US Presidential Special Envoy Steve Witkoff said that he and Jared Kushner have offered “some options” to the warring parties in Ukraine. Witkoff expressed hope that this could lead to a summit between Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky; interview with Fox News.
The European Union has extended sanctions against Russia until February 24, 2027, according to a decision published on the EU Official Journal website. Kaya Callas, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, admitted that EU foreign ministers were unable to reach an agreement on the 20th package of sanctions against Russia during a meeting held yesterday in Brussels. The European Union has reportedly not received support from the United States and G7 countries to block Russian oil imports under the 20th sanctions package, TASS reports.
According to Telex, Hungary has also threatened to cut off electricity supplies to Ukraine unless oil transit through the Druzhba pipeline is restored. Hungary’s share of Ukraine’s total electricity imports in 2026 will be 50%. Slovakia suspended electricity supplies to Ukraine on February 23, waiting for Kiev to restore oil supplies to the country, Fico said.
Hungarian President Viktor Orbán mocked Kallas, who is counting on Ukraine and the EU to defeat Russia: “Napoleon and Hitler have already tried, and now, if I understand correctly, Kaja Kallas wants to do it.” British Defense Minister: “A secure Europe needs a strong and sovereign Ukraine. The United Kingdom will make 2026 the year this war ends,” said John Healey.
Speculations continue in Ukraine regarding the election date: “Presidential elections in Ukraine could be held in the fall of 2026 and parliamentary elections in the spring of 2027, with martial law permitted,” according to the Ukrainian publication Insider.
Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Oleksandr Syrsky: “The Russian Armed Forces have failed to complete the tasks assigned by the Kremlin for 2025. This refers to Russia’s attempts to occupy Donbas and advance into several regions of Ukraine, as well as the creation of a buffer zone in the northeast of the country.” Syrsky discussed the matter in an interview with the French newspaper Le Monde. He emphasized that Ukrainian forces managed to disrupt a large-scale offensive operation prepared by the Russian Armed Forces: “We conducted two offensive operations on Russian territory: in March-April in the Belgorod region, and then in May-June in the Kursk region. This allowed us to force them to redeploy their forces.”
Regarding negotiations, former Foreign Minister Kuleba stated: “There will be no peace; the most realistic scenario for 2026 is war.” Ukrainian Defense Minister Fedorov demanded: “The European defense industry must urgently increase production capacity for ballistic missile defense systems, as current production volumes remain critically low,” he said.
In addition to the call for a further increase in weapons production, The Times reports: “Ukraine must mobilize an additional 250,000 soldiers to defeat Russia. Currently, Ukraine is inferior to Russia on most fronts. The main problem is a shortage of personnel and equipment.” Western military sources say that Russia, despite “enormous losses,” can continue the war for at least another year.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said: “We don’t need Polish troops in Lviv, but our partners don’t want to be on the front lines with us. We would like to see a contingent closer to the front line, not in the relatively safe cities in the west of the country. The United Kingdom and France have announced their willingness to provide a brigade each. There are also signals from other countries. Russia is stalling on negotiations, although it has accepted some steps. In particular, an agreement has already been reached that the United States will monitor the ceasefire.”
The energy supply issue remains a major one in Ukraine: according to DTEK, it will take a week to repair equipment in the Odessa region. The damage caused by overnight shelling is extensive. Specialists are currently inspecting equipment, removing debris, and preparing repairs.
Reforms in sight in Russia’s communications sector: “Ukrainian armed forces and special services are able to obtain information from Telegram as quickly as possible and use it for military purposes,” the FSB states. According to Russian special services, “the use of Telegram by Russian military personnel in the SVO zone over the past three months has repeatedly put their lives at risk.” Therefore, at the FSB’s request, such communications may be interrupted. The FSB also stated, “The attempted assassination of General Alekseyev clearly shows the involvement of third countries, primarily the British,” according to FSB Director Bortnikov, who said Russia “will never forget or forgive the crimes of the Kiev regime.”
In the face of tension between Estonia and Russia, Kremlin spokesman Dmty Peskov commented on the possible possession of nuclear weapons on Estonian territory: “If there are nuclear weapons on Estonian territory aimed at us, then our nuclear weapons will be aimed at Estonian territory, and Estonia must clearly understand this.”
Sergey Lavrov stated that during the talks on Ukraine in Geneva, representatives of the European countries were “sitting in the antechamber” and “drinking coffee.” The head of the Russian Foreign Ministry told the Vesti news agency: “They were sitting somewhere in the antechamber, drinking coffee.” “Well, they probably talked to each other,” Lavrov said. Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov noted that Russia considers European participation in the peace talks pointless. “They can’t help in any way, given their mood. You just mentioned the head of European diplomacy with his brilliant statements. How can they help with such a position? Almost nothing,” he said.
Yesterday, during military meetings marking Defender of the Fatherland Day, Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Medvedev made several statements: “Russia, by mutual agreement, will not disclose the results of the ongoing negotiations on Ukraine; it has expressed its position during the negotiations, including on the territorial issue and the parameters for Ukraine’s demilitarization; the leaders of the Kiev regime will have to flee, otherwise “their own people will hang them right on the Maidan,” as the fate of Hitler and Mussolini demonstrates; Kiev is gradually coming to “a certain understanding of the situation it finds itself in”; For some leaders of the Kiev regime, continuing the war is “an extension of their own lives”; Russia needs victory, but its price matters, Medvedev said, urging the military to take care of themselves.
Vladimir Putin laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, near the Kremlin Wall. Defense Minister Andrei Belousov and officials from the Special Military District also attended. at the ceremony. On the occasion of Defender of the Fatherland Day, members of the Russian Defense Ministry’s Board laid wreaths and flowers at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, near the Kremlin Wall in Alexander Garden.
Vladimir Putin presented state awards to the participants of the special military operation in the Kremlin. The President congratulated the officers decorated on Defender of the Fatherland Day and thanked them for their service and courage on the battlefield.
And now a look at the front line updated at 3:30 PM on February 23. Washington’s reduction of the combat potential of both sides has become a clearly present external factor in the conflict, a sort of shadowy third actor in a protracted war. The restriction of diesel fuel from Eastern Europe for the Ukrainian armed forces, the consequences of Starlink, the campaign against the Telegram, the numerous attacks on Belgorod, and the lack of a Ukrainian missile defense system despite an excess of HIMARS: these suggest external forces are trying to stave off the conflict and create the illusion that there is no way out other than a freeze on hostilities.
Let’s look at the front line: Belgorod was subjected to another missile attack overnight, causing serious damage to energy infrastructure and disruptions to electricity, water, and heating supplies to residents’ homes.
Throughout the day, Ukrainian forces launched drones toward Moscow. The Russian Ministry of Defense reported downing 320 Ukrainian fixed-wing drones between 8:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m. During the night, air defense activity was reported from Melitopol, in the Zaporizhia region, and from Rostov Oblast. An air raid siren sounded in Sevastopol. Media reported powerful explosions over Saratov. Engels and Tatarstan.
Russian forces strike Chornomorsk In the Odessa region, Sumy, Zaporizhia, and Pavlohrad. Ukrainians reported attacks on railway infrastructure in the Donbas, Zaporizhia, Mykolaiv, and Odessa regions, damaging two locomotives.
In the Bryansk region, civilians were injured by an FPV attack in the villages of Podyvotye and Nekislitsa in the Sevsky District. In the village of Ponurovka, in the Starodub District, a medical station was hit. Russian units on the border are reporting systematic Ukrainian drone attacks.
In the direction of Sumy, the Northern Group of Forces continues to maintain the initiative in the Sumy, Krasnopil’s’kyi District, and Hlukhiv Districts, using aircraft, artillery, and TOS forces. Mutual shelling is taking place in the Tetkino and Glushkovo sectors.
In the Belgorod region: one dead and two injured in drone strikes in several locations across the region.
Toward Kharkiv, the Northern Group of Forces is fighting near Vovchansk, southwest of Semenivka, in the Vovchansk Khutory farms in the Khatnje sector. Official reports indicate daily advances of a couple of hundred meters.
On the Slovyansk front, Russian forces are advancing in the Pryvillya area, advancing west of Nykyforivka, forming new pockets of resistance. Further south, near Minkivka, recently captured by the Russians, Russian troops are forcing their way towards the Siverskyi Donets-Donbas Canal water supply system.
Near Pokrovsk, Russian forces are increasing pressure north of the city. Fighting is already underway in the central part of Hryshyne, with air forces striking the immediate rear of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in Novooleksandrivka with FAB missiles.
In eastern Zaporizhia Oblast, the Vostok Group of Forces continues its advance in the areas of Rizdvyanka, Vozdvyzhivka, Verkhnya Tersa, Hirke, and Hulyaijpole. The Ukrainian Armed Forces They are deploying infantry and armored vehicles in counterattacks, repelling three attacks by the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
In the Zaporizhia region, enemy attacks targeted the energy sector. One person was injured by artillery fire from the Ukrainian Armed Forces in Kamyanka-Dniprovska.
Graziella Giangiulio
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