Tuesday, February 14

Russia’s war against Ukraine

Graffiti adorns a wall bearing shrapnel impacts in Kupiansk, Kharkiv Oblast on Feb. 13, 2023, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP via Getty Images)

NATO chief: Russia has already started new offensive in Ukraine. Russian dictator Vladimir Putin has already started new offensive actions in Ukraine, “sending in thousands and thousands more troops,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Feb. 13, as quoted by the Financial Times. “It is clear that we are in the race of logistics. Key capabilities like ammunition…must reach Ukraine before Russia can seize the initiative on the battlefield.”

UK Defense Ministry: Russia strengthens its defenses in Zaporizhzhia Oblast despite focus on Donbas. Maintaining strong defense in Zaporizhzhia and Luhansk oblasts remains critically important for the Russian leadership, despite the current operational focus on central Donbas, the U.K. Defense Ministry reported on Feb. 13. “This is demonstrated by continued construction of defensive fortifications…and deployments of personnel,” reads the report.

General Staff: Russia launches two missile attacks, shells multiple settlements on Feb. 13. Ukraine’s General Staff reported that Russia launched two missiles and 16 air strikes, including 15 attacks from rocket salvo systems as of 6:00 PM on Feb. 13. The report emphasizes that the threat of Russian missile strikes remains high throughout Ukraine.

Politico: Russia may have lost entire elite brigade near Vuhledar. The brigade totaled about 5,000 soldiers, whose members were killed, wounded, or captured, according to Ukrainian military official Oleksii Dmytrashkivskyi.

CNN: Ukrainian official disputes claim that Russia captured Krasna Hora. A spokesperson for the Eastern Grouping of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Serhii Cherevatyi, told CNN on Feb. 13 that Russian claims that the village of Krasna Hora had been captured are not true.

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Reuters: 3 Russian military aircraft intercepted over Poland. The Netherlands’ Defense Ministry reported late on Feb. 13 that two Dutch F-35 fighters intercepted a formation of three Russian military aircraft over Poland and escorted them out.

White House: Putin not making good decisions. The Russian military is still struggling with the same problems that have plagued its year-old full-scale invasion, despite changes in high-level personnel, National Security Council Spokesman John Kirby said at a press briefing on Feb. 13.

Reznikov leaves for Ramstein-9 summit, names main issues on agenda. Key issues on the meeting’s agenda will be the protection of the Ukrainian sky, the “tank coalition’s” development, the formation of a safety margin for ammunition, training programs for Ukrainian troops, and stability of military support, according to Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov.

Reznikov announces upcoming Defense Ministry personnel changes. Ukraine’s Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said on Feb. 13 that there will be new deputy ministers within the Defense Ministry but did not name the candidates yet. He added that the changes are intended to “improve work efficiency.”

Presidential decree allows military officials to become First Deputy Minister of Defense. President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree on Feb.13 allowing military personnel with the rank of lieutenant general or vice admiral to be appointed as the Defense Ministry’s first deputy minister.

Survey: 89% of Ukrainians ready to keep fighting even if Russia uses tactical nukes. According to the results published by the 2023 Munich Security Index, 89% of Ukrainians are prepared to continue fighting against Russia even in the event of a tactical nuclear strike.

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Civilian investigators collect evidence of Russian war crimes in Ukraine

The Ukraine 5 AM Coalition consists of 31 Ukrainian and two foreign non-governmental organizations tasked with documenting thousands of alleged Russian war crimes in Ukraine.

Photo: Alexander Khrebet/ The Kyiv Independent

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Ukraine war latest: Ukraine denies Russia captured village near Bakhmut

Ukraine denied Russia’s earlier claim that it had seized control of Krasna Hora, a village about five kilometers north of Bakhmut in the eastern Donetsk Oblast.

Photo: Viktor Fridshon/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images

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The human cost of Russia’s war

Russian forces shell homes in Kherson Oblast, killing civilian. The Kherson Regional Military Administration said that Russian troops fired at civilian homes in the village of Inhulets in Kherson Oblast on Feb. 13. According to the statement, a missile shard hit a woman working in her yard, and she died on the spot. Another resident of the village was hospitalized with a mine explosion-related injury and a sharpnel wound to the back.

Russian forces shell Nikopol, injuring civilian. Russian forces continued to shell Nikopol on Feb. 13, injuring a 69-year-old man, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Council head Mykola Lukashuk reported.

Russian attacks across 7 Ukrainian oblasts kill 4, injure 3 over past 24 hours. Russian attacks were reported in Donetsk, Kherson, Kharkiv, Sumy, Mykolaiv, Zaporizhzhia, and Luhansk oblasts in the east, south, and north of Ukraine.

General Staff: Russia has lost 138,340 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24. Ukraine’s General Staff reported on Feb. 13 that Russia had also lost 3,283 tanks, 6,492 armored fighting vehicles, 5,150 vehicles and fuel tanks, 2,290 artillery systems, 465 multiple launch rocket systems, 234 air defense systems, 296 airplanes, 286 helicopters, 2,007 drones, and 18 boats.

International response

Politico: US says it won’t send Ukraine long-range missiles as it has too few. U.S. officials told Ukraine’s representatives at a meeting at the Pentagon that it doesn’t have enough Army Tactical Missile Systems to give any up to Ukraine, according to four people familiar with the matter, Politico reported.

Munich Security Index: Ukraine’s global perception as an ally increased in 2022. Ukraine’s global perception as an ally increased by 22% in the past year, according to findings by the Munich Security Index. The most noticeable change was the relationship between Ukraine and Great Britain, which rose from 13% to 64%. Collectively, the G7 countries’ perception of Ukraine as an ally increased by 29%. It rose by 47% in Canada and 40% in the US.

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Austria refuses to train Ukrainian soldiers on Leopard 2 tanks. Neutral Austria does not want to train Ukrainian troops on the Leopard 2 main battle tank, the country’s Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner told Ö1 radio station, as cited by Kurier. It was a “sovereign decision of each state to support Ukraine within the framework of its laws,” said Tanner.

Zelensky discusses further defense cooperation with Norwegian Prime Minister. President Volodymyr Zelensky said he discussed “further cooperation” with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre during a phone call on Feb. 13. Zelensky said he thanked him for the “new defense package that will strengthen us (Ukraine) on land, in the sky, and at sea.”

In other news

Moldovan president says Russia plans coup d’etat in Moldova. Russia is planning a coup d’état in Moldova, involving attacks on government buildings and hostage-taking, according to Moldovan President Maia Sandu. “Through violent actions disguised as protests by the so-called opposition, the change of power in Chisinau would be forced,” Sandu said on Feb. 13.

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Toma Istomina, Teah Pelechaty, Dinara Khalilova, Kate Tsurkan, Olena Goncharova, and Lili Bivings.

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