Russo-Ukraine War - February 2023

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On 24 February 2022, Ukraine was suddenly and deliberately attacked by land, naval and air forces of Russia, igniting the largest European war since the Great Patriotic War. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a "special military operation" (SVO - spetsialnaya voennaya operatsiya) in Ukraine in response to the appeal of the leaders of the "Donbass republics" for help. That attack is a blatant violation of the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine. Putin stressed that Moscow's goal is the demilitarization and denazification of the country. The military buildup in preceeding months makes it obvious that the unprovoked and dastardly Russian attack was deliberately planned long in advance. During the intervening time, the Russian government had deliberately sought to deceive the world by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace.

"To initiate a war of aggression... is not only an international crime; it is the supreme international crime differing only from other war crimes in that it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the whole." [Judgment of the International Military Tribunal]

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Thanks to a relatively warm winter, the energy situation for ordinary Ukrainians improved in February 2023. In most regions, shutting off of electricity has diminished and hot water supply has reappeared.

In February, fighting in and around the small cities of Artemovsk (called ‘Bakhmut’ in Ukraine, pre-war population of 70,000, located some 70 km north of Donetsk city), Kremennaya (pop. 18,000) and Ugledar (pop. 14,000) continued. The Russian army was gradually moving forward, but at a slow pace to avoid heavy losses of life and property damage in street-by-street or house-to-house fighting.

The offensive by Russia continued, but Ukraine officials are dismissing its significance. According to the deputy chief of the Ukrainian military intelligence service, Vadim Skibitsky, Russia had no strategic vision. He said, “Indeed, they [the Russian offensives] have no strategic nature. There are at least four or five directions in their active military operations in the Lugansk, Donetsk and Zaporozhye regions.” But the Russian army is using the strategy of “a thousand small cuts” in order to exhaust the AFU. This is why there are no grand, visible advances.

"A major Russian offensive before April 2023 would likely prematurely culminate during the April spring rain season (if not before) before achieving operationally significant effects. Russian forces' culmination could then generate favorable conditions for Ukrainian forces to exploit in their own late spring or summer 2023 counteroffensive after incorporating Western tank deliveries." the Institute for the Study of War noted 02 February 2023.

Melitopol and Berdyansk may become a likely direction for the counter-offensive of Ukrainian troops , Roman Kostenko, a member of the Rada from the Holos party, secretary of the parliamentary committee on national security, defense and intelligence, said in an interview with RBC-Ukraine 28 February 2023. "I think it's an important direction. Zaluzhny said about Mariupol , I think that somewhere approximately in this direction. Melitopol, Berdyansk - this is the corridor along which we must move. When will it be, how will it be, will we have opportunities for this - we will see this during the spring campaign, after we understand how the enemy will act, "says the deputy.

On the anniversary of the beginning of the Russian military operation, the head of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, Oleksiy Reznikov, announced preparations for a counteroffensive. In turn, Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin said that the United States and its allies see their task in giving Kiev "everything necessary for decisive success in the spring counteroffensive."