Russia said on Friday that it had conducted group strikes over the week, while Ukraine, on the same day, reported it had repelled Russian attacks.
Russia's Defense Ministry said in its Friday report that Russian forces conducted a massive strike and six group strikes against various Ukrainian military targets in the past week. The ministry claimed that Russian air defense systems intercepted 822 Ukrainian fixed-wing drones during this period.
Over the week, Russian forces also seized seven settlements in the regions of Kharkiv, Sumy, Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia, and destroyed Ukraine's three multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) combat vehicles, including a U.S.-made MLRS launcher, according to the ministry.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the same day reported 279 combat engagements on the frontline, where Ukrainian troops repelled Russian offensives in multiple directions.
Ukrainian missile and artillery units were reported to have struck one Russian troop concentration area, eight drone control sites and seven command posts. Ukraine also said its forces shot down 555 Russian tactical-level drones.
Russia conducts group strikes, Ukraine repels Russian attacks
Gross domestic product (GDP) in the euro area grew by 1.5 percent in 2025, while the European Union (EU) economy expanded by 1.6 percent, according to data released on Friday by the EU's statistical office Eurostat.
The figures are based on quarterly seasonally and calendar-adjusted data. Growth momentum moderated toward the end of the year, with seasonally adjusted GDP in both the euro area and the EU rising 0.3 percent quarter-on-quarter in the fourth quarter of 2025.
On a year-on-year basis, GDP expanded by 1.3 percent in the euro area and 1.4 percent in the EU in the fourth quarter.
Among member states with available data for the fourth quarter, Lithuania recorded the strongest quarterly growth at 1.7 percent, followed by Spain and Portugal at 0.8 percent each, while Ireland was the only country to register a contraction, with GDP declining 0.6 percent.
Among the bloc's largest economies, Germany's GDP rose 0.3 percent quarter-on-quarter in the fourth quarter of 2025, while France expanded 0.2 percent and Italy grew 0.3 percent, Eurostat data showed.
ING Chief Economist Bert Colijn said the eurozone outlook remains clouded by multiple headwinds, including global uncertainty and weakening competitiveness, which could make trade a drag on growth this year. He added that structural challenges are being addressed too slowly, weighing on longer-term prospects, but noted that firmer domestic demand and planned investment could still support a modest pickup in growth in the coming quarters.
Markets widely expect the European Central Bank (ECB) to keep interest rates unchanged at 2 percent at its first monetary policy meeting of 2026, amid an uncertain global backdrop and lingering competitiveness concerns in the euro area.
Eurozone economy grows by 1.5 pct in 2025
