NATO seeing start of new Russian offensive in Ukraine
NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, says “the reality is that we are seeing the start already” of a new Russian offensive in Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is sending “thousands and thousands more troops”, accepting “a very high rate of casualties” and taking “big losses” but putting pressure on the Ukrainians, he told reporters in Brussels on Monday, February 13. Stoltenberg said there was “no sign” Russian President Vladimir Putin was preparing for peace. “What we see is President Putin and Russia still wanting to control Ukraine,” Stoltenberg said. The faster Kyiv can be supplied with weapons, ammunition and spare parts, fuel, the more lives can be saved, he said.
On February 9, advisor to the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Mykhailo Podolyak said that Russia had already launched another major offensive. The Russians are having “big problems” with a “big offensive,” Secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council Oleksiy Danilov said. The Ukrainian troops are repulsing the offensive very strongly, he added.
The Russian forces are on the offensive on five axes — Kupyansk, Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiyivka, and Novopavlivka, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said in a morning report on February 13.
Russia planning coup in Moldova, President Sandu says
Moldova’s President Maia Sandu accused Russia Monday of plotting to overthrow the country’s government.
“[Russia’s] plan for the next period involves actions with the involvement of diversionists with military training, camouflaged in civilian clothes, who will undertake violent actions, attack some state buildings, and even take hostages,” Sandu told reporters at a briefing. The Kremlin’s plan was to stage “opposition protests” to change the legitimate government to an illegal one controlled by Russia, she added.
Reports that Moldova received from Ukraine “indicate the locations and logistical aspects of organizing this subversive activity,” Sandu said.
“The plan also envisages the use of foreigners for violent actions. Information [obtained by intelligence services] contained instructions on rules of entry to Moldova for citizens from Russia, Belarus, Serbia, and Montenegro,” the Moldovan President said.
Moldova’s security services are working to anticipate the provocations and maintain control of the situation, Sandu reassured. On February 9, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi said Ukraine had intercepted plans by Russian secret services to destroy Moldova.
Ukrainian troops eliminate Russia’s elite naval brigade near Vuhledar
The Ukrainian Armed Forces eliminated an entire brigade of the elite 155th naval infantry near Vuhledar. Russian forces of the Vladivostok-based unit were losing 150-300 marines a day, an article by Politico reads. A large number of enemy forces, including the command staff, were destroyed near Vuhledar and Maryinka in Donetsk region, Politico said.
“The 155th brigade already had to be restaffed three times. The first time after Irpin and Bucha; the second time they were defeated near Donetsk — they recovered again. And now almost the entire brigade has already been destroyed near Vuhledar,” Oleksiy Dmytrashkivskyi, head of the joint press center of Ukraine’s defense forces on the Tavriyskyi axis told Politico.
“In addition, over the past week, the enemy lost about 130 units of equipment, including 36 units of tanks,” he said. Russian forces were losing 150-300 marines a day near Vuhledar, Dmytrashkivskyi added.
In November 2022, Russia’s 155th naval infantry brigade took heavy losses near Pavlivka, in Donetsk region.
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Ukraine-EU summit: public and backstage dimensions. Ukraine in Flames #339
The recent Ukraine-EU summit in Kyiv has brought many positive signals for Ukraine despite the fact that Kyiv’s call for a fast-track path to EU membership has not been granted as many had expected. However, European institutions have praised Ukraine’s progress toward achieving the criteria to join the EU and promised more help and support for Ukraine and pledged a tenth round of sanctions against Russia to coincide with the first anniversary of Russia’s full-scale war. It also announced a doubling of the number of Ukrainian troops to be trained by the EU to 30,000 in 2023 and promised €25 million for demining areas recaptured by Ukraine. Watch Ukraine in flames #339 to learn more about Ukraine-EU summit from experts at the UCMC discussion, who believe that membership in the European family is a realistic goal for Ukraine.
Guests:
- Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze, People’s Deputy, Head of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Ukraine’s Integration into the European Union
- Tobias Tyberg, the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Sweden to Ukraine
- Vitaliy Portnikov, Publicist, TV presenter, Writer
- Yevhen Mahda, Director at the Institute of World Policy
Unified support of Ukraine: can it be undermined? Ukraine in Flames #340
Reluctant support of Latin America and India. Ukraine in Flames #338
