As the war enters its 722nd day, these are the main developments.
Here is the situation on Wednesday, February 14, 2024.
Struggle
- At least 10 people were killed in Russian drone strikes and shelling in eastern, central and northern Ukraine, including three who were at a market in the northeastern region of Kharkiv.
A missile and drone attack on the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro damaged a power plant, forcing authorities to close schools and evacuate a hospital. The Ukrainian Air Force said it fired. shot down 16 of 23 drones.
- The U.N. educational, scientific and cultural organization UNESCO said the Russian invasion of Ukraine has caused an estimated $3.5 billion in damage to the country's heritage and cultural sites, with about 5,000 destroyed.
Politics and diplomacy
- Mike Johnson, Republican speaker of the US House of Representatives, blocked war aid to Ukraine, ignoring President Joe Biden's plea that passing the bill was vital to confronting “Russian dictator” Vladimir Putin. Johnson, close to presidential candidate Donald Trump, told reporters that he had no intention of even allowing a vote on the bill, which had passed the Senate.
- Russia added Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas and two of the country's top officials to its wanted list over the “destruction” of Soviet-era war memorials and alleged hostility toward Russia, hours after intelligence services in the Baltic state warned that Russia was preparing for a war against NATO in the next decade. Kallas is one of Ukraine's most vocal supporters.
- US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he had spoken this week about Paul Whelan, a former Marine imprisoned in Russia on espionage charges, and pledged sustained efforts to free Whelan, as well as journalist Evan Gershkovich, who has been detained awaiting trial on espionage charges. The men and the US government have rejected accusations of espionage. The United States classified Whelan and Gershkovich as “unjustly detained.”
- A Russian military appeals court has overturned a fine imposed to imprison left-wing academic Boris Kagarlitsky for five years after he criticized Moscow's war in Ukraine, his lawyer said.
Weapons
- Global defense spending rose 9 percent to a record $2.2 trillion last year, London-based think tank the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) said in its annual report The Military Balance. and was likely to rise further in 2024.
- The report said Russia had lost about 3,000 main battle tanks during the fighting in Ukraine, or about as many as it had in its active inventory before it began its full-scale invasion two years ago. It is now refurbishing older tanks for use, he added.
