Events on the battlefield in Ukraine are a matter of “life and death” for Russia that could determine its fate, President Vladimir Putin has said.
“I think it is still important for us ourselves and even more so for our listeners and viewers abroad, to understand our way of thinking,” Putin said in an interview with state TV.
“Everything that is happening on the Ukraine front: For them, it is an improvement of their tactical position, but for us, it is our fate; it is a matter of life and death,” he said.
Putin was responding to a question about a two-hour long interview he gave to US talk show host Tucker Carlson, which the Kremlin used to promote its narratives on the war.
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1000 GMT — Ukraine’s military says Avdiivka front stabilised after withdrawal
The situation has somewhat stabilised on Ukraine’s eastern Avdiivka front after the withdrawal of Kiev’s forces on Saturday, a Ukrainian military spokesman said on Sunday.
“I can state…that on the day after leaving Avdiivka, we perceive the situation as having stabilised somewhat,” Ukrainian military spokesman Dmytro Lykhoviy said in televised comments.
He also said that Ukrainian forces took casualties during the withdrawal, but they were minimal given the circumstances.
At least three people were killed and nine injured in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk and Kharkiv regions by Russian shelling overnight, local authorities have said.
“On Feb 17, the Russians killed two residents of the Donetsk region — in Kramatorsk. Two more people in the region were injured during the day,” Donetsk Governor Vadym Filashkin said on Telegram.
Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said on Telegram that the bodies of two people were removed from the rubble of a destroyed building in Kramatorsk.
Saying that 28 personnel and six emergency services equipment units were involved in search and rescue operations in the area, the statement added that rescuers also extinguished two fires that started due to the shelling.
0605 GMT — Ukraine claims downing dozen Russian drones, missile, warplane
Ukraine’s forces destroyed 12 Russia-launched attack drones overnight as well as one Kh-59 cruise missile and one SU-34 fighter bomber, Ukraine’s Air Force chief has said.
“I want to thank Air Force units for their successful combat work!” Mykola Oleshchuk wrote on the Telegram messaging app. “Have a nice day, everyone!”
Reuters could not independently verify the report.
0131 GMT — Kiev’s top diplomat discusses ‘need to restore just peace’ in Ukraine during talks with China’s Wang
China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi said he met his Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Kuleba, in Munich to discuss bilateral relations and the “need to restore just peace” amid the war between Kiev and Moscow.
The two met on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.
Kuleba wrote on X that he informed Wang about Ukraine’s “vision for the upcoming glob al peace summit in Switzerland.”
The Swiss government is expected to host the summit at the request of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy but details have yet been made public.
0030 GMT — 1,500 Ukrainian soldiers killed in 24 hours — Russian defence
Russian Defence Minister Sergey Shoygu said that the Russian army had taken control of Avdiivka, in the Donetsk region, according to a statement by the Defence Ministry.
The announcement came when Shoygu met Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin Palace.
A total of 1,500 soldiers from the Ukrainian army were killed in the fight for Avdiivka in the last 24 hours, noted Shoygu.
The Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia and Kherson regions of Ukraine were illegally annexed by a decree signed by Putin on Sept. 30, 2022.
2330 GMT — At least three dead in Russian assaults on Ukraine cities, officials say
Russian forces shelled and fired missiles at a series of cities in eastern Ukraine, killing at least three people and leaving others under the rubble of shattered buildings, Ukrainian officials said.
Two cities close to the front line in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region – Kramatorsk and Slovyansk – came under fire.
The city council in Kramatorsk said on Telegram that a missile hit a section of town used for industry and individual houses, killing two people. Rescuers were combing rubble for another person believed to be trapped beneath it.
2315 GMT — Ukrainian units entrenched at Avdiivka Coke Plant, Russian defence ministry says
The Russian defence ministry said that Ukrainian forces left Avdiivka and were entrenched at the nearby Avdiivka Coke and Chemical Plant after Russian units took full control of the town in Ukraine’s Donetsk region.
“Measures are being taken to completely clear the city of militants and to block Ukrainian units that have left the city and are entrenched at the Avdiivka Coke and Chemical Plant,” Russian Defence Ministry Spokesman Igor Konashenkov said in a video published on the ministry’s Telegram channel.
