Kyiv under suicide drone attack, ZNPP disconnected again, gas prices fall to June levels
Your slice of the top headlines in Ukraine. Daily. Tuesday, October 18th, 2022.
The drones struck residential and office buildings in the city’s central Shevchenko district, as well as a critical infrastructure facility. At least three people are said to have been killed, including a pregnant woman and her husband. Ukrainian authorities have called the strikes an ‘act of terror’, and have implicated Iranian involvement – due to the drones being identified as Iranian-made Shahed-136 loitering munitions.
These drones, while capable of causing large amounts of damage, aren’t invincible - Ukraine has been shooting them down by the dozens.
These drones, while capable of causing large amounts of damage, aren’t invincible - Ukraine has been shooting them down by the dozens.
Their stated reason for this is supposedly the deployment of NATO troops near Belarus’ border, though no such deployment actually exists. Moscow said its intention is to transfer about 170 tanks, up to 200 armored combat vehicles (ACVs), and up to 100 guns and mortars to its neighboring ally.
While Russian shelling is once more the culprit, this time, the shelling was against a remote substation that connects the ZNPP to the rest of the Ukrainian grid – and not at the nuclear plant itself. The ZNPP was earlier reported to have enough fuel to run their backup generators for up to 10 days, though it is unclear how much of that remains.
On top of that, reports have emerged that Chechen warlord Ramzan Kadyrov’s personal troops, the Kadyrovites, are occupying at least part of the facility.
On top of that, reports have emerged that Chechen warlord Ramzan Kadyrov’s personal troops, the Kadyrovites, are occupying at least part of the facility.
Russian military authorities say the crash was due to engine failure shortly after takeoff, claiming that the jet was launching for a “training mission” – though the Yeysk airfield is almost directly across from occupied Mariupol across the Sea of Azov. The crash is said to have killed at least one resident of the building and injured three others, including a child. An unsourced Telegram channel claims that the plane was filled with ammunition, and that the resulting explosion damaged or destroyed at least 15 apartments.
Russian aviation has taken serious losses in the full-scale war against Ukraine – 12 fighter jets alone are believed to have been lost in just non-combat operations. That may be why Russia has begun demothballing MiG-29s from storage.
Ukrainian eurobonds have lost an average of 8% of their face value, nearing historical minimums. According to Bloomberg, the smallest decline was recorded at the short end of the curve: in particular, dollar-denominated Eurobonds-2025 fell by 2.8% to 22.9% of par value, which corresponds to a yield of about 72.4% per annum, while by the end of last week, euro-denominated Eurobonds maturing in 2028 were quoted at 18.2%, while those in 2032 – at 17.4% of face value.
According to a survey conducting by the Ratings Group, 38% of Ukrainians who were gainfully employed prior to the full-scale war have gone back to work as usual, 7% have found new jobs, and another third remain unemployed. The highest number of unemployed are among the youngest and the oldest respondents, women, and residents of eastern regions of Ukraine.
Prices on European exchanges for natural gas fell below $1,400 per 1,000 cubic meters for the first time since late June, though transit via Ukrainian pipelines remain unchanged at 42 million cubic meters per day. In total, Russia’s market share of the European gas market has fallen from 40% prior to the full-scale war, to 7.5% now.
The day’s long-read: Russia’s terror tactics: Putin escalates attacks on Ukrainian civilian targets
Atlantic Council editor Peter Dickinson analyzes the latest wave of Russian attacks against civilian targets.
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