As the Russia-Ukraine war enters its 354th day, we take a look at the main developments.
Here is the situation as it stands on Saturday, February 12, 2023:
Fighting
- Ukraine’s top military commander says the country’s forces are holding their defences along the front line in the eastern region of Donetsk, including the besieged town of Bakhmut, with the fiercest battles for the cities of Vuhledar and Maryinka.
- The head of Russia’s Wagner Group said it could take two years for Moscow to control all of the two eastern Ukrainian regions whose capture it has stated as a key goal of the war.
- Galina Danilchenko, the Russia-installed mayor of the Ukrainian city Melitopol in the southeastern Zaporizhia region, said one civilian died and two people were injured in overnight shelling by Ukrainian forces.
Diplomacy
- NATO should hold an emergency meeting to discuss recent findings about September explosions at the Nord Stream gas pipelines, said Russia’s foreign ministry spokeswoman.
- US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov discussed “priorities”, including air defence and artillery, for upcoming meetings of Kyiv’s allies in Brussels, both sides said.
- Russian Sports Minister Oleg Matytsin said calls from more than 30 countries to ban Russian and Belarusian athletes from the 2024 Olympics were unacceptable, TASS news agency reported.
Corruption
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sacked a senior security figure, promising to continue his drive to clean up the government.