War Update: 2/21/23

Day 363 of a three-day war. Kyiv still stands and Russia is still a no good rotten terrorist state.

144,440 enemy soldiers have been neutralized. (This number will be updated in the morning EST)

Russian shelling has killed at least six people in Ukraine’s southern city of Kherson on Tuesday, the Ukrainian military’s Operational Command South said in a Facebook post. 🤬

“A local market and a public transport stop were shelled. Civilians of Kherson were injured and killed right in the middle of the street, in their own homes and workplaces,” according to the post. “As of now, there are about 6 dead and 12 wounded.”

In the city, Russian shelling hit residential areas, infrastructure, a kindergarten and a hospital, according to the military. #WarCrimes

The following is from the Operational Report of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine:

👉The Russian occupiers are concentrating their main efforts on conducting offensive actions on the Kupiansk, Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Shakhtarsk fronts.

👉There have been no signs of formation of any Russian offensive groupings on the Volyn, Polissia, Siversk and Slobozhanshchyna fronts.

👉Russians launched over 30 attacks, using multiple launch rocket systems. More than 20 settlements in Sumy, Chernihiv and Kharkiv Oblasts were under attack as well.

👉Moreover, many settlements were attacked by the occupiers on the Kupiansk, Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka, Shakhtarsk in Zaporizhzhia and Kherson Oblasts.

👉The Air Forces of the Defense Forces of Ukraine launched four attacks on the areas of concentration of manpower and military equipment of the occupiers during the day.

Below is the link to the Institute for the Study of War’s (IAW) interactive map updated daily.

https://storymaps.arcgis.com/…/36a7f6a6f5a9448496de641c…

According to the ISW –

👉International journalists reportedly obtained the Kremlin’s classified 2021 strategy document on restoring Russian suzerainty over Belarus through the Union State by 2030. The Kyiv Independent, Yahoo News, and several of their international media partners published an investigative report on February 20 about a classified 17-page Russian strategy document on how the Kremlin seeks to absorb the Belarusian state using the Kremlin-dominated Union State structure by 2030. The journalists did not publish the strategy document to avoid compromising sources they said. While ISW is unable to confirm the existence or contents of this document, the reporters’ findings about the strategy document and its various lines of effort for Belarus’ phased military, political, economic, and cultural integration with Russia through the Union State are consistent with ISW’s long-term research and assessments about the Kremlin’s campaigns and strategic objective to subsume Belarus via the Union State.

👉NATO must seriously plan for the likely future reality of a Russian-controlled Belarus. As ISW previously assessed, Putin will very likely secure significant gains in restoring Russian suzerainty over Belarus regardless of the outcome of his invasion of Ukraine.

A non-STARTER or…?

The Russian Foreign Ministry said Tuesday that Moscow will respect the nuclear weapons caps established under the New START nuclear arms reduction treaty after Putler announced the country was suspending participation in it.

The ministry also said in a statement published on its website that the decision to suspend participation in the treaty is “reversible,” just hours after Putler’s announcement.

🤔Interesting. Is this a sign of infighting? Maybe somebody in the ministry has finally realized that Putler is unhinged? Certainly not Lavrov. It will be interesting to see if anyone from the ministry falls out a window.

Vladimir Putin demonstrated his “irrelevance and confusion” in Tuesday’s address to the Russian Federal Assembly on Tuesday, according to Mykhailo Podolyak, an official in Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s office.“Putin publicly demonstrated his irrelevance and confusion,” Podolyak tweeted. “Because everywhere there are 'Nazis, Martians and conspiracy theories.'”

Putin used Tuesday’s address to double down on his claim that the West left Russia with no choice but to invade Ukraine last February.
Russia carried out a test of an intercontinental ballistic missile that appears to have failed while President Joe Biden was in Ukraine on Monday, according to two US officials familiar with the matter.
Russia notified the United States in advance of the launch through deconfliction lines, or a line of communication with the Russian military, one official said. Another official said that the test did not pose a risk to the United States and that the US did not view the test as an anomaly or an escalation.

China’s top diplomat Wang Yi met with Nikolai Patrushev, the head of Russia’s Security Council, in Moscow on Tuesday, according to a statement from China’s Foreign Ministry.

The two officials agreed to oppose “the Cold War mentality, bloc confrontation and ideological opposition,” as well as “strengthen cooperation” multilaterally to improve global governance, the ministry said. Wang and Patrushev also discussed the situation in Ukraine, the statement added, without providing additional details.

President Zelensky said he has not seen any official peace plan from China. He said he is counting on international support for Ukraine’s own peace formula.“We expect the UN to support our peace formula on February 23. I think it is essential to have one, single standpoint,” Zelensky said. “I have not seen any official document [from China].”

Poland will deliver 14 Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine in the “next two or three weeks” once the training of the Ukrainian troops is complete, the country’s foreign ministry said Tuesday.

Łukasz Jasina, the spokesperson for Poland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that Warsaw supported sending fighter jets to Kyiv but that there was still some way to go in achieving a consensus among NATO countries.

Biden, speaking in Poland, addressed the people of Russia."Tonight, I speak once more to the people of Russia. The United States and the nations of Europe do not seek to control or destroy Russia. The West was not plotting to attack Russia as Putin said today," Biden said Tuesday in a speech in Warsaw, Poland.

He added, “This war is never a necessity. It’s a tragedy. President Putin chose this war.” Biden reiterated that Ukraine has to defend itself while Putin chooses to continue the war, whereas Putin has the choice to end the war whenever he decides. 👍

US President Joe Biden announced Tuesday that the United States will host next year’s NATO Summit, a high-stakes gathering of world leaders that comes amid an uncertain, but likely violent, future for Russia’s offensive in Ukraine.

Michael McCall, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, announced a shift towards providing Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets and ATACMS long-range missile systems during a visit to Kyiv on Tuesday.

According to the Congressman, the Biden administration and the National Security Council were still split over “how fast and what weapons” to send to Ukraine.

The Head of the International Monetary Fund has praised Ukraine’s leadership for “their impressive economic management through exceptionally difficult circumstances, adapting their policies to navigate large and complex shocks” in a statement following a visit to the country.

Today, President Zelensky met with the Italian delegation headed by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. President Zelensky said that
“Italy has been supporting us in our struggle for independence in a principled and powerful way. There is a new package of defense support, including air defense. Italy is ready to work with us to implement the Peace Formula. And this includes such an important point as justice. This means a tribunal for the aggressor and a compensation mechanism for Ukraine. Today we also discussed new sanctions against Russia.”

There had been some concern that Italy’s new prime minister would not be supportive of Ukraine. However, that doesn’t seem to be the case.

In tonight’s episode of the Russians are delusional, confused, batshit crazy, and morally bankrupt – Tonight’s theme: Performances. 🍿🍿🍿

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov described US President Joe Biden’s visit to Kyiv and the military aid package the US has promised Ukraine as a “performance.”

“What’s new in this? You know, the performance is on. And so it continues,” Lavrov told Russian state news agency RIA Novosti on Tuesday.

“Everything works in this vein, from the point of view of our former Western colleagues, and from the point of view of saving the Nazi regime. Attempts are futile” Lavrov claimed.🙄🤡

It was a performance. A damn good one with a strong message of support for Ukraine. So suck it up Lavrov.

Putler’s address today was pure propaganda. Below are some quotes from his speech.

“The Kyiv regime and their Western masters have completely taken over the economy of the country,” the Russian president claimed.

“They have destroyed the Ukrainian industry and economy,” he said.

Putin added that the “material state” for those living in Ukraine has degraded.

“They’re responsible for the escalation of the situation in Ukraine … for the huge numbers of casualties,” said Putin.

“And of course, the Kyiv regime is essentially alien to the people of Ukraine. They are not protecting their own interests, but those of their minder countries.”

Same song and dance over and over again. Boring performance. 🥱🥱🥱😴

Oh Dmitry. I knew you couldn’t stay away! Medvedev had to get in on the act. He stated “The US has got what it deserved for its dumb anti-Russian policy, i.e., suspending the New START. You can’t fight against Russia while making it seem, that with the strategic stability issues it’s business as usual. Serves you right.” Blah, Blah, Blah. 🙄💩

Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin accused the Russian defense ministry of “treason” for an alleged attempt to destroy his mercenary group. More infighting. 🍿🍿🍿 Give this man the “drama llama” award.

That’s it for tonight folks. It’s been an “interesting” week so far and it shows no signs of letting up. Please keep those prayers and words of support coming for our Ukrainian friends. Find ways to help. #SlavaUkraini #StandWithUkraine #braveukraine #russiaisaterroriststate #PutinIsaWarCriminal #FuckPutin #fuckIran #fucklukashenko

Reported by Christine Reichart Stuermer