The former Ukrainian ambassador to Germany, Andrij Melnyk, speaks out in favor of Ukrainian attacks on the Russian hinterland. “The dynamics of this cruel war force us to rethink everything again and again,” he tells the Germany editorial network. The Russians would have massively increased the production of war material and launched more attacks on Ukrainian cities. “International law allows us to defend ourselves – when other means fail, including by shelling the hinterland to cut off logistical routes and hit command centers and military airfields for fighter jets to fire their missiles “Fire Ukrainian cities.”
+++ 03:39 USA blacklists Russian tankers +++
To enforce the price cap on Russian crude oil, the USA is putting 14 Russian oil tankers on a blacklist. The sanctions imposed by the US Treasury Department are aimed at the state-owned Russian shipping company Sowkomflot. 45 days would be given to unload oil or other cargo from 14 of the ships. Western countries introduced the price cap for Russian crude oil in December 2022.
+++ 02:57 Explosions in Lipetsk: Fire in Russian steelworks +++
Explosions are reported in the southern Russian city of Lipetsk. Should be in a steel mill Reportedly a major fire have broken out. The governor of the region, Igor Artamonov, writes on Telegram about a fire in a factory hall. The fire has been extinguished and there is no risk that dangerous substances would be released. The security services were therefore checking information about a drone attack. The Russian Defense Ministry in Moscow is now reporting on further Ukrainian drone attacks in the Kursk and Tula regions.
+++ 02:14 At least one dead in drone attack on Odessa +++
For the second night in a row, the Russian military is attacking the port city of Odessa with combat drones. Among other things, a residential building was destroyed, the local military administration said. At least one person was killed and three others were taken to hospital with injuries. There may still be people trapped under the rubble. The search operation is ongoing.
+++ 01:33 A-50 shot down: Ukrainians apparently used Soviet anti-aircraft system +++
A modernized Soviet S-200 air defense system was apparently used when the Russian A-50 reconnaissance aircraft was shot down over the Krasnodar region in southern Russia. This is reported by the news portal “Ukrainskaya Pravda”, citing sources in the military intelligence service. Russia has previously reported several times about Ukrainian attacks on ground targets using S-200 missiles.
+++ 00:03 Baerbock: No negotiations with Putin about the end of the war +++
Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock rejects calls for negotiations with President Vladimir Putin to end Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine. There are calls to negotiate with Putin, says the Green Party politician at the United Nations Security Council in New York. But Putin is making it clear that he does not want to negotiate peace, but rather complete his “conquests,” adds the Federal Foreign Minister. “Russia, a permanent member of this council, wants a sovereign state to give up its right to exist. Where would we be if this principle were to prevail,” Baerbock asked the room. “If we were to give in to this, it would be the end of the United Nations Charter.”
+++ 23:22 UNICEF: Ukrainian children near the front were in bunkers for around 200 days +++
Children near the war front in Ukraine have spent months in cellars, bunkers or holes in the ground to protect themselves from attacks, according to the UN children’s fund UNICEF. Spending up to 200 days like this within two years is difficult to imagine and endangers mental health, says UNICEF spokesman James Elder in Geneva on the second anniversary of the start of the Russian war of aggression. “Seeking safety from missiles and drones comes at a high price for these children,” he says. “The psychological scars on the children are deep. And they are getting worse day by day.” Half of 13 to 15 year olds have sleep problems. One in five are repeatedly tormented by memories of bad events. Parents report that children and adolescents experienced more anxiety and sadness and lost interest in previous activities. Even though they needed a lot of time to provide emotional support for their children, they struggled to support their families. In the Kharkiv region, only two out of 700 schools offer in-person classes.
+++ 22:13 Report on oil imports: EU will fill Russian war chest with 1.1 billion euros in 2023 +++
An investigation by Global Witness showsthat last year the EU imported 130 million barrels of refined products – mostly diesel – from refineries that process Russian crude oil. These purchases brought the Kremlin almost 1.1 billion euros in direct tax revenue. The sum also allows the Kremlin to purchase over 1,200 Kalibr cruise missiles or 60,000 Shahed drones, according to the study. The fuel enters the EU because of a loophole in the sanctions that allows products refined from Russian oil in third countries to enter the bloc. Refineries in India and Turkey import discounted Russian crude oil, refine it into diesel, jet fuel or gasoline, and sell these products legally to embargo states like the EU.
+++ 21:43 Armenia is moving away from Russia: Zelensky is planning a visit to a “renegade” country +++
Ukrainian President Zelensky may visit Armenia “in the near future” as relations between Kiev and Yerevan improve, reports the Armenian news agency FactorTV. Preparations for the visit are currently underway, but the exact date has not yet been confirmed. The Ukrainian business manager in Armenia, Valeri Lobach, neither confirmed nor denied to FactorTV that a visit is planned, but only hinted that Zelensky is preparing to visit Armenia’s capital Yerevan. “I can only say that spring will bring many positive events to Armenia,” said Lobach. Armenia, which was under the protectorate of Russia for a long time, keeps moving away from Moscow. It accuses the Russian government of failing to provide support in the conflict with Asherbaijan. For this reason, the neighboring country was able to occupy the embattled Nagorno-Karabakh region last year.
+++ 21:19 Supporters increase the reward for information on Navalny’s death to 50,000 euros +++
Alexei Navalny’s team increases its offer and offers 50,000 euros for “valuable and complete information about the murder of Alexei Navalny”. This is reported by Sky News. If necessary, the team would also organize departure from the country in which the informants are staying, it is said. They had previously offered a smaller reward, but “the amount was increased because several people wrote to us and offered to add their money to the reward.”
+++ 20:38 Brits lure Russian officials: passports in return for secret information from Moscow +++
The United Kingdom offers British passports to Russian officials in exchange for intelligence information, reports “inews” citing three anonymous British intelligence sources and a former Russian informant. About six months ago, the head of the British spy service MI6, Richard Moore, asked Russians, who were horrified by the war in Ukraine, to spy on Moscow for Great Britain. Likewise, CIA Director of Operations David Marlowe said in November 2022 that the US spy agency was “open for business” with Russians upset over the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine. “British citizenship is often the most powerful method of persuasion in the hands of British government authorities,” writes “inews,” emphasizing that potential informants go through a rigorous vetting process. The passports will be handed out when the defectors “are either no longer needed or are no longer able to obtain information from their position in Russia.”
+++ 20:01 Hundreds of rockets delivered to Moscow? Iran doesn’t want it to have been +++
Iran denies supplying ballistic missiles to Russia. “Despite the lack of legal restrictions on the sale of these weapons, Iran is morally obliged to refrain from such transactions during the conflict in order not to fuel the war,” writes the Iranian UN mission on the X. Am platform On Wednesday, Reuters reported, citing insiders, that Iran has delivered around 400 surface-to-surface ballistic missiles with a range of up to 700 kilometers to Russia. The USA threatened drastic consequences if this was confirmed.
You can read all previous developments here.