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Ukraine says Russian missiles destroyed in Crimea

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Russian missiles that were being delivered by rail in the north of the annexation of Crimea were destroyed, according to the Ukrainian defence ministry. The city of Dzhankoi’s newly-installed Russian mayor claimed drones had targeted the neighbourhood.

Ukraine reported the blasts but, as is customary, did not specifically claim responsibility for the attack. If true, it would be a very infrequent military incursion by Ukraine into Crimea, which has been annexed since 2014.

In the past, Russia has been attacked in Crimea, but most of the time, Ukraine has refused to take credit or has attributed the attacks to political sabotage. If this strike was real, it would indicate that the Ukrainian air force’s ability to use drones has improved.

Up until today, it has appeared that Ukrainian rockets cannot reach Crimea. Nonetheless, this attack shows that drones are at least capable of penetrating Russian defences farther than previously believed.

Russian Kalibr-NK cruise missiles meant for the Russian Black Sea Fleet were destroyed by the “strange” explosions, according to Ukrainian defence intelligence. In recent months, strikes on Ukrainian cities and infrastructure have frequently used Kailbr missiles.

According to an unconfirmed account from a local resident that was mentioned on Ukrainian TV, there were “booms” that lasted for 30 minutes and left some of Dzhankoi without electricity. The explosions “continue Russia’s demilitarisation process and set up the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea for deoccupation,” according to the military ministry.

Russian forces have utilised Dzhankoi as a rail hub connecting Crimea with other regions of seized Ukraine. According to Russian TV reports, there was no damage to the rail infrastructure as a result of the strike on Tuesday.

According to preliminary results, a residential building and a store were damaged, according to Russia’s investigation body. It stated that all of the targets were civilian.

The Russian-installed administrator, Ihor Ivin, reported that a 33-year-old male was rushed to the hospital for treatment after being injured by shrapnel from a downed drone. He said nothing about any military objectives being hurt.

According to Mr. Ivin, the electricity grid was destroyed and a number of structures caught fire. According to a different Russian-appointed official, a drone was struck above a technical institute in the middle of an instruction area and a student residence. Separately, officials in southern Russia said that Ukrainian military had used a drone to attack an oil pipeline pumping station north of the Ukrainian border. There were none, according to the governor of the Bryansk region.

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EU Agrees 2 Billion Euros Ammunition Plan For Ukraine

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The foreign ministers of the European Union decided on a two billion euro plan on Monday to raid their own stockpiles and buy Ukraine the critical artillery ammunition it needs.
At a meeting in Brussels, the ministers supported a multifaceted plan that will be approved by EU leaders at a summit this week and intends to supply Ukraine with one million shells over the course of the following year while also restocking EU inventories. As Russia’s year-long invasion has devolved into a gruelling attrition war, Kiev has complained that its forces are being forced to limit weapons.

In order to help its soldiers fend off Moscow’s assault and enable them to launch new counteroffensives later in the year, Ukraine has informed the EU that it needs 350,000 shells every month.

Catherine Colonna, France’s foreign minister, stated, “We have to help Ukraine more, quicker, and now.”

The first component of the proposal pledges an additional one billion euros ($1.06 billion) in shared spending in an effort to persuade EU member states to use their already limited stockpiles of readily deployable ammunition.

In the second phase, the EU would spend an additional one billion euros to purchase 155 mm shells for Ukraine as part of a large joint procurement effort designed to encourage EU defence companies to increase output.

A significant new step for the EU, which has seen ongoing efforts to cooperate more cooperatively on defence advanced by Russia’s war, is purchasing weapons on this scale collectively.

The EU’s defence agency or the member states should negotiate the orders, and countries have been arguing over whether they should exclusively purchase from European suppliers.

According to diplomats, the plan aims to sign the joint contracts by the beginning of September and send the first billion euros’ worth of shells to Ukraine by the end of May.

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Putin arrest warrant: Biden welcomes ICC’s war crimes charges

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The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, and US Vice President Joe Biden has applauded this. The International Criminal Court (ICC) charged President Putin with war crimes in Ukraine, which President Biden stated the Russian president had “obviously” committed.

The allegations centre on the forcible removal of kids from Ukraine to Russia following Moscow’s incursion in 2022. The warrants have been called “outrageous” by Moscow, which has refuted the accusations.

The move has very little chance of succeeding because the ICC lacks the authority to detain suspects without the cooperation of a nation’s government. Since Russia is not a party to the ICC, the court’s jurisdiction over that nation does not extend to The Hague.

Nevertheless, it might have other effects on Mr. Putin, such making it impossible for him to travel abroad. He might now be detained if he enters any of the 123 states that make up the court.

The third president to receive an ICC arrest warrant is Mr. Putin.

The warrant’s issuance, according to President Biden, “makes a very compelling statement,” despite the fact that the court had no influence in the US as well.

According to him, he obviously committed war crimes, as he told reporters.

It had already been “officially decided” by his administration that Russia had committed war crimes during the conflict in Ukraine, and vice president Kamala Harris had promised that those responsible would “be called to account” in February.

The United Nations also released a report earlier this week that found Moscow’s forced removal of Ukrainian children to areas under its control amounted to a war crime.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) claimed in a statement on Friday that it had solid evidence that Mr. Putin had both worked alone and in concert with others to conduct the crimes. Additionally, he was charged with neglecting to exercise his executive authority to halt the deportation of minors.

Maria Lvova-Belova, Russia’s commissioner for children’s rights, is also sought by the ICC for the same offences. The warrants were “based upon forensic evidence, scrutiny, and what’s been spoken by those two persons,” according to ICC prosecutor Karim Khan.

The court ultimately opted to make the arrest warrants public in an effort to prevent more crimes from being committed after first considering keeping them hidden.

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No G20 Joint Statement After China Objects To Use Of “War” Over Ukraine

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Although China tried to tone down references to the Ukraine war, G20 finance ministers were unable to reach agreement on a common statement on the status of the world economy on Saturday during discussions in Mumbai.

Instead, India, the G20’s current president, released a “chair’s report” in which it was stated that “the majority of members strongly denounced the war in Ukraine” and that “various evaluations of the situation and sanctions” were made during the two-day Bengaluru summit.
Two paragraphs about the conflict that were taken from the G20 Bali Leaders’ Declaration in November, according to a footnote, “were agreed to by all member countries with the exception of Russia and China.”

Nadia Calvino, a spokesperson for Spain, had earlier stated that it was “difficult” to agree on a statement due to some unnamed nations’ “less productive” attitudes during the discussions among the top 20 economies of the globe.

According to sources speaking on the condition of anonymity, China intended to remove the word “war” from the declaration’s language as of November.

Since G20 member Russia invaded its neighbour in February, previous gatherings of the group’s finance ministers and central bankers have similarly failed to result in a shared declaration.

The Chinese and Russian officials refused to ratify the language on Ukraine, according to senior Indian official Ajay Seth, since “their job is to deal with economic and financial matters.”

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Ukraine war: Europe fights to maintain solidarity

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As Kyiv gets ready to commemorate the sombre and deadly one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion, Vice President Joe Biden’s unexpected trip to Ukraine on Monday is a startling demonstration of support and an intended strong message to Moscow.

The Ukrainian leadership was naturally happy to see the US president, but as a dedicated observer of Europe, one comment in particular caught my attention.

Andriy Melnyk, deputy foreign minister, praised “the presence of our vital, main partner.”

The primary threat posed by Vladimir Putin’s aggressive ambition is to European security. He has reintroduced conventional warfare to this continent on a scale not seen since World War Two as a result of his invasion of Ukraine.

The sense of calm and relative security that most of us were accustomed to has been destroyed by his acts. The potential of a nuclear assault is being addressed as a serious possibility, albeit a remote one, for the first time since the Cold War.

Yet, Europe is made up of many different parts, both inside and outside the EU.The Russian incursion has served as a stark warning to Europeans—including France’s President Macron, a vocal supporter of Europe’s “strategic autonomy”—that the region cannot rely only on itself for defence. In comparison to the US, they lack the resources, the military might, and the undivided resolve (and even there, some tiny political fractures are beginning to show).

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Thousands of pregnant Russian women fly to Argentina

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In the past few months, more than 5,000 pregnant Russian women have entered Argentina, including 33 on one aircraft on Thursday, according to officials. According to the national migration office, all of the most recent entrants were in their final stages of pregnancy.

It’s claimed that the ladies want their children to be born in Argentina so they can become citizens of that country. Local media thinks that the war in Ukraine is to blame for the current rise in visitors.

According to Florencia Carignano, the head of the migration agency, three of the 33 women who arrived in the Argentinian capital on one aircraft on Thursday were detained due to “issues with their documentation,” joining three other women who arrived the day before.

The three women who were arrested on Thursday claim that they are being “falsely imprisoned” since they are being held on the grounds that they are “false tourists,” according to their attorney. According to Christian Rubilar, this phrase “does not exist in our statute.” He said, “These women are being illegally detained; they did not break any laws governing migration or commit any crimes.”

Since then, the women have been freed.

La Nacion attributed the sharp increase in Russian immigration to the conflict in Ukraine, noting that “[Russian women] are attracted by their [right to] visa-free entry to Argentina, as well as by the high-quality medicine and variety of hospitals, [as well as] fleeing war and their country’s health service.”

“Birth tourism” by Russian citizens to Argentina appears to be a lucrative and well-established practice.

Pregnant women who want to give birth in Argentina can choose from a variety of packages on a Russian-language website, according to the BBC. The website offers discounts on the price of stays at “the top hospitals in the Argentinian capital,” as well as services like customised birth plans, airport pickups, Spanish lessons, and other services.

The packages range from “first class,” which starts at $15,000 (£12,433), to “economy class,” which starts at $5,000 (£4,144).

According to the company’s website, its founder has been promoting birth tourism and providing migration support since 2015. The business also claims to be “100% Argentinian.”

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Ukraine war: Russia planning 24 February offensive, Ukrainian defence minister says

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According to the defence minister of Ukraine, Russia is preparing a significant new offensive that might start as early as February 24. Oleksii Reznikov claimed that Moscow had gathered thousands of soldiers and could “try something” to commemorate the first invasion anniversary last year.

The assault would coincide with Russia’s celebration of the army on February 23, which is Defender of the Fatherland Day. In the meantime, a Kramatorsk attack has claimed the lives of three people.

Eight others were wounded in the city in Donetsk region after a Russian missile struck a residential building, the provincial governor said. The toll is expected to rise as rescuers comb through the wreckage.

The only way to stop Russian terrorism is to defeat it,” Mr Zelensky wrote on social media about the attack. “By tanks. Fighter jets. Long-range missiles.”

Ukraine has recently renewed calls for fighter jets to help protect itself from air attacks after Germany, the US and the UK agreed to send them tanks.

Mr Reznikov said Moscow had mobilised some 500,000 troops for the potential offensive.

In September, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a general mobilisation of some 300,000 conscripted troops, which he said was necessary to ensure the country’s “territorial integrity”.

But Mr Reznikov suggested that the true figure recruited and deployed to Ukraine could be far higher.

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Poland boosts defence spending over war in Ukraine

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Poland has promised a significant increase in defence budget, citing the conflict in Ukraine as justification. It is the most recent nation in Europe to announce an increase in military spending due to the conflict.

Just under 2.5% of Poland’s GDP is allocated to the military, but the prime minister intends to raise that percentage to 4% this year. Mateusz Morawiecki pleaded with Germany last week to permit the export of Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukraine.

In addition, he noted that increasing defence spending to 4% “could mean that this will be the highest percentage… among all Nato countries.” Poland, which shares a border with the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, previously announced that it would purchase 116 US-made Abrams tanks, with the first deliveries scheduled to begin this spring.

Numerous Western nations have reviewed and, in many cases, increased their military spending as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Beginning in 2024, members of the Nato Western military alliance will spend at least 2% of their GDP, a measure of a nation’s economic output, on defence. The alliance has long sought to achieve the percentage of 2%.

Recently, France announced plans for a significant expansion of its armed forces, partially in response to the conflict in Ukraine. France said the next seven-year budget will rise from €295 billion to €413 billion (£360 billion) from 2024 to 2030.

As part of their efforts to join NATO, Sweden and Finland have pledged significant increases in their military spending.

Germany committed an additional €100 billion of the budget to the military forces in the days following the invasion in February 2022.

Additionally, the UK committed to raising spending to 2.5% of GDP in June under former prime minister Boris Johnson.

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Ukraine War: Zelensky adviser resigns over Dnipro remarks

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Oleksiy Arestovych, a presidential adviser for Ukraine, has submitted his resignation after alleging that Kiev shot down a Russian missile that struck a building in Dnipro and killed 44 people.

Mr. Arestovych expressed regret and admitted to having made a “basic error.” The original comment incited intense resentment throughout the nation, and Russian officials used it as an excuse to accuse Ukraine.

The adviser is well-known due to his regular YouTube updates, which are viewed by millions of people. Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, has yet to respond to Mr. Arestovych’s resignation.

Mr. Arestovych initially stated that it looked that the Russian missile had fallen on the structure after being shot down by Ukrainian air defences hours after Saturday’s missile strike on an apartment building in Dnipro. The structure was allegedly struck by a Russian Kh-22 missile, which Ukraine claimed was exceedingly inaccurate and beyond its ability to shoot down.

When Mr. Arestovych made his original remarks, the Ukrainian public responded strongly, with some claiming he had strengthened the position of Russian propagandists. A petition advocating for Mr. Arestovych’s dismissal as a government official was signed by certain Ukrainian lawmakers. Later, he published a statement announcing his retirement and admitting that he had committed a “fundamental error.”

“I offer my sincere apologies to the victims and their relatives, the residents of Dnipro and everyone who was deeply hurt by my prematurely erroneous version of the reason for the Russian missile striking a residential building,” he wrote in a longer post on Telegram.

One of the war’s most well-known Ukrainian faces is Mr. Arestovych, who regularly holds debates on the conflict on his YouTube channel. His videos frequently receive more than 200,000 views, and the channel has more than 1.6 million subscribers. He speaks in Russian instead of Ukrainian, which is unusual for Ukrainian officials.

Before he offered to leave, Russian authorities had used his words to attribute the strike to Kiev.

Russian attacks “do not damage residential buildings,” according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, who also claimed that “certain officials of the Ukrainian side” had come to the same conclusion.

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Ukraine war: Russia controls most of destroyed salt mine town, Soledar, says UK

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After a protracted conflict with Ukrainian forces, the majority of the salt-mining town of Soledar in eastern Ukraine is “possibly” now under Russian control, according to the UK Ministry of Defence.

In the last four days, Russian troops and the mercenary Wagner Group, according to the UK, have advanced. Soledar is close to Bakhmut, the scene of another violent conflict with Ukraine.

According to President Zelensky, Soledar had “no full walls left” and “virtually no life.” He added, “The entire terrain around Soledar is littered with the occupiers’ corpses.”

Oledar, which prior to the conflict had a population of about 10,000, may be considered primarily as a stepping stone to seizing Bakhmut, and its strategic worth is debatable.

The creator of the Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, seeks ownership of the region’s significant salt and gypsum mines, a US official claimed last week.

The 200 km long abandoned tunnels were the subject of some fighting, according to the UK, and both Russia and Ukraine “are likely concerned that they could be exploited for infiltration behind their lines.”

Mr. Prigozhin has acknowledged his interest in the mines, referring to them as “the icing on the cake” for the Bakhmut region’s strategic importance.

He described them as a “network of underground cities” that can hold “a big group of people at a depth of 80-100 metres”, and can also allow tanks and other military vehicles to move freely.

Due to Ukraine’s “solid defence lines,” Russia is “unlikely” to soon seize Bakhmut, according to Britain.

Soledar is currently in Russian hands, according to a senior military officer from the US Department of Defense, who stated this on Monday.

Since Bakhmut has been the scene of fighting for months, the US source referred to the most recent skirmishes as “savage.” Two British nationals who were last spotted travelling to Soledar have vanished in the area.

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