Civilian casualties from February 24, 2022, after Russia launched a full-scale war against Ukraine, to July 16, 2023, totaled 25,671 (25,170 as of June 30), including 9,287 deaths (9,177), the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UN OHCHR) reported.
“The UN OHCHR considers that the actual number of civilian deaths or injuries is significantly higher, as many reports from locations where such incidents have occurred continue to require further confirmation, while information from some locations where fighting continues has been delayed,” the document said regarding the UN data.
This applies, for example, to such localities as Mariupol (Donetsk region), Lisichansk, Popasnaya and Severodonetsk (Luhansk region), where numerous civilian deaths or injuries have been reported.
According to confirmed UN figures, 4,272 men, 2,558 women, 282 boys and 226 girls were killed, while the gender of 29 children and 1,920 adults could not yet be ascertained.
Among the 16,384 injured, 486 boys and 352 girls were injured, as well as 279 children whose gender could not yet be determined.
Compared to the June 30 figures, two children have died and 22 others have been injured.
Whereas the UN OHCHR casualty summary was previously issued daily and then only on weekdays, it became weekly from July 2022 and biweekly from the end of May 2023. This summary, like the previous one, provides data by month.
According to them, 74 civilians died in the first 16 days of July. In June, the number of deaths rose to 184 from 174 in May, 180 in April, 181 in March and 143 in February.
The deadliest month for civilians, the UN points out, remains March last year, with a minimum of 4,154 deaths. In April 2022, according to an OHCHR publication, the number of civilian deaths due to war fell to 817 in April, 544 in May, 429 in June and 385 in July. There were 374 deaths in the first five days of the war from February 24 to February 28, 339 in August, 405 in September, 309 in October, 187 in November, 206 in December and 201 in January this year.
The number of injured for the half of July reached 342, compared with 681 in June, 685 in May, 494 in April, 592 in March, 457 in February, 541 in January this year, 617 in December and 541 in November last year. In October, the number of injuries dropped to 795 from 982 in September, when it was up from August’s 920. Prior to that the number of wounded exceeded a thousand each month, July 1,129, June 1,108, May 1,139, April 1,896, March 2,999. In the first five days of the war last February, 469 people were wounded.
The UN OHCHR specifies that in July, large-area explosive weapons killed 72 people and injured 326 others, while mines and explosive remnants of war killed two and injured 16 (4%).
Government-controlled territories accounted for 88% of casualties in July, according to the UN.
The summary traditionally states that the increase in figures to the previous summary should not be attributed solely to cases after June 30, as during this period the Office verified a number of cases from previous days.
The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) at the 15th auction for placement of three-month certificates of deposit (CDs) at 25% per annum on Friday, July 14, sold them for UAH 26.07 billion, while the volume of redemption of CDs placed at the second auction on April 14 amounted to only UAH 8.87 billion.
As reported on the NBU website, as a result, the volume of three-month DCs in circulation began to grow again and reached a new maximum of UAH 175.44 billion.
The number of buyers, as a week ago, amounted to 43, the regulator specified.
The central bank pointed out that last Friday the volume of overnight DS sales amounted to UAH 355.71 billion, compared to UAH 373.92 billion a week earlier. On the other days of last week, the NBU placed them in the amount of UAH 331.1-337.8 billion.
As reported, the National Bank said on March 16 that from April 7 it decided to lower the rate on overnight certificates of deposit from 23% to 20%, but at the same time to place DCs for a period of three months at a discount rate of 25%, depending on the volume of deposits attracted by banks for a period of three months or more.
On the eve of the debut auction, the NBU set for banks individual initial limits for the purchase of three-month DC at the level of 70% of the balances of individuals’ deposits in the national currency in these financial institutions as of April 4, with an initial term of 93 days or more.
The regulator explained that to the initial limit is added the second dynamic part – multiplied by the multiplier “3.0” increase in the volume of such a portfolio of hryvnia deposits of individuals for 93 days after April 4.
Banks can apply for purchase of three-month DS both from the NBU and in the interbank market within the above limit. The National Bank places them weekly on Fridays.
In the inflation report, the NBU specified that as of April 4, term deposits in the national currency for a period of three months or more were worth the equivalent of UAH 154.5 billion, or 26.9% of all deposits, for a period of up to three months – UAH 40.4 billion, or 7%, while UAH 378.4 billion, or 66%, accounted for demand deposits.
According to the head of the National Bank Andriy Pyshnyy, the share of term deposits reached 35% at the end of May, while the share of deposits with maturities of 3 to 12 months in the total volume of new term deposits increased to 76%.
The NBU also said in mid-June that it plans to study the revision of 3-month deposit multiples in July.
Benchmark crude oil prices are rising moderately on Tuesday morning after declines in the previous two sessions.
The price of September Brent futures on London’s ICE Futures exchange is at $78.68 a barrel by 8:46 a.m. Q2, up 18 cents (0.23%) from the previous session’s close. On Monday, these contracts fell in price by $1.37 (1.7%) – to $78.5 per barrel.
Quotes of futures for WTI oil for August at the electronic trading of the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) to the specified time rose by 23 cents (0.31%) and amounted to $74.38 per barrel. At the end of the previous session they fell by $1.27 (1.7%) – to $74.15 per barrel.
Oil finished in the negative two last sessions in a row. On the eve, the negative factor was statistical data from China, which indicated the growth of China’s GDP by 6.3% in annualized terms in the second quarter after a rise of 4.5% in January-March. The consensus forecast of experts surveyed by Trading Economics had called for a 7.3% increase.
“Weaker-than-expected macroeconomic data from China and oil market reaction suggest that demand remains the key concern for the market,” said ING Groep NV strategist Warren Patterson. – However, we still maintain a constructive outlook and believe that the gap between supply and demand will narrow significantly in the second half of the year”.
In addition, the decrease was caused by the news of resumption of production at Al Sharara and Al Fil fields in Libya, where production was suspended last week due to protests.
On Tuesday, prices are supported by the forecast of the US Department of Energy, which provides for a decrease in shale oil production in the States in August to 9.4 million barrels per day. If the forecast comes true, the production cut will be recorded for the first time since December last year.
Forecast of unemployment rate in Ukraine according to methodology of international labor organization until 2025
Source: Open4Business.com.ua and experts.news
The Pechersky district court of Kiev on July 13 decided to recover from the former owner of Commercial Bank Financial Initiative PJSC, Oleh Bakhmatyuk, as guarantor, more than UAH 1.8 billion in favor of the National Bank of Ukraine on one of the refinancing loans provided earlier and not returned.
“Unfortunately, it is too early to put a dot in this case, but the court’s adoption of this decision is a defining event for the restoration of the violated rights of the National Bank. We are convinced that in case of its appeal, it has every reason to remain in force,” the NBU quoted in a press release on Monday the comment of the director of the legal department, Oleksandr Zima.
The National Bank recalled that in 2014 it concluded an agreement with Financial Initiative on a refinancing loan to maintain liquidity in the amount of UAH 2 billion, and Bakhmatyuk vouched for the proper fulfillment of the bank’s obligations to repay the loan funds. Since both the bank and its owner failed to fulfill their obligations, in 2017 the National Bank filed a lawsuit with the Pechersky District Court of Kyiv to recover the debt from him. During the consideration of the case in court at the expense of the pledged property provided by the property guarantors to ensure the fulfillment of the obligations of the bank there was a repayment of the loan debt in the amount of about UAH 200 million.
Now six more cases remain under consideration by the Pechersky district court of Kiev on claims of the NBU against Bakhmatyuk as a guarantor for the debts of PJSC “VEB Bank” and the bank “Financial Initiative” on other refinancing loans, and the total amount of debt Bakhmatyuk as a guarantor to the National Bank is almost UAH 8 billion, the NBU said.
It specified that it classified VIB Bank as insolvent on November 20, 2014, and Financial Initiative Bank – on June 23, 2015.
Bakhmatyuk rejects the accusations of the National Bank and puts forward counter accusations. In particular, in 2020, he obtained a decision of the Supreme Court to recognize the National Bank’s actions to withdraw Financial Initiative Bank from the market as unlawful. The businessman, who has been living in Vienna for the last few years, has also repeatedly declared his readiness to compromise with the National Bank on the issue of sureties, offering to conclude an amicable agreement with a seven-year installment period with the possibility of increasing the bail to the NBU, but to no avail.
