Kremlin boss Putin could be overthrown.
US Secretary of State Blinken sees Russia's "strategic failure" in invading Ukraine.
The news ticker.
Vladimir Putin is planning a speech on the Ukraine war: In Russia, this is still referred to as a special operation
New secret weapon for Ukraine: Kiev relies on an AI program in the attack on Russia
Ukraine News: Situation in Moscow tense due to failures
Read all developments on the Ukraine war in the live ticker here.
The processed information on the Ukraine war comes partly from the warring parties in Russia and Ukraine.
They can therefore not be independently checked in part.
Update from February 21, 9:35 p.m .:
During an emotional speech
In front of the Warsaw Royal Castle during his visit to Poland, US President Joe Biden assured Ukraine of continued support from the United States.
Ukraine is "strong", "proud" and "free" despite the extremely brutal crackdown by the Russian armed forces and can continue to count on the support of the West, the President said.
"A dictator who wants to rebuild an empire will never be able to suppress the people's desire for freedom.
Ukraine will never become a victim of Russia and Russia will never win,” Biden also assured, criticizing the war crimes of the Russian army.
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According to US President Biden, Russia will never win in Ukraine.
© Alastair Grant/dpa/AP
Ukraine War: Betrayal in Russia?
Wagner boss railed against Putin and Kremlin leadership
Update from February 21, 6:50 p.m .:
The head of the private Russian mercenary group Wagner has accused the army general staff of “treason” – because they refuse to provide equipment to the Wagner mercenaries fighting in Ukraine.
"The Chief of the General Staff and the Minister of Defense are issuing hell-bent orders not only not to give the Wagner paramilitary group any ammunition, but also not to support it with air transport," Yevgeny Prigozhin said in an audio message published on Telegram on Tuesday.
The Wagner chief lamented the "direct resistance" of the Russian military, which "is nothing other than an attempt to destroy Wagner" and amounts to high treason, while Wagner "fights for Bakhmut and loses hundreds of fighters every day," according to Prigozchin.
News in the Ukraine war: NATO strengthened according to US President Biden
Update from February 21, 5:04 p.m .:
NATO is strengthened – even a year after the outbreak of the Ukraine war.
During his visit to Poland, US President Joe Biden made a clear commitment to the military alliance.
"It is the most significant alliance, I would say perhaps the most significant alliance in history, not just in modern history but in all of history," the American said on Tuesday, February 21.
A year after the start of the war, NATO is "stronger than ever".
From the point of view of the government in Warsaw, the visit to Poland underlines the strategic importance of Poland in the Ukraine war.
The EU and NATO country has a border with Ukraine that is more than 500 kilometers long.
Not only did Poland take in a good 1.5 million war refugees from there, it has also repeatedly pushed ahead with initiatives to provide military support for Kiev in recent months.
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Russian soldiers on a mission in Ukraine.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken sees the invasion of Ukraine as a "strategic failure in every respect" (archive image).
© Russian Defense Ministry Press Service/AP/dpa
A year of Ukraine war: Blink sees Russia weakened
Update from February 21, 3:42 p.m .
: US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken sees the invasion of Ukraine by Russia as a complete “strategic failure”.
Blinken summed up in Athens: "One year after Putin's attack on Ukraine, it is clear that his war is a strategic failure in every respect".
According to the US politician, nobody wanted this war, but everyone wanted "it to end as soon as possible".
His comments come a day after US President Joe Biden made a surprise trip to Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Russian President Putin has accused the West of fueling the conflict.
In his speech, he declared: "Responsibility for fueling the Ukrainian conflict, for its escalation, for the number of casualties... lies entirely with the Western elites".
Regarding the state of the war, Putin said that "step by step" the "ahead of us will be solved carefully and systematically".
Putin announces modernization of the armed forces in his speech - Ukraine news live at a glance
Update from February 21, 3:23 p.m
.: During his speech, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the modernization of the Russian armed forces.
In the area of equipment, some international observers attest the Russian army to some significant problems.
Putin has now declared that the "equipment level of Russia's nuclear deterrent forces with the latest systems is now 91.3 percent".
The Russian President continued: "Now - taking into account our accumulated experience - we need to achieve such a high level of quality in all parts of the armed forces."
Ukraine-News: Expert considers the use of nuclear weapons to be possible if the Ukraine war escalates
Update from February 21, 11:30 a.m.:
While Vladimir Putin keeps the world in suspense because of his speech about the so-called special operation in Ukraine, the fear of a possible use of nuclear weapons by Russia continues to grow.
Although expert Carlo Masala classifies the danger of a further escalation of the Ukraine war as low, his colleague Nicole Deitelhoff, head of the Leibniz Institute for Peace and Conflict Research in Frankfurt am Main, finds clear words.
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A Russian long-range nuclear missile during a parade in Moscow's Red Square
© Yuri Kochetkov
She fears that Russian President Vladimir Putin could continue the Ukraine war indefinitely because he cannot afford to lose.
“Putin has awakened spirits that he can hardly get a grip on now.
Hardliners that are even worse than himself are taking away his negotiating leeway because they are still demanding heavier strikes, such as the use of tactical nuclear weapons.” It has been evident for weeks that Putin is still under pressure.
Deitelhoff fears that the danger of an escalation with such "small nuclear weapons" or with chemical and biological weapons would increase if Putin and his army found themselves cornered by Ukrainian successes.
Front in the Ukraine War: News on the military of Russia and Ukraine
The front in the Ukraine war has been shifting steadily since hostilities broke out in February 2022.
Nevertheless, with the support of the West, the Ukrainian army was able to push back the aggressors significantly.
The front line in the war in Ukraine is currently in the east of the country.
Ukraine has made strong gains in the Kharkiv region in the north-east of the country, but there has been heavy fighting north of Donetsk.
In the south, Russia continues to hold large parts of the country.
Also the annexed territories on the Crimean Peninsula.
Numerous destroyed buildings in the Ukraine war: News about Russia and Ukraine live in the ticker
Update February 21, 9:38 a.m.
According to British secret services, the destruction of schools and hospitals in Ukraine has increased.
The Defense Ministry's daily briefing states more specifically that in January the number of affected medical and educational institutions increased, presumably due to the indiscriminate use of artillery and other weapon systems by the Russian armed forces.
According to the report, civilians were also repeatedly killed in the process.
The United Nations reports that around 8,000 civilians had died in the Ukraine war by mid-February, but the number could be higher.
British secret services estimate around 16,000 civilian casualties.
News from the Ukraine war: Wagner boss written off?
Kremlin cuts access to guns
Update from February 21, 8:20 a.m .:
"Putin's cook" and Wagner boss, Yevgeny Prigozchin, is currently being denied access to artillery shells and heavy weapons by the Russian Ministry of Defense.
According to the
Institute for the Study of War
think tank , the Russian military leadership is trying to strengthen conventional Russian armed forces.
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Has the Wagner boss already been written off?
Kremlin cuts off Prigozhin's access to weapons.
© ITAR-TASS/imago (montage)
Update from February 21, 7:30 a.m .:
Kremlin boss Putin will give his speech today, February 21.
The Federal Assembly meets near the Kremlin.
According to the Kremlin, Putin will address the war against Ukraine that began almost a year ago and the current situation in Russia.
He also wants to comment on the economy and social policy.
Because of the sanctions imposed by the West, the Russian economy is under massive pressure.
Ukraine news live: Rheinmetall Germany confirms delivery of tanks to Ukraine
Update from February 20, 9:32 p.m .:
The armaments company Rheinmetall has confirmed that its contingent of Marders armored personnel carriers will be delivered to Ukraine without delay.
“It is agreed to deliver at the end of March.
They are already finished here," said CEO Armin Papperger of the
German Press Agency (dpa)
on Monday in Unterlüß in Lower Saxony.
The federal government had announced that it would hand over a total of 40 armored personnel carriers to Ukraine.
Of these, 20 are said to come from the stocks of the Bundeswehr, and 20 more will be supplied by Rheinmetall.
Ukraine-News: Biden announces new military aid in Kiev – first details known
February 20 update, 6:50 p.m.:
The US government has
announced further armaments for Ukraine during Joe Biden's surprise visit to Kiev and has now given the first details of the military aid.
As the
Tagesschau
reports, the package is said to be worth up to 460 million US dollars and primarily includes rockets for the HIMARS multiple rocket launcher, mortar shells, artillery shells, armor-piercing rockets and other ammunition.
Medical equipment and various vehicles and spare parts are also to be delivered.
The armaments come from the stocks of the US military.
News from the Ukraine war: “There is no loyalty in Russia” – Russian elite predicts Putin's fall
Update from February 20, 5:13 p.m .:
President Putin is coming under increasing pressure: According to the Russian elite, Putin needs a Russian victory in the Ukraine war to ensure his own survival.
"There is no loyalty in Russia," a Russian billionaire told The
Washington Post
.
Doubts about Putin's brutal war tactics are growing, the report says.
For many businessmen and state officials, Putin's losses in the Ukraine war would have wiped out the progress made in the 30 years since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
According to the report, however, the majority of the oligarchs still fear the Kremlin boss and have so far remained silent.
"The elite know it was a mistake but are still afraid to do something themselves," says former Russian diplomat Boris Bondarev.
Update from February 20, 3:13 p.m .:
The Ukrainian
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned against Chinese intervention in the Ukraine war.
"It is important for us that China does not support the Russian Federation in this war," said the 45-year-old in an interview with Die
Welt
.
"Because if China were to ally with Russia, there would be a world war, and I think China is aware of that." However, he currently sees no signs that China will interfere.
At the Munich Security Conference, China announced a peace plan for the Ukraine war.
At the same time, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned against arms deliveries from China to Russia.
Ukraine war: Kiev relies on new secret weapon in offensive
Update from February 20, 2:00 p.m .:
Ukraine is using a new secret weapon when attacking Russia: 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.
The world on Sunday
reported about it first
.
News about the Ukraine war: Joe Biden meets Selenskyj in Kiev – further arms deliveries announced
Update from February 20, 1:15 p.m .
: Volodymyr Zelenskyj has underlined how important US military aid is in the Ukraine war.
They are noticeable on the battlefield, in the improved equipment of the soldiers "and in the liberation of our areas," said the Ukrainian head of state on Monday (February 20) in a brief statement with Joe Biden to media representatives in Kiev.
The US President made an unannounced visit to the Ukrainian capital.
Selenskyj particularly emphasized the US M1 Abrams main battle tanks, but also the German Leopard 2 tanks.
The White House announced the delivery of other important armaments, specific models were not named.
At the same time, the United States warned China against supplying arms to Russia.
First report from February 20 at 11:00 a.m.:
Kiev/Moscow – The Ukraine war is facing a sad event: February 24 marks the first anniversary of the beginning of the war.
After a year, the front in the war in Ukraine is only slowly shifting.
The Russian military is being pushed further and further back by the Ukrainian forces and eastern Ukraine is becoming the scene of heavy fighting.
Nevertheless, many experts expect that Russia could launch another offensive on the occasion of the anniversary.
A few days before the deadline comes the assessment from London: The failures of the Russian army will probably cause tension in the Kremlin.
Meanwhile, Russia is also using sexual violence as a weapon of war in the Ukraine war.
Ukraine News live: The situation in Moscow is said to be tense – how will the Ukraine war continue?
According to the German Press Agency, the British Ministry of Defense reports that the Russian offensive in the spring is intended to increase tensions in the Russian leadership due to failures.
That's according to the Department of Defense's daily Ukraine war intelligence update in London on Monday, February 20.
The past few weeks and days have shown that the army of Russian President Vladimir Putin is trying to gain the upper hand against the Ukrainian soldiers on several fronts at the same time.
The strategy: winning the front with high losses.
It is repeatedly reported that entire squads are wiped out and numerous soldiers die.
Added to this is the high loss of material associated with this strategy in the war in Ukraine.
The intelligence report goes on to say that Russia is sticking to the offensive, among other things, because the Kremlin wants to present successes on the anniversary of the war.
That is why the cities of Bachmut and Wuhledar are still the focus of the fighting.
The cities in eastern Ukraine have been considered important theaters of the Ukraine war for months, and a victory in the region would probably give the Russian leadership fresh support for the course of the war.
Russia's offensive in the Ukraine war probably fails: News on the current course of the conflict
The fact that the Russian military is probably experiencing a lot of pressure from its leadership is also shown by the fact that in Wuhledar, a city in the Donbass, two elite units were so badly wiped out that they are no longer operational.
The West suspects that Russia's army wants to press ahead with the spring offensive at all costs in order to avoid further tensions in the Kremlin.
The daily British intelligence report has been a thorn in the side of the Russian President for months.
Moscow accuses London of a targeted disinformation campaign.
Ukraine News: NATO in Ukraine war rejects demand for cluster bombs
They are considered terrible weapons in wars: so-called cluster bombs and incendiary bombs.
Last weekend, the debate about the banned weapons of war flared up again in the ranks of the security conference, with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg making it clear that such weapons would not be supplied by the alliance to Kiev.
He told the broadcasting association RTL/ntv that the alliance did not recommend this type of weapon either.
"We supply artillery and other types of weapons, but no cluster bombs."
Why are cluster bombs banned?
Cluster bombs are usually containers that contain so-called submunitions.
Before the cluster bomb reaches the ground, it detonates and spreads its contents over large areas.
Another variant is that up to 40 percent of the bomb does not detonate on impact, but is distributed in a region.
The bombs lurking in the ground can then explode at the slightest touch.
As a result, they cause uncontrolled destruction in an area and cannot be used against military targets.
So far, cluster munitions have been used in 40 countries.
The international criticism: cluster bombs indiscriminately kill and wound.
To date, 123 countries have signed a convention against cluster munitions, which has been in force under international law since 2010.
Ukraine had previously advocated the use of cluster munitions.
Deputy Prime Minister Kubrakov had spoken out in favor of being able to use cluster munitions and phosphorus firearms on his own territory.
Russia would already use such weapons in the Ukraine war, it said.
Also, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba, stated that there are no legal obstacles preventing Ukraine from using cluster munitions.
As a reason, he said that Kiev is not a member of the Oslo Convention, which bans the use of cluster munitions.
Ukraine War News: Russia launched invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022
Vladimir Putin, President of Russia, launched an attack on Ukraine with his army on February 24, 2022.
Barely a year after the fighting broke out, the news about Ukraine is dominated by harshness and destruction – for months, Russian attacks have increasingly focused on eastern Ukraine.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine, has been campaigning for arms deliveries to Ukraine ever since.
The West is therefore trying to help the defenders with weapons, supplies and money - including from Germany.
In addition, the nations and NATO launched extensive sanctions against Russia, Vladimir Putin and his oligarchs.
While many nations quickly pledged aid supplies, German politicians hesitated for a long time.
After the news of the delivery of several thousand combat helmets initially caused outrage, the government around Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) followed suit, delivered weapons and most recently sent Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukraine.
In the meantime, thanks to Western aid, Ukraine has been able to push back the Russian advance.
Britain also planned to supply Challenger 2 tanks.
So far almost 14 million people have fled because of the war in Ukraine.
The exact number of victims is not known.
Nevertheless, new horror stories reach the media almost every day.
(
February
)
List of rubrics: © Alastair Grant/dpa/AP