Russia Escalates Strikes on Ukraine Amid Rising Tensions
The Russian Defense Ministry has announced plans to escalate attacks on Ukraine’s military and industrial facilities, following President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s pledge to intensify strikes on Russian oil refineries. Bloomberg reported that the ministry stated the Russian armed forces would target military-industrial facilities and related infrastructure in Kyiv and other regions of Ukraine.
This escalation comes after Russia’s Foreign Ministry issued a warning that diplomats and foreign officials in Kyiv were in "mortal danger." The warning coincided with Russian forces striking the Pivnichnyi, or Northern, bridge across the Dnipro River in Kyiv for a second time, as well as other civilian infrastructure.
In response to the heightened tensions, the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil price fell 0.59% to $89.85 at the time of writing. WTI is a benchmark for the oil market and its price is influenced by factors such as global growth, political instability, and decisions by OPEC, a group of major oil-producing countries.