Russia launched its biggest barrage of missile attacks against Ukraine so far this year, a day after President Volodymyr Zelenskiy completed a visit to European capitals, where he sought more weapons to fend off Vladimir Putin’s invasion.
(Bloomberg) — Russia launched its biggest barrage of missile attacks against Ukraine so far this year, a day after President Volodymyr Zelenskiy completed a visit to European capitals, where he sought more weapons to fend off Vladimir Putin’s invasion.
Romania pushed back against a claim by Ukraine’s top commander that two Russian cruise missiles had crossed into the NATO member’s air space, while Moldova summoned Russia’s ambassador after the projectiles passed over its territory.
Moscow’s plan to slash oil output by 500,000 barrels a day — which pushed oil prices to their largest weekly gain in four months – shows the extent to which Putin is willing to use energy as a weapon, a White House official said. President Joe Biden will travel to Poland to mark one year of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
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Key Developments
- Wheat Rises as Russia Launches Fresh Missile Attacks on Ukraine
- Oil Surges to Best Week Since October on Russian Supply Cuts
- Russian Moms-to-Be Flock to Argentina Seeking Safety, Passports
- Romania Says No Russia Missile Crossed Airspace After Kyiv Claim
- Bank of Russia Tilts Hawkish, With Rate Hike More Likely in 2023
On The Ground
While most attention was focused on massive Russian missile and drone strikes across Ukraine on Friday, its ground forces continued offensive operations in the Bakhmut and Avkdiivka-Donetsk City areas as well as in western Donetsk Oblast on Friday, according to the Institute for the Study of War. Ukraine’s military estimated Kremlin forces launched over 100 missiles against key infrastructure in addition to several Shahed-type drones. While many missiles were intercepted by air defense, strikes were still likely on parts of Kyiv, as well as the Vinnytsia, Zaporizhzhia, Odesa, Mykolaiv and Poltava regions, among others, ISW said.
(All times CET)
Russia Likely Turning to Convict Labor in Defense Plants, UK Says (8 a.m.)
Russia’s regular military has likely deployed the vast majority of reservists called up under last year’s “partial mobilization,” the UK defense ministry said.
That leaves Russia “the difficult choice of either continuing to deplete its forces, scale back objectives, or conduct a further form of mobilization,” the UK said on Twitter.
Further, the nation’s defense manufacturing “is highly likely resorting to using convict labor to meet war-time production demands,” the UK said.
Serbian President Warns of ‘Major Escalation’ (7 a.m.)
Aleksandar Vucic predicted a “major escalation” of Russia’s invasion over the next five to six months in a TV interview Friday night.
“This so far is almost nothing in comparison to what’s to come,” Serbia’s president told Prva TV in Belgrade. “In five to six months they will try to de-escalate, but in the next five to six months there will be the most fierce conflict.”
At this point “it’s not clear who’s winning” in Ukraine, he said.
Putin Weaponizing Energy With Oil Output Cut: White House
Russia’s plan to slash its oil output by 500,000 barrels a day next month shows the extent to which President Vladimir Putin is willing to use resources like energy as a weapon, said John Kirby, spokesman for the White House’s National Security Council.
Putin’s move isn’t surprising after a decision by G-7 and the European Union to implement price caps on Russian oil and oil products, Kirby said. The US will continue to work with allies and partners, including those in OPEC, he added, saying he had no specific conversations to speak of at this time.
Oil posted its largest weekly gain in four months after Russia followed through on a threat to cut production in response to Western energy sanctions.
Russia Launches Further Drone Attacks (8:30 pm)
Russia launched another wave of attacks by Iranian-made drones, targeting southern and central regions including Odesa and Mykolaiv, Ukrainian officials said.
Mykolaiv regional governor Vitaliy Kim said Ukrainian troops shot down three Shahed drones and the governor of Odesa said that air defenses shot down four of the aircraft that had attempted to attack energy infrastructure. Warning sirens were also heard in Kyiv.
Wagner Founder Sees 2-Year Effort to Control Donbas (8:15 p.m.)
Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of the Russian military-contracting company Wagner that’s playing a key role in the fighting in Ukraine, said it will take Russian forces up to two years to take control of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
In a rare interview with a pro-Kremlin video blogger, Prigozhin was asked what he thinks is the goal of Putin’s war, and how long it will last. “Everybody has a different view of the special operation,” he said. “As far as I understand, we need to take the Donetsk and Luhansk republics, and in principle everybody will be satisfied with this.”
Prigozhin also said that Wagner has stopped recruiting prisoners to send to the front lines, though he added that the Defense Ministry is now hiring them.
Ukraine Says It Downed 61 Cruise Missiles (1:22 p.m.)
Russia launched 71 cruise missiles, as many as 35 S-300 missiles and seven drones, Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s armed forces, said Friday on Telegram. Cruise missiles were fired from strategic bombers and from ships in the Black Sea. Ukrainian forces shot down 61 cruise missiles and five drones, he said.
Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal had said earlier on Telegram that high-voltage infrastructure in the country’s western, central and eastern regions had been damaged, causing interruptions with power supply.
Romania Says ‘Aerial Target’ Was Never In Its Airspace (12:30 p.m.)
Romania’s defense ministry said it detected an “aerial target, most likely a cruise missile launched from a Russian warship in the Black Sea,” early Friday, but that the projectile didn’t cross into its airspace “at any time.” The missiles were never within 35 kilometers (22 miles) of the northeast Romanian border, it said.
The “target” flew over Ukraine, then Moldova, “after which it reentered Ukrainian space without crossing into Romania’s airspace,” the NATO member said in a statement.
Romania said it rerouted two MiG jets to the north of the country to increase “reaction options,” but that once the situation was clarified the jets resumed their initial mission.
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