President Vladimir Putin’s government is pressuring Russia’s central bank to be more upbeat about the outlook for the economy and signal that it is ready to loosen monetary policy as his invasion of Ukraine heads for its second year on Friday; the bank has its first board meeting of the year on Friday. Officials want the bank to provide a strong hint that interest rates may come down later this year. It has been unwilling to suggest any imminent easing because of higher inflation risks, they said, and instead is likely to indicate that rates have little room to fall.