‘Every Day and Every Night, a Terrorist War’ – War in Ukraine Update for March 22

The biggest Russian aerial bombardment of Kyiv saw at least 13 civilians injured, including one child, the state’s Emergency Services said on Facebook.

Four of the victims have been hospitalized, the Kyiv City Military Administration said separately on its Telegram channel.

“There are no deaths” as a result of the airborne attacks, the capital’s military administration added.

Air defenses intercepted all 31 projectiles that targeted the nation’s most populous city but falling debris caused damage to residential high-rise buildings that led to civilian injuries, an earlier Kyiv Post report said. 

They were concentrated in two of Kyiv’s 10 administrative districts: Svyatoshyn and Shevchenko.

Russia has fired more than 1,000 projectiles and drones at civilian targets since the beginning of March, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a nightly address this week.

“Every day and every night, Russia is waging a terrorist war against our people, against ordinary cities and villages of Ukraine, using drones, missiles, and guided bombs,” Zelensky said on Telegram.

Ukraine may be running short of air defense munitions, a Washington Post dispatch reported, citing Western officials on March 15. It stated that Kyiv will soon be able to shoot down only one of five missiles in the near future.

British Defense Intelligence said in a daily note on X (formerly Twitter) that a shortage of munitions for Ukrainian forces is likely making it difficult for them to hold positions.

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IMF gives green light for Kyiv to draw down more than $880 million

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved the release of more than $880 million for Ukraine, following a third review of its current loan to the war-stricken country, the organization announced on Thursday.

The [Ukrainian] authorities continue to perform strongly under the Extended Fund Facility under challenging conditions, meeting all but one quantitative performance criteria for December, all structural benchmarks through February, and all indicative targets, the IMF said in a news release on Thursday.

It noted that, despite Russia’s occupation of about 18 percent of sovereign Ukrainian territory and ongoing warfare, “the Ukrainian economy continued to show remarkable resilience.”

If future lending conditions are met, Kyiv will have access to $15.6 billion during a 48-month period that started last year.

“Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues to bring enormous social and economic costs to Ukraine,” IMF managing director Kristalina Georgeva said.

She continued: “However, macroeconomic and financial stability has been preserved, reflecting skillful policymaking by the Ukrainian authorities as well as substantial external support. The economy has been resilient, with stronger-than-expected macroeconomic outturns in 2023. Ukraine’s performance and commitment under the program has continued to be strong.”