Friday, February 23

Russia’s war against Ukraine

Ukrainian officials evacuate the civilians at Kivsharivka, in Kupiansk district of Kharkiv Oblast on Feb. 22, 2024. (Yevhen Titov/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Russia using freshly-produced shells as supply ‘running smoothly,’ Ukrainian officer says. Russia is mostly firing shells produced in 2022 and 2023, showing their ammunition supply is “running smoothly,” Roman Holodivskyi, a battery commander in Ukraine’s 43rd Artillery Brigade, told the Kyiv Independent in an interview published on Feb. 22.

ABC News: Ukraine could face ‘catastrophic’ arms shortage within weeks, US officials say. Ukraine could face a “catastrophic shortage of ammunition and air defenses” by late March if Congress does not pass a bill that contains $61 billion in crucial funding for Kyiv, ABC News reported on Feb. 22, citing two anonymous U.S. officials.

Denmark confirms Ukraine set to receive first F-16 jets this summer. Ukraine can expect to receive the first batch of U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets from Denmark already this summer, the Danish Defense Ministry announced on Feb. 22.

Over 14 million Ukrainians forced to flee due to Russian invasion, UN agency says. Over 14 million people, nearly a third of Ukraine’s population, have been forced to flee their homes in the two years since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported on Feb. 22.

Zelensky: War with Russia is ‘not a stalemate.’ President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke with Fox News reporter Bret Baier near the front lines in Kharkiv Oblast, where artillery fire could be heard nearby.

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Governor: Infrastructure facility in Odesa hit in drone attack. Russian forces launched a drone attack against Odesa overnight on Feb. 23, hitting an infrastructure facility, Odesa Oblast Governor Oleh Kiper said via his official Telegram channel.

Politico: White House sends House Republicans ‘vacation reading’ about consequences of congressional inaction in Ukraine. The White House has continued to criticize House Republicans over their refusal to pass legislation providing aid for Ukraine, which escalated after U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson convened an early recess on Feb. 15 without bringing the aid, passed the week before by the Senate, to a vote.

ISW: Medvedev’s rhetoric echoes Stalin. Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, said in an interview with Russian media on Feb. 22 that Ukrainian citizens in occupied Ukraine who attempt sabotage against Russia should be “exposed and punished, sent to Siberia … for re-education in forced labor camps.”

Read our exclusives

‘Our reserves will run out:’ Ukrainian artillery sounds alarm on Western shell shortage

As both Washington and Kyiv have noted, one of the main reasons for recent Russian success in taking the city of Avdiivka, Moscow’s first major territorial gains since May, has been Ukraine’s shortage of artillery ammunition.

Photo: Francis Farrell/The Kyiv Independent

Ukraine war latest: Ukrainian military says strike kills around 60 Russian soldiers in occupied Kherson Oblast

Ukrainian forces struck a Russian military training ground in the occupied part of Kherson Oblast, killing around 60 Russian soldiers, Nataliia Humeniuk, a spokesperson of Ukraine’s Southern Operational Command, said on Feb. 22.

Photo: Ukraine’s Southern Defense Forces/Telegram

Human cost of war

Russian drone attacks against Odesa kill 3. Three civilians were killed in a Russian drone attack against Odesa overnight on Feb. 23, Odesa Oblast Governor Oleh Kiper reported on Telegram.

8 injured in Russia’s strike on Dnipro. At least eight people were injured in Dnipro as Russia targeted the city with Shahed drones overnight on Feb. 23, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Governor Serhii Lysak said.

Russian attack kills 1, injures 9 in Donetsk Oblast village. A Russian attack on the village of Kostiantynopolske in Donetsk Oblast killed one person and injured nine others, including four children, Donetsk Oblast Governor Vadym Filashkin reported on Feb. 22.

Governor: Russian strike on Kherson Oblast village kills man. Russian forces struck the village of Lvove in Kherson Oblast on the morning of Feb. 22, killing a 59-year-old man, Governor Oleksandr Prokudin reported.

SBU: Russian strikes with North Korean missiles have killed 24 civilians in Ukraine. Russian troops have so far launched over 20 North Korea-made missiles to attack Ukraine, killing at least 24 civilians and injuring over 100, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) reported on Feb. 22.

Opinions and Insights

Opinion: In the past 2 years of war, we have all died a little

“Every Ukrainian will forever remember the dark morning of Feb. 24, 2022, when the full-scale invasion began. Some woke up to explosions, others to frightened calls from their families – but everyone remembers that second to the last detail. It’s a memory that pierces through our entire lives,” writes Andriy Lyubka, a Ukrainian poet, essayist, and translator.

Photo: Scott Peterson/Getty Images

International response

Biden says US will impose sanctions against Putin for Navalny death. U.S. President Joe Biden said on Feb. 22 he will announce sanctions against Russian leader Vladimir Putin in response to the death of Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny.

UK to provide Ukraine with 200 more Brimstone anti-tank missiles. The missiles, which cost roughly 100,000 pounds ($126,000) apiece, can be air or ground-launched. They are laser-guided and are considered to be highly accurate, with particular effectiveness against moving targets such as tanks.

Bundestag votes against Taurus missiles for Ukraine, supports sending ‘necessary long-range missiles.’ The German parliament held two votes on providing long-range weapons to Ukraine on Feb. 22, first rejecting a motion explicitly mentioning Taurus missiles, followed by supporting a motion calling for Germany to send additional long-range weapons.

Latvia to become first EU country to ban imports of grain from Russia, Belarus. Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics argued that Russian grain imports support the Russian economy and, therefore, its army, and what is labeled as Russian grain may, in fact, be Ukrainian grain stolen from Russian-occupied territories.

Denmark signs 10-year security agreement with Ukraine. “If we don’t stand together, Ukraine won’t stand, and potentially Europe won’t either,” Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said.

Minister: Italy set to sign security agreement with Ukraine. Italy expects to finalize a bilateral agreement on security guarantees for Ukraine in the coming days, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on Feb. 22, Reuters reported.

US, UK reportedly endorse Dutch PM Mark Rutte as next NATO Secretary General. The U.S. and the U.K. are endorsing Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte to become the next NATO Secretary General, according to media reports on Feb. 22, which cited officials in Washington D.C. and London.

In other news

Tusk rejects Zelensky’s proposal to meet at border, says meeting already scheduled for March in Warsaw. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk rejected President Volodymyr Zelensky’s proposal to meet at the border of their countries to solve the ongoing blockade led by Polish farmers on Feb. 22, as he said a meeting between the two governments is already planned in March in Warsaw.

Poll: Almost 50% of Poles believe a Russian attack on Poland is likely. The 47% of Polish respondents who said that a Russian attack on Poland was probable represented a 16% increase from when a similar poll was conducted in May 2023.

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Toma Istomina, Dinara Khalilova, Nate Ostiller, Oleksiy Sorokin, Elsa Court, Olena Goncharova, and Abbey Fenbert.

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