Ukraine Latest: Zelenskiy Warns of Prolonged Power Shutdowns

Article content

(Bloomberg) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told citizens that shutdowns will continue across most of the country even as workers race to repair damage to power infrastructure inflicted by Russian attacks.

Article content

In his evening address, Zelenskiy said capacity was constantly being expanded, but warned that it won’t be possible in the short term to return the energy system to its pre-war state.

Article content

The European Union earlier announced a ninth package of sanctions against Russia, including restrictions on access to drones, chemicals and military technologies. President Vladimir Putin warned that the threat of nuclear war is rising, and reiterated that Russia will defend itself “with all means necessary.”

(See RSAN on the Bloomberg Terminal for the Russian Sanctions Dashboard.)

Key Developments

Article content

On the Ground

Ukrainian troops repelled Russian attacks near 15 settlements in the eastern Donetsk, Luhansk and Kharkiv regions over the past day, Ukraine’s General Staff said on Facebook. According to its statement, Russian forces conducted seven missile attacks and 16 air strikes as well as more than 40 assaults with multiple-launch rocket systems. The Nikopol district in the central Dnipropetrovsk region was shelled again overnight, according to local authorities. Russia may have modified its drones to operate in colder weather and could increase their use in coming weeks to help target Ukrainian critical infrastructure, according to the latest report by the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War.

Article content

(All times CET)

Mol Plunges After Orban Seizes Profits (9:30 a.m.)

Mol Nyrt.’s shares plunged after Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban seized the energy company’s profit on Russian crude processing.

Mol’s shares dropped as much as 6.1% after Orban signed a decree late Wednesday raising a windfall tax on Russian crude refining to to 95% from 40%. The move came a day after the government scrapped a fuel price cap following a nationwide gasoline shortage.

Europe Pushing Ahead With Missile Shield (9:20 a.m.)

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said a planned European anti-missile shield probably won’t be installed before 2027. “My hope is that the defense shield will be in place within the next five years,” Scholz told the Funke media group. “Right now, the government is talking to the manufacturers of the various systems to prepare the concrete decisions,” he added.

Article content

Scholz reiterated that Germany is aiming to spend 2% of economic output each year on the military thanks to a new debt-financed fund worth €100 billion. The government has said it will likely miss the spending target this year and probably in 2023 as well due to bottlenecks at defense contractors and other procurement problems.

Turkey Seeking Discount on Russian Gas (9 a.m.)

Turkey will host talks with a Russian delegation in Ankara on Friday to seek a discount of more than 25% for the price of its gas imports from Russia, senior Turkish officials said.

A deal with Russia could ease the pressure on the lira, one of the world’s worst-performing currencies over the last year, and help President Recep Tayyip Erdogan avoid hiking energy prices ahead of elections next year to boost his popularity at a time when Europe is facing an energy crunch.