[Korrespondent] 23:11 The Russian Defense Ministry stated that Kiev allegedly stepped up "preparations for an invasion of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic" in response to the offensive of Russian troops from the territory of Pridnestrovie. The agency promised to "adequately respond" to the impending "provocation".
23:07 China is negotiating with Russia on the supply of kamikaze drones, writes Der Spiegel. According to the publication, we are talking about the purchase of 100 strike drones, which can be delivered as early as April. According to information received by Spiegel, the Russian military is in talks with Chinese drone manufacturer Xi'an Bingo Intelligent Aviation Technology. The journalists found out that the company agreed to manufacture and test 100 prototype ZT-180 drones capable of carrying a warhead weighing from 35 to 50 kg.
22:52 The UN General Assembly overwhelmingly supported a resolution that calls on Russia to stop hostilities and withdraw its troops from Ukraine, and also consolidates the main provisions of the Ukrainian "peace formula". 141 states out of 193 voted "for" and seven voted against: Russia, Belarus, Syria, North Korea, Eritrea, Nicaragua and Mali. Another 32 countries abstained.
22:40 Great Britain has formed a secret working group for the purchase of weapons for Ukraine in different countries of the world, writes The New York Times. According to the newspaper, other Western countries are also making efforts to provide Ukraine with weapons and ammunition against the backdrop of the depletion of their own and Western stocks.
22:28 U.S. Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth said that it may take more than a year for the American side to deliver the promised M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine - the relevant plans are still being developed.
22:06 Biden will hold an online meeting with G7 leaders and Zelensky on Friday to discuss prospects for further support for Ukraine, the White House said.
21:57 Zelensky said that he had met with a delegation of the United for Ukraine global parliamentary network, which included representatives of the parliaments of 13 European countries and the European Parliament.
21:39 On the anniversary of the full-scale Russian invasion, the National Bank presented a commemorative banknote "Remember! We will not forgive!" face value of 20 hryvnia. It is dedicated to the struggle and fortitude of the Ukrainian people. On the front side there are three Ukrainian soldiers raising the flag of Ukraine, on the back side there are tied hands, which symbolizes the suffering of Ukrainians in the occupation. The banknote was issued with a circulation of 300 thousand, it is legal tender.
20:52 Australia will transfer a $33 million worth of drones to Ukraine, as well as impose additional sanctions against Russia, the country's government announced.
20:34 The countries of the European Union have promised to achieve victory for Ukraine in the war with Russia and not stop their support until justice is restored after the criminal attack of the Russian Federation, the European Council said in a statement on the anniversary of the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation. The document was supported by all 27 EU member states. It notes, in particular, that Russian aggression is a crime against peace, violates the UN Charter, UN principles and the values ​​of humanity.
18:31 The EU did not agree on the tenth package of sanctions against Russia, which it planned to introduce by the anniversary of the invasion. The ambassadors will meet again on Friday, February 24, Radio Liberty's Brussels correspondent Rikard Jozwiak said.
17:37 The direction of Mariupol is no longer absolutely unattainable for the Ukrainian defenders, said the speaker of OK Pivden Natalia Gumenyuk: "At this stage, we can only state that remoteness is a very relative concept. What is considered so remote that it is unattainable is not always The direction of Mariupol is no longer absolutely unattainable for us."
17:20 During the year of a full-scale war, the Russians inflicted about 5,000 missile and 3,500 air strikes on Ukraine, as well as more than 1,100 drone strikes, said Alexei Gromov, deputy head of the Main Directorate of the General Staff.
17:13 Hungary is preparing the visit of Prime Minister Viktor Orban to Ukraine. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijarto said that this will happen when "the time comes."
16:46 Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said during a visit to Kiev that his country will increase the number of Leopard 2 tanks for Ukraine to ten units. He clarified that Madrid will first transfer six tanks to Kyiv, and in the future this figure will grow to ten. "We intend to do this in the coming weeks or months ... Moreover, we are ready to send more Leopards at a later stage if necessary," he added.
15:53 ​​G7 finance ministers and central bank governors adopted a document in which, in particular, they announced support for the restoration and reconstruction of Ukraine's infrastructure, increased obligations for budgetary and economic support for Kiev for 2023 to $39 billion. In addition, the countries agreed to continue to take action on the issue of sanctions against the Russian Federation and work with partners to secure ceilings on Russian energy prices and prevent attempts to circumvent them.
14:50 Finland will give Ukraine three Leopard 2R demining tanks. They do not have cannons and are armed only with machine guns. Their main purpose is to clear fields, the country's Defense Ministry said.
13:28 Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said that Budapest would unblock the holding of meetings of the Ukraine-NATO Committee at the ministerial level if Kiev complies with the requirement regarding the rights of Hungarian minorities.
12:35 Kuleba said that Western fighters will not be used by Ukraine to strike targets in Russia.
11:49 Russia's invasion of Ukraine, according to the World Bank, led to the fact that another 8 million Ukrainians were below the poverty line compared to the pre-war period, but the result could have been even worse if the country had not carried out reforms before the war, said the regional WB Director Arup Banerjee: “The country is set back 15 years in achieving its poverty reduction goals. At the same time, the amazing resilience that Ukraine and Ukrainians have shown is largely due to complex and successful reforms in macroeconomic management and institutional development, which the authorities introduced during the last years before the war.
11:03 There has been no power shortage in the energy system of Ukraine for 12 days in a row and is not predicted yet. All types of power plants are operating, electricity imports are insignificant and continue to decline, Ukrenergo said. Due to damage to networks as a result of Russian shelling, some settlements in the front-line districts of Kharkov, Zaporozhye, and Kherson regions have been de-energized. Odessa still has network restrictions, hourly outage schedules apply.
10:42 A Su-25 military aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces has crashed in the Belgorod region. The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation reported that the crash occurred "after completing a combat mission while returning to the base airfield." The pilot died, the plane crashed in a deserted area, there was no damage. According to preliminary data, the cause of the disaster was a "technical malfunction". Local publics write that the plane fell on a barn with hay, after which a fire broke out.
10:29 Prigozhin said that the PMC Wagner began to receive previously blocked shells - "so far on paper, but, as we were told, the main papers have already been signed."
10:26 Russian Tu-95 bombers from the Engels-2 airfield near Saratov, which was hit by drones several times, could be moved to the Olenya strategic aviation airfield in the Murmansk region, in the north of the Russian Federation, Radio Liberty reports, citing satellite images from Planet Labs. In particular, in February, seven additional Tu-95s appeared at the Olenya airfield, and a total of 11 Tu-95s, two Tu-160s and two Il-78 tanker aircraft are now deployed at the airfield. Journalists believe that this may indicate the active use of this airfield for future attacks on the territory of Ukraine.
10:15 The Russians are preparing possible provocations on the anniversary of the full-scale invasion, most likely with the aim of accusing the Armed Forces of Ukraine of violating territorial integrity. This, as reported by OK Pivnich, is evidenced by intelligence data, which recorded the movement of columns of military equipment in the border area with the Chernihiv region without recognition signs and with soldiers dressed in a pixel similar to the uniform of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
10:03 British intelligence believes that Russia may be preparing for another offensive in the Ugledar region, but it is unlikely that it has a strike force capable of breaking through. Analysts note that the responsibility for the Ugledar operation is most likely still borne by the Russian Eastern Group of Forces. Its commander, Rustam Muradov, is likely under intense pressure to improve the results after being heavily criticized by the Russian nationalist community for previous failures. However, it is unlikely that Muradov has the necessary strike force.
Intelligence also noted heavy fighting has continued in the past 48 hours in the Bakhmut area, where Ukrainian forces have kept supply routes open to the west despite Russia's creeping encirclement over the past six weeks.
09:45 For five months, 98 Polish police officers participated in a top-secret mission in Ukraine to clear mines from the liberated territories, writes Wirtualna Polska. They have all returned home. The publication notes that the Ukrainian army does not have enough sappers to quickly deal with mine clearance. Military sappers from NATO countries cannot do this either, since this will be regarded by Russia as a provocation. Therefore, it was decided to send police pyrotechnicians. Of all the members of the ATLAS group, to which Kyiv addressed, only Poland responded. The rest of the countries considered the mission too dangerous.
At first, the mission was supposed to last three months, but in December it was extended for another two. Polish police officers worked in the Kyiv region - one of the first tasks was to clear the territory of one of the airports near Kiev. The Poles removed a total of 2,000 dangerous items. Among other things, they cleared roads and fields of anti-tank and anti-personnel mines. For almost five months of work, not a single Polish policeman was injured.
09:28 Budanov said in an interview with the UP that Russia wants to end the war as soon as possible: “There are also intelligent boys and girls there who understand that no one has time. The longer this goes on, the more and faster the complete destruction and armed forces and economy. The head of military intelligence also confirmed that there are GUR agents in Putin's entourage. "Since the situation in the Russian Federation is getting worse every day, it becomes easier to find people who cooperate," Budanov added.
08:57 In the Kherson region over the past day, two people were killed as a result of Russian shelling, the OVA reported. Two people were wounded in the Donetsk region, three were wounded in the Kharkov region.
08:52 Prime Minister of Spain Pedro Sanchez arrived in Kyiv on a visit. At the station, he was met by Deputy Foreign Minister Yevgeny Perebiynis. Sanchez should visit Irpin and Bucha, and also meet with Zelensky.
08:49 New German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius "broke Berlin's restraint" on the issue of arms supplies to Ukraine, Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Melnik said in an interview with UP: "Mr. Pistorius is of a completely different format than Ms. Lambrecht. I think he wants to go down in history precisely as the one who broke that Berlin restraint and we see that it is thanks to his leadership position within the government that the ice is starting to melt."
08:47 Swiss lighting designer Gerry Hofstetter will illuminate buildings and monuments on the anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine from February 22 to 27 as part of the art tour of Ukrainian cities "Honoring the memory. Light for hope," the Ministry of Culture said.
08:43 Challenger 2 battle tanks may begin to arrive in Ukraine in the spring, British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said in an interview with Reuters. He did not rule out that London could offer Ukraine more tanks in addition to the 14 already promised, but this would depend on the country's defense needs.
Wallace visited a training ground in the southwest of England where the Ukrainian military is trained to operate tanks in combat conditions. The British Ministry of Defense said in a statement that the training is "going fast" and will take several weeks.
Wallace also said that Britain will increase the production of weapons to help Ukraine and replenish its own stocks: "We have concluded contracts with our ammunition manufacturers and have already begun to receive the first batches both to replenish our stocks and for Ukraine."
08:41 Polish Leopard 2 tanks are ready to be sent to Ukraine, Ukrainian soldiers will be ready to return home with the tanks within a month, Polish President Andrzej Duda said in an interview with CNN. At the same time, he added that Poland and other countries have "serious problems" with obtaining spare parts from Germany.
08:32 Budanov said in an interview with UP that he does not expect anything unusual on February 23-24: "Let's do this: there will be nothing unusual. Usual attempts ... A small missile strike is planned. 23-24 - they have two dates. Believe me I mean, we've been through this more than 20 times."
08:24 The American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) notes that the concept of "historical borders" can be used by Russia to justify aggression against any neighboring state, in particular Moldova, the decree on respect for the territorial integrity of which Putin has already canceled. In addition, the countries of Central Asia, which do not have a common border with Russia, but have territory that once belonged to either the Soviet Union, or the Russian Empire, or both states, can also be attributed to such "historical borders".
Analysts noted that before speaking at the stadium on February 22, Putin issued a decree to cancel the May 2012 decree on Russia's position on the territorial integrity of Moldova, which stated that the Russian Federation would firmly adhere to the principles of the UN Charter, requiring the development of friendly relations between states on the basis of equality, respect for their sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The cancellation of the 2012 decree does not mean that Putin intends to attack Moldova - he lacks the military potential to do so. However, this indicates an escalation of his efforts to undermine the Moldovan state, according to ISW.
08:17 The Russian Defense Ministry said that Kiev is allegedly preparing an "armed provocation" against Pridnestrovie, Russia is "carefully monitoring" the situation on the border of Ukraine with the "PMR" and is "ready to respond to any changes in the situation."
08:11 The General Staff announced the approximate losses of the Russian Federation as of the morning of February 23.
- personnel - about 145,850 (+790) people liquidated,
- tanks - 3350 (+16),
- armored fighting vehicles - 6593 (+24),
- artillery systems - 2352 (+7),
- MLRS - 471 (+0),
- air defense systems - 244 (+1),
- aircraft - 299 (+0),
- helicopters - 287 (+0),
- UAV operational-tactical level - 2029 (+3),
- cruise missiles - 873 (+0),
- ships/boats - 18 (+0),
- automotive equipment and tankers - 5215 (+3),
- special equipment - 228 (+2).
08:04 The Russian army is focusing its main efforts on conducting offensive operations in the Kupyansky, Limansky, Bakhmutsky, Avdeevsky and Miner directions. Over the past day, Ukrainian defenders repulsed about 90 enemy attacks in the indicated directions, the General Staff said in a morning report .
According to the General Staff, due to the failure of the offensive and significant losses near Ugledar, the personnel of the "volunteer", the so-called "Cossack detachment", attached to the 155th Marine Brigade of the Pacific Fleet, refuses to further participate in the offensive.
06:29 The UN General Assembly is ready to vote for a resolution put forward by Ukraine and its allies on the need for a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in accordance with the founding UN Charter, writes Reuters. Consideration of the resolution is scheduled for February 24. The US representative said that voting for the document "will go down in history."
The draft UN resolution, which is non-binding but has political weight, reflects last year's General Assembly demand for Moscow to withdraw troops and cease hostilities.
06:00 The Biden administration is considering releasing intelligence data indicating that China is weighing whether to supply Russia with weapons for the war against Ukraine, writes WSJ.
00:18 The Czech company showed the production of inflatable lures that it sends to Ukraine. In particular, these are inflatable dummies M142 HIMARS and M777.