Ukraine Update: Russia Targeting Airfields in Western Ukraine
Track the latest developments emerging from the Russian attacks on Ukraine.
(Bloomberg) --
Two cities in western Ukraine that are far from the site of the fighting to date were hit by airstrikes overnight.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said it destroyed airfields at Ivano-Frankivsk and Lutsk via long-distance strikes. Officials in Ukraine said the cities were hit but did not confirm that shells landed at the airports.
The mayor of Kyiv said on Thursday that almost half the capital’s citizens have fled since Russia began attacking the city. The Associated Press reported that new satellite photos appear to show a massive Russian military convoy outside Kyiv has scattered into nearby towns and forests.
U.S. President Joe Biden is set to call for an end to normal trade relations with Russia, while the Senate approved a $1.5 trillion federal funding bill that includes aid to help Ukraine respond to the war.
Key Developments
- Tech Walls Off Russia Like Never Before, Posing Risks for U.S.
- Biden Set to Call for End of Russia’s Preferred Trade Status
- China’s Markets in Crisis as Russia Ties Add to List of Risks
- Shockwaves Spread as Europe’s Economy Reels at Energy Fallout
- Russia Inc.’s Swiss Trading Hub Wrestles With Its ‘Dark Side’
All times CET:
Western Ukrainian Cities Come Under Fire (7:41 a.m.)
The alarm system didn’t operate properly to warn people of the air strikes, according to the mayor of Ivano-Frankivsk city, Ruslan Martsynkiv. The eastern city of Dnipro also was targeted by airstrikes overnight, with one person killed, officials said.
Biden Set to Call for End of Russia’s Preferred Trade Status (4:44 a.m.)
Biden’s move on Friday will clear the way for increased tariffs on Russian imports, according to people familiar with the matter.
His announcement will come alongside the Group of Seven nations and European Union leaders, the people said. The president can’t unilaterally change Russia’s trade status because that authority lies with Congress, where Democratic and Republican lawmakers have called for the revocation.
Suspending normal trade relations with the U.S., which other countries call most-favored nation status, would put Russia in the company of Cuba and North Korea.
U.S. Passes Funding Bill With Ukraine Aid (3:18 a.m.)
The passage of the full-year $1.5 trillion funding bill wards off a possible government shutdown and provides Ukraine with aid.
A bipartisan sense of urgency to approve the $13.6 billion for humanitarian and security aid in response to Russia’s attack led to an overwhelming 68 to 31 vote on the legislation. It now heads to Biden’s desk for his signature.
China Reaffirms Support for Cease-Fire Talks (3:17 a.m.)
Premier Li Keqiang reiterated China’s support for cease-fire talks between Russia and Ukraine, while continuing to avoid criticizing the invasion ordered last month by Putin.
China has sought to avoid taking a clear side in the war, urging talks and protecting civilians while abstaining from UN resolutions and voicing support for the “legitimate security concerns” cited by Putin to justify the assault.
EU Leaders Say Ukraine Belongs in ‘European Family’ (3:13 a.m.)
The joint statement from EU leaders said they would support Ukraine “in pursuing its European path” and that it belongs in the “European family,” but stopped short of mentioning any special or accelerated candidacy status.
The Baltic nations and Poland had been pushing for a more fulsome blessing for Ukraine’s interest in joining the EU, but Germany and the Netherlands argued there was no way to circumvent or speed up the process.
Leaders meet Friday for the second day of their informal summit at Versailles near Paris.
Biden Rallies Democrats (2:51 a.m.)
President Joe Biden in a speech to the Democratic National Committee presented an optimistic vision of the party’s prospects in November’s midterm elections despite the Russian invasion of Ukraine and inflation continuing to slice into Americans’ purchasing power.
His remarks come as the two greatest crises of his presidency -- the coronavirus pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine -- have converged to drive up prices that Americans, already rattled by rising inflation, are paying for gasoline, food and housing.
Biden is scheduled to meet with House Democrats for a strategy session in Philadelphia on Friday, as he tries to revive a legislative agenda that has fractured with a razor-thin majority in Congress.
Russia May Seize Assets of U.S. Firms, Psaki Says (2:50 a.m.)
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, in Twitter post, said U.S. is aware of reports that Russia may be considering seizing assets of U.S., international companies that have announced plans to suspend operations in the country.
“Any lawless decision by Russia to seize the assets of these companies will ultimately result in even more economic pain for Russia. It will compound the clear message to the global business community that Russia is not a safe place to invest and do business,” Psaki said.
Russia Asks for Security Council Meeting (1:28 a.m.)
Russia said Thursday that it had asked for a United Nations Security Council meeting to discuss its disputed claims of “military biological activities of the U.S.” in Ukraine. While Russia has the standing in the Security Council to call for the meeting, U.S. and Ukrainian officials have called the allegations part of a possible false-flag operation.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Thursday that the Russians “not only have the capacity, they have a history of using chemical and biological weapons.” In London, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he feared that Russia will use such weapons and “they have a fake story ready to go.”
Zelenskiy Says 40,000 More Civilians Evacuated (11:30 p.m.)
More than 40,000 civilians were able to leave combat zones Thursday, bringing the total number of those evacuated since humanitarian corridors were opened to about 100,000, Zelenskiy said in a video address.
He said the southern cities of Mariupol and Volnovakha remain fully blocked off by Russian forces, with attacks persisting near what is supposed to be a corridor.
IAEA Can’t Confirm Reports Power Restored at Chernobyl (10:30 p.m.)
The International Atomic Energy Agency hasn’t yet confirmed reports of energy restoration at Chernobyl amid a loss of communication with the nuclear power plant. Ukraine’s nuclear regulator had told the IAEA that diesel generators were powering systems important for safety.
At the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant, also under the control of Russian forces, it’s not currently possible to deliver necessary spare parts, equipment and specialized personnel to carry out planned repairs. Maintenance has been reduced to minimum levels, the IAEA said.
IMF Warns of Russian Debt Default (9:15 p.m.)
The International Monetary Fund joined a growing chorus that’s warning of a risk that Russia will default on debt obligations following its invasion of Ukraine.
A Russian default is no longer “an improbable event,” IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva told reporters Thursday.
Disney Halts Russia Business (9:12 p.m.)
Walt Disney Co. said it would pause all business activity in Russia, including content and product licensing, the Disney Cruise Line and National Geographic magazine, as well tour operations. Last week the company was the first major Hollywood studio to stop releasing films in Russia.
EU Eyes Ending Russian Energy Reliance by 2027 (8:58 p.m.)
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is seeking the political green light from EU leaders to propose in May measures to phase out dependencies on Russian fossil fuels by 2027.
Von der Leyen outlined her plan to heads of government at their informal summit in Versailles on Thursday, according to a post on Twitter. The commission earlier this week published an overhauled energy strategy on ways to cut reliance on Moscow.
JPMorgan Unwinding Its Russia Business (8:51 p.m.)
JPMorgan Chase & Co. is joining Goldman Sachs Group Inc. in pulling its business back in Russia in response to the country’s invasion of Ukraine. JPMorgan, the biggest U.S. bank, is currently engaging in limited activities, the New York-based company said in a statement Thursday.
MSCI Removing Russian Securities From Corporate Bond Indexes (7:59 p.m.)
MSCI Inc. said it’s removing companies from its bond indexes that are based in developed markets but are owned by Russian companies, such as certain units that issue bonds.
It’s removing the companies from its MSCI Corporate Bond indexes at the end of March 11.
OMV Cancels EuroChem Deal on Sanctions (7:20 p.m.)
Austrian fossil-fuel company OMV AG canceled plans to sell its nitrogen business to EuroChem Group AG due to sanctions against the company’s Russian founder. The two companies had entered a binding agreement last month valued at 455 million euros ($500 million).
Xi ‘Unsettled’ by Ukraine War, CIA Chief Says (6:31 p.m.)
CIA director William Burns told a U.S. Senate hearing that leaders of the Chinese Communist Party, including President Xi Jinping, are “unsettled” by Putin’s actions in Ukraine, which Burns said are destabilizing the world economy and making it harder to drive a wedge between the U.S. and its European allies.
“What’s unfolded in Ukraine, the ugliness of it, the flawed assumptions that underpinned it from the point of view of President Putin, have unsettled the Chinese leadership a little bit,” the U.S. spy chief said. “They’re concerned about the way in which President Putin is driving Europeans and Americans closer together.”
Yellen: China Moves Aren’t Diluting Russia Sanctions Sting (5:52 p.m.)
Chinese financial institutions that deal in dollar and euro transactions are behaving in a “risk-averse” manner, and trying to avoid violating sanctions, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in an interview webcast on Washington Post Live. “So I don’t think what China is doing is meaningfully offsetting or lessening the pressure from the sanctions that we’ve put in place.”
“China does buy Russian oil, but I think that our sanctions are limiting Russia’s ability to sell to China and other countries,” she added.
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With assistance from Bloomberg