Contents
Here are the main developments of the 1,093rd day of the large -scale invasion of Ukraine in Russia.
Here is the situation on Friday, February 21:
Struggle
The Air Force of Ukraine shot 87 drones, with 70 more probably lost against electronic countermeasures, said the country’s army, when it responded to a night attack in which Russia launched 160 drones. Two ballistic missiles also targeted Odesa.
- Russian forces have taken over more than 800 square kilometers (309 square miles) of Ukrainian troops in the Kursk region in West Russia, a Russian general in the Krasnaya Zvezda newspaper said. The region represents around 64% of the land initially seized by Kyiv, said the newspaper.
- The forces of Moscow attacked the energy infrastructure of Ukraine in the southern Odesa region for the second time, said the energy company of kyiv, DTEK. The first attack left one of Odesa’s districts without heating and power.
- The army of Ukraine said that Russian forces launched 161 drones in a night attack against Ukraine, 80 of whom were killed and 78 were “lost”. Moscow also attacked the northeast region of Kharkiv with 14 missiles.
Politics and diplomacy
- The governor of the Russian central bank, Elvira Nabiullina, said that the bank was not involved in talks with the United States on lifting sanctions or freezing on the reserves of Russia foreign countries.
- Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said all of the United Kingdom’s plans to send troops to Ukraine as part of a potential peacekeeping mission would be unacceptable. Such a decision would imply the forces of a member state of NATO, which would have the ramifications necessary for the security of Russia, said Peskov. The Russian Minister for Foreign Affairs has called such plans as “direct threat”.
- Peskov said Russia has agreed to regain dialogue with the United States on “all parameters” concerning the war against Ukraine, including prisoners.
- He also criticized the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, for his “inadmissible” and “unacceptable” remarks on other heads of state, after Zelenskyy accused the American president Donald Trump of living in a “bubble of Disinformation “in Ukraine.
- The national security adviser of the White House, Mike Waltz, also criticized Zelenskyy’s comments, saying that Ukraine needs to “mitigate it and watch this case carefully”, refer to the minerals of rare land that The United States now wants to help kyiv’s war effort.
- Ukraine began discussions with the International Monetary Fund team working on the country’s latest review of the country, which could unlock around $ 917 million in new funds.
- Kyrylo Budanov, head of the military intelligence agency of Ukraine, said that he thought that a cease-fire between Moscow and kyiv could occur this year. “How long it will last, how effective it will be – is another question,” added Budanov.
- The Associated Press press agency reported that Zelenskyy and the Trump Special Envoy in Ukraine and Russia Keith Kellogg had a meeting in Ukraine, but that a joint press conference later was canceled at the request of the United States. However, Zelenskyy said that the “detailed” meeting with Kellogg was “good” and “restore[d] hope.”
- NATO chief Mark Rutte said that any European security guarantee for Ukraine as part of a future peace agreement should be supported by the United States, “not with boots on the ground” , but a backup to make sure that deterrence is there, he said.
- Despite tensions with the United States, Zelenskyy said kyiv was ready to work with Washington to produce a “solid and effective investment and security agreement” when he dealt with Russia and a peace agreement.
- “We have proposed the fastest and most constructive way to obtain results. Our team is ready to work 24/7, “said Zelenskyy.
- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his G20 counterparts that a “window for peace” opened for the Ukraine crisis, a few days after the best American and Russian diplomats met in Saudi Arabia.
