Sunday, February 26

Russia’s war against Ukraine

Refugee children who fled with their families from war-torn eastern Ukraine ride a bicycle and scooter at the container shelter that is their new, temporary home on Feb. 25, 2023 in Lviv, Ukraine. Approximately 250,000 refugees are living in Lviv Oblast. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

Land Forces сhief visits Bakhmut as fierce fighting continues on city outskirts. In his visit to command posts in the frontline city, Syrskyi assessed the state of units fighting in the area and listened to problems and requests raised by their commanders, the report said.

Ukraine says spring counteroffensive to target south. Ukraine’s upcoming spring counteroffensive will aim to “drive a wedge into the Russian front in the south between Crimea and mainland Russia,” Vadym Skibitsky, deputy head of Ukrainian military intelligence, said in an interview with German media, DW reported.

Official: Explosion reported at Russian ammunition depot in occupied Mariupol. An explosion allegedly occurred at a Russian ammunition depot in occupied Mariupol, Donetsk Oblast, earlier on Feb. 24, reported Petro Andriushchenko, an advisor to the mayor of Mariupol. Andriushchenko said, citing a local resistance group, that the depot was destroyed. The official did not provide further details.

Governor: Avdiivka in Donetsk Oblast under heavy fire, 1 injured. On Feb. 25, Russian forces launched attacks on the city’s civilian infrastructure using missiles, multiple launch rocket systems, and tanks, according to Donetsk Oblast Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko.

Zelensky: 1,877 Ukrainian cities and villages under Russian occupation. Russian forces currently occupy 1,877 Ukrainian cities and villages, President Volodymyr Zelensky said, speaking online at the German government’s Ukraine solidarity event on Feb. 25.

General Staff: Russia intensifies persecution of civilians in occupied areas. Russians are increasingly pressuring civilians and raiding their homes in the occupied parts of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia oblasts, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces reported on Feb. 25.

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Media: Ukrainian children showcased at Moscow event lost their mother to Russian shelling in Mariupol. Two abducted Ukrainian children showcased at Russian President Vladimir Putin’s propaganda concert in Moscow on Feb. 22 had lost their mother to Russian shelling in Mariupol earlier in the war, independent Russian media outlet Important Stories reported.

UK Defense Ministry: Russia has likely run out of Iranian-made drones. Since around Feb. 15, there have been no reports of Russia using Iranian-made “one-way attack” drones to carry out strikes against Ukraine, the U.K. Defense Ministry said in its latest intelligence update. According to the ministry, the lack of Iranian-made drone deployments “likely indicates that Russia has run down its current stock.”

Kuleba says ISW director is sure of Ukraine’s victory. The Institute for the Study of War is sure that Ukraine will win the war, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba wrote after meeting ISW director Kimberly Kagan on Feb. 25.

Zelensky: Unity of free world will help Ukraine win war in 2023. The comments were made by Zelensky in a video address to a Feb. 25 event held by the German President’s office on solidarity with Ukraine, attended by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz as well other officials and public figures. “Can we win? Yes, we are capable of it. United. Determined. And unbreakable. We are able to end the Russian aggression this year already,” Zelensky said in the address.

Ukraine to consider restarting electricity exports if grid stability persists. Ukraine’s electricity supply has stabilized, meaning scheduled cuts may not be required, Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko said on television on Feb. 25. The country may even consider restarting electricity exports to Europe, which were suspended after Russia had begun attacking Ukraine’s power plants and grid with waves of missile and drone strikes in October.

Lukashenko on alleged Russian plans to take over Belarus by 2030: ´There might have been such a document.’ Speaking to local journalists at a sporting event on Feb. 25, Lukashenko said the document, featured in a joint investigation by the Kyiv Independent and a group of U.S. and European media outlets, “might have been” written three years ago.

Ukraine war latest: Poland delivers Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, Zelensky reflects on first year of all-out war

As Ukraine marks the one-year anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion, the first batch of Leopard 2 tanks finally arrived in Ukraine, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on Feb. 24.

Photo: Genya Savilov/AFP via Getty Images

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Ukrainian State-Owned Enterprises Weekly – Issue 76

Ukrainian SOE Weekly is an independent weekly digest based on a compilation of the most important news related to state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and state-owned banks in Ukraine.

Photo: Kateryna Mykhailova/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images

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The human cost of Russia’s war

Landmine explosion kills 2 farmers in Kherson Oblast. Another civilian was injured in a booby trap explosion near the river port in the regional capital of Kherson. The 63-year-old man was hospitalized, according to the report.

Russia’s artillery shelling injures 3 civilians in Kherson. President Volodymyr Zelensky’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, reported on Feb. 25 that three civilians were hospitalized following Russian artillery shelling of Kherson.

Prosecutor General’s Office: Russia killed at least 461 children, injured 927 since Feb. 24. Prosecutor General’s Office reported on Feb. 25 that Russia’s attacks across Ukraine have killed at least 461 children and wounded 927 more since Feb. 24. Also, 349 children are considered missing, the Prosecutor General’s Office reported, citing National Police.

General Staff: Russia has lost 147,470 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24. According to the report, Russia has also lost 3,375 tanks, 6,609 armored fighting vehicles, 5,235 vehicles and fuel tanks, 2,373 artillery systems, 475 multiple launch rocket systems, 247 air defense systems, 299 airplanes, 288 helicopters, 2,035 drones, and 18 boats.

International response

CIA director confirms possibility China may send lethal aid to Russia. CIA Director Bill Burns confirmed that China is considering sending lethal aid to Russia in its war against Ukraine in an interview with CBS News on Feb. 25. “We’re confident that the Chinese leadership is considering the provision of lethal equipment,” Burns said.

Restrictions tighten in 10th EU sanctions package against Russia. The European Council announced in a statement on Feb. 25 that they had adopted the 10th package of sanctions against Russia and those who support its war against Ukraine.

G20 meeting ends without joint statement after China, Russia oppose condemning invasion of Ukraine. China and Russia took issue with two paragraphs of the G20 Chair’s Summary and Outcome Document as member states’ finance ministers and central bank governors met in Bangalore. The text firmly condemned Russia’s war against Ukraine and demanded Russian forces’ unconditional withdrawal from Ukrainian territory.

Pavel: NATO has to consider Ukraine’s membership after war ends. Speaking with Ukrainian publication Suspilne, the Czech Republic’s president-elect, Petr Pavel, said that Ukraine has “done its homework” on common values, long-term interests, and technical interoperability with the alliance.

Minister: Guatemala to join Core Group on Special Tribunal for Russian crime of aggression. Guatemala will join the Core Group on the Special Tribunal for the Russian crime of aggression, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said after meeting his Guatemalan counterpart on Feb. 24. Guatemala is the first Latin American country to confirm their participation in the EU-led initiative.

Lithuanian public broadcaster raises $14 million to buy air defense radars for Ukraine. The campaign was launched by Lithuanian National Radio and Television and a coalition of other Lithuanian organizations on Jan. 30, initially hoping to raise 5 million euros to purchase multifunctional tactical radars for Ukraine’s military.

In other news

Ex-Wagner Group commander arrested in Norway for attacking police. Andrei Medvedev, who sought asylum in Norway in January, reportedly fought outside a bar in Oslo on Feb. 22. He allegedly resisted arrest and “kicked one or more officers,” according to the court files. The former Wagner mercenary is charged with three criminal offenses.

Russia stops oil supply to Poland. Russia stopped sending oil to Poland through the Druzhba (Friendship) pipeline, Polish refiner PKN Orlen’s chief executive Daniel Obajtek said on Twitter on Feb. 25.

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Toma Istomina, Igor Kossov, Francis Farrell, Oleksiy Sorokin, Daria Shulzhenko, Alexander Khrebet, and Lili Bivings.

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