Volodymyr Zelenskiy discussed financing from donors for projects to rebuild the country with a World Bank delegation visiting Kyiv. Official creditors have extended Ukraine’s debt repayment standstill until 2027, while the war-ravaged country receives an emergency aid program under the International Monetary Fund.
(Bloomberg) — Volodymyr Zelenskiy discussed financing from donors for projects to rebuild the country with a World Bank delegation visiting Kyiv. Official creditors have extended Ukraine’s debt repayment standstill until 2027, while the war-ravaged country receives an emergency aid program under the International Monetary Fund.
Ukraine’s president told Japan’s largest newspaper that delays to weapons donations are hampering Kyiv’s ability to launch a counteroffensive in the east, where Kremlin forces continue dozens of daily attacks in Bakhmut region and surrounding areas.
The Kremlin, meanwhile, has dialed back plans for a further offensive this spring and is digging in for a long fight by seeking to sign up as many as 400,000 contract soldiers to replenish its ranks, according to people familiar with the plans.
Key Developments
- Ukraine Official Creditors Extend Freeze to 2027 Amid IMF Loan
- Russia Seeks 400,000 More Recruits as Latest Ukraine Push Stalls
- Credit Suisse, UBS Among Banks in DOJ Russia-Sanctions Probe
- Xi’s Diplomatic Push Picks Up Following Moscow Visit: Next China
- Biden Downplays Significance of Deepening Russia-China Ties
(All times CET)
Russian Assault on Bakhmut ‘Largely Stalled,’ UK Says (8 a.m.)
The Kremlin’s months-long assault on Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine “has largely stalled” as a result of “extreme attrition” in Russian forces there, the UK defense ministry said, adding that Kyiv’s forces have also suffered heavy casualties.
The situation has also likely been made worse by tensions between Russia’s defense ministry and the Wagner mercenary group, both of whom contribute troops to the effort to take the Donestsk town, the ministry said in a Twitter thread.
Russia has likely shifted its focus toward Avdiivka, south of Bakhmut, and to the Kremina-Svatove sector in the north, aspiring mostly to stabilize its front line, the UK said. The Institute for the Study of War, a US-based think tank, said Russian forces conducted limited attacks along the Kupyansk-Svatove-Kremina line on Friday.
Zelenskiy Says Counteroffensive Timing Dependent on Weapons Donations (7 a.m.)
Ukraine’s army is unable to start a new offensive against Russia in the nation’s east because of a shortage of necessary weapons, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told Japan’s largest newspaper.
“We can’t launch [a counteroffensive] yet. Without tanks, artillery and HIMARS, we cannot send our brave soldiers to the front lines,” Zelenskiy told the Yomiuri Shinbun, according to the Russian news agency Tass.
He also again noted Ukraine’s shortage of ammunition, hammering home a point made repeatedly.
Ukraine Creditors Extend Freeze to 2027 (12:30 a.m.)
Ukraine’s group of official creditors have extended a debt repayment standstill until 2027, while the war-ravaged country receives an emergency aid program under the International Monetary Fund.
The agreement came among other financing assurances given Thursday by the group, a key step to unlocking billions of dollars the nation needs to weather Russia’s invasion, now in its second year.
The creditor plan follows an IMF staff-level agreement secured earlier this week for a $15.6 billion package, setting up the first loan to a nation at war in the institution’s 77-year history.
Read more: Ukraine Official Creditors Extend Freeze to 2027 Amid IMF Loan
Biden Downplays Significance of Deepening Russia-China Ties (10:25 p.m.)
President Joe Biden said he “doesn’t take lightly” the prospect of a growing alliance between China and Russia but countered that the US is making gains in strengthening international opposition to Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine.
“We have significantly expanded our alliances. I haven’t seen that happen with China and Russia or anybody else in the world,” Biden said Friday, days after visit by Chinese leader Xi Jinping to Putin in Moscow that saw the two nations pledge to deepen ties.
Ukraine Approves Program to Boost Drone Production (5:20 p.m.)
Having already adopted fast-track procedures for drone imports, the authorities now plan to simplify procedures on admitting locally made drones for military use, as well as to improve conditions for their producers, the government said on its website.
Ukrainian producers have already submitted applications for 75 different drone types, including for artillery fire adjustment, evacuation of injured people and fighter drones, according to the statement.
Zelenskiy Meets With World Bank Delegation (5:09 p.m.)
Zelenskiy met with a World Bank delegation headed by Vice President for Europe and Central Asia, Anna Bjerde, thanking the institution for its support during the invasion. This week the World Bank increased its estimate of how much Ukraine will need for its recovery and reconstruction to at least $411 billion.
According to a statement on the president’s website, the participants at today’s meeting discussed the provision of financing by donors under the coordination of the World Bank for projects to restore the country, primarily in the areas of transport infrastructure, electricity and healthcare.
Russia Seeks 400,000 More Recruits (4:45 p.m.)
The Kremlin has dialed back plans for a further offensive in Ukraine this spring after failing to gain much ground and will focus on blunting a new push by Kyiv’s forces expected to begin soon.
The Kremlin is seeking to sign up as many as 400,000 contract soldiers this year to replenish its ranks, according to people familiar with the planning who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss matters that aren’t public.
Read more: Russia Seeks 400,000 More Recruits as Latest Ukraine Push Stalls
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