Situation as of 8:00 a.m. on February 12, 2024
- The President Zelenskyy dismissed V. Zaluzhnyi from the position of Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and appointed O. Syrskyi to succeed him in this role.
- Russian forces advanced in the area of Bakhmut and Avdiivka. In the latter settlement, urban fighting began.
- On the morning of February 7, Russian troops launched one more large-scale missile attack on the territory of Ukraine.
OPERATIONAL SITUATION
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valerii Zaluzhnyi. Oleksandr Syrskyi, who previously held the post of commander of the ground forces, was appointed in his place. The President of Ukraine also instructed the government to create a separate branch of the Armed Forces of Ukraine – the Forces of Unmanned Systems.
Russian forces continue offensive operations in the eastern direction. Within a week, they managed to advance near Bakhmut, where they approached the city of Chasiv Yar, and in the Avdiivka area. Russian troops entered the north-eastern part of this city and were able to gain a foothold in the private residential sector.
Russian troops continue attacks against the territory of Ukraine. On the morning of February 7, another large-scale missile strike was recorded. Ukrainian air defense shot down 29 out of 44 missiles used. As a result, residential infrastructure in Kyiv and Mykolaiv, as well as an infrastructure facility in Dnipropetrovsk region, were damaged. The losses of civilians as a result of the Russian strike were: in Kyiv – 4 people killed and 38 people wounded; in the Kyiv region – 3 people injured; in Mykolaiv – 1 person killed and several people injured.
In addition, kamikaze drones are being used by Russian forces almost daily. The greatest damage was caused by an UAV attack on an oil depot in the Kharkiv region on the night of February 10, as a result of which a fire broke out and spread to nearby residential buildings. Also, a large-scale attack was carried out on the night of February 11, but air defense shot down 40 of the 45 drones used.
During the week, the losses of civilians in different regions of Ukraine as a result of the actions of the Russian military amounted to at least: in the Donetsk region – 2 people killed and 10 people wounded; in the Kherson region – 10 people killed and 14 people wounded; in Kharkiv region – 8 people killed and 10 people wounded; in Sumy region – 4 people killed and 12 people wounded; in Dnipropetrovsk region, 2 people were injured; in Odesa region, 4 people were injured.
The Armed Forces of Ukraine continue to strike at the infrastructure and bases of Russian troops both in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine and on the territory of Russia. At the beginning of the week, it was reported that several high-ranking officials of the Russian occupation administration in the Luhansk region were killed as a result of a strike on February 3 on the territory of the temporarily occupied Lysychansk. On the night of February 9, UAVs attacked oil refineries in the Krasnodar region of Russia.
HUMANITARIAN SITUATION, POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS
Human Rights Watch, together with SITU Research and Truth Hounds, has published a comprehensive investigation into how in the spring of 2022, Russia seized Mariupol. Human rights defenders analyzed satellite images of city cemeteries and concluded that from March 2022 to February 2023, at least 8,000 people died in Mariupol.
As a result of another exchange, Ukraine returned 100 of its citizens from Russian captivity. Since the full-scale invasion, 3,135 Ukrainian soldiers have been exchanged from Russian captivity.
Dmytro Lubinets, the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, sent official letters to the UN and the ICRC to document violations of international humanitarian law after the so-called “court” in temporarily occupied Donetsk sentenced 33 Ukrainian prisoners of war to 27-29 years in prison.
Journalists from the investigative project Bihus.Info stated that the operation to wiretap and videotape their former colleagues was carried out on the orders of one of the departments of the Security Service of Ukraine. The SBU explained that the operation was aimed at countering organized crime. On January 31, the head of the Department for the Protection of National Statehood, Roman Semenchenko, was dismissed from the SBU.
Since February 9, Polish farmers have resumed blocking checkpoints on the Polish-Ukrainian border. Farmers also demand that the Polish government resist the influence of Ukrainian agro-export.
In January 2024, Ukraine exported 12 million tons of products. This is only two million tons less than in pre-war January 2022. Of these, 8.7 million tons were shipped by sea.
FOREIGN POLICY AND INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT
Ukraine continues to work with partners to strengthen the country’s defense capabilities. Finland has announced the 22nd package of military aid to Ukraine worth almost 190 million euros, and Finland is also joining the artillery coalition and demining coalition operating within the framework of the Contact Group on Defense Issues of Ukraine. Lithuania has provided Ukraine with a new package of military aid, including necessary equipment for the winter season and sets of warm clothing. The lower house of the Italian parliament has finally approved the government’s decision to extend military assistance to Ukraine throughout 2024. The European Union has provided Ukraine with the modern demining system DOK-ING MV-10.
Ukraine continues to work with international partners to implement security guarantees for Ukraine. Detailed negotiations have begun with Denmark to conclude bilateral security commitments within the implementation of the G7 Joint Declaration. The third round of similar negotiations between Ukraine and the Netherlands has commenced. Ukraine and Estonia are also preparing to start negotiations on a security agreement.
The United States has imposed new sanctions against Russia. In particular, restrictions apply to four organizations and designate one vessel as blocked property. Import of jewelry with diamonds and unset diamonds originating from or imported from Russia is prohibited according to the decision of the G7 countries.
Visits of international partners to Kyiv are ongoing. This week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held meetings with the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Vice President of the European Commission Josep Borrell, discussing issues related to ammunition supply, unmanned systems, and air defense means. Meetings also took place between the President and the Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi, and with the Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Mathias Cormann. The President of Ukraine met and negotiated with a Portuguese delegation headed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Portugal, João Gomes Cravinho, with a delegation of Bulgarian parliamentarians headed by the Chairman of the National Assembly Rosen Zhelyazkov, and with a bipartisan delegation of the United States House of Representatives. Leaders and politicians discussed cooperation between Ukraine and the EU in the security sphere, the urgent needs of the Ukrainian military, the implementation of the Ukrainian peace formula, the security situation at the temporarily occupied Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, Ukraine’s full membership in the OECD, the restoration of damaged infrastructure, and the intensification of sanctions pressure on the aggressor country.
In addition, Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with members of the International Working Group on the Ecological Consequences of War, during which the Ecological Treaty for Ukraine was presented. Additionally, the head of state held a telephone conversation with the President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron, this week.
The information in the newsletter is collected from official sources—reports of state authorities of Ukraine, Ukrainian and international news agencies. The accuracy of the data is carefully checked by the project team and corrected in case of fake news.