At least three people were killed and 15 others injured in Russian bombing raids on the Ukrainian cities of Kramatorsk in the east and Zaporijjia in the south on Friday, August 12, local authorities said. Two civilians were among the dead, Pavlo Kyrylenko, the governor of the Donetsk region, said on Facebook. For his part, a local official in Zaporizhia, Anatoly Kourtev, reported on Telegram about the death of a woman on Friday during Russian strikes that also injured two people who were taken to hospital.
Ukraine goes into “selective” default
This is the final stage before defaulting on payment. Rating agency Standard & Poor’s downgraded Ukraine’s credit rating to SD or “selective” default following a moratorium on its external debt that was granted on Wednesday. “Given the announced terms of the restructuring and in accordance with our criteria, we consider this transaction to be (…) tantamount to a default,” S&P said in a press release.
The Pentagon says it doesn’t know the origin of the explosions at the Russian base in Crimea
The Pentagon has said it has no information about the cause of the recent explosions at a Russian military base in Crimea that occurred on Tuesday. Washington also stressed that the United States had not provided Kyiv with a weapon that would enable such an attack. These blasts were portrayed by Moscow as accidental, but experts attribute them to an attack by Ukrainian forces.
Russian oil supplies to the Czech Republic have resumed
Deliveries of Russian oil to the Czech Republic have resumed after an eight-day hiatus, Czech operator Mero said. The Russian company Transneft, which is responsible for the transport of hydrocarbons, had announced that oil deliveries to Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia would be interrupted from August 4th. According to the Russian company, the sanctions imposed on Russia prevented it from paying transit fees in Kyiv, which meant that oil transportation was disrupted.