If you’re just joining us, here’s everything you need to know on Friday’s developments in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
- Slovakia joins Poland in pledging fighter jets to Ukraine: They are the only two NATO countries that have granted Kyiv’s repeated requests for aircraft in order to shore up its air defenses. Poland pledged four MiG-29 fighter jets and Slovakia will send 13. The Kremlin has brushed off Poland and Slovakia’s donations of fighter jets to Ukraine, calling the equipment “old” and “unnecessary.”
- China’s president to meet Putin next week: Chinese leader Xi Jinping will visit Russia next week at the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to a statement from the Chinese foreign ministry. It will be Xi’s first visit to Russia since Moscow’s forces invaded Ukraine last year. The Kremlin confirmed the visit and said the two leaders would discuss “strategic cooperation.” Earlier, Western officials raised concerns that China may be considering providing Russia with lethal military assistance, an accusation denied by Beijing.
- A secret 10-year plan drawn up by Russia’s security service: A document obtained by a consortium of media outlets and reviewed by CNN appears to have been drawn up by the FSB shows detailed options to destabilize Moldova and thwart its tilt to the West — including supporting pro-Russian groups, utilizing the Orthodox Church and threatening to cut off supplies of natural gas. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said: “We know nothing of the existence of such a plan.”
- Drone downing: The US is conducting an assessment of its drone operations in the Black Sea area, weighing the costs and benefits of the flights, several officials told CNN. The Pentagon plans to compare the potential intelligence value of a particular route versus the risk of escalation with Russia, they said. In the meantime, the US believes Russia has recovered some debris from the surveillance drone, an official familiar with the matter told CNN.
- Wagner chief frustrated: Yevgeny Prigozhin repeated his complaints of inadequate munitions supplies from Russia on Thursday — yet another sign of the mercenary group’s growing isolation from the Kremlin, with his fighters locked in fierce fighting for the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut. Prigozhin placed a bet on his mercenaries raising the Russian flag in Bakhmut, albeit at a considerable cost to the ranks of his force and probably to his own fortune. Many analysts think that Russia’s military establishment is using Bakhmut as a “meat-grinder” to cut his forces down or eliminate him as a political force altogether.
