(Reuters) – Russia said it had broken through two of Ukraine’s fortified defence lines in the east of the country, while Western countries announced more military spending on Ukraine, including artillery rounds, as Kyiv warned of continued Russian attacks.
FIGHTING
* Russian troops are mounting constant attacks on Ukraine’s positions in the east and pouring troops into the region, although forces loyal to Kyiv are holding on, senior Ukrainian officials said on Wednesday.
* The Russian Defence Ministry earlier said the Ukrainians had retreated in the face of Russian attacks in the Luhansk region, although it provided no details.
* Ukrainian forces have repelled some Russian attacks there, but the situation remains difficult, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s office said on Wednesday.
* Six Russian balloons were spotted over Kyiv and most were shot down after being engaged by air defences, the Ukrainian capital’s military administration said on Wednesday.
* Near Bakhmut, Russian forces fired on more than 15 towns and villages, including the city itself, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said in its evening report.
* Russia has lost around half its best tanks in the year since it invaded Ukraine and is struggling to replace them, a leading research centre said on Wednesday, as Kyiv prepares to take delivery of modern battle tanks from the West.
* NATO countries are ramping up production of artillery munitions as Ukraine is burning through shells much faster than the West can make them, the alliance said on Wednesday amid pledges to deliver at least 48 Leopard 2 tanks to Kyiv.
Reuters was unable to verify the battlefield reports.
DIPLOMACY, SANCTIONS AND AID
* The EU’s top diplomat urged countries to join Germany in sending tanks to Ukraine, in a media interview published on Wednesday, after media reports that Denmark and the Netherlands said they would not deliver Leopard 2 battle tanks like Berlin.
* Ukraine’s state arms producer said it had launched joint production of artillery shells with a central European country in NATO, and that it plans to develop and produce other arms and military hardware with allies.
* The upper chamber of Russia’s parliament will hold an extraordinary meeting on Feb. 22 that will focus on adoption of laws on the integration of four regions into the Russian Federation, RIA Novosti reported, citing a senior lawmaker.
(Compiled by Himani Sarkar; Editing by Stephen Coates)
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