Russian forces unleashed a fresh wave of aerial attacks across Ukraine early Friday morning, killing at least 16 people and damaging or destroying several buildings. Most of the casualties came from a strike on Uman, where rescue efforts continue after a high-rise apartment building was mostly demolished.
(Bloomberg) — Russian forces unleashed a fresh wave of aerial attacks across Ukraine early Friday morning, killing at least 16 people and damaging or destroying several buildings. Most of the casualties came from a strike on Uman, where rescue efforts continue after a high-rise apartment building was mostly demolished.
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.
Russia’s central bank held interest rates on Friday, extending a pause in place since September, and retained a hawkish bias that leaves the option for hikes later in the year.
Key Developments
- The Hard Part for Xi Starts Now After Finally Calling Zelenskiy
- Russia Launches Deadly Aerial Assault on Ukraine, Hits Kyiv
- Bank of Russia Keeps Hawkish Bias in Leaving Rates on Hold Again
- 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)
Russian Central Bank Leaves Rates on Hold (12:36 p.m.)
Russia’s central bank held interest rates on Friday and retained a hawkish bias that leaves the option for hikes later in the year.
Extending a pause in place since September, policymakers kept their benchmark at 7.5%, in line with the forecasts of all economists surveyed by Bloomberg. Governor Elvira Nabiullina will speak later at a news conference in Moscow.
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 2022r 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 15 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, at least 15 people are confirmed dead including two children, and at least 11 have been hospitalized after a Russian missile damaged multi-storey apartment blocks. 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 Voldymyr 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,” Pavl 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.
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