Ukraine’s military said Russia launched 55 cruise missiles, including at least two hypersonic weapons, in a new wave of attacks against energy infrastructure and other targets.
(Bloomberg) — Ukraine’s military said Russia launched 55 cruise missiles, including at least two hypersonic weapons, in a new wave of attacks against energy infrastructure and other targets.
The barrage, which also included drones overnight, was unleashed after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy expressed hope that donations of advanced weaponry including aircraft and long-range missiles would follow a pledge by the US and Germany to supply Ukraine with battle tanks.
As the government sought to solidify more military support, Ukraine’s monetary authorities said the economy will grow less than expected this year as they kept borrowing costs on hold.
(See RSAN on the Bloomberg Terminal for the Russian Sanctions Dashboard.)
Key Developments
- What Tanks Ukraine Will Get and Why It Wants Them: QuickTake
- Ukraine Holds Key Rate as Central Bank Pares Growth Outlook
- Biden Says US Will Send Tanks to Ukraine in Broad Allied Effort
- Germany to Boost Ukraine Firepower With Leopard Battle Tanks
- Russian Oil Exports to India May Hit New Highs as Interest Grows
On the Ground
Two dozen Shahed drones were fired at Ukraine overnight, including 15 at the Kyiv region, and all were shot down, Ukrainian officials said. The General Staff said on Facebook that Kremlin troops had carried out 37 air strikes and 10 missile attacks over the past day, hitting civilian infrastructure in the cities of Dnipro and Zaporizhzhia, among other targets. A move by Russia to engage in “limited spoiling attacks across most of the frontline,” including Vuhledar in the Donetsk region, is probably an attempt to “distract Ukrainian forces and set conditions to launch a decisive offensive operation” in the Luhansk region, the Institute for the Study of War said.
(All times CET)
EU Sees Legal Grounds to Use Seized Russian Assets (1:42 p.m.)
European Union member states have been told the bloc has the legal authority to temporarily leverage at least €33.8 billion ($36.8 billion) of Russian central bank assets to help pay for the reconstruction of Ukraine.
The EU has been exploring options to use frozen Russian assets following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, but the proposal is controversial and discussions are at a very preliminary stage.
EU Sees Legal Grounds to Use Seized Russian Central Bank Assets
French Foreign Minister Visits Odesa (1:24 p.m.)
French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna arrived in the Ukrainian port city of Odesa despite Russian attacks that caused power outages.
The United Nations’ cultural agency, UNESCO, on Wednesday added the historic center of Odesa to its World Heritage List, recognizing “the outstanding universal value of this site and the duty to all humanity to protect it.”
Ukraine Holds Key Rate as Central Bank Pares Growth Outlook (1:01 p.m.)
Ukraine’s central bank held the key interest rate at 25% and reiterated its intention to keep it there at least until the second quarter of 2024.
Policy makers also published updated economic forecasts that cut the 2023 outlook for growth to 0.3%, from 4% previously. Inflation is now expected to moderate to 18.7% this year, before slowing to 6.7% in 2025.
Thursday’s Barrage Included Hypersonic, Cruise Missiles (12:37 p.m.)
Ukraine shot down 47 Russian cruise missiles out of 55 launched from jets and from ships in the Black Sea, said Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s Armed Forces. Apart from the missiles that were shot down, three Kh-59 missiles “did not reach their targets,” Zaluzhnyi said on Telegram, without giving details. Thursday’s barrage included two Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, Ukrainian air defense said.
“Russia’s aim remains the same — psychological pressure on Ukrainians and ruining critical infrastructure,” Zaluzhnyi said. “But we won’t be broken.”
German Tanks Could Arrive in Late March (12 p.m.)
Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said the first of the Leopard 2 battle tanks the German government has promised Ukraine could be delivered at the end of March or at the start of April, earlier than the “within three months” he suggested on Wednesday when the decision to supply them was announced.
In a statement to reporters during a troop visit in eastern Germany, Pistorius pushed back against a suggestion that the decision to supply the tanks had come too late.
“It is not a decision just to order something on the Web or send something to anybody, it is a matter of war,” he said. “We made our decision and here we are, and I think everyone should be satisfied with that decision because we do what is necessary.”
Wizz Air Says War Complicates European Airspace (10:37 a.m.)
The Russian invasion of Ukraine and subsequent closing of large swatch of airspace is complicating travel in the rest of Europe this summer, forcing carriers such as Wizz Air Holdings Plc to add in more buffer time between turnarounds on their flights and potentially adding costs to low-cost airline operations.
Read more: Russia-Ukraine Conflict Complicates European Airspace, Wizz Says
German Tanks Decision ‘Nothing to Cheer About’ (10 a.m.)
German Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck said Wednesday’s decision to supply Ukraine with Leopard battle tanks was “necessary and urgent” but nothing to cheer about.
“We are paying an economic, macroeconomic and, in a certain sense, a social price, but not paying this price would be dramatically worse,” Habeck said in a statement to the lower house of parliament in Berlin.
“If we are not willing to pay this price, that is to support Ukraine with sanctions, with military equipment, with a transformation of energy infrastructure, then we will be guilty of letting Putin win this war on his terms, and that must not happen,” he added.
Mayor Reports ‘Explosion in Kyiv,’ One Killed (9:30 a.m.)
Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported an “explosion in Kyiv” Thursday morning without providing more detail. Eyewitnesses reported at least one loud explosion in Ukraine’s capital. Klitschko said one person was killed and two injured after a missile hit a non-residential building in the Holosiyivskyi district in Kyiv’s southwest.
The Vinnytsia region in central Ukraine and Odesa on the Black Sea reported missile strikes, in the later case to what was termed critical energy infrastructure.
Russian Oil Exports to India May Hit New Highs (9:10 a.m.)
India’s oil processors are open to buying even more Russian crude if the price is right, said refinery executives, potentially providing a bigger outlet for Moscow almost a year after its invasion of Ukraine.
Read more: Russian Oil Exports to India May Hit New Highs as Interest Grows
Ukraine Wants More Slovakian Howitzers (9:28 a.m.)
Kyiv is interested in ordering another 14 Zuzana 2 howitzers from Slovakia, the Slovak defense ministry confirmed for Bloomberg in a statement.
“We are expecting the signing of the agreement, I hope that we can agree,” Slovak defense minister Jaroslav Nad told Ukrainska Pravda on Wednesday.
Slovakia delivered eight Zuzana 2 howitzers to Ukraine in 2022. The new weaponry will be paid for by NATO allies Denmark, Norway, and Germany.
US Firm International Paper Sells Russian Stake for $484 Million (8:48 a.m.)
International Paper Co. agreed to sell its stake in a Russian venture for $484 million, joining an exodus of western businesses from the country following the war in Ukraine.
The Memphis, Tennessee-based supplier of renewable fiber-based products said it will dispose a 50% holding in Ilim SA to its Russian partners, including billionaire Zakhar Smushkin, according to a statement. The deal still needs regulatory approvals in Russia.
Drones, Missiles Downed as Governors Warn of New Attack (8 a.m.)
Ukraine shot down 24 Iranian Shahed drones overnight, including some 15 over the Kyiv region. Officials in south and central Ukraine warned early Thursday of a significant Russian missile attack launched from aircraft and ships, in the latest major wave since early October.
Some incoming missiles have already been shot down, Andriy Yermak, chief of staff to Ukraine’s president, wrote on Telegram. Explosions in the Dnipropetrovsk and Kyiv regions were said to be the result of air defense.
Emergency power cuts were announced in Kyiv and the surrounding area as well as the Odesa and Dnipro regions due to the threat of an attack.
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