Latest news on Russia and the war in Ukraine

The Ukrainian economy contracted 30.4% in 2022, according to a preliminary estimate from the Ukrainian economy ministry.

Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said in a statement Thursday that Ukraine had suffered its largest economic losses and damage since its independence from Russia in 1991 as a result of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine that began in February 2022.

The economy ministry noted that the estimated contraction in 2022 was smaller than previously forecast, noting “this is objectively the worst result since independence, but better than most experts expected at the start of the full-scale invasion, when estimates ranged from 40-50% drop in GDP and beyond.”

Svyrydenko said Ukraine’s successes on the battlefield, the coordinated work of government and business as well as “the indomitable spirit of the population” and the speed of restoration of destroyed or damaged critical infrastructure — as well as financial support from international partners — had enable Ukraine to maintain the economic front during wartime.

Last September, the Ukrainian government, European Commission and World Bank, in cooperation with partners, estimated that the cost of reconstruction and recovery in Ukraine amounted to $349 billion; that figure is now likely much higher as the war continues.

— Holly Ellyatt

Ukraine is continuing to press its international partners to provide it with heavier tanks to fight Russia, having been offered more armored fighting vehicles by its allies this week.

On Wednesday, France announced that it was giving Kyiv light tanks, AMX-10 RCs, and President Joe Biden hinted that the U.S. could provide Ukraine with Bradley Fighting Vehicles (armored troop carriers) — but both still fall short of the modern, heavy tanks that Ukraine has been seeking, such as the U.S.’ M1 Abrams battle tanks and Germany’s Leopard 2s.

Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy on Wednesday thanked President Emmanuel Macron “for the decision to transfer light tanks and Bastion APCs [armored personnel carriers] to Ukraine,” but in his nightly address, Zelenskyy again questioned why its allies have been reluctant to supply Ukraine with modern Western armored vehicles and tanks.

“We will receive more armored vehicles, in particular wheeled tanks of French production. This is what sends a clear signal to all our other partners: there is no rational reason why Ukraine has not yet been supplied with Western-type tanks,” Zelenskyy said.

“This is very important in order to restore security for all Ukrainians and peace for all Europeans,” he added.

Zelenskyy said Ukraine’s allies should “not delay any of those defense opportunities that can speed up the defeat” of Russia, adding that “modern Western armored vehicles, Western-style tanks are just one of these key opportunities.”

— Holly Ellyatt

U.S. President Joe Biden said that sending Bradley Fighting Vehicles to Ukraine was being considered to help the Ukrainians in combating Russia’s invasion.

“Yes,” Biden said when asked if the option was on the table.

— Reuters

Russian claims that Moscow’s war in Ukraine is really a fight against NATO and Western countries are “a bunch of BS,” a Biden administration spokesman said.

“This is about a Russian invasion of Ukraine,” said U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby. “And Russia is the one who started it. Russia is the one who’s visited violence on the Ukrainian people at a scale.”

Kirby added that the U.S. will “continue to provide [Ukraine] the kinds of systems and assistance they need to defend themselves,” including the coveted High Mobility Artillery Rocket System.

— Jacob Pramuk

Heavy fighting around the largely ruined, Ukrainian-held city of Bakhmut is likely to persist for the foreseeable future, with the outcome uncertain as Russians have made incremental progress, according to a senior U.S. administration official.

— Reuters

Kherson police said local residents were held in cells and rooms for days, tortured with electricity and batons and forced to write Russian patriotic texts. Kherson was the only regional capital captured by Russia since the invasion, and Ukraine liberated it late last year.

— Pierre Crom | Getty Images

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and French President Emmanuel Macron had a “long and detailed conversation” about efforts to boost Ukraine’s defenses against Russian attacks.

“We agreed on further cooperation to significantly strengthen our air defense and other defense capabilities,” Zelenskyy said in a post on his Telegram channel.

France and other European nations have funneled aid to Ukraine since Russia invaded its neighbor last year. Zelenskyy has pleaded for air defenses in particular as Russia pummels his country with missile strikes.

— Jacob Pramuk

Russia has been left reeling as the death toll rises following a Ukrainian strike on newly conscripted soldiers in Makiivka, a town in the partially Russian-occupied eastern Donetsk region in east Ukraine.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said Tuesday night that the death toll from the attack, which took place on New Year’s Eve, had risen to 89, according to reports by Russian state news agencies.

It had previously said 63 soldiers had died in the attack, which struck a college for conscripts in Makiivka, in a rare admission of multiple losses.

It blamed the unauthorized use of cellphones for the strike, saying their use had allowed Ukraine to locate and strike its personnel.

“This factor allowed the enemy to locate and determine the coordinates of the location of military personnel for a missile strike,” the ministry said in a statement, reported by RIA Novosti.

The ministry said Ukraine had struck the building in Makiivka using missiles from a HIMARS rocket system and claimed that Russian forces had intercepted four of six rockets. It claimed it had destroyed the HIMARS rocket system from which the attack was carried out. CNBC was unable to verify the defense ministry’s claims.

The attack has caused consternation in Russia, with mourners gathering in Samara, the region where the majority of the mobilized soldiers reportedly came from.

— Holly Ellyatt