(Reuters) – Russia rained missiles across Ukraine and struck its largest oil refinery, Kyiv said, while the head of the Wagner mercenary group predicted the long-besieged city of Bakhmut would fall within a couple of months.
FIGHTING
* Echoing a pattern of heavy aerial bombardment at times of Ukrainian battlefield or diplomatic advances, Russia launched 32 missiles in the early hours, Ukraine’s Air Force said. Half were shot down, it added, a lower rate than normal.
* Among them, air defences in the south downed eight Kalibr missiles fired from a ship in the Black Sea, Ukrainian officials said. Other missiles struck northern and western Ukraine as well as the central regions of Dnipropetrovsk and Kirovohrad.
* However, Ukraine’s energy minister and the national power grid operator signalled that the overnight Russian air strikes had not caused major disruption to electricity supplies.
* Russia has usually carried out its biggest waves of air strikes in daylight, striking energy facilities, but Ukrainian officials suggest Moscow is starting to adapt strategy, including using air balloons for reconnaissance.
* Six Russian balloons were spotted over Kyiv and most were shot down after being engaged by air defences, the capital’s military administration said.
* The Russian Defence Ministry said on Wednesday Ukrainians forces had retreated in the face of Russian attacks in the Luhansk region, although it provided no details.
* Ukrainian forces have repelled some Russian attacks but the situation remains difficult, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s office said.
* Russian forces have launched attacks on several settlements, including Paraskoviivka on the northern approaches to Bakhmut, and on Opytne and Klishchiivka villages on its southern approaches, Ukrainian military analysts said.
Reuters was unable to verify the battlefield reports.
POLITICS, SANCTIONS, AID
* European Union countries are “on good track” to adopt new sanctions against Russia in time for the Feb. 24 one-year anniversary of Moscow’s invasion, according to diplomatic sources in the bloc’s hub Brussels.
* Russian President Vladimir Putin’s future in power has become less certain in the aftermath of the invasion of Ukraine, a Western official said, but it isn’t possible to predict when any changes in the Kremlin may occur.
* Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko said Moscow had never asked Minsk to go to war in Ukraine, and that he would only order his troops to fight alongside ally Russia if another country attacked Belarus, state-run Belta news agency reported.
* The U.N. General Assembly will vote next week on a draft resolution stressing the need to reach a “just and lasting peace” in Ukraine in line with the founding United Nations Charter.
* 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.
* Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said Japan will invite his Ukrainian counterpart to the Group of Seven (G7) foreign ministers’ meeting to be held in Germany on Feb. 18, Kyodo reported.
(Compiled by Himani Sarkar and Mark Heinrich)
Disclaimer: This report is auto generated from the Reuters news service. ThePrint holds no responsibilty for its content.