defense Ministry Posts After Missile Attack (10:30 a.m.)
Moscow hasn’t commented officially on Friday morning’s deadly strikes on Ukrainian cities, but the Russian defense ministry on its Telegram account posted a photo of a missile launch with the caption “Right on Target.”
Czech, Slovak Presidents Visit Kyiv, Expected to Meet With Zelenskiy (10 a.m.)
Slovak President Zuzana Caputova and Czech President Petr Pavel arrived in Kyiv on Friday morning for their first joint visit, and are expected to meet with Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
“We both perceive the value of freedom and justice. It has hard to see with your eyes that Ukrainians are paying the highest price for it,” Pavel said in a tweet.
Read more: Ukraine Support Faces New Hurdle as Slovak Leader Eyes Return
Human Rights Body Assesses $143M Fine on Russia Over Georgia War (10 a.m.)
The European Court of Human Rights ordered Russia to pay Georgia 129.8 million euros ($143 million) in damages over atrocities committed during the short 2008 war between the two countries that included the killing and inhumane treatment of hundreds of civilians as well as torture of prisoners of war.
The single biggest share was 115 million euros to be paid to at least 23,000 Georgians unable to return to their homes in South Ossetia and Abkhazia, the court said. The August 2008 clash between Russians, Russian-backed separatists and Georgians left thousands of civilians displaced. Parts of Georgia remain occupied to this day.
The ruling by the ECHR is largely symbolic as Russia was expelled from the Council of Europe and ECHR in 2022, leaving essentially no chance the damages will ever be paid.
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 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.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2023 Bloomberg L.P.