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Ukraine’s economy estimated to have shrunk by 30.4% in 2022

Firefighters conduct search and rescue operations after Russian forces hit a cultural center in Chuhuiv, Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine, on July 25, 2022.

Anadolu Agency | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images

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.

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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

Kyiv given more light combat vehicles — but it wants heavy tanks

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.

A U.S. soldier near a Bradley Fighting Vehicle.

Delil Souleiman | Afp | Getty Images

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.

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“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.

An AMX-10 RC tank deployed in Bosnia in 1995.

Gabriel Bouys | Afp | Getty Images

“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

Biden says Bradley Fighting Vehicles are on the table for Ukraine

U.S. President Joe Biden speaks prior to signing railroad legislation into law, providing a resoluton to avert a nationwide rail shutdown, during a signing ceremony in the Roosevelt Room at the White House in Washington, U.S., December 2, 2022. 

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Kevin Lamarque | Reuters

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

Claims that war pits Russia against NATO are ‘a bunch of BS,’ White House spokesman says

White House National Security Council Strategic Communications Coordinator John Kirby speaks during a press briefing at the White House in Washington, November 28, 2022.

Kevin Lamarque | 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.

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“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 likely to persist in Ukrainian-held Bakhmut, U.S. official says

Ukrainian soldiers with the 43rd Heavy Artillery Brigade sit atop 2S7 Pion self propelled cannon on the battlefield, as Russia’s attack on Ukraine continues, during intense shelling on the front line in Bakhmut, Ukraine, December 26, 2022.

Clodagh Kilcoyne | Reuters

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

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Russian torture chambers uncovered in Kherson, Ukraine

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.

KHERSON, UKRAINE – JANUARY 04: Officers of the War Crimes Prosecutor office and police officers investigate war crimes committed by the Russian occupying forces on the local civilian population in the basements and rooms of Ukrainian penitentiary buildings on January 4, 2023 in Kherson, Ukraine. According to the Kherson police, local residents were held in cells and rooms for days, tortured with electricity, batons and forced to write Russian patriotic texts. Kherson was the only regional capital captured by Russia since the invasion and it was liberated by Ukraine late last year. (Photo by Pierre Crom/Getty Images)

Pierre Crom | Getty Images

A burnt bed within a room as officers of the War Crimes Prosecutor office and police officers investigate war crimes committed by the Russian occupying forces on the local civilian population in the basements and rooms of Ukrainian penitentiary buildings on January 4, 2023 in Kherson, Ukraine. 

Pierre Crom | Getty Images

A general view of the basement and rooms as officers of the War Crimes Prosecutor office and police officers investigate war crimes committed by the Russian occupying forces on the local civilian population in the Ukrainian penitentiary buildings on January 4, 2023 in Kherson, Ukraine. 

Pierre Crom | Getty Images

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KHERSON, UKRAINE – JANUARY 04: Russian patriotic written letters as officers of the War Crimes Prosecutor office and police officers investigate war crimes committed by the Russian occupying forces on the local civilian population in the basements and rooms of Ukrainian penitentiary buildings on January 4, 2023 in Kherson, Ukraine. According to the Kherson police, local residents were held in cells and rooms for days, tortured with electricity, batons and forced to write Russian patriotic texts. Kherson was the only regional capital captured by Russia since the invasion and it was liberated by Ukraine late last year. (Photo by Pierre Crom/Getty Images)

Pierre Crom | Getty Images

Walls are marked with the Russian war symbol Z as officers of the War Crimes Prosecutor office and police officers investigate war crimes committed by the Russian occupying forces on the local civilian population in the basements and rooms of Ukrainian penitentiary buildings on January 4, 2023 in Kherson, Ukraine.

Pierre Crom | Getty Images

A general view of the basement and rooms as officers of the War Crimes Prosecutor office and police officers investigate war crimes committed by the Russian occupying forces on the local civilian population in the Ukrainian penitentiary buildings on January 4, 2023 in Kherson, Ukraine.

Pierre Crom | Getty Images News | Getty Images

A calendar marked on a wall in a cell as officers of the War Crimes Prosecutor office and police officers investigate war crimes committed by the Russian occupying forces on the local civilian population in the basements and rooms of Ukrainian penitentiary buildings on January 4, 2023 in Kherson, Ukraine.

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Pierre Crom | Getty Images

— Pierre Crom | Getty Images

Zelenskyy and Macron discussed aid to boost Ukraine’s air defenses

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy shakes hands with French President Emmanuel Macron during a news briefing following their talks in Kyiv, Ukraine on February 8, 2022.

Gleb Garanich | Reuters

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.

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— Jacob Pramuk

Russia blames use of mobile phones for deadly Makiivka attack

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.

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Mourners gather to lay flowers in memory of Russian soldiers who were killed in a Ukrainian strike on a college for newly conscripted Russian soldiers in the occupied city of Makiivka in eastern Ukraine on New Year’s Eve.

Arden Arkman | Afp | Getty Images

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

Read CNBC’s previous live coverage here:

Source: CNBC

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