(Reuters) – Russian and Ukrainian forces exchanged artillery fire at the front line in Ukraine after Moscow said it had begun a truce that was firmly rejected by Kyiv.
DIPLOMACY/AID
* The United States will provide more than $3.75 billion in military assistance to Ukraine and countries affected by the Russian invasion of its neighbour, said Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
* A U.S. commitment to supply Kyiv with Bradley Fighting Vehicles for the first time is exactly what Ukraine needs, said President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
* The U.S. Department of Defense awarded L3Harris Technologies Inc a $40 million contract to deliver 14 anti-drone weapon systems to bolster Ukraine’s security forces, the contractor said.
* Germany said it wants to deliver around 40 Marder infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine before the end of March, and Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck said Berlin could ultimately send its entire functioning fleet of the weapons.
* Ukraine will need at least $1.79 billion to restore its telecommunications sector to pre-war levels, a U.N. agency said, alleging Russia had “destroyed completely or seized” networks in parts of the country.
* The United States issued new sanctions targeting suppliers of Iranian drones that Washington said have been used to target civilian infrastructure in Ukraine during the conflict with Russia.
* The Kremlin said Putin told Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan that Russia was ready for peace talks – but only under the condition that Ukraine acknowledge Russia’s annexation of Ukrainian territory. Ukraine called the demand “fully unacceptable”.
ECONOMY, ENERGY* Costs for hiring ships to transport commodities from the Black Sea have risen by more than a fifth since the start of the year, reflecting higher war risk insurance rates, industry sources said.
* Russian natural gas flows to Europe via Ukraine continued to decline on Friday while supply eastward through the Yamal-Europe pipeline also fell.
* Ukraine’s power grid operator issued a new appeal to civilians to save electricity as temperatures fell and energy consumption rose, threatening new strains on a network devastated by Russian air strikes.
(Compiled by William Mallard)
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