The U.S. Senate passes a foreign aid bill with USD 60 billion to support Ukraine. Ukraine’s 110th Mechanized Brigade has no capabilities to hold Avdiyivka, but is being reinforced. A Moscow factory that manufactures MiG fighter jets catches fire, according to social media reports.
U.S. Senate passes foreign aid bill with USD 60 billion to support Ukraine
The U.S. Senate early Tuesday passed a USD 95.3 billion aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. The bill includes USD 60 billion to support Ukraine in its fight against Russia.
The bill now has to pass the House. House Speaker Mike Johnson warned Monday that he might not bring the foreign aid bill up for a vote because it fails to address border security.
The lawmakers approved the measure in a 70-29 vote that comfortably exceeded the chamber’s 60-vote threshold for passage.
Ukraine’s 110th Mechanized Brigade has no capabilities to hold Avdiyivka, but is being reinforced
Some units of Ukraine’s 110th Mechanized Brigade deployed to Avdiyivka have been replaced, spokesperson for the brigade, Ivan Sekach told Radio Liberty on February 13.
“We don’t have enough capabilities to hold the city, but reinforcement is coming up, and we count on our fellow units,” he said. “For the first time in almost two years of operation of the 110th Mechanised Brigade, some of our units have been fully withdrawn from fighting to rest and rotate troops. Reinforcement troops have arrived, this is true. I will not name the unit. It is massive support, and we breathed a sigh of relief when it arrived,” Sekach said.
Battles rage for the town of Avdiyivka and its outskirts, according to Sekach. Russian forces try to cut off the supply line that leads to the city, they outnumber Ukrainian troops. The Russians want to capture Avdiyivka ahead of Russia’s presidential elections in March. They are doing everything they can to achieve that.
“They have complete air superiority, meaning that we cannot adequately respond to air strikes and bombardments on the city and our positions. They have massive manpower that they don’t count. They constantly experiment, varying groups and armored vehicles. They have a task and they try to accomplish it whatever it takes,” the brigade’s spokesperson said.
Russian forces intensified their offensive on Avdiyivka in October 2023. They use a large number of tanks and other armored vehicles supported by aircraft and artillery to strike Ukrainian positions and the city itself. Russia continues attempts to capture Avdiyivka, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said, noting high intensity of Russian attacks in the Avdiyivka direction.
Moscow factory that manufactures MiG fighter jets catches fire, according to social media reports
On Tuesday, February 13, there was a fire at a factory in Moscow that manufactures MiG fighter jets. The fire broke out at a workshop under construction on Leningradsky avenue that stands next to the operating premises, according to Russian Telegram channel Baza.
The fire was on the second and third floors of the building. The cause of the fire was not immediately known. The fire has affected 70 square meters.
The evacuated was ordered. Firefighters were deployed to the site to prevent the fire from spreading.
In the past weeks, oil depots and refineries in Russia’s several regions were on fire after what The New Time said were attacks orchestrated by Ukraine’s Security Service.
On February 3, Ukrainian drones struck a Lukoil oil refinery in Volgograd. Overnight on January 21, a fire broke out at a chemical transport terminal at Russia’s Ust-Luga port outside Saint Petersburg following explosions.
