Russia says it has used a hypersonic “Kinzhal” missile for the second time, this time to hit a Ukrainian fuel dump; Ukraine has not confirmed either attack.
Ukraine expects to get its next batch of US weapons in the coming days, including Javelins and Stingers. The evacuations continue even as fierce fighting continues, especially in the besieged southern port city of Mariupol, and Russian forces blocked several trucks carrying humanitarian aid.
Zelenskiy has announced the suspension of the activities of some Ukrainian opposition parties with alleged ties to Russia, citing martial law. Russian cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station caused a stir when they posed in yellow and blue uniforms, although Moscow denied that this was a show of support for Ukraine.
(See RSAN on the Bloomberg Terminal for the Russian Sanctions Dashboard.)
Russia claims second firing of ‘Kinzhal’ missile (8:43 a.m.)
Russia said it fired another “Kinzhal” hypersonic missile at Ukraine, along with Kalibr cruise missiles, to destroy a fuel depot in the Mykolaiv region, Interfax reported. Mykolaiv authorities issued an air raid siren for about an hour early on Sunday.
Russia claimed it used the new weapon on Friday to destroy an ammunition depot in southwestern Ukraine. It would have been the first use of the missile, introduced by Vladimir Putin in 2018, in combat. The Ukrainian authorities have not confirmed either strike.
The defense ministry in Moscow also said the Black Sea fleet was the target of an armored vehicle repair base in southern Ukraine with cruise missiles, the news service reported, citing spokesman Igor Konashenkov.
Swiss start blocking properties of sanctioned Russians (8:30 a.m.)
The apartment of LetterOne co-founder Petr Aven, located in the same building as the luxury hotel resort Les Hauts de Gstaad, has been blocked by the Bern land registry, NZZ am Sonntag reported, citing a local official. That means the Russian billionaire’s apartment cannot be sold or pledged.
Another property was reported in Geneva, although authorities are not disclosing the owner. The search process for identifying properties by nearly 900 sanctioned Russians is challenging as authorities have to manually search the names, the paper said.
Occupying troops use tough police tactics (8:12am)
Russian artillery strikes killed at least five civilians, including a nine-year-old boy, in Kharkiv overnight, city police chief Vyacheslav Markov said on Facebook. Russia also bombed an art school in the besieged city of Mariupol, where about 400 civilians were hiding and locked people in the basement, the city council said.
According to the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Russian forces have engaged in harsh police tactics in areas under their control. Troops blocked a humanitarian aid convoy near the southern city of Kherson and distributed pamphlets instructing people to register with occupation officials. Russia is promising debt amnesty and preferences to local businessmen in occupied territories in return for compliance, it said.
Russian forces continued to attack Ukrainian positions near the southern city of Zaporizhzhya with tanks, helicopters and missiles, the regional government said. The defense ministry said Russia had “considerably reduced” the use of its air force in the past day and that Ukraine had shot down three Russian helicopters.
Russia focuses heavy firepower on urban areas, UK says (8:04am)
According to the latest update to British defense intelligence, Russia has increased the number of “random shelling of urban areas” as its troops are stranded, even as a number of cities in eastern Ukraine are surrounded.
“It is likely that Russia will continue to use its heavy firepower to support attacks on urban areas as it seeks to limit its already significant losses at the cost of even more civilian casualties,” the UK said.
EU wants to strengthen protection against nuclear threat: FT (6 hours)
The European Union has accelerated plans to strengthen its preparedness for a potential nuclear threat following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Financial Times reported, citing EU officials.
The European Commission wants EU member states to stockpile iodine pills, other medicines and protective equipment, the newspaper said. It is also working to amplify its responses to potential biological and chemical attacks, the FT said.
Australia increases aid to Ukraine (3:34 am)
Australia is ramping up military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine to aid in its war against Russia, including 70,000 tons of thermal coal.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s government will provide Ukraine with an additional A$21 million ($15.6 million) in military aid, including unspecified material from Australian Defense Force stockpiles. It also promises another A$30 million in humanitarian aid, according to a government statement Sunday.
Ukraine suspends political parties associated with Russia (2:21 am)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced the suspension of the activities of some opposition parties with alleged ties to Russia, citing martial law.
“Given the large-scale war and the ties of some political structures with this state (Russia), Ukraine’s National Security Council has decided to suspend all activities of some political parties,” Zelenskiy said in a video message on Sunday.
British companies warn of war impact in Ukraine (1:01 am)
More than 100 UK listed companies have warned of negative effects of the war in Ukraine, according to research by Bowmore Asset Management.
The majority of the 115 companies the company identified warned of securities specific to their businesses in the region, while many others referred to the broader macroeconomic risk posed by the war, Bowmore said.
Russia denies that spacesuits symbolize Ukraine’s flag (9:55 p.m.)
Russian cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station caused a stir when they posed in yellow and blue uniforms, but Moscow denied Saturday that this was a show of support for Ukraine.
Roscosmos spokesman Dmitry Strugovets said the yellow flight suits symbolize the emblem of Bauman Moscow State Technical University, where all three cosmonauts graduated.
“This draft was approved long before current events,” Strugovets said on Telegram. “To see the Ukrainian flag everywhere and in everything is crazy.”
Ukraine expects to get US weapons soon (9:55 PM)
Ukraine will receive Stingers, Javelins and other US weapons announced by President Joe Biden in the coming days, said Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of the National Security and Defense Council.
“They will be useful, because our army will be on the territory of Ukraine in the near future,” Danilov said in an interview on Ukrainian television.
Danilov also urged representatives of the International Atomic Energy Agency to travel to Ukraine to bring under control the situation at two nuclear power plants occupied by Russian forces – Chernobyl and Zaporizhzhya.
Mariupol officials accuse Russia of forced deportations (8:37 p.m.)
Mariupol was the scene of fierce fighting on Saturday, with the city’s mayor, Vadym Boychenko, accusing the Russian armed forces of war crimes and the forced deportation of some of the city’s residents to Russia.
“What the occupiers are doing today is known to the older generation, who lived through the horrific events of World War II, when the Nazis forcibly captured people,” Boychenko said on Telegram.
The besieged city authorities also said in a statement that several thousand Mariupol residents were deported to Russia. “Some people were sent to distant cities in Russia, the fate of others is unknown,” the council said.
Russia blocks humanitarian trucks (8:14 p.m.)
Russian troops blocked 14 trucks carrying humanitarian aid from reaching their destinations in southern Ukraine, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said on Saturday.
In all, eight of the ten humanitarian corridors were operational on Saturday, evacuating 6,623 people from besieged Mariupol, as well as from Luhansk and the areas around Kiev.
Baker Hughes stops future work in Russia (6:05 p.m.)
Baker Hughes Co. Saturday became the latest oilfield service provider to halt future operations in Russia.
“The crisis in Ukraine is of great concern to us and we strongly support a diplomatic solution. We condemn violence and our hearts go out to the people and families of those affected,” Baker Hughes Chief Executive Officer Lorenzo Simonelli said in the statement.
Russia says it used ‘Kinzhal’ missile for the first time (8:22 a.m.)
Russia said on Friday it used an advanced “Kinzhal” hypersonic missile for the first time to attack a large underground warehouse in southwestern Ukraine. There was no immediate confirmation from Ukraine and no local social media reports of a strike.
Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov told a daily briefing that the attack on the village of Delyatyn, in Ukraine’s Ivano-Frankivsk region, also cost aviation munitions.
Russia has previously used long-range missiles to hit targets in the far west of Ukraine, not far from the border with Poland. The Kinzhal system of air-to-surface missiles is part of a series of advanced strategic weapons unveiled by Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2018.
The claimed strike comes as Britain’s defense intelligence warns that, having failed to achieve its original objectives, the Kremlin is likely to move to “random use of firepower†
This post Russia said it would turn to tough police tactics
was original published at “https://www.bloombergquint.com/politics/ukraine-update-russia-said-to-turn-to-harsh-policing-tactics”
