Ukraine’s state power transmission system operator Ukrenergo published its unaudited condensed financial results for 2024 under Ukrainian accounting standards. The company booked revenue of $2.5bn, up 11% y-o-y, and a net loss of $940m, down from net income of $11m in 2023. Cash balances jumped by 78% y-o-y to $363m and total debt went up by 18% to $2.4bn.

PJSC VF Ukraine, the borrower under Vodafone Ukraine’s (VFU) $300m 2027 loan participation notes, and VFU’s key subsidiaries have reported their stand-alone financials for 2024, posting combined sales of $625m (+5.8% y-o-y), EBITDA of $302m (-13%), and net income of $91m (-35%). End-2024 net debt stood at $277m, down 6.4% y-o-y but 14% above the end-9M24 level, while end-2024 cash and short-term investments totaled $326m, up 44% y-o-y and 5.9% higher than at end-9M24.

US and Ukrainian delegations met in Saudi Arabia yesterday to discuss advancing the US-brokered peace process with Russia. According to a joint statement released after the meeting, Ukraine “expressed readiness to accept the US proposal to enact an immediate, interim 30-day ceasefire” subject to Russia’s concurrent implementation, with the US side undertaking to communicate to Russia that “Russian reciprocity is the key to achieving peace.” Additionally, the US pledged to “immediately” lift its recently introduced suspension on intelligence sharing and security assistance to Ukraine.

A Russian ballistic missile strike last night hit a commercial vessel under the flag of Barbados in the port of Odesa. The missile struck the ship while it was being loaded with grain, killing four foreign crew members injuring and two other civilians.

The Ukrainian Ministry of Finance placed UAH 8.4bn ($203m) of hryvnia-denominated bonds at a primary auction yesterday, up slightly from UAH 6.6bn ($158m) raised a week earlier.

Ukraine’s headline CPI rose by 0.8% m-o-m in February, slowing from 1.2% in January and pushing the y-o-y tally to 13.4%, up from 12.9% a month earlier. Core inflation, which excludes administratively regulated tariffs and prices of raw foods and energy, was up 0.7% m-o-m, slowing from 1.3% in January but increasing its y-o-y growth rate to 12.0% from 11.7%.

Ukraine exported 3.8 Mt of grain and oilseeds in February, up 0.9% m-o-m but down 40% y‑o‑y. Grain exports totaled 3.4 Mt, down 0.9% m-o-m and 42% y-o-y, while oilseed exports stood at 0.4 Mt, up 19% m-o-m and down 30% y-o-y.

Key highlights from last week: Russian forces made significant advances in Kursk region for the second consecutive week. Front lines inside Ukraine were largely static, with Russian territorial gains remaining at mid-2024 lows. US and Ukrainian delegations are due to meet in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday to discuss a ceasefire framework and lifting the US suspension on military assistance to Ukraine. Ukraine continues to receive sizable military aid from Europe, with the UK sending $1bn last week and Norway doubling its 2025 commitments to $7.7bn.

Ukraine’s headline current account (C/A) ran a $2.3bn deficit in January after posting a $0.5bn surplus in December and recording a $0.6bn gap in January 2024. The financial and capital account (F/A) surplus narrowed to $1.4bn from $3.5bn in December but improved compared to a $1.1bn gap in January 2024. Thus, the total balance was $1.0bn in deficit, down from a $3.9bn surplus in December.

NBU gross foreign reserves fell by 6.7% m-o-m ($2.9bn) to $40.1bn in February, equivalent to 4.9 months of prospective goods and services imports, the central bank said. The official exchange rate of the hryvnia to the US dollar strengthened by 0.7% to UAH 41.5:USD last month after appreciating by 0.5% in January, remaining 8.0% weaker y-o-y.

DTEK Oil & Gas (DTEKOG) reported that a Russian aerial attack last Friday damaged its assets in Poltava region. The company halted operations at the affected assets and is currently assessing the extent of the damage.

Russia conducted another large-scale aerial attack on Ukraine’s power and natural gas infrastructure last night, deploying 67 cruise, ballistic and other missiles and 194 strike and decoy drones, according to the Ukrainian military. Up to 44 missiles (66%) and 186 drones (96%) were reported either intercepted or diverted. Energy Minister Herman Haluschenko said the Russian strike targeted gas production and power infrastructure facilities. Naftogaz reported unspecified damage to its gas extraction. Authorities in the western Ternopil region said the attack caused local gas supply disruptions. DTEK Group assets in Odesa region were also damaged overnight.

US and Ukrainian delegations plan to meet in Saudi Arabia, tentatively next Wednesday, to discuss advancing the US-brokered peace process with Russia. President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed he would travel to Saudi Arabia on Monday to meet Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, after which his team would remain on the ground for talks with US officials. The US delegation will reportedly include Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff, the same team that participated in earlier talks with Russia in Riyadh on Feb. 18. The Ukrainian side is expected to be represented by Zelensky’s chief of staff Andriy Yermak and Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha.

The NBU Board increased its key rate by 100bp to 15.5% p.a. following hikes of 100bp in January and 50bp in December. The new hike was in line with the central bank’s latest forward guidance.

According to Ukraine’s State Statistics Service, monthly salaries paid to staff workers averaged UAH 21,473 ($535) in 2024, up 23.1% y-o-y following growth of 17.5% in 2023 and 6.1% in 2022.

According to provisional data from the Finance Ministry, the central budget’s cash-based deficit stood at UAH 159bn or $3.8bn in February, widening from $1.7bn in January and $2.9bn in February 2024 and bringing the 2M25 cash gap to UAH 230bn or $5.5bn, up from $3.4bn in 2M24.