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In the Ukraine war, Russian troops increase pressure, but Ukraine can continue to inflict heavy losses on the Russian military. The news ticker.
- Current situation at the front at the Ukrainian War: President Volodymyr Zelenskyy receives a report
- Ukraine wholesale Russian training camp: Attack in Ukraine kills at least 60 Russian soldiers
- The information processed here comes from international media and news agencies, but also from the belligerent parties, Russia and Ukraine, and their allies. In particular, information about the losses of the armies involved in the Ukrainian war cannot be independently verified.
Update February 21, 7:07 pm: Russia is planning new gains in the Ukraine war ahead of the Russian elections. This is reported by Ukrainska Pravda, citing information from the Ukrainian secret service. After the capture of Avdiyika, two more strategically important cities would now be targeted by Russian President Vladimir Putin's army:
According to the Ukrainian secret service, both cities have a mainly symbolic value for Vladimir Putin.
Zelenskyy receives reports on the situation at the front
Update February 21, 5:21 pm: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky held a telephone conference to discuss the situation at the front, the supply of ammunition and the blockade of the Ukrainian border by Polish farmers.
He said this in a post on the messaging app Telegram, Ukrinform reports.
“Today we discussed, in addition to current issues, a blockade on the Polish border. We inform ourselves in detail and determine our next steps. They will happen very quickly,” Zelensky said. He was convinced that the liberalization of trade with the European Union must be continued and thanked the “clear position of the European Commission”.
“Our unity must also be strong in the interests of common security and the security of all countries threatened by Russian aggression. Situational interests have no right to weaken them,” Zelensky said.
War in Ukraine: Scholz no longer wants to deliver Taurus missiles
Update February 21, 4:23 pm: Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) continues to reject the delivery of Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine. At the same time, he supports the motion of the coalition factions in the Bundestag on the war in Ukraine “wholeheartedly”, government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said on Wednesday at the federal press conference in Berlin. The proposal, which the Bundestag intends to discuss this Thursday, calls, among other things, for the “delivery of additionally necessary long-range weapons systems”.
This should allow Ukraine “to permit targeted attacks on strategically relevant targets in the rear of the Russian aggressor,” the request continues. Taurus cruise missiles would meet these requirements, but are not explicitly mentioned. Hebestreit didn't even say the word “Taurus”. He said of Scholz's attitude: “As far as the delivery of a special weapons system is concerned, he stands by his position.”
Ukraine is switching to F-16 fighters faster than any other country
Update February 21, 2:10 pm: According to Yuri Ignat, spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force, Ukraine is switching to F-16 fighters faster than any other country and is making the necessary preparations for this. “The pilots are being requalified, the infrastructure is being adjusted, some emergency shelters are being built, the tracks are being improved,” he told the Unian news agency.
Under war conditions, the F-16 infrastructure cannot be completely adapted to the needs of NATO countries, but “the aircraft can still take off”. They still don't know when they will receive the F-16, but they hope it will be “as soon as possible”. Ignat emphasized that the aircraft will be received gradually. “Ukrainian pilots must fully master the technology, fly independently and without an instructor,” the spokesman said. “Our pilots are doing this in an accelerated way because the refresher course should last two years, but we are doing it much faster,†he added.
After the capture of Avdiivka: Russian troops now concentrate on Robotyne in the south
Update February 21, 1:05 p.m.: According to British reports, Russian troops are intensifying their attacks near the village of Robotyne in southern Ukraine. The Russian 58th Army and airborne forces in the area suffered heavy losses in the Ukrainian counter-offensive last year, the British Ministry of Defense announced in London on Wednesday. However, the slower pace of operations, as well as strong recruitment efforts, would likely have allowed Russian forces on that front to gather and strengthen, he said, citing intelligence information.
Robotyne in the Zaporizhia region was liberated by Ukrainian units in the summer of 2023. The village, where a few hundred people originally lived, was closer to the front. Russian troops have also recently increased their attacks on other sectors of the front, it was said in London. The aim is probably to disperse Ukrainian troops
Greens criticize coalition partner FDP: Strack-Zimmermann wants to approve Union proposal on Taurus
Update February 21, 11:35 am: With her announced support for a Union request to supply Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine, Defense Committee Chairwoman Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann (FDP) caused anger among the Greens.
The Parliamentary Secretary of the Green Party in the Bundestag, Irene Mihalic, said in Berlin that she “cannot understand Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann's behavior on this issue, because if this is really what matters to her, “Working together on this federal issue government to initiate crucial support services for Ukraine and document this with this application, then it should agree with the coalition's motion and not the opposition's motion.” What does the policy of the FDP, which is its party's main candidate for the elections? European elections in June, “I now specifically associate this announcement with myself, I can only speculate about that,” said Mihalic. She added: “I would advise her to vote differently.”
The Green Party politician emphasized that the traffic light coalition agreed in its own application that Ukraine needed heavy and long-range weapons systems. Taurus cruise missiles are not specifically named in the order. “I don’t expect there to be people in my group who agree with the Union’s motion,” Mihalic responded to a journalist’s question.
News about the war in Ukraine: Russia captured an important bridge?
Update February 21, 9:45 am: The Ukrainian army on Wednesday denied the loss of its Krynky bridgehead on the Russian-occupied bank of the Dnipro River in southern Ukraine. The information from “aggressor” Russia about the seizure of the bridgehead was “false”, the Southern Command of the Ukrainian armed forces said in online networks on Wednesday. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced Krynky's capture on Tuesday in a televised conversation with President Vladimir Putin.
Current situation in the war in Ukraine: Kiev denies Russia's capture of an important bridgehead
“The defense forces in southern Ukraine continue to hold their positions and inflict significant losses on the enemy,” the Ukrainian army said.
On Tuesday, Russian state media quoted Defense Minister Shoigu as saying that Russian troops were “on the bank of the river, in Krynky.” Ukraine laboriously established positions in the village of Krynky in the summer of 2023. The establishment of the bridgehead was one of the few successes of the Ukrainian counteroffensive last summer, but it did not lead to any additional gains in territory further south.
Tanks, drones, air defense: weapons for Ukraine
See series of photos
Russia launches new attacks at night – Ukraine reports successful defense
Update February 21, 7:45 am: According to its air force, Ukraine was attacked overnight with 19 drones and six missiles. The air defense was able to destroy 13 drones and one missile. Some of the drones that were not intercepted would not have been able to reach their targets. No further details were given.
HIMARS in action during the Ukrainian defensive war against Russia. © Ukrainian military
Himars attack on the training camp in Donetsk during the Ukrainian War
First report: Donetsk – Clashes between the Ukrainian army and Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin's troops in eastern Ukraine continue. Finally, the city of Avdiivka fell to the Russian military. Ukraine withdrew to avoid being surrounded. However, even after the success at Avdiivka, Russian units continued to suffer heavy losses on the eastern front lines.
Ukraine attacks Russian training camp: attack kills at least 60 Russian soldiers
On Tuesday (20 February), the Ukrainian army launched a massive attack on a Russian training area near the village of Trudivske in the Russian-occupied Donetsk region. This was reported by the Russian edition of the British broadcaster BBC, citing informed sources. Motorized Russian soldiers from the eastern region of Transbaikalia were fired upon with US-supplied Himars missiles while waiting for their commander at the training camp.
According to the BBC report, troops from the 4th, 5th and 6th companies of the 36th Motorized Rifle Brigade from the city of Borzya, in Trans-Baikal, were in formation at the site. In the open field, they were at the mercy of an attack while waiting for their commander, Major General Oleg Moiseev. The impact of the Himars rockets subsequently resulted in dozens of deaths, as the BBC discovered from video recordings. At least 60 Russian soldiers were killed, the broadcaster estimates the number of victims in its report. “The commanders built the camp in an open field,” complains a survivor of the attack in videos.
Despite the Taurus debate: Ukraine's ambassador thanks Olaf Scholz for his “leading role”.
Despite hesitation in the delivery of Taurus cruise missiles, Ukrainian Ambassador Oleksii Makeiev praised the Federal Republic's assistance to Ukraine under Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD). “Under Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Germany has taken a leading role in supporting our country. I am very grateful for that,” Makeiev told newspapers from the Funke media group.
Regarding the debate over the Taurus missiles, Makeiev recalled previous discussions: “When it came to tanks, for a long time it was said that these systems would not be delivered. But at some point they were there. The same applies to systems that have never been discussed publicly.” (bb/dpa)