The 357th day of the Ukrainian war. Latest information [papildināts 20:10]

Live text broadcast – short and concise about the most important things in the Ukrainian war on February 15. Ukraine has been heroically defending its land against the invasion of the aggressor for a year

20:10 The Russian army continues to advance in five directions.

“The enemy, despite significant losses, does not give up his intentions to reach the administrative borders of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, therefore continues to concentrate the main forces for offensive operations in the directions of Kupyansk, Limansk, Bakhmutsk, Avdeyevsk and Shakhtyorsk,” the statement of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine at 18:00.

In addition, during the day, the enemy carried out 17 airstrikes and carried out 28 attacks from multiple rocket launchers on the civilian infrastructure of Pokrovsk, Donetsk region and Kherson region.

19:45 On February 15, the aviation of the Defense Forces carried out 11 strikes on the concentration zones of Russian troops and military equipment, and also hit the positions of the anti-aircraft missile systems of the Russian Federation five times.

Also, according to the data of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, rocket and artillery units hit the Russian command post, three concentration areas of Russian soldiers and two ammunition depots during the day.

19:03 NATO countries are increasing the production of artillery ammunition in response to the fact that Ukraine is using up shells faster than the West has been able to produce, NATO assured on Wednesday, also promising that at least 48 Leopard 2 tanks will be delivered to Kyiv.

“Things are happening, but we need to increase the volume even more, because the need to provide ammunition to Ukraine is great,” the alliance’s Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters in Brussels after a two-day meeting of NATO defense ministers.

“Countries such as the USA, France, Germany and Norway have signed ammunition contracts that will allow NATO members to replenish their arsenals, as well as to continue supplies to Kyiv.

Even before Russia’s February 24 invasion of Ukraine, many NATO countries fell short of NATO’s ammunition stockpile targets.

With supplies to Ukraine, where Kiev’s army fires up to 10,000 artillery shells a day, Western stocks have dwindled even more.

18:30 On Wednesday, February 15, approximately six enemy air targets were detected over Kiev, most of which were shot down.

18:00. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi said that he does not see any obstacles to start negotiations on Ukraine’s accession to the European Union this year.

17:04. The European Commission (EC) has proposed on Wednesday to impose new sanctions on Russia, which will prohibit the supply of goods to Russia in the amount of 11 billion euros, as well as take action against the manufacturers of Iranian drones.

15:55. The war in Ukraine will continue at least next year, predicts the British defense and security think tank. The West must support a Ukrainian counter-offensive in the coming months, said Professor Malcolm Chalmers, deputy director of the Royal Joint Services Institute (RUSI).

14:10. The war in Ukraine has given new impetus to NATO and prompted Eastern Europe to shed Soviet-era military equipment, but China’s military modernization remains the main concern of the US, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies’ (IISS) annual report on the military balance.

12.41. A Russian court accuses a Ukrainian citizen of espionage and sentences him to 16 years in prison, pravda.com.ua reports.

12.01. The loss of Russian troops in Ukraine has reached 139,770 soldiers by Wednesday morning, according to the General Staff of the Ukrainian Army. According to the data of the general staff, 690 invaders were destroyed during the day.

Since the beginning of the repeated invasion on February 24 of last year, the Russians have lost 3,290 tanks, 6,507 armored personnel carriers, 2,303 cannons, 466 multiple rocket launchers, 236 anti-aircraft artillery pieces, 298 airplanes, 286 helicopters, 2,011 drones, 857 cruise missiles, 5,161 ships, cars and 18 tankers. and speedboats, as well as 219 units of specialized equipment.

11.02. The European Union will set up a working group to explore the possibility of using frozen Russian assets to rebuild Ukraine.

10.42. The Russian occupiers in Crimea are burning the corpses of their fallen soldiers to hide the heavy losses, reports the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. According to the report of the general staff, the enemy continues to suffer losses, so in the Simferopol district of the annexed Crimean peninsula, near the village of Krasnaya Zorka, the enemy is burning corpses to hide the number of dead.

10.20. Russian reservists from Kaliningrad refused to carry out the order to attack the positions of the Ukrainian army in Donbass. Recently, such cases of disobedience among Russian soldiers have been observed more and more often.

09.59. The West is concerned about Ukraine’s reluctance to abandon the continuation of the defense of Bakhmut, however, analysts of the US Institute of Military Studies believe that Kiev’s decision is strategically correct.

09.12. The US military is considering sending Ukraine thousands of seized weapons and more than a million rounds of ammunition intended for Iran-backed militias in Yemen, The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday. U.S. officials discovered more than 5,000 assault rifles, 1.6 million rounds of ammunition, a small number of anti-tank missiles and more than 7,000 detonators.

08.57. The US is preparing a new ten billion dollar aid package for Ukraine, US officials have revealed. The administration of US President Joe Biden is preparing several statements to confirm the unwavering support of the United States for Ukraine on the first anniversary of the war in Ukraine. Among them, new sanctions against Russia and a potential ten billion dollar aid package for the Ukrainian government are being prepared.

08.23. Almost 250 thousand euros have been donated to the “Stopify” donation streaming service for the support of Ukraine, the author of the idea and creative director of the project, Māris Upenieks, said in an interview to the TV3 program “900 seconds”. He indicated that the amount of 250 thousand euros in donations could be reached in the near future. that a total of people from 46 countries donated.

07.17. A network of camps for the ideological re-education and adoption of Ukrainian children operates on the territory of Russia and its annexed Crimean Peninsula, according to a study by the Laboratory of Humanitarian Studies of the Faculty of Health, Yale University, USA.

The authors of the study claim that there is a network of at least 43 such institutions in Russia and Crimea, and in most of them the ideological re-education of Ukrainian children takes place. These children range in age from four months to 17 years.

04.28. The U.S. Army announced Tuesday that it has awarded two companies $522 million in contracts to produce 155-millimeter artillery shells for Ukraine.

The orders, for which an official decision was made on January 30, were received by the companies “Northrop Grumman Systems Corp.” and “Global Military Products Inc.”. They were granted amid concerns that Ukraine is rapidly running out of artillery shells it receives from the United States and other allies.

03.11. The Saeima’s Foreign Affairs Commission will review the draft statement in connection with the upcoming anniversary of Russia’s war against Ukraine.

02.00. Minister of Economy Ilze Indriksone (NA) will participate in the forum dedicated to the reconstruction of Ukraine today in Warsaw, Poland, and will meet with the Minister of Economy and Technology of Poland, the Ministry of Economy (ME) reports.

The “ReBuild Ukraine” forum will bring together Ukrainian and European leaders, businessmen, financial institutions and investors to create an effective platform for Ukrainian reconstruction projects, helping Ukraine and its economy recover faster after the war. Indriksone will participate in the forum’s strategic panel “Renovation policy: reforms, plans, forecasts”.

01.38.Intelligence data shared by NATO countries indicates that Russia is concentrating warplanes and helicopters near the Ukrainian border, the British newspaper “Financial Times” (FT) reported. “Intelligence indicates that Moscow is preparing to bring its planes and helicopters into the war in support [jaunu] ground attack,” the FT wrote, citing two Western officials.

00.10 France and Australia have decided to increase the production of 155 mm ammunition for the armed forces of Ukraine.

According to the UNIAN correspondent, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said this at a briefing after the meeting of the Ukrainian Defense Contact Group (Ramstein-9) held in Brussels (Belgium).

“France has also announced that it will work with Australia to increase production of 155mm ammunition in support of Ukraine,” Austin said.