As the Russia-Ukraine war enters its 350th day, we take a look at the main developments.
Here is the situation as it stands on Wednesday, February 8, 2023:
Battlefield reports
- Ukraine’s military said on Tuesday that 1,030 Russian troops were killed over 24 hours, the highest daily toll of the war. For its part, Russia said it had inflicted 6,500 Ukrainian casualties in the month of January. Reuters could not independently verify either report.
- Ukraine national security chief Oleksiy Danilov said in an interview the Kremlin was expected to target the northeastern Kharkiv or southern Zaporizhia regions in a new thrust.
Diplomacy
- Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands will pool funds to restore at least 100 old Leopard 1 tanks from industry stocks and supply them to Ukraine, according to a joint statement.
- Russia says Western arms shipments to Ukraine are dragging the military alliance NATO into the conflict with a potentially “unpredictable” level of escalation.
- Switzerland is close to breaking with centuries of tradition as a neutral state, as a pro-Ukraine shift in the public and political mood puts pressure on the government to end a ban on exports of Swiss weapons to war zones.
- The Paris mayor says there should be no Russian delegation at the Paris 2024 Olympics as long as the war is continuing.
- Russia has demanded that the United States embassy in Moscow stop spreading what Moscow regards as fake news regarding its military operation in Ukraine and has threatened to expel US diplomats, the TASS news agency reported.