WAR IN UKRAINE: February 10, 2023
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS: Day 351
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has visited Brussels, after a tour of European capitals to push for more weapons to repel Russia's invasion. Addressing the European Parliament to standing ovations, he told EU leaders that his country's fight is not just to defend Ukraine, but Europe's way of life
Speaking to the media in Brussels Zelensky said the visit to London "achieved results" relating to the supply of long-range missiles and the training of pilots. However the UK's defence secretary has told reporters there will be no immediate transfer of fighter jets to Ukraine. Ben Wallace says it is “more realistic and more productive” to think about planes as a long-term aim - BBC
Meanwhile, Dutch PM Mark Rutte has told the BBC the West has to make sure it is not risking "an Article 5 direct confrontation between Nato and Russia" over the delivery of jets
The president of SpaceX revealed the company has taken active steps to prevent Ukrainian forces from using the critical Starlink satellite technology with Ukrainian drones that are a key component of their fight against Russia - CNN
Iran appears to be modifying the attack drones it’s providing to Russia so that the explosive warheads can inflict maximum damage on infrastructure targets inside Ukraine, according to a new investigative report obtained exclusively by CNN. Iran has given Russia hundreds of drones to use in its war in Ukraine, many of which have targeted Ukraine’s power grid and energy facilities to devastating effect. The drone attacks, as well as barrages by Russian missiles, have left Ukrainian civilians across the country without heat, electricity or running water during the freezing winter months. An unexploded warhead from an Iranian Shahed-131 drone found in the Southern Ukrainian region of Odesa in October 2022 was examined last month by the UK-based investigative organization Conflict Armament Research, along with the Ukrainian military. CAR provided its findings first to CNN. The group’s analysts believe the warheads, which measure just under two-feet long, were hastily modified with poorly fitted layers of dozens of small metal fragments that on impact scatter across a large radius. In addition to the fragments, there are also 18 smaller “charges” around the circumference of the warhead that, when melted by the blast, can pierce armor and create a kind of “360-degree” explosive effect.
Notorious Russian army captain and mercenary Igor Mangushev has died in hospital, days after he was shot in the head at close range in occupied Ukraine, his friends have said. Mangushev's wife Tatyana described his killing as an execution. He commanded an anti-drone unit in occupied Luhansk, but had also been one of the founders of a mercenary group fighting Ukrainian forces in 2014. He took to a stage last summer holding a man's skull - BBC
Russia has potentially lost up to half of all its operational tank fleet since the start of the Ukraine war, according to information collected by a monitoring group, as its military struggles to meet the goals of Vladimir Putin’s invasion. Oryx, an open source intelligence website, has been collecting visual evidence of military equipment losses in Ukraine since Russia’s invasion began on February 24, 2022. The group said this week it has verified 1,000 distinct Russian tank losses in the war. It said a further 544 Russian tanks had been captured by Ukrainian forces, 79 damaged and 65 abandoned - CNN
Pink Floyd star Roger Waters has used a speech to the United Nations to repeat his controversial claim that Russia's invasion of Ukraine was "provoked". The musician was invited by Russia to address the UN Security Council. He called for a ceasefire and condemned Russia's "illegal" invasion, but also denounced "provocateurs" in the West who he claimed were responsible. Ukrainian ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya called Waters' speech "another brick in the wall" of Russian disinformation. Russia asked Waters to address the 15-member Security Council following an interview with a German newspaper, in which he praised Vladimir Putin's leadership - BBC
Required reading…
The Belarusian opposition can help defeat Putin in Ukraine
By Stephen Nix, Mark Dietzen
One of the underappreciated aspects of Russia’s war on Ukraine has been the strategic role of Belarus in both the initial invasion and subsequent conduct of the war. In his quest to shore up his own position following the mass pro-democracy protests of 2020, Belarusian dictator Alyaksandr Lukashenka has positioned Belarus as a vital component in the Kremlin’s war effort; in so doing, he has contributed directly and deliberately to attacks on Ukrainian soldiers and civilians as well as the destruction of Ukrainian cities, towns, and villages.
Lukashenka’s support for Moscow covers five key areas: providing logistical and material support for Russian forces; acting as a launchpad for missiles against Ukrainian targets from Belarusian territory; broadcasting propaganda and disinformation against Ukraine; hosting Russian military hospitals on Belarusian soil; and the suspected regime-sponsored orchestration of cyberattacks against Ukrainian infrastructure.
Read more in this Atlanic Council Ukraine Alert analysis here