As of: February 14, 2024, 3:45 a.m
By: Nail Akkoyun, Lukas Rogalla, Bedrettin Bölükbasi
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Press
Split
Russia could gradually gain the upper hand in the war, an intelligence agency warns.
To this end, Moscow is intensifying its attacks – for example on Odessa.
The news ticker.
Russia
attacks high-rise building in
Odessa
: Ukrainian Air Force intercepts drone
Fighting in eastern
Ukraine
is increasing: high number of air strikes
The information processed here comes from international media and news agencies, but also from the warring parties Russia and Ukraine and their allies.
In particular, the information on losses suffered by the armies involved in the Ukrainian war cannot be independently verified.
Update from February 13th, 10:10 p.m.:
Oleksandr Syrskyj, new commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, described the current situation as complicated and stated that Ukraine had moved from offensive actions to a defensive operation.
This is necessary to tire out the Russian troops, Syrskyj said in an interview with
ZDF
.
“The aim of this operation is to exhaust the enemy, inflicting significant losses on him, using our fortifications, our technical advantages, including those of unmanned aircraft, radio-electronic warfare and holding the prepared defense lines,” the colonel general said.
In addition, Syrsky said that the fighting on the Kupiansk Front was particularly fierce.
Russia attacks high-rise building in Odessa: Ukrainian Air Force intercepts drone
Update from February 13th, 7:54 p.m.:
The Ukrainian Air Force says it prevented the attack by a Russian cruise missile on the port city of Odessa.
However, parts of the intercepted missile damaged two buildings, the military said.
A Russian fighter jet fired the Ch-59 cruise missile over the Black Sea towards the city.
No one was injured, the Odessa region administration said.
According to this information, a high-rise building and a new building that was still uninhabited were damaged.
What was unusual was that the attack took place in the afternoon.
Russian attacks with rockets, cruise missiles and drones usually take place at night.
Debris from a downed drone tore up the ground in a residential area in Odessa.
(Archive photo) © -/ukrin/dpa
Update from February 13th, 6:50 p.m.:
Since the start of the war in Ukraine, 341 cultural sites have been damaged in the Eastern European country.
One of the most severely damaged buildings was the Transfiguration Cathedral in the old town of Odessa, which is a World Heritage Site, Unesco in Paris said on Tuesday.
The cathedral was destroyed in 1936 under the Soviet ruler Josef Stalin and rebuilt true to the original between 2000 and 2002.
The damage to the 341 sites could not be quantified.
Overall, however, the total damage to cultural and tourist structures since the outbreak of war on February 24, 2022 is estimated at around $3.5 billion.
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US Congress is negotiating aid to Ukraine: Biden warns House of Representatives
Update from February 13th, 5:48 p.m.:
US President Joe Biden has called on the House of Representatives to quickly pass a bill with billions in aid to Ukraine.
“I call on the House of Representatives to take urgent action on this matter,” said the Democrat. “We cannot afford to wait any longer.” Biden warned that the consequences would be particularly devastating for Ukraine if nothing was done.
“We are already seeing reports that Ukrainian troops at the front are running out of ammunition while Russian forces continue to attack.” The law must be on his table as quickly as possible so that he can sign it.
Update from February 13th, 3:33 p.m.:
The US Senate has approved an aid package worth billions for Ukraine, which was attacked by Russia.
After weeks of negotiations, the Chamber of Parliament passed a corresponding bill on Tuesday morning (local time).
70 of the 100 senators voted for it, 29 against it.
This draft now goes to the other chamber of parliament, the House of Representatives.
It is completely unclear whether the package will get through there.
The Republicans have a narrow majority in the House of Representatives, and members of the right-wing fringe of the party have long been opposing further US aid to Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked the US Senate: “For us in Ukraine, continued US support helps save lives from Russian terror,” he wrote on Platform X. “American aid brings a just peace in the Ukraine closer and restore global stability,” he added.
Fighting in eastern Ukraine is increasing: high number of air strikes
Update from February 13th, 1:35 p.m.:
The intensity of the fighting between Ukrainian and Russian troops in the Tavriya direction in eastern Ukraine is apparently increasing sharply.
This was announced by the commander of the units in the region, Alexander Tarnavskyi.
“The intensity of hostilities is increasing,” he wrote on the short message service Telegram.
The number of artillery attacks carried out by Russian troops in the Tavriya operational area last day was “the highest number this year”.
A total of 1,267 projectiles were fired.
“The same applies to air strikes – 67 of them were registered,” Tarnavskyj wrote.
At the same time, the Russian units suffered the heaviest losses so far in 2024 and 645 Russian soldiers were “destroyed” within one day.
At the same time, 41 pieces of Russian military equipment were destroyed or damaged, including 5 tanks and 17 armored fighting vehicles.
In addition, the Ukrainian army also destroyed a Russian ammunition depot, among other things.
Heavy fighting is raging in eastern Ukraine - at the same time, the US Senate votes for an aid package
Update from February 13th, 12:45 p.m.:
The US Senate has voted for an aid package worth billions for Ukraine, which was attacked by Russia.
After weeks of negotiations, the Chamber of Parliament passed a corresponding bill on Tuesday morning (local time), which is now going to the House of Representatives.
However, it is completely unclear whether the package will pass in the other chamber of Congress.
Elon Musk as Russia's accomplice?
Ukraine wants new details on Starlink usage
Update from February 13th, 11:50 a.m.:
What consequences would a victory for Vladimir Putin have in Ukraine?
One expert expects up to ten million refugees if this scenario actually occurs.
Update from February 13, 11:30 a.m.:
Ukraine accuses Arab countries of allowing the delivery of important military equipment to Russia for the use of the US Internet service Starlink.
“The occupiers in the Arab countries are buying the Starlink terminals,” wrote the Ukrainian military intelligence service HUR on its Telegram channel, citing intercepted conversations of Russian soldiers.
Last week, Ukrainian military intelligence said that the Starlink internet connection was being used by the Russian military in the frontline area.
Both SpaceX and the Kremlin have now denied official deliveries of the device.
It's not about official deliveries, but about smuggling, Kiev insists and has now made its allegations more specific.
“According to one of the occupiers, “the Arabs bring everything: cable, WiFi, routers,” and the cost of a Starlink device is 200,000 rubles” (about 2,000 euros), HUR said.
Ukraine war: Russia attacks Dnipro
Update from February 13th, 10:45 a.m.:
Russian troops fired drones and missiles at the city of Dnipro in central Ukraine, Ukrainian media reported.
A thermal power plant was seriously damaged and the water supply to some areas of the city was interrupted.
According to the Ukrainian Air Force, the city was attacked with missiles and at least four waves of drones from the south.
“Due to the nighttime shelling, we are evacuating one of the hospitals and picking up a significant number of palliative patients,” wrote Mayor Borys Filatov on the short message service Telegram.
He reported damage to infrastructure but gave no further details.
The region's police chief, Sergei Lysak, said Ukrainian air defense destroyed 10 drones during the attack, but there were impacts.
Update from February 13th, 9:30 a.m.:
The Ukrainian General Staff reported a total of 13 air strikes against meeting places of Russian troops in Ukraine over the last 24 hours.
In addition, there were 84 fighting operations on the front, it said in a post on Facebook.
Russian troops attacked Ukraine again during the night with 23 “Shahed” drones, with 16 being shot down by the air defense.
Russia also launched 113 air strikes and 135 multiple rocket launcher attacks.
As a result of the attacks on civilian areas, there are injuries and damage to civilian infrastructure.
Russian losses in the Ukraine war: Kiev publishes new figures
Update from February 13th, 7:20 a.m.:
Ukraine has reported new figures on Russia's losses in the war of aggression against the country.
More than 1,000 Russian soldiers were killed or injured in one day.
Soldiers:
397,080 (+1090)
Tanks:
6424 (+8)
Armored Fighting Vehicles:
12,004 (+27)
Artillery systems
: 9500 (+19)
Aircraft:
332
Helicopters:
325
Drones
: 7332 (+30)
Air defense systems:
667 (+1)
Ships/Boats
: 24
Automotive equipment and tankers:
12,623 (+24)
Submarines:
1
Multiple rocket launchers:
981
Source:
Ukrainian General Staff as of February 13, 2024. The information about Russia's losses comes from the Ukrainian army.
They cannot be independently verified.
Russia itself does not provide any information about its own losses in the Ukraine war.
Zelensky is planning a tour of Western Europe: He wants to promote further support in the Ukraine war
Update from February 13th, 6:25 a.m.:
According to the
Bloomberg
news agency , Ukrainian head of state Volodymyr Zelenskyj wants to undertake a tour of Western Europe to promote continued European support against the Russian war of aggression.
Zelensky is expected to visit cities such as Paris, Berlin and Munich, the agency said, citing relevant sources.
It had already become known that the Ukrainian president would most likely attend the Munich Security Conference.
According to
Bloomberg,
Zelenskyj wants to use his tour not only to promote more weapons and ammunition, but also for security guarantees.
Update from February 12th, 10:48 p.m.:
After the restructuring of the military leadership, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj held a meeting of the high command with the new members for the first time.
Among those present at the meeting was Colonel General Olexander Syrskyj, who was appointed commander-in-chief last week, as Zelenskyj said in his evening video address on Monday.
It was about the situation on the front in the east and south of the country, he added.
It was also discussed how the critical infrastructure - such as electricity and water supplies - could be protected in the best possible way.
Attack with “Zircon”: Ukraine reports first use of Russian hypersonic missile
Update from February 12th, 8:55 p.m.:
According to Kiev, Russia has used a hypersonic “Zircon” missile for the first time.
This is the preliminary conclusion of an analysis of the fragments of a rocket attack on February 7th, reports the
Reuters
news agency , citing the head of the responsible research institute, Oleksandr Ruwin.
He commented on Telegram.
There was no statement from Moscow.
The “Zirkon” has a range of around 1,000 kilometers and reaches nine times the speed of sound.
This would make it more difficult for Ukrainian air defense to intercept them.
According to Ukraine, at least five people were killed and parts of the energy network were damaged in Russia's attack on February 7th.
Intelligence: Russia gains the upper hand militarily in the Ukraine war
Update from February 12th, 3:30 p.m.:
According to intelligence information from Norway, Russia is in the process of gaining the military upper hand in Ukraine thanks to a larger troop reserve and material support from countries such as North Korea and China.
Kiev will need "substantial" Western military assistance to have any hope of reversing the situation, military intelligence chief Nils Andreas Stensönes said on Monday at the presentation of the Norwegian security services' annual risk assessment report.
“In this war, Russia is currently in a stronger position than a year ago and is gaining an advantage,” Stensönes said.
Moscow can “mobilize about three times as many troops” as Ukraine, he emphasized.
Russia is adapting to sanctions “better than expected” and the industry is able to “produce enough ammunition, combat vehicles, drones and missiles” to “sustain the war effort throughout the year.”
According to Stensönes, Russia receives military support from Iran, Belarus and North Korea.
According to his findings, China does not supply any weapons, but rather "machines, vehicles, electronics and spare parts" that are useful for Russia's defense industry.
Do Russian troops use Starlink?
Moscow and Musk reject reports
Update from February 12th, 2:15 p.m.:
The government in Moscow and Elon Musk have independently rejected Ukrainian information that Russian troops in Ukraine use the US high-tech billionaire's Starlink satellite internet service.
Starlink is not certified in Russia, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday.
“So it cannot be officially delivered and therefore has not been officially delivered.
So it can’t be used in any way.”
Musk had previously stated on his online service X (formerly Twitter) with regard to the Ukrainian information: “This is completely wrong.
To the best of our knowledge, not a single Starlink terminal has been sold directly or indirectly to Russia." Despite this, Ukraine renewed its allegations on Monday: "Starlink is freely accessible in Russia via a detour from third countries," said a spokesman for Ukrainian military intelligence on Monday TV.
“Compared to last year, the use of Starlink by the Russian army on the front line has become more systematic and regular,” Andriy Yusov added.
The Ukrainian secret service refers, among other things, to radio messages it intercepted from the other side.
First report from February 12th:
Damascus - The Iranian-made “Shahed” kamikaze drones are the most important weapon for the Russian army in attacks on both the Ukrainian military and against the Ukrainian infrastructure.
Russia is now so familiar with drones that they can now be manufactured on Russian territory.
Nevertheless, Russian soldiers continue to be trained in the use of the “Shaheds” - in Syria, according to Ukraine.
Drone use in the Ukraine war: Russian operators are trained in Syria
The Ukrainian military intelligence service GUR said on the short message service Telegram that Russian drone operators would be trained at the Shairat air base in the Syrian city of Homs.
The training program is led by the Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, it said.
Accordingly, the Russian operators are being trained in the use of the Shahed-136 and Ababil-3 as well as Raad drones.
A Hezbollah commander named Kamal Abu-Sadiq is responsible for the training.
Russia is Syria's key ally in the civil war, saving Bashar al-Assad's regime from almost certain military defeat against predominantly Sunni rebels in 2015.
Iran is also allied with the Syrian regime.
The Iranian Revolutionary Guard is showing a military presence together with pro-Iranian militias such as Hezbollah.
Kremlin wants to use Syrian mercenaries: They are being trained for the war in Ukraine
According to a statement from Ukrainian military intelligence, not only Russian soldiers but also Syrian mercenaries are trained at the Shairat air base.
The Russian military wants to use these mercenaries as drone operators in the war of aggression against Ukraine.
(bb)