Ukraine war in the live ticker: +++ 02:32 Russia declares several celebrities to be foreign agents +++

Ukraine war in the live ticker
+++ 02:32 Russia declares several celebrities to be foreign agents +++

The Russian Ministry of Justice classifies more Russian personalities as foreign agents. Tass news agency cites a ministry statement that, for example, Zemfira, a popular Russian singer, “openly supported Ukraine, gave concerts in unfriendly countries, speaking out against the special military operation and received support from abroad”. After Russia invaded Ukraine, Zemfira left Russia and settled in France. According to the ministry, opposition politician Dmitry Gudkov is now on the agent list.

+++ 00:56 Pentagon: Russia has already lost half of its tanks +++
According to estimates by the US Department of Defense, the Russian army has already lost half of its main battle tanks. “Probably half of the Russian army’s main stock of tanks” was “destroyed or confiscated by Ukraine,” says Celeste Wallander, undersecretary for international security affairs at the US Department of Defense. At an online event organized by the think tank Center for a New American Security, Wallander did not provide any further information on the number of tanks confiscated and destroyed according to US estimates.

+++ 23:34 Kremlin: channels between Moscow and NATO still open +++
According to Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko, military channels of communication between NATO and Russia remain open. “Especially the telephone line between Russia’s chief of staff and the commander of NATO troops in Europe,” says Grushko on Russian state television. The Russian ambassador in Belgium, where NATO is based, has also been instructed to communicate with NATO if necessary. Relations between Russia and the western military alliance are at a low point after Russian troops invaded Ukraine almost a year ago. Grushko said that “normal diplomatic contacts” between the two sides are out of the question, despite the continued existence of military communication channels.

+++ 22:20 Major damage to Ukrainian energy supply +++
According to the utility company Ukrenergo, the massive Russian missile attack has caused considerable damage to Ukraine’s energy system. Several thermal and hydroelectric power plants were hit, said the head of the group, Volodymyr Kudryzkyj, on Ukrainian television in the evening. The situation in the Kharkiv region is particularly difficult. The attack has thrown back plans to restore Ukraine’s power supply, says Kudryzkyj. “But again no catastrophe happened.” The 14th wave of Russian attacks since last October has not achieved its goal of destroying the energy system either.

+++ 21:53 Russia is reducing oil production +++
Russia announces a 5 percent cut in oil production in March. Energy Minister Alexander Nowak says production will be reduced by 500,000 barrels a day. He adds that this happens “voluntarily” and “unilaterally”. Government spokesman Dmitry Peskov added that Moscow had previously spoken “with a certain number” of members of the Organization of the Petroleum Producing Countries (OPEC). The price of oil rose immediately in London. Russia is part of the Opec+ group, which includes the members of Opec and ten other producing countries. The Bloomberg news agency reports that representatives of a number of OPEC members have assured that they will not compensate for the loss of Russian production.

+++ 21:20 Selenskyj to fighter jets: “We still have to work on it” +++
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy drew a positive conclusion from his trip to Western Europe this week. “London, Paris, Brussels – I’ve been talking everywhere these days about how we can strengthen our soldiers,” he said in a video message that evening. “There are very important agreements and we have received good signals.” This applies to longer-range missiles and tanks. “But we still have to work on the hoped-for delivery of combat aircraft as the next level of cooperation”. He calls his visits to the EU summit and the European Parliament the “beginning of a new stage”. In this, Ukraine will no longer just be a guest of the European institutions, but a full member of the EU.

+++ 20:47 before the anniversary of the attack: Biden flies to Poland on February 20 +++
US President Joe Biden will travel to Poland shortly before the first anniversary of the Russian attack on Ukraine. Biden will travel to the country bordering Ukraine from February 20-22, according to his spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre. Among other things, a meeting with Polish President Andrzej Duda is planned, which will also deal with ongoing support for Ukraine. Biden had already visited Poland in March last year, about a month after the start of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. The president caused a stir with a speech at the Royal Castle in Warsaw, in which he deviated from the script and said of Russian President Vladimir Putin: “This man cannot stay in power.” The White House immediately assured that Biden was not seeking “regime change” in Moscow. Putin will deliver a State of the Union address on February 21.

You can read earlier developments in the Ukraine war here.

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