Explosions resonated in Lviv and Lutsk overnight as Russian missile strikes shook Western Ukraine. Lviv experienced attacks on residential buildings, while an industrial plant was targeted in Lutsk, resulting in three fatalities, according to the city’s mayor. The Russian Central Bank has called for a meeting to discuss its key interest rate due to the plummeting ruble, reaching its lowest point in 17 months, briefly falling below 102 against the dollar. Here is the latest update on the war and its global repercussions.
During the Russian attack on Lviv, a missile hit a kindergarten yard, as reported by Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi on Telegram. More than 100 apartments were damaged, but fortunately, four individuals only required medical attention and their lives were not at risk. The authenticity of these reports could not be independently verified by The Washington Post.
Meanwhile, Mayor Ihor Polishchuk stated on Telegram that three individuals were also injured during strikes in Lutsk. Emergency service teams were present at the industrial plant.
In Moscow’s Lefortovo Prison, the U.S. ambassador to Russia, Lynne Tracy, held a meeting with Evan Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal reporter who has been detained since March on espionage charges. The U.S. Embassy in Moscow confirmed that Gershkovich appeared to be in good health and expressed strength, despite rejecting the accusations along with his employer, rights groups, and the U.S. government.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made an official visit to the front lines in Eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region, engaging in frank discussions with the troops. This visit took place amidst an ongoing counteroffensive, which has resulted in minimal visible progress and exhausted many Ukrainian citizens due to continuous Russian attacks.
According to local media, over 20 Russian diplomats and their families departed from Moldova following a request from the country to reduce Russia’s diplomatic presence in Chisinau. Russia’s Foreign Ministry criticized this move as an unfriendly step that would negatively impact bilateral relations.
A Russian MiG-29 fighter jet intercepted a Norwegian air force patrol and reconnaissance plane that attempted to cross the Russian border over the Barents Sea. The foreign aircraft retreated as the Russian fighter jet approached, according to Russia’s Defense Ministry.
The ruble’s sharp decline underscores the strain on Russia’s war economy. Since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Russian currency has lost nearly a quarter of its value against the dollar. Although Russia’s Central Bank reassured that the ruble’s fall would not jeopardize the country’s overall financial stability, it attributed the situation to an imbalanced trade balance affected by Western sanctions.
Oleg Itskhoki, an economics professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, characterized the ruble’s recent drop as a continuous trend of depreciation and acceleration, rather than a sudden crisis. While it remains uncertain if the current acceleration will lead to a severe depreciation, such an occurrence has not transpired in the past.
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