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Morning Headlines
Reuters: The Japanese government on Friday denied a report by Kyodo news agency that it has asked the country's top trading houses to join a delegation which plans to visit Russia in May.
Politico: France will expand missile and drone stocks by up to 400 percent by 2030, according to a draft military planning law seen by POLITICO.
Reuters: Russia's services sector contracted in March for the first time in six months as demand softened and new orders broadly stalled, a business survey showed on Friday.
The Kyiv Independent: Russian forces launched a barrage of missiles and drones across Ukraine overnight on April 2, with strikes reported on the city of Kharkiv, officials said.
More News
Mediazona: Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, at least 15 of its generals have been confirmed killed.
Reuters: Russia's Baltic Sea port of Primorsk, one of country's largest export gateways, lost at least 40% of its storage facilities in Ukrainian drone attacks last month, U.S. commercial satellite images seen by Reuters showed on Thursday.
The Kyiv Independent: Ukrainian forces, with the help of military intelligence, struck multiple Russian military targets at the Kirovske airfield in occupied Crimea overnight on April 2, Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces said. The strike destroyed a Russian An-72P patrol aircraft and a site used to prepare Orion strike and reconnaissance drones for missions, according to the statement.
BBC: Sixteen Kenyans are missing in Russia after joining the country's army, Kenya's foreign affairs minister has said, while 47 others have returned home from the front lines in Ukraine. Thirty-eight others are currently in different Russian hospitals under restricted access.
The Kyiv Independent: The Moldovan parliament approved withdrawing from the Commonwealth of Independent States in the second reading on April 2, as the country moves to sever ties with the Russia-led bloc. The move is a "natural and inevitable step towards European integration," the parliament said in a press release.
Reuters: Three men will go on trial in Poland over a series of arson attacks in Warsaw and the Baltic States that officials say were part of a Russian-orchestrated sabotage campaign, Polish prosecutors said on Thursday.
The Moscow Times: Russia’s manufacturing sector extended its downturn in March as weak demand dragged on output, hiring and business confidence, surveys showed, adding to signs that the economy may contract in early 2026.
Euronews: Russia fired more drones at Ukraine in March than in any month since it launched its full-scale invasion in early 2022, intensifying deadly strikes as peace talks stalled, according to an AFP analysis released on Thursday.
Reuters: Russian forces carried out 129 attacks on Ukrainian gas and heating facilities during the recent 151-day heating season, state oil and gas firm Naftogaz said on Thursday.
United24 Media: Ukraine has added one of the most powerful artillery systems ever fielded to its growing arsenal, with 203mm M110 self-propelled howitzers now in service with the 52nd Separate Artillery Brigade, the unit’s press service said on April 2.
The Kyiv Independent: A mechanized attack by Ukraine's 425th Assault Regiment — better known as Skelia — outside Pokrovsk in Donetsk Oblast has sparked a wave of criticism from key Ukrainian figures online concerning the unnecessary loss of manpower in reckless assaults.
Reuters: Russian oil output cuts are imminent because Ukraine's strikes on port infrastructure, pipelines and refineries have reduced export capability by 1 million barrels per day, or a fifth of total capacity.
The Guardian: The Iran and Ukraine wars are becoming more intertwined with every passing week – to the point that some analysts argue the two conflicts are beginning to merge.
Reuters: Sweden will buy air defence and anti-drone systems worth 8.7 billion Swedish crowns ($916 million) from among others Saab and BAE Systems, the country's defence minister said on Thursday.
worth mentioning
Russia woos students for its drone forces in Ukraine with large financial packages
Medical company co-owned by Putin’s daughter posts largest profit in three years
Elon Musk’s father says he held ‘memorable’ meeting with Putin
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