Vladimir Putin made an unannounced visit to the headquarters of Russia’s Southern Military District - in Rostov-on-Don near the border with Ukraine - on his way back from Kazakhstan late Thursday. It was the Russian president’s second visit in less than a month. He was accompanied by Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov and was briefed on current operations in Ukraine, the Kremlin said.
Funding delays have forced the US to begin restricting the flow of military assistance to Ukraine, and the Pentagon has only $1 billion left to replenish stocks of weapons that were sent to the country, “We’re going to continue to roll out packages but they are getting smaller,” a spokeswoman said. Separately, the EU is considering a backup plan to push through aid for Ukraine in case Hungary vetoes the current €50 billion ($53.4 billion) package. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said Friday he strongly opposes starting EU membership talks with Ukraine.
Russia’s military said it downed two Ukrainian drones over Crimea. Several explosions were heard near the town of Chornomorske on the annexed peninsula, according to unverified social media reports. Russian forces have likely intensified ground attacks near Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine in recent days, said the US-based Institute for the Study of War. Ukraine’s air defense overnight intercepted five of six combat drones and one of two missiles fired by Russia.
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Markets
Oil headed for a third straight weekly drop on growing concerns over global demand and the unwinding of risk premium as flows from the Middle East remained unaffected by the Israel-Hamas war. Saudi Arabia blamed speculators for the decline.