The Russian Ministry of Defence has confirmed it struck two sites in Lviv in western Ukraine with cruise missiles, just 60km from Poland’s border, which is a NATO country.
Russia invaded Ukraine over a month ago and has faced stiff resistance from Ukrainian troops.
Moscow insists the two Lviv sites were valid military targets, as they were being used to assist Ukrainian forces.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov in response to Joe Biden’s off-the-cuff comment that Putin “cannot remain in power” says, “That’s not for Biden to decide. The president of Russia is elected by Russians.”
The Moscow Exchange will allow trading amongst all of its listed companies for the first time in over a month on Monday, with restrictions in place to prevent another crash.
Last week saw trading amongst 33 of the MOEX 50 resume.
But foreign investors will remain barred from selling, short-selling is banned for everyone, and a $USD10 billion fund has been created to prop up the share price of Russia’s biggest companies.
The Russian Deputy Prime Minister is characterising the exit of Western tech companies as an opportunity for Russian tech companies and will offer grants of $200 million so they can take advantage of the vacuum.
The Russian MoD has provided a new assessment of its activities, claiming a further 80 Ukrainian personnel killed and 90 military assets destroyed.
It only mentions attacking cities in the Donbas region.
A Russian bank survey finds more Russians are carrying cash, and that half of all Russians now have a Russia “Mir” card (Mastercard/Visa rival). A further 21% want to get one.
Rockets hit western Ukraine:
