Worth noting, korrespondent.net has compiled its Invasion of Ukraine series into separate months, beginning May 9th, 2023. Linked in the title
[Korrespondent] 22:45 Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that in 2023, almost 540 thousand people allegedly entered contract service in the Russian armed forces, and since the beginning of 2024, 50 thousand people have been recruited.
22:16 In Ukraine, 18 criminal proceedings are being investigated regarding the murder of 38 prisoners of war by Russians, said Prosecutor General Andrei Kostin.
22:04 Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said that together with the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Alexander Syrsky, he had a telephone conversation with Pentagon head Lloyd Austin. They discussed a “general understanding of the situation and an action plan,” as well as issues of ammunition supplies, the urgent needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and long-term planning in the Ramstein format.
22:00 Zelensky will take part in the online summit of the G7 countries, which will take place on February 24 and will be dedicated to the second anniversary of the full-scale Russian invasion, the G7 press service reported. The video conference will be chaired by Italian Prime Minister George Maloney. Based on the results of the summit, it is planned to adopt a general declaration.
21:49 A Russian kamikaze drone hit a civilian car in the village of Petropavlovka, Kupyansky district, Kharkov region - two people were killed, one was injured, said Oleg Sinegubov, head of the OVA. All three are local farm workers.
21:45 The Russians struck Kramatorsk in the Donetsk region - they hit an industrial zone and residential buildings, three wounded and numerous damaged high-rise buildings are known, said the head of the OVA Vadim Filashkin.
21:31 The death of Navalny and the departure of the Ukrainian army from Avdiivka, which lacked American ammunition due to the inaction of Congress, cast a dark shadow over the leaders of the Munich Security Conference. Trump's possible rise to power in the United States is causing even greater fear in Europe. As a result, European leaders began to consider options for the existence of the Alliance without the participation of the United States, but it turns out that there are a number of problems here. Read more in the article Will Europe be able to cope with Russia ?
21:10 Russian public pages write about the Ukrainian attack on the Russian military training ground in the occupied Trudovsky Donetsk region. According to them, allegedly as a result of three HIMARS strikes, 65 people were killed, the number of wounded is being clarified.
20:46 Ukraine held regular rounds of negotiations on concluding a bilateral security agreement with Canada and Italy, the Presidential Office reported.
20:28 Some units at the front are already testing pilot projects of drones with artificial intelligence, said Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Vadim Sukharevsky. At the same time, he added that “this is a very complex process in terms of organizing and implementing the use of these drones at the front; there are nuances.”
20:07 The mobilization bill was adopted in the first reading on February 7, but its consideration in the second reading has been postponed. More than 1,300 amendments have already been submitted to the document, and this number may increase further. About when they will vote for a high-profile bill, see the article Boom of Edits .
19:29 Ukraine is close to signing agreements on security guarantees with the Netherlands and Denmark, said the head of the OP Andriy Ermak.
19:25 The bilateral security agreement between Ukraine and the United States should give Kiev confidence until the country joins NATO, said American Ambassador Bridget Brink: “This will be a document that will provide you with assurances that the United States will give you defense support in "This interim period. The United States will support Ukraine if it is attacked or if the war stops and then starts again."
19:01 If Ukraine does not receive an invitation to join the Alliance at the NATO summit in Washington, this will lead to an escalation of the war, said the head of the Presidential Office Andrei Yermak: “We always ask the question - what additional escalation is implied. We believe, on the contrary, that failure to provide "An invitation to Ukraine in Washington will be a new escalation. Russia will use this signal that it has the right of veto. This will cause escalation not only on the European continent, but also on other continents. We see that Russia is behind many conflicts and wars today."
18:56 Washington announced a package of sanctions against the Russian Federation due to the death of Navalny. According to White House spokesman John Kirby, the sanctions package will be announced on February 23.
18:22 Putin said that Russia has never been against negotiations - “we are always for negotiations, this also applies to Ukraine.”
18:13 After the Ukrainian military left Avdiivka, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are under pressure at several other points along the entire front line. In particular, the Russian army is trying to advance in the Zaporozhye direction. Read more about the situation in Zaporozhye in the material What the enemy is up to .
18:00 Ukraine returned 11 children aged from two to 16 years from Russia and the occupied territories, the Presidential Office reported. The return took place with the assistance of Qatar.
17:51 Russian spies have returned to Europe and become “more dangerous than ever,” writes The Economist. According to the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), Russian intelligence services have learned the lessons of the last two years, when they were massively exposed in the European Union and many special operations failed, and are now “entering a new phase of political war against the West.”
Russian agents create armies of bots on social networks, fake websites, carry out cyber attacks, conduct information campaigns against European authorities, establish channels for supplying equipment to Russian arms manufacturers, introduce their agents into a variety of institutions, undermine European support for Ukraine and destroy NATO from the inside, the publication writes. Europeans fear that many Russians who escaped mobilization may be agents. Some of them may be recruited through threats against their relatives in the Russian Federation.
17:25 The Russians in the Avdeevsky direction have enough forces and means to advance further, said deputy commander of the 3rd Special Brigade Maxim Zhorin. According to him, now the Third Assault, together with other units, has occupied certain defense lines around Avdeevka. The intensity of the fighting is high, but not as much as it was in the city. The main direction for the enemy today is Lastochkino.
16:57 The prosecutor's office has launched an investigation into the shooting of three Ukrainian defenders by the Russian military near Rabotino, Zaporozhye region.
16:49 The British research organization Conflict Armament Research discovered hundreds of components produced by European and American companies in the North Korean ballistic missile that Russia used to strike Ukraine. The analysts' findings are the first public confirmation that North Korea is relying on foreign technology to develop its missile program, CNN writes.
16:06 The Russians attacked Nikopol and the Krasnogrigoryevsk community of the Dnepropetrovsk region - three people were wounded, said the head of the OVA Sergei Lysak.
15:50 The Russians again shot captured Ukrainian soldiers, this time near Rabotino, Zaporozhye region, DeepState reports. The invaders attacked the village from the south and captured part of a large stronghold, where three soldiers of the 3rd Spartan Brigade remained.
15:34 The European Union has allocated 83 million euros for humanitarian assistance to people affected by the war. Of these, 75 million euros are provided for Ukraine, the European Commission said.
15:12 Japan provided Ukraine with a grant of $100 million as part of the emergency recovery program, the Ministry of Infrastructure reports. The funds will be used, in particular, for energy services, transport links, and equipment for humanitarian demining.
14:07 The “DPR” announced another attack on the center of Donetsk, as a result of which the central library was allegedly damaged. Meanwhile, local public pages write that the building of the “DPR government” is on fire.
14:03 As a result of a night Russian strike on the Novoslobodsk community of the Konotop district of the Sumy region, a family was killed: a mother and her two sons, as well as two distant relatives, OVA reported. A Lancent-type attack UAV hit a residential building.
13:48 Both in the Zaporozhye direction and in the Donetsk region, the Russians resumed the use of toxic substances: a total of four grenades with a tear-suffocating chemical were dropped, Commander Tarnavsky said. In the Avdeevsky direction, the enemy is again trying to advance in small assault groups. The situation remains under control, Ukrainian forces are holding the line, the commander assured.
12:59 The leader of the "DPR" Denis Pushilin announced the shelling of the Kiev region of Donetsk - allegedly one person was killed, five more were injured.
12:16 Lukashenko said that Polish and American intelligence are allegedly preparing a provocation against the civilian population of Poland, for which Russia and Belarus will be blamed.
11:47 In Germany, the ruling coalition has prepared a secret proposal to supply Ukraine with ammunition, vehicles and weapons systems. Among other things, the document proposes to transfer to Kyiv “additional long-range weapons systems and ammunition necessary to enable Ukraine to carry out targeted attacks on strategically important targets far behind the Russian aggressor’s lines,” DPA reports. This description fits Taurus missiles, capable of hitting targets at a distance of more than 500 km. However, their name is not directly indicated in the document. The Bundestag is planning to vote on this aid package this week.
11:42 Ombudsman Dmitry Lubinets said that he sent letters to the ICRC and the UN to document a war crime by the Russian Federation during the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from Avdiivka. According to him, due to the complete encirclement of the Zenit stronghold, the command decided to contact the coordination center and organizations negotiating with the Russian side. The Russians assured the coordinators that they agreed to evacuate the wounded Ukrainian defenders and provide assistance to them, and then exchange them. However, the Ukrainians were shot.
Lubinets emphasized that this is not the first time Russia has grossly violated the norms of international humanitarian law and the Geneva Conventions by killing prisoners of war.
11:11 After a series of cases of destruction of Russian aircraft by the Defense Forces, there is a significant decrease in the activity of enemy aviation, said Yuri Ignat, spokesman for the Air Force of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. According to him, the Russians understand that they can already be caught, and “they no longer behave so brazenly.”
10:45 Sweden announced a new largest package of military assistance for Ukraine worth about 630 million euros. Defense Minister Paul Johnson said the 15th aid package is seen as an important signal to Kyiv on the eve of the anniversary of the start of the war that Swedish support will continue, and also as a signal to Russia that Sweden will not let Ukraine down.
The package will include ten combat boats and 20 group boats, as well as underwater weapons. The package also includes artillery ammunition, the Robot 70 air defense system, anti-tank missiles, Carl Gustaf grenade launchers and soldier equipment.
10:26 Bulgaria is delaying the promised delivery of 100 armored personnel carriers to Ukraine, writes Euroactiv. The decision in parliament was made more than three months ago, and the countries signed a supply agreement. But the Bulgarian Ministry of Defense turned to NATO with a request to cover transport costs, since “this is not an elementary transport operation; quite a lot of trains need to be involved.” The ruling party criticizes the country's Ministry of Defense for its slowness.
09:54 In the Kharkov region over the previous 24 hours, as a result of Russian shelling, one person was injured in Kupyansk, another in the village. Olkhovatka, Kupyansky district. As a result of the shelling in the village. Olkhovatka substation was damaged, there is no power supply in the village. The enemy also fired artillery fire at Volchansk, Chuguevsky district - an enterprise was damaged and two civilian employees were injured, said Oleg Sinegubov, head of the OVA.
09:18 In the Zaporozhye region, as a result of yesterday’s Russian strike on Primorsky and Lesnoy, two people were killed, said the head of the OVA Ivan Fedorov.
09:12 At night, the Russians attacked the Novoslobodsk community of the Konotop district of the Sumy region. As a result of the shelling, a fire occurred in a residential building and the bodies of two dead were discovered. Removal of the rubble and search work continue, the OVA reported.
08:47 The General Staff announced the estimated losses of the Russian Federation as of February 20:
- personnel - about 404,950 (+1230) people,
- tanks - 6503 (+5),
- armored combat vehicles - 12,268 (+36),
- artillery systems - 9773 (+40),
- MLRS - 988 (+2),
- air defense systems - 675 (+1),
- aircraft - 338 (+2),
- helicopters - 325 (+0),
- UAV of operational-tactical level - 7521 (+61),
- cruise missiles - 1902 (+3),
- ships/boats - 25 (+0),
- submarines - 1 (+0),
- automotive equipment and tank trucks - 12,805 (+38),
- special equipment - 1551 (+6).
08:25 At night, Russian drones attacked the Poltava region. A fire broke out at an industrial facility in the Kremenchug region; it has already been extinguished. No people were injured, said the head of the OVA, Philip Pronin.
08:19 Over the past 24 hours, 81 military clashes took place at the front, the General Staff reported in its morning report . In the Avdeevsky direction, the Defense Forces repelled nine enemy attacks near Lastochkino, Severny, Pervomaisky and Nevelsky, Donetsk region. In the Maryinsky direction, 21 attacks were repelled (near Georgievka, Pobeda, Novomikhailovka, Donetsk region), in Bakhmutsky - 14 attacks in the Bogdanovka, Ivanovsky, Kleshcheevka and Andreevka areas of the Donetsk region.
In the Kupyansk direction, the enemy made four unsuccessful attempts to attack in the Sinkovka area of the Kharkov region; in Limansky attacked Ukrainian units six times in the Ternov district of the Donetsk region and Belogorivka of the Lugansk region; on Novopavlovsky, he once tried to advance in the Staromayorsky area of the Donetsk region; and also made five unsuccessful assaults in the Kherson direction. In the Zaporozhye direction, the Defense Forces repelled 11 attacks near Malinovka and Rabotino, Zaporozhye region.
07:48 Air defense at night destroyed all 23 Shahed-type attack drones that Russia attacked from Primorsko-Akhtarsk, the Air Force command reported. In addition, the enemy used two S-300/S-400 missiles (from the Belgorod region) and a Kh-31 guided aircraft missile (Zaporozhye region). The drones were shot down within the Kharkov, Poltava, Kirovograd, Dnepropetrovsk, Zaporozhye, Kherson and Nikolaev regions.
01:50 Russia is massively building up its forces in the Zaporozhye region, CNN reports citing Ukrainian and Russian sources. According to some analysts, the Russians have assembled a 50,000-strong army there.
01:21 The Netherlands, which joined the drone coalition last week, has already begun to transfer UAVs to Ukraine, Defense Minister Kaisa Ollongren said. “I can’t give an exact number, but we are already transferring drones to Ukraine. The drone coalition is very important because now we will join forces, which means that we will be able to increase the number of drones in accordance with the needs of Ukraine,” she added.
00:36 On February 20, Sweden will announce the provision of the largest military aid package of all time to Ukraine - worth $700 million, the Swedish publication Dagens Nyheter reported.
00:13 Canada will transfer to Ukraine more than 800 multi-purpose SkyRanger R70 drones worth about $70 million, Defense Minister Bill Blair said.