As the Russian-Ukrainian war enters its 353rd day, we take a look at the main events.
Here is the situation on Saturday, February 11, 2023:
Fight
- Ukrainian officials said Moscow had launched a new offensive ahead of the February 24 anniversary of the invasion. Britain said Russian forces were advancing north of the town of Bakhmut, which they are trying to encircle, but were finding it more difficult to attack Vuhledar further south, where they had abandoned more than 30 armored vehicles in a failed attack.
- Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the Russian mercenary group Wagner, said Russian forces must capture Bakhmut to continue their campaign, but faced fierce resistance from Ukrainian defenders.
- Reuters could not verify the battlefield accounts.
Diplomacy
- Moody’s downgraded Ukraine’s sovereign debt to “Ca” from “Caa3,” meaning it is “highly speculative and … likely in, or very close to, default, with some prospect of principal and interest recovery.” The company said the war is likely to create long-term challenges for the country.
- US President Joe Biden will travel to Poland from February 20 to 22 to meet with allies and discuss Ukraine, the White House announced.
- French President Emmanuel Macron did not rule out sending fighter jets to Ukraine at some point, but said Kiev needed military firepower more urgently.
- Thirty-five countries have backed Ukraine’s calls to ban Russian and Belarusian athletes from next year’s Summer Olympics. The International Olympic Committee wants to allow them to compete under a neutral flag.
the rest
- Russia has put popular singer Zemfira on its foreign agent list on the grounds that she supported Ukraine and criticized Russia’s “special military operation” there.
- Russia said it would cut oil production by about 5 percent in March, a decision the White House said showed Russian President Vladimir Putin was willing to turn energy into a weapon.
- Putin said the Russian economy had overcome the worst effects of the sanctions and was expected to show modest growth this year.