[Korrespondent] 23:19 Zelensky said in an interview with Corriere della Sera that Ukrainian troops do not intend to keep Bakhmut at any cost: "This is not a particularly large city. It is important for us to defend it, but not at any cost and for everyone to die. We will fight as long as it is reasonable. Russians then they want to advance further to Kramatorsk and Slavyansk, to the borders of the Donbass and to the Dnieper, if they can. We resist, and in the meantime we are preparing the next counterattack."
The president also said that Ukraine currently does not see the facts of the supply of Chinese weapons to the Russians: "I personally addressed the Chinese leaders directly and publicly with an appeal not to provide any support to the Russians in this war. I hope that Beijing maintains a pragmatic position, otherwise we risk world war 3. I think they understand this very well... Our relations with China have always been excellent, we have had strong economic relations for many years, and everyone has an interest in not changing. to prevent any risk of nuclear conflict."
22:07 The Biden administration will decide on the training of Ukrainian pilots on fighter jets, said Senator Lindsey Graham. According to him, this move was supported "virtually unanimously" by US lawmakers who were present at the Munich Security Conference: "I believe that when we return to Washington, a decision will be made here that the administration will begin training Ukrainian pilots to fly the F-16 ".
21:33 Zelensky said in an evening video message that he had held a meeting of the Headquarters in a new, expanded format - both the commander-in-chief and the commanders of the directions reported, and there were reports directly from the front line. "We are leveling the situation, we are doing everything to prepare our actions - planned for the future, for the near future," the president stressed.
In particular, the commander-in-chief reported on the situation at the front as a whole, "special emphasis is on mobilization, the specific situation, how and what is being carried out." He also listened to detailed reports on each combat position, each of the hottest areas. According to Zelensky, "the situation is very difficult" in the Vuhledar direction: "We are fighting. We are breaking the occupier and inflicting extremely tangible losses on Russia. I repeat again and again: the more Russia loses there, the sooner we can end this war with a victory for Ukraine."
As for the Odessa and Northern directions, in particular, Kyiv, the situation is completely under control. Zelensky also commented on the formation of new brigades of the Offensive Guard: "There are very good results. This is a very useful experience of how people can and should be motivated."
21:19 The transfer of the F-16 to Ukraine will be the next step, but many countries still have doubts, said Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte: "The F-16 will really be the next step. It will be a big next step. But we focus on the future or guarantee that you will get everything you need as long as you have a need. That is why we also said that there is no taboo in this matter."
21:04 Russia is blocking the rotation of IAEA experts to the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said. In addition, Russian troops continue to actively militarize the ZNPP and the adjacent territory, deploying military equipment and servicemen there. "The Russian Federation flagrantly violates the norms of international law, undermines the norms of nuclear and radiation safety, and also demonstrates a complete disregard for the resolutions of the IAEA Board of Governors, requiring Russia to immediately withdraw military equipment and Russian personnel from the ZNPP," the statement says.
With this in mind, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs calls on the international community to immediately expand sanctions against Rosatom, its affiliated companies and institutions, as well as other key players in Russia's nuclear industry. "We separately emphasize the need for a complete cessation of cooperation with the Russian Federation in the field of nuclear technology, as well as restrictions on Russia's rights and privileges in the IAEA," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
20:54 During the day, the Russians shelled the Nikopol and Sinelnikovsky districts of the Dnipropetrovsk region from artillery: two people were injured, the IVA reported.
20:48 The Russians this week changed the tactics of using missiles: if earlier they staged a massive attack about once every two weeks, now they launch missiles in small numbers. In addition, they launch missiles over the riverbeds of the Dniester and the Southern Bug, as close to the ground as possible, in order to bypass air defense systems, said Yury Ignat, spokesman for the Air Force Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Also, the enemy began to use night missile strikes, while earlier they were "shaheeds" at night, and in the morning - massive missile strikes.
20:44 US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken confirmed media reports that China is discussing the possibility of providing Russia with lethal military assistance: "We are extremely concerned that China is considering the possibility of providing lethal support to Russia in its aggression against Ukraine. And I clearly stated that this will lead to serious consequences, in particular in our relations. President Biden also spoke about this during his several meetings with Xi Jinping.”
He also criticized Beijing's position regarding the Russian invasion of Ukraine, noting that China is trying to sit on two chairs: "Publicly, it shows itself as a country seeking peace in Ukraine. But privately, non-lethal aid has been delivered in recent months, which directly contributes to the military effort. Russia. There is also information, which will soon be made public, according to which China is seriously considering the supply of lethal assistance to the Russian Federation.
20:40 The United States plans to impose new sanctions and export controls on Russia that will affect its energy sector and the military-industrial complex, Bloomberg reports citing sources. It is assumed that restrictive measures will affect the defense and energy sectors of the Russian Federation, financial institutions and a number of individuals. In addition, the Biden administration is expected to adopt sanctions in order to prevent attempts by third countries to circumvent the sanctions regime and provide assistance to the Russian Federation.
20:37 The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation stated that Kiev is allegedly preparing to conduct a "large-scale provocation" in order to accuse the RF Armed Forces, for which "several containers with radioactive substances were allegedly delivered to Ukraine from the territory of" one of the European states "which will be used for staging local contamination of the area in the area of one of the radiation-hazardous objects controlled by the Kiev regime.
20:26 During a meeting in Brussels on February 20, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the EU countries will discuss the issue of joint purchases of ammunition for Ukraine, and the final decision can be made as early as March, writes Bloomberg. Earlier, Estonia offered the EU to invest about 4 billion euros in the joint purchase of a million ammunition. A number of countries have already supported the idea, including the Netherlands and Romania.
20:05 Zelensky, by his decree, put into effect the decision of the National Security and Defense Council on sanctions against the Moscow Exchange and more than 300 Russian bankers.
19:17 Zelensky said that he had spoken with Macron "about defense cooperation and the approach of peace, summed up the results of recent visits and discussed in detail the following diplomatic activities, in particular, on the implementation of our ten-step peace formula."
18:39 The Biden administration demanded that the Zelensky administration urgently consolidate its achievements at the front and, possibly, launch its own counterattack before the US president's visit to Europe, Politico writes, citing sources. In addition, according to the publication, the White House advises to prepare for the offensive now, while weapons and assistance from Washington and Europe arrive regularly, fearing that support from Ukraine's European neighbors may be limited.
18:03 The ATESH partisan movement announced that on February 17 it successfully carried out an operation to eliminate 19 Wagner mercenaries - they were allegedly poisoned with carbon monoxide in a tent in one of the training camps in the Rostov region. The PMC command decided to dig a trench and burn the bodies. ATESH also stated that they introduced their agents not only into the Russian army, but also into the ranks of Wagner PMCs - more than 1,000 agents.
17:45 The Russians fired at the village of Liptsy, Kharkiv region, as a result of which two people were injured. In addition, one person was wounded in Volchansk, Chuguevsky district, and another one in Kruglyakovka, Kupyansky district, Oleg Sinegubov, head of the Regional Military District, said.
16:41 Since March 1, the Russians have been closing the exit from Berdyansk, the Center for National Resistance reports. According to him, the enemy does not control the situation in the city, and therefore introduces new restrictions. So, trying to stop partisan activity, the occupiers are forced to issue passes for movement outside the city. In fact, this means a ban on leaving for anyone whom Russians consider disloyal.
16:04 Russia may step up nuclear blackmail to disrupt Biden's visit to Europe. In particular, large-scale exercises of strategic nuclear forces are starting in the Russian Federation on the eve of the visit of the US president to Europe scheduled for February 20-22. According to the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense, the preparation of components of the strategic nuclear forces for the launch of sea- and land-based ballistic missiles, as well as air-launched cruise missiles, has been confirmed.
As part of the preparations for the exercise, the Monolith centralized combat control system of the RF Armed Forces was tested. In particular, combat command and control channels were checked, the forces and means of the strategic nuclear forces were transferred to the highest levels of combat readiness, the crew of the strategic missile submarine was given a combat order to enter the launch area, and 24-hour combat readiness of the nuclear forces for use was maintained. Also, an auxiliary command post of the long-range aviation command is deployed at the Tambov airbase.
15:52 Ukraine will not take part in the winter session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly on February 23-24 in Vienna, since the Austrian side allowed 61 representatives of Russia to participate in the session and issued visas - deputies, representatives of special services, propagandists, MP Yevgenia Kravchuk said.
"But we are going to Vienna to negotiate with our partners on what to do, how to get the OSCE, or at least the Parliamentary Assembly of the organization out of this crisis ... We are working on protests near the Hoburg site, where this will take place, so that this did not become the norm. But we ourselves will not be at the meeting," she added.
15:48 Russia spends as much ammunition in a day as Europe produces in a month, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said: "If there is demand, it is necessary to ensure the growth of supply, and this must be done quickly, because Ukraine must be able to defend itself and win, so that Russia returns to the old borders, which is impossible without an increase in the supply of ammunition."
EU chief diplomat Josep Borrell, in turn, noted that Zelensky and the Ukrainians receive a lot of applause, but not enough ammunition: "It's a paradox. They need less applause and more arms supplies."
15:27 The "DNR" announced the Ukrainian shelling of Donetsk: in two minutes, 40 rockets were allegedly fired from the MLRS. One of the shells hit the building of the prosecutor's office. Advisor to the mayor of Mariupol, Petr Andryushchenko, said that the blow fell on the Russian barracks.
14:39 The first AMX-10 RC light wheeled tanks will be delivered to Ukraine at the end of next week, French Minister of the Armed Forces Sebastien Lecornu said. According to him, the training of Ukrainian crews is nearing completion. At the same time, he refused to specify the amount of equipment, "so as not to give strategic information to Russia."
"In general, the pace of training is accelerating, both on our territory - with specialized training on the equipment we supply, and in Poland - with more general training of entire battalions at a rate of 600 soldiers per month, starting in March," Lecornu said.
13:52 The Times writes that by April Ukraine will probably receive only 50 tanks out of about 320, the deliveries of which have already been announced. This number of tanks is not enough to significantly affect the situation in the war, the newspaper notes.
13:46 Foreign Ministers of the EU countries will gather for an extraordinary meeting on March 6-7 to coordinate the supply of additional weapons and ammunition to Ukraine, Borrell said. He stressed that Ukraine has already become a member of the European family, it remains only to "institutionalize this decision." He also called Russia's war against Ukraine an existential threat to European security.
Borrell believes that the EU should start a "technological blitzkrieg" in its industry in order to provide its armies with weapons and ammunition: "We forgot about classic wars. We were only involved in expeditions and blitzkrieg. And now we need a technological blitzkrieg. We must restore our power".
13:39 Italian Prime Minister George Meloni will visit Ukraine on February 21 and meet with Zelensky, the Italian edition of Il Fatto Quotidiano reported.
13:37 Orban said that in Ukraine there is a war "not the army of good and evil, but two Slavic countries." He added that "this is their war, not ours." He also stressed that Hungary will continue to trade with Russia: "We advise the entire Western world to do the same, because without relations there will be no ceasefire, no peace negotiations."
13:34 In the occupied Berdyansk, a recreation center is on fire, where the hospital of the Russian military was located, the city council said.
13:23 The Russians fired on the village of Burgunka in the Beryslav district of the Kherson region in the morning: three people were killed, five were injured, including three children, the IVA reported.
12:25 In the occupied part of the Zaporozhye region, Russians have opened about ten "youth organizations" and are agitating schoolchildren and students to join one of them. However, "different" organizations pursue the same goal - propaganda of "great Russia" and brainwashing of children, said Melitopol Mayor Ivan Fedorov. Voluntary choice is actually coercion: either you choose one of the organizations, or sanctions will be applied.
The occupiers also use children to celebrate February 23rd. In addition to the already traditional letter to Russian soldiers, schoolchildren were forced to collect a package of underwear for them.
11:52 NATO must complete the development of a draft security guarantee for Ukraine by July so that the allies can discuss it at the summit in Vilnius, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said in an interview with Bloomberg.
11:00 The Times writes, citing an interlocutor from the Office of the Ukrainian President, that the new voluntary mobilization scheme in Ukraine has yielded good results. "Many people are ready to go and fight. We also have volunteers from other countries," said the interlocutor with Bankova.
10:55 NATO Commander-in-Chief in Europe, General Christopher Cavoli, supports providing Ukraine with the most advanced Western weapons, including F-16 fighter jets and ATACMS long-range missiles. He stated this during a closed briefing for US lawmakers, writes Politico. The F-16 issue was part of a broader discussion about the war in Ukraine and what it needs to successfully transition to a counteroffensive and stop Russian offensives.
10:34 The American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) believes that Kadyrov rejected Prigozhin's offer to join a new information campaign against the Russian Defense Ministry, since his connections with the Kremlin and position in the Russian government are more beneficial than political relations with the head of Wagner. Thus, on February 17, Kadyrov declared that the Chechen formations would follow the orders of any commander appointed by Putin, and that his officers had excellent, well-coordinated relations with the Russian Defense Ministry.
Meanwhile, Prigozhin said on February 18 that Wagner was not subordinate to the Defense Ministry and "had nothing to do with the Russian army." ISW experts note that Prigozhin is trying to win over ultra-nationalist figures in the Kremlin and Russian bloggers, but those with ties to the Kremlin may likely turn their backs on him in order to maintain their patronage.
10:28 There is no power shortage in the energy system of Ukraine on February 19 and is not predicted, all power plants are working on schedule, Ukrenergo reported. Scheduled outages are still enforced due to network restrictions in Odessa and the Odessa region. Hourly shutdowns are possible in certain areas of Kyiv and the Kyiv region due to repair work.
09:13 In the Donetsk region over the past day, as a result of Russian shelling, two people were killed - in Bakhmut and Vozdvizhenka. In the Kherson region, two people were injured. In Volchansk, Kharkiv region, one person died, two more people were injured in the village of Kovsharovka, Kupyansky district, according to regional military administrations.
08:56 The General Staff announced the approximate losses of the Russian Federation as of the morning of February 19.
- personnel - about 142,860 (+590) people liquidated,
- tanks - 3310 (+7),
- armored combat vehicles - 6545 (+12),
- artillery systems - 2327 (+1),
- MLRS - 469 (+0),
- air defense systems - 243 (+0),
- aircraft - 298 (+0),
- helicopters - 287 (+0),
- UAV operational-tactical level - 2016 (+0),
- cruise missiles - 873 (+2),
- ships/boats - 18 (+0),
- automotive equipment and tankers - 5196 (+0),
- special equipment - 224 (+1).
08:34 The main efforts of the Russian army are focusing on conducting offensive operations in the Kupyansky, Limansky, Bakhmutsky, Avdeevsky and Miner directions, the General Staff said in the morning summary . Over the past day, units of the Defense Forces repelled the attacks of the invaders in the areas of the settlements of Gryanikovka and Masyutovka in the Kharkiv region; Belogorovka, Chervonopopovka and Kremennaya - Luhansk and Vyemka, Fedorovka, Dubovo-Vasilyevka, Berkhovka, Bakhmut, Ivanovskoye and Chasov Yar of the Donetsk region.
The Russians had problems with the logistics of their units. Thus, due to the premature failure of the upgraded S-300 anti-aircraft missile systems and the inability to quickly deliver combat components and carry out routine maintenance of equipment in combat conditions, air defense systems have to be sent to manufacturing plants in Russia.
In Crimea, relatives of those mobilized en masse turn to the RF Ministry of Defense because of the violation of the rights of servicemen. The main reasons are the lack of rotations and vacations for more than six months and any prospects for them in the next 2-3 months; poor nutrition and sanitary and hygienic conditions, for which relatives are forced to constantly send them food and personal belongings; use by officers of their official position for their own enrichment - privates and sergeants are offered short-term vacations for a bribe of $ 1,000. The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation does not respond to citizens' appeals.
05:26 China can supply Russia with non-lethal military assistance, in particular, uniforms or even bulletproof vests, NBC News reports, citing four US officials. They noted that China had helped Russia before. In particular, the country supported Russian disinformation campaigns and promoted Russian narratives about the war against Ukraine. However, Beijing's new aid to Moscow is more tangible, as it is intended to be used by Russian forces in Ukraine.
The White House is also concerned that Beijing is considering sending lethal aid to Moscow. “We have clearly expressed our concerns about lethal assistance. We have not yet seen them cross this line, but we do not think that they have stopped discussing it,” the source emphasized. The interlocutor of the publication noted that China is trying to act quietly. However, recent trends point to potentially more tangible support for the Russian army by the Chinese government.
01:21 France stands for the defeat of the Russian Federation in Ukraine, but will never pursue a policy whose goal would be to defeat Russia, Macron said: "I want Russia to be defeated in Ukraine, and I want Ukraine to be able to defend its position, but I am convinced that in the end it will not end militarily. I do not think, like some, that Russia should be completely defeated, attacked on its territories. They want to crush Russia first of all. France has never taken such a position and never will." At the same time, he believes that neither side can win this war - neither Ukraine nor Russia.
00:32 Berlin expects to deliver Leopard 2A6 tanks to Ukraine in the last week of March, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said. He also promised that there would be "a stable supply of tanks over the next month."
Pistorius admitted that he expected more countries to agree to supply tanks to Ukraine. However, if you add German tanks, Abrams tanks from the US and Challenger tanks from the UK, it's a lot, he says: "We have a huge number, but we're still working on a lot." The minister also added that the defense industry of Germany and Poland will jointly produce ammunition and spare parts for tanks.
00:19 Kuleba met with the head of the Foreign Affairs Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, Wang Yi: "We agreed that the fundamental principle of territorial integrity, enshrined in the UN Charter, is sacred for both of our states. I once again stressed that all initiatives aimed at restoring peace in Ukraine should be based on it."