Ukraine Latest: Defense Chiefs Speak Ahead of Ramstein Meeting

(Bloomberg) — The intensity of Russia’s military action, both on the ground in eastern Ukraine and through Friday’s massive rocket fire, appears to be increasing as the invasion’s one-year mark approaches.

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Senior US and Ukrainian military leaders addressed the meeting of the Ramstein Group of Allied Nations in Brussels on Tuesday. A meeting of NATO defense ministers and the Munich Security Conference, which begins on Friday, will follow. Ukrainian military commander Valeriy Saluzhnyi told Mark Milley, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, that Kyiv’s forces continue to hold the embattled town of Bakhmut in Donetsk.

Russia launched its biggest spate of missile attacks this year on Friday, as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy searches for more weapons to repel Vladimir Putin’s invasion. Moody’s Investors Service on Friday lowered Ukraine’s credit rating to the second-lowest score, citing “protracted challenges” to its economy and public finances from the war with Russia.

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Important Developments

On the floor

Dozens of settlements in Donetsk, Luhansk, Sumy, Chernihiv, Kharkiv, Mykolayiv and Kherson regions were hit with rockets, airstrikes and drones on Saturday, Ukraine’s general staff said. Three rockets hit Kharkiv’s infrastructure late Saturday, injuring a civilian. Civilian infrastructure was also damaged in Kherson, with one casualty reported. According to the General Staff, five drones were shot down. Russian troops focus their main efforts on offensive actions toward Kupyansk, Lyman, Bakhmut and Avdiyivska in eastern Ukraine, using aircraft to attack Kievan troop positions.

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(All times CET)

Russian Losses Likely Highest Since February, Britain Says (8am)

Britain’s Ministry of Defense said in a Twitter update that “in the last two weeks Russia has suffered what is likely to be its highest casualty rate since the first week of the invasion” as poorly trained and underfunded troops increasingly move onto the battlefield.

As estimated by Ukraine, which the UK said it can’t verify but “probably is accurate,” the median average of Russian casualties has risen to 824 over the past seven days. Ukraine also has a high turnover rate, the UK added.

US and Ukraine Defense Chiefs Address Ramstein (7am)

The Minister of Defense of Ukraine spoke with his US counterpart Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin about the approach of the next meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group.

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The meeting in Ramstein, named after a US air force base in Germany, will take place on Tuesday at NATO headquarters in Brussels. A NATO defense ministers’ meeting is scheduled for Wednesday. Austin and Mark Milley, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, will attend.

“We discussed the current situation on the front lines, urgent needs of the Defense Forces of Ukraine and priorities for the meeting,” Ukrainian Oleksii Reznikov said on Twitter.

Ukraine urges sanctions on Russian nuclear industry (7 a.m.)

The UN nuclear agency, which oversees all Ukraine’s nuclear power plants, should help speed up the process of imposing sanctions on Russia’s nuclear industry, Ukraine’s energy minister said on Facebook after meeting one of the acting IAEA expert groups.

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“Russia must be held strictly accountable for the seizure of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, missiles and drones near nuclear power plants, and disregard for international principles of nuclear and radiation safety,” Herman Halushchenko added.

Zaluzhnyi Tells US Joint Chiefs’ Milley that Ukraine Still Holds Bakhmut (5:40 PM)

Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, commander in chief of Ukraine’s armed forces, spoke with Mark Milley, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, on Saturday. The previously announced call between the two took place on January 25.

Milley and Zaluzhnyi discussed Friday’s massive rocket fire, air defenses for Ukraine and Russia’s use of underwater drones that could threaten the safe Black Sea transit corridor, according to a Twitter post.

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Kremlin forces are attacking Ukrainian positions up to 50 times a day in the Donetsk region, Zaluzhnyi told Milley. The Ukrainian commander also said his forces “continue to keep Bakhmut under our control.”

Zelenskyy focuses on reconstruction at JPMorgan summit (10:45 a.m.)

Ukraine needs foreign investment to diversify and decentralize its energy system and make it less vulnerable to Russian attacks, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said at an investment summit organized by JPMorgan.

Zelenskyi met with three senior bank officials in Kyiv and spoke at the conference via video link, according to a post on the president’s website.

Ukraine’s Economy Ministry said Thursday it will work with JPMorgan to attract private investment to help the country rebuild. The ministry, JPMorgan and US investment company BlackRock signed a memorandum of understanding.

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Moody’s downgrades Ukraine’s credit rating over ‘probable’ restructuring (11pm)

Moody’s Investors Service lowered Ukraine’s credit rating to the second-lowest score, citing “protracted challenges” to its economy and public finances from the war with Russia.

The agency now rates Ukraine one notch lower at Ca, level with Argentina. Moody’s also changed the outlook to stable from negative, according to a statement on Friday.

According to data compiled by Bloomberg, Ukraine has about $23 billion outstanding in international bonds.

Read more: Moody’s downgrades Ukraine’s credit rating over ‘likely’ restructuring

Putin arms energy with oil production cut: White House (10 p.m.)

Russia’s plan to cut its oil production by 500,000 barrels a day next month shows the extent to which President Vladimir Putin is willing to weaponize resources like energy, said John Kirby, spokesman for the White House National Security Council.

Putin’s move comes as no surprise following a decision by the G-7 and the European Union to impose 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 has no meaningful talks at this time.

Oil posted its biggest weekly gain in four months after Russia heeded its threat to cut production in response to Western energy sanctions.