WAR IN UKRAINE: February 18, 2023
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS: Day 360
According to western and Ukrainian officials, Russia is introducing new troops to the battlefield and redoubling or launching new offenses in eastern Ukraine, including around the towns of Kreminna, Vuhledar, and Bakhmut. Ukraine Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov warned that Russia will accelerate its attacks to mark the Feb. 24 anniversary of the Russian invasion, and has massed hundreds of thousands of troops to prepare for the assault. The Defense Ministry said on Feb. 14 that the Russian offensive has two main goals: capturing Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts - Time
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told world leaders at the Munich Security Conference on Friday that “there is no alternative to Ukrainian victory" as he continued to lobby for his country's admission to the EU and NATO. “There is no alternative to Ukraine in the EU. There is no alternative to Ukraine in NATO. There is no alternative to our unity,“ Zelensky said via video. People, Europe and freedom cannot be the “subject of compromise,” he added. Zelensky told leaders that he hopes that in upcoming years, the conference will be held in post-war conditions where Ukraine is free. The Ukrainian leader also provided his assessment on Russian President Vladimir Putin's strategy, saying “it’s obvious that Ukraine is not going to be his last stop. He’s going to continue his movement all the way — I don’t know — including all other states that at some point in time were part of … the Soviet bloc” - CNN
Ukrenergo CEO: Worst of Russian attacks on energy grid likely over. “The adversary has largely lost the ability to inflict significant damage,” said Volodymyr Kudrytsky in an interview with Bloomberg on Feb. 16, adding that the coming months will nonetheless not be easy.
Ukraine returns 101 more POWs from Russian captivity. 100 military personnel and one civilian were released from Russian captivity during a prisoner exchange on Feb. 16, according to the Coordinating Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War. The majority of military personnel are from Mariupol, including 63 Azovstal defenders - Kyiv Independent
1 million Ukrainians may be left without drinking water due to russians’ releasing water from Kakhovka Reservoir — Ministry of Environment Ruslan Strilets, Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine, spoke about the risks of one of them — the occupiers’ releasing water from the Kakhovka Reservoir — during a briefing at Media Center Ukraine — Ukrinform. “The situation that is happening today at the Kakhovka Reservoir: the colossal drop in the water level is already leading to negative consequences, and we understand the risks in the future. If the normal level of the Kakhovka Reservoir is 16 meters, today it is 13.83 meters. In the future, this may lead to over 1 million Ukrainians being left without drinking water. And lowering the level below 12 meters will lead to an ecological disaster, since we can simply lose a large amount of biodiversity. Such actions by russia are in fact another attempt at nuclear terrorism, because cooling of reactors of Zaporizhia NPP could be at risk,” — Strilets said.
The “hullaballoon,” as some are now calling the recent balloon-tracking frenzy, has gone European. On February 16, the Kyiv Military Administration reported shooting down six, wind-propelled Russian balloons flying over Kyiv – setting off air raid sirens – after additional balloons were spotted over the weekend. Different than the Chinese balloons captured to-date, the Russian balloons were equipped with radar capable of tricking Ukrainian defensive sensors into perceiving an incoming missile or drone. The spokesman for the Ukrainian air force explained that "Russia wants Ukraine to waste its ammunition on these balloons, which effectively cost them nothing at all,” in addition to alleviating stress on depleting Russian ammunition stocks. The spokesman also suggested the balloons may be substituting for surveillance drones since the balloons were equipped with reconnaissance capabilities, especially amid sanctions on relevant supply chains for obtaining more drones and Ukraine’s success in shooting down drones.
- Thea Dunlevie