Ukraine Daily

Wednesday, October 26

Russia’s war against Ukraine

A view of damage at Zestafonska Street in the city of Zaporizhzhia which tries to heal its wounds, as Russia-Ukraine war continues on October 25, 2022. (Photo by Metin Aktas/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

IMF: Ukraine may need up to $5 billion in financial aid monthly in 2023. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said on Oct. 25 that Ukraine’s external financing needs in 2023 will be around $3 billion to $4 billion a month in a best-case scenario but could reach $5 billion as Russia targets the country’s critical infrastructure.

Zelensky: Ukraine urgently needs $17 billion for reconstruction. Ukraine “literally needs (the funds) to survive,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Oct. 25 at the International Expert Conference on the Recovery, Reconstruction, and Modernization of Ukraine. “The weight of our Fast Recovery Plan is $17 billion for critical immediate reconstruction,” Zelensky said. “These are hospitals, schools, vital transport, and energy infrastructure.” According to Zelensky, Ukraine has not “received a single cent for the implementation” of the plan.

Zelensky calls for creating platform to coordinate funding for Ukraine’s reconstruction. President Volodymyr Zelensky called the platform “financial Rammstein” - a reference to the Rammstein conferences for coordinating defense assistance for Ukraine, also known as the Defense Contact Group. He was speaking at the Conference on the Recovery of Ukraine.

German president arrives in Kyiv to meet Zelensky. A meeting between German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will take place in the evening, der Spiegel reported. According to Steinmeier’s office, the two presidents plan to make a joint appeal to German cities and municipalities to establish new partnerships with their Ukrainian counterparts to help them to get through the winter after Russia’s mass attacks on energy infrastructure.

Zelensky invites new UK Prime Minister to Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Oct. 25 that he had an “excellent conversation” with newly appointed U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, saying they “agreed to write a new chapter” in Ukraine-U.K. relations. He added that Ukraine has “full support in the face of Russian aggression” from the U.K.

ISW: Ukraine will likely capture Kherson by end of 2022. Russian troops are preparing to defend the city of Kherson and are not fully withdrawing from the north of Kherson Oblast, the Institute for the Study of War said in its latest assessment. However, Ukraine’s Armed Forces may liberate Russian-occupied areas on the right bank of the Dnieper, including Kherson, by the end of 2022 as Russia’s positions there are “likely untenable,” the think-tank said. According to a Russian military blogger cited by the ISW, “Russia’s surrender even of Kherson City is overdue, as an attempt to hold the city will likely result in defeat.”

CNBC: Ukraine receives 2 NASAMS air defense systems from US. Raytheon Technologies, U.S.-based aerospace and defense conglomerate, has delivered two NASAMS air defense systems due for Ukraine to the U.S. government, its chief executive said on Oct 25. “We did just deliver two NASAMS systems. (…) We delivered two of them to the government a couple of weeks ago. They’re being installed in Ukraine today,” CEO Greg Hayes said on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” program.

UK intelligence: Russia fails to maintain air superiority on Ukraine’s battlefields. Russian forces can’t perform adequate air support near the front line as their attack helicopters suffer attrition from Ukrainian air defense systems and their artillery ammunition is running out, the U.K. Defense Ministry reported on Oct. 25. The Russian command is “increasingly resorting to conducting high-risk attack helicopter missions as one of the few options available to provide close support for troops in combat,” the ministry said. Russia has lost at least 23 Ka-52 HOKUM attack helicopters since Feb. 24, which constitutes over 25% of their in-service fleet, according to the U.K. Defense Ministry.

ISW: Russian officials try realigning war in Ukraine with religious ideals accessible to Christians, Muslims. The Institute for the Study of War said in its latest assessment that Russian officials are increasingly attempting to rhetorically align Russia’s war in Ukraine with religious concepts ostensibly accessible to both Christians and Muslims. The experts note that it is likely done in order to cater to religious minority groups within the Russian Armed Forces. Assistant Secretary to the Russian Security Council Alexei Pavlov amplified statements made by Chechen Republic Head Ramzan Kadyrov on Oct. 25 that the goal of the war in Ukraine should be “complete de-satanization.”

Foreign Policy: Russia’s reportedly recruiting Afghan commandos to fight in Ukraine. Multiple Afghan military and security sources told Foreign Policy that members of Afghanistan’s National Army Commando Corps say they are being contacted with offers to join the Russian military to fight in Ukraine. Before the U.S. ceded Afghanistan to the Taliban in August 2021, the U.S. reportedly spent almost $90 billion building the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces. The commandos had been trained by U.S. Navy SEALs and the British Special Air Service.

Deputy PM urges Ukrainians to remain abroad until spring. In a televised address on Oct. 25, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk recommended that Ukrainians residing abroad remain outside of the country until spring due to the increased threat of Russian aggression over winter. “Russia has turned to terrorizing the civilian population,” she said.

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Ukrainians with disabilities endure disproportionate impact of Russia’s war. There are 2.7 million people with disabilities in Ukraine, according to the European Disability Forum. Moscow’s full-scale invasion has forced thousands of people with disabilities to flee Russian aggression, and many others have struggled to evacuate without proper assistance.

Photo: Kostyantyn Chernichkin

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Ukraine war latest: Zelensky makes new plea for foreign aid. President Volodymyr Zelensky on Oct. 25 asked the world leaders at the International Expert Conference on the Recovery, Reconstruction, and Modernization of Ukraine for financial assistance to cover the state budget deficit in 2023 which he expects would be $38 billion.

Photo: Omer Messinger/Getty Images

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The human cost of Russia’s war

Official: Russian strike sets gas station on fire, kills 2 people in Dnipro. Deputy Head of the President’s Office Kyrylo Tymoshenko reported that two people were killed and two were rescued following a Russian strike that hit a gas station in the city of Dnipro, on Oct. 25. The fire has reportedly been localized.

Mayor: Russian forces fire at car, kill 2 civilians in Oleshky, Kherson Oblast. As a result of the shooting, a 14-year-old boy and his father died, and a 5-year-old girl was injured, Oleshky Mayor Yevhen Ryshchuk said on Oct. 25. Ryshchuk added that Russian troops are “very nervous” about being pushed out of Kherson Oblast and “shoot at everyone who they think poses a threat to them.”

Governor: Russian attacks kill 7, injure 3 in Donetsk Oblast in the past 24 hours. Russian forces killed seven civilians and injured two in Bakhmut and wounded another one in Krasnohorivka, Donetsk Oblast Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko reported on Oct. 25.

International Response

Estonia to impose Russian oil ban from Dec. 5. Estonia’s decision to ban Russian oil imports in early December comes two months earlier than the deadline set by EU sanctions, Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu said in an interview with Postimees media outlet. The EU officially approved the eighth sanctions package against Russia in response to its war against Ukraine. The sanctions package includes import bans worth 7 billion euros and lays the foundation to introduce price restrictions on Russian oil.

Germany to give Ukraine additional MLRS, howitzers. Germany will provide Ukraine with two additional MARS II multiple launch rocket systems and four howitzers, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier announced after a meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky on Oct. 25. “Germans and Ukrainians are connected by shared European values - freedom and democracy,” Zelensky said.

Germany to allocate 20 million euros to Ukraine for reserve equipment. The 20 million euros ($19.9 million) provided by Germany will help Ukraine respond to Russia’s mass attacks on the country’s critical infrastructure, Communities and Territories Development Minister Oleksii Chernyshov said on Oct. 25. The funds will be used to purchase equipment such as mobile generators, automatic water pumping stations, and mobile thermal power plants. Chernyshov said the deal will be finalized in the near future.

EU considers allocating 18 billion euros in aid to Ukraine in 2023. EU countries are discussing the provision of monthly financial assistance of 1.5 billion euros to Ukraine, which would amount to 18 billion euros for the whole year, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Oct. 25. She added that Ukraine needs about $3-5 billion every month to cover current budget expenditures.

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Oleg Sukhov, Dinara Khalilova, Thaisa Semenova, Teah Pelechaty, Brad LaFoy, and Olena Goncharova.

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