Ukraine relies on new secret weapon in fight against Russia

Selenskyj does not want to defend Bakhmut at any price.

The Ukrainian army uses a new secret weapon.

The news ticker.

• Fighting in the east:

  Volodymyr Zelenskyj reports on attacks on cities in Ukraine

• Battle of Bachmut:

  Wagner Group reports conquest in the Ukraine War

• Ukraine war:

  All information and news about the Ukraine conflict in our news ticker

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Kiev relies on a new secret weapon in the Ukraine war: AI software from the US company Palantir is intended to give Ukraine great progress against the Russian attackers.

The Palantir software can use artificial intelligence to locate and identify enemy objects, such as camouflaged tanks, with increasing reliability.

reported about it first

.

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Two Russian soldiers in combat training in Kostroma.

(archive photo)

© ITAR-TASS/Imago Images

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After the USA, the European Union has also warned China about arms deliveries to Russia.

That would mean "a red line" was crossed, said EU chief diplomat Josep Borrell on Monday on the fringes of the foreign ministers' meeting in Brussels.

He also made this clear to the high-ranking Chinese foreign politician Wang Yi.

He assured him that China had "no intention of doing this".

A Year of Ukraine War: The Origins of the Conflict with Russia

A Year of the Ukraine War: The Origins of the Conflict with Russia

Ukraine War: Kiev defends itself against Russia

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Ukraine has rejected Russian information about the capture of the village of Hrianykivka in the Kharkiv region.

Ukrainian forces repelled Russian attacks in the area, the general staff said.

The Russian troops would continue to shell the area with artillery.

The Defense Ministry in Moscow said on Saturday that Russian forces had captured the village.

This cannot be verified independently.

War in Ukraine: Zelenskyj announces long fight for Bakhmut

+++ 8.20 a.m .:

The Ukrainian

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukraine will continue its month-long defense of the city of Bakhmut, not forgetting the cost in human lives.

Before the war, Bakhmut in the Donetsk region had a population of 70,000. According to estimates by Ukrainian authorities, fewer than 5,000 civilians now live there.

Zelenskyj told the Italian daily

: "Yes, it's not a particularly big city.

Like many others in the Donbass, it was devastated by the Russians.

It is important for us to defend them, but not at any cost and not that everyone dies."

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Selenskyj issued new sanctions against Russia’s financial sector with his decree on Sunday by the Council for National Security and Defense in order to weaken the war economy of the aggressor.

Sanctions against the 333 people and the Moscow Stock Exchange have thus been put into effect.

This is reported by the Ukrainian news platform

The sanctions are the basis for allies in the West to also issue such punitive measures.

War in Ukraine: Russia opens investigation into war crimes

Update from Monday, February 20, 6:25 a.m .:

According to a report, Russia is investigating hundreds of Ukrainian government officials and soldiers for war crimes.

"Prosecutions are currently underway against 680 people," the state news agency

quoted Alexander Bastrykin, head of the Russian investigative committee.

"The accused include 118 people from among the commanders and leaders of the Ukrainian armed forces and the Ministry of Defense."

It is about the use of weapons against the civilian population.

138 of the people concerned were charged in absentia.

The information provided by the Committee cannot be independently verified.

The Ukrainian authorities have not yet commented.

War in Ukraine: Russia is said to have shelled localities

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The governor of the Kharkiv region, Oleh Syniehubov, reported on social networks that Russia is said to have shelled several towns in eastern Ukraine.

These include the village of Lyptsi and the cities of Vovchansk and Kupyansk, which are not far from the Russian-Ukrainian border.

There were several civilian casualties.

Accordingly, three women and one man were injured.

In addition, in another nearby settlement, a fire station and a health facility were damaged in rocket attacks.

Ukraine War: Russia prepares major offensive in Donetsk

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According to reports from the Ukrainian news platform

, Russia is said to have withdrawn several units in the direction of Donetsk in order to increase its troop strength from 160 to 190 battalions there.

This could point to a major offensive on February 24th.

refers to a message from the Ukrainian secret service.

Vitalii Barabash, head of the civil military administration in the city of Avdiivka in Donetsk Oblast, warned of the Russian attack: “Even if their units are not strong enough, there are a lot of people.

We realize they're probably preparing for something.

Most likely, they will launch the offensive on February 24.” In his opinion, the Russian attack would begin with rocket fire at the regional centers.

Then there will be an offensive from all directions, suspects Barabash.

News about the Ukraine war: Russia accuses Kiev of nuclear provocation

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The Russian Ministry of Defense accuses Ukraine of a planned nuclear provocation.

In a statement Sunday evening, the Russian military leadership claims that Kiev wants to blame Moscow for a "gross violation" of nuclear safety.

The statement does not reveal where the allegations come from and what evidence there is for them.

According to Russian information, next week, on the first anniversary of the Ukraine war on February 24, Kiev plans to accuse Russia of indiscriminate bombing of nuclear objects and radioactive pollution of the environment.

For this purpose, certain quantities of radioactive material were transported from an unnamed European country, circumventing customs regulations.

The material should then be used to stage contamination of radioactive dangerous objects.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has previously claimed that he knows the location where Kiev is building a dirty bomb containing nuclear material.

The allegations were then checked on site by experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency, but could not be confirmed.

News on the Ukraine war: "Nuclear catastrophe" possible after Russian attacks

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According to information from the Ukrainian energy company “Energoatom”, there was almost a “nuclear catastrophe” in southern Ukraine after a Russian missile attack.

The reason for this was said to be two cruise missiles that flew past at around 8:30 a.m. on Saturday morning (February 18) in the immediate vicinity of the nuclear power plant in the city of Yuzhnoukrajinsk.

On its website, "Energoatom" reports that the flying objects flew along the adjacent river in the direction of the city of Pervomaisk and came "dangerously close" to the nuclear power plant.

"The danger of an impact in the reactor, with the possible consequences of a nuclear catastrophe, was again great," it says.

The company called on the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to "take all possible measures to stop Russian nuclear terrorism."

The

considers such Russian attacks to be a strategic means of preventing nuclear power plants from restarting or to force an emergency shutdown.

News about the Ukraine war: France supplies main battle tanks

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According to the Paris Ministry of Defense, France will start delivering light battle tanks in the coming days

to Ukraine.

published on Sunday

.

Lecornu initially gave no information on the number of tanks that Paris was supplying to Kiev.

The defense minister says he does not want to give Russia this "strategically important information".

The AMX-10 delivery should therefore take place around the first anniversary of the start of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine on February 24th.

News about the Ukraine war: Chechen boss Kadyrov praises the Wagner group

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The Chechen ruler Ramzan Kadyrov has praised the Russian mercenary group Wagner and its boss Yevgeny Prigoshin for their use in Ukraine.

The Wagner units achieved “impressive results,” Kadyrov wrote on his Telegram channel on Sunday.

He further explained that he wanted to set up his own professional mercenary troupe once he was no longer in government office.

A photo showed Kadyrov together with Prigozhin.

Their solidarity can be seen as a political signal, because both are loyal to President Vladimir Putin, but are outspoken critics of the Russian military leadership.

However, Prigozhin's political influence seemed to be waning in recent weeks.

The attack on the eastern Ukrainian town of Bakhmut was carried out with heavy casualties, primarily by the Wagner gunmen.

They recently complained that the military was not giving them enough ammunition.

Ukraine War: No Cluster Munitions for Kyiv

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NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has rejected the demands from Ukraine for cluster munitions and phosphorus incendiary weapons.

The alliance rejects the use of such weapons and has "not yet delivered them," said Stoltenberg.

Federal politicians from the Greens and Left had already opposed Ukraine's request.

At the security conference, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Olexander Kubrakov called for the use of cluster munitions and phosphorus incendiary weapons.

Ukraine War: Russia continues offensive, shelling cities

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At least three civilians are said to have been killed by Russian shelling in the Cherson region.

This is reported by

, referring to the Ukrainian regional administration.

According to reports, Russia shelled the village of Burhunka early in the morning.

+++ 11.30 a.m .:

According to the local authorities, several Russian projectiles hit the eastern Ukrainian city of Druzhkivka.

Two residential buildings were damaged during the night of Sunday, said the governor of the contested Donetsk region, Pavlo Kyrylenko.

Initially, he did not provide any information about injuries or fatalities.

Druzhkivka is far behind the front, but is still being repeatedly fired at with rockets, Kyrylenko wrote on the Telegram network.

According to a report by the

news portal , a total of eight Ukrainian administrative areas have been shelled since Saturday.

These included the Sumy, Kharkiv and Dnipropetrovsk oblasts, all of which are close to the front lines.

In western Ukraine, in the capital of the Khmelnytskyi region, according to the authorities, a military object was hit by a longer-range missile.

Ukraine War: Russia's shock troops attack Wuhledar

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Battles have been raging in southern Ukraine for weeks: near Wuhledar on the Zaporizhia front, Russian shock troops are attacking Ukrainian positions.

The Ukrainians have held their ground so far.

The city, which is 50 kilometers south of Donetsk, was hit hard - it resembles a city in ruins.

15,000 people once lived in Wuhledar.

Even the Russian side recently admitted to having suffered extensive losses in the area.

In contrast to Bachmut, which was also contested, where the mercenaries of the Wagner group fought, it was mainly the regular Russian armed forces who were deployed at Wuhledar.

Update from February 19, 2023, 6:05 a.m .:

After heavy fighting in the region around Bakhmut, Russia is now again shelling the area around Kharkiv.

On the night of Sunday, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense reported several artillery attacks.

The Ukrainian cities west of the Dnipro are probably again under Russian rocket and artillery fire.

According to Ukrainska Pravda, the settlements of Nikopol and Marhanets were hit during the night.

Ukraine war decides in one region – Zelenskyj appeals to soldiers

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In his daily video speech, the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj was happy about the new aid commitments from the West.

"There are important statements from world leaders in support of our state, and there are signals to strengthen weapons for our defense," said Zelenskyy on Saturday evening.

The conference in Munich made it clear that the Ukraine war could only end in a defeat for Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin.

Zelenskyj also addressed the Russian rocket attacks in the morning.

These would only have led to a short-term failure of the power grid.

According to Zelensky, almost all regions of Ukraine are now back online.

For Kiev, this is a symbolic success as Russian missile attacks since October have been aimed at destroying Ukraine's energy infrastructure.

Cold and darkness in the middle of winter should demotivate the Ukrainians to continue the war.

In his evening speech, the Ukrainian President pointed out that much of what is planned in Ukraine depends on the outcome of the conflict in the east of the country, especially in Donetsk Oblast.

The regions are among the most fiercely contested areas in Ukraine.

With this in mind, Selenskyj thanked all fighting soldiers.

News about the Ukraine war: China delivers drones to Russia for the Ukraine war

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As the

reports, small drones continue to be sold from China to Russia, where they are used as weapons at the front to attack Ukrainian troops.

According to official customs data, these include drones from the Chinese technology company DJI.

According to reports, other drones would reach Russia via the United Arab Emirates.

The drones are often purchased from third parties and shipped from China.

The company "DJI" recently spoke out against the use of civilian drones on the battlefield and had officially ceased its business activities in Russia and Ukraine.

Ukraine war news: Russia bombs Ukrainian city – many civilian casualties

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In the Donetsk region, more than 30 rocket attacks are said to have destroyed several residential buildings and damaged civilian infrastructure, the Ukrainian General Staff reports in its evening update.

There were also four attacks from the air.

The city of Khmelnytsky and the village of Ukrainsk are said to be particularly affected.

The Ukrainian military speaks of several civilian casualties.

In their attacks, Russia mainly takes medical facilities, residential buildings and educational institutions, Ukrainian armed forces report.

The military update from the Ukrainian Armed Forces said the threat of further attacks by the Russian Federation remained high across Ukraine.

Ukraine war: Ukraine demands controversial cluster munitions

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The Green politician Anton Hofreiter has criticized the Ukrainian demand for cluster munitions and phosphorus bombs.

The use of both weapons is very controversial, cluster munitions are outlawed under international law.

“Ukraine demands everything.

I think this demand is wrong, ”said the chairman of the Bundestag’s Europe Committee to the broadcaster

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has defended his country's claim.

It is understandable that this munition is controversial in world politics - but Ukraine is not a party to the Convention on the Ban on Cluster Munitions, he told journalists on Saturday on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.

“If we get them, we will use them exclusively against the armed forces of the Russian Federation.

These munitions could help resist the attackers.” Ukraine has evidence that Russia is using cluster munitions, Kuleba said.

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British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announces further weapons aid for Ukraine in the war against Russia at the Munich Security Conference.

"Now is the moment to double our military support," says Sunak.

“Together we must help Ukraine protect its cities from Russian bombs and Iranian drones.

And that's why Britain will be the first country to provide Ukraine with longer-range weapons.” He does not give details.

Sunak stresses that Britain and its allies want to help Ukraine get "the most advanced anti-aircraft systems" and build a modern air force.

Ukraine war: US accuses Russia of 'barbaric' crimes

+++ 2.47 p.m .:

US Vice President Kamala Harris has massive human rights violations in Russia

accused in Ukraine.

This included murders, rapes

and the kidnapping

Ukrainian children to Russia.

"It's barbaric and inhumane," she said at the Munich Security Conference.

Harris stressed that the US will work to ensure that Russian perpetrators of the crimes are held accountable.

+++ 2:28 p.m .: According to the

news agency, the Russian Ministry of Defense has

reported the capture of Hrianykivka – a village in eastern Ukraine, about 100 kilometers from the city of Kharkiv.

The Ukrainian general staff had previously announced that the village was under artillery fire.

Ukraine war: Ukrainian Prime Minister Schmyhal against "freezing" the war

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The Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Schmyhal rejects a “freezing” of the armed conflict

with Russia to avoid further bloodshed as unacceptable.

"That would only play into Russia's hands and lead to another major war," Schmyhal told Focus news magazine on Saturday.

He also rejects any territorial losses

even if they were accompanied by strong security guarantees.

War in Ukraine: No fighter jets for Kiev

+++ 11.43 a.m .:

British Defense Minister Ben Wallace excludes his government from a rapid delivery of modern fighter jets to Ukraine.

“It will not be fast fighter jet deliveries

certainly not in this phase of the war, and almost certainly not in six months,” Der

magazine quotes Wallace as saying.

Modern jets like the "Eurofighter"

could only be delivered to Ukraine after the war because pilot training takes a long time. 

"Nevertheless, with the basic willingness to take this step at some point, we are again signaling our determination to help Ukraine for as long as it is necessary," Wallace continued.

Ukraine War: Explosions reported

+++ 11.18 a.m .:

According to the

news agency , Ukraine has reported two new explosions.

According to the authorities, they could be heard in the city of Khmelnytskyi, about 275 kilometers west of Kiev.

In several eastern and southern regions of the country, the authorities also warned that the electricity should be switched off as a precaution in order to minimize the damage to the electricity grid.

Russia has repeatedly attacked Ukraine's energy infrastructure.

Update, 9:29 am:

On Saturday morning (February 18), air raid sirens were sounded throughout Ukraine, except for the western and some southern regions.

This is reported by the Ukrainian online newspaper

Missiles were reportedly launched from the Black Sea.

You are flying towards western Ukraine.

At the moment, there is no information from Belarus about any aircraft being shot down or taken off. 

War in Ukraine: Kiev calls for escape from Bakhmut - situation in the morning

First report from February 18, 2022:

Bakhmut - On Friday, the Ukrainian government in Kiev asked all civilians who are still in Bakhmut to leave the city immediately.

"If you are sane, law-abiding and patriotic citizens, you should leave the city immediately," Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchukin said on Friday, according to the

news portal .

For months, Kremlin troops and the Ukrainian army have been fighting fiercely for Bakhmut.

So far, neither side has achieved a breakthrough.

Russia is said to suffer heavy losses in the offensives in the region.

But the pressure on the Ukrainian defenders is constantly increasing.

According to information from their boss Yevgeny Prigoschin, his mercenary troupe Wagner is said to have succeeded in conquering the strategically important town of Paraskovijivka.

This is north of Bachmut.

With the conquest of the place, it should be possible for Russia to fire on the supply and retreat routes of the Kiev army in the Ukraine war.

Ukraine war: Kiev plans advance on Crimean peninsula

"The place Paraskovijivka is completely under the control of departments of the mercenary company Wagner," Prigozhin said, according to the Russian agency Interfax.

There was no independent confirmation.

The place was not mentioned in the evening report of the Ukrainian general staff.

Should the neighboring villages of Verkhivka, Berkhivka and Jahidne also be conquered in the Ukraine war, the Ukrainian troops in Bakhmut could no longer be supplied from the north.

In the south of Bakhmut, too, Russian forces are pushing behind the Ukrainians.

In return, Kiev appears to be planning advances on another front in the Ukraine war.

According to Moscow, Kiev has set its sights on the Crimean peninsula.

The region was occupied by Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2014 and then annexed.

According to Moscow, the USA would now incite Ukraine to strike the Black Sea peninsula.

"Now the American warmongers are going even further: they incite the Kiev regime to further escalate by bringing the war to our territory," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in Moscow.

Ukraine war: Kiev wants fighter jets from the West

The trigger was statements by top US diplomat Victoria Nuland, according to which Washington considers Russian military facilities in Crimea to be legitimate targets.

"Ukraine will not be safe unless Crimea is at least demilitarized," Nuland said in Washington.

Kiev can count on support from the USA.

Meanwhile, at the Munich Security Conference (Siko), the Ukrainian President called for more military aid to his country.

In the Ukraine war, his country primarily needs combat aircraft.

So far, however, Ukraine's western allies have not been willing to support Kiev with fighter jets.

According to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, that could change soon.

Kuleba said in Munich that he was certain "that the aircraft problem would be solved."

"It will take a little more time." (red / dpa)

Rubric list image: © ITAR-TASS/Imago Images