February 17, 2023 - Russia-Ukraine news

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged leaders Friday at the Munich Security Conference Friday to “hurry up” with agreements, delivery and decisions.

“Delay has always been and still is a mistake. While we negotiate how to strengthen our defense with modern tanks, the Kremlin is thinking, thinking about ways to strangle Moldova,” Zelensky said.

Zelensky opened the conference with other world leaders set to speak including German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron. 

Remember: In recent weeks, Zelensky and other top Ukrainian officials have been pushing for fighter jets, arguing they need them urgently to defend against Russian missile and drone attacks. Earlier this month, the Ukrainian government officially asked the Netherlands for American-made F-16 fighter jets.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said he plans to discuss mutual plans of military cooperation with his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko during their Friday meeting at Putin’s official residence in Novo-Ogaryovo near Moscow.

Lukashenko, in turn, said that Belarus has fulfilled its obligations to Russia in the sphere of security and defense in 2022.

Remember: Russia used the territory of Belarus as one of its entry points for the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Joint military drills over the last year between Belarus and Russia have contributed to concerns that Belarusian troops could join Russia's forces in Ukraine, but Lukashenko has repeatedly dismissed speculation that his troops would join the fighting in Ukraine.

This includes a rare press conference from the Belarusian strongman in Minsk on Thursday, where he said he would not send troops to Ukraine unless Belarus is attacked, but also defiantly declared that Russia is a staunch ally of his country.   

It is "unlikely" that Russian forces will meet the goal of capturing the symbolic city of Bakhmut by the one-year anniversary of the invasion, according to an assessment by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) published Thursday.

Capturing Bakhmut by February 24 "would require a significantly higher rate of Russian advance than anything seen for many months," researchers said.

They had previously assessed that the Ukrainian defense of Bakhmut "would likely prevent Putin from claiming that Russian forces secured the city on the anniversary of the invasion in an attempt to renew hope in a Russian victory in Ukraine."

The think tank warns that the Kremlin may launch "another series of missile strikes on civilian targets throughout Ukraine to mark the symbolic anniversary as actual military success continues to evade the Russian military."

A Ukrainian military spokesperson said Thursday that Russian forces have reinforced their presence around Bakhmut through different units — air defense, special forces, mechanized infantry and private military contractor group Wagner — but Ukrainian units continue to try to prevent the city from falling into Russian hands.

But "time will tell" how much Russia is able to gain by February 24, Serhii Cherevatyi, spokesperson for the Eastern Grouping of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, said Thursday on Ukrainian television. "Our soldiers have been fighting for many months ... For more than seven months, Bakhmut has become an absolute symbol of heroism and courage."

US Vice President Kamala Harris is set to join world leaders at the Munich Security Conference in Germany, where the war in Ukraine will be at the top of the agenda.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron will be among those speaking Friday, the first day of the three-day summit, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will appear by videolink.

The conference comes just days ahead of the one-year anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24.

Catch up on the latest developments:

Russia launched a total of 36 air and sea-based cruise missiles, guided air-to-surface missiles and anti-ship missiles at Ukraine overnight into Thursday, according to Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Zaluzhnyi said 14 cruise missiles and 2 guided air-to-surface missiles were shot down by the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

The pictures below show a Ukrainian emergency services team securing the remains of an S-300 missile fired by Russian forces in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on Friday.

Here's a look:

Russian shelling has killed 5 residents of the Donetsk region and injured 10 others over the last 24 hours, the Donetsk region military governor, Pavlo Kyrylenko, said in a Facebook post Friday.

The deaths occurred in the area of Horlivka, while the majority of the injuries occurred in the city of Bakhmut, Kyrylenko said.

In Bakhmut, 10 high-rise buildings, 3 private houses and an administrative building were damaged, he said.

Two houses were also damaged by Russian shelling in the city of Lyman.

Some of the heaviest shelling was also reported in the areas of Vuhledar and Soledar, Kyrylenko said.

The Kremlin said Friday that Washington is “unlikely” to welcome the initiative put forward by Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko to mediate talks between US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“It is unlikely that Washington will respond positively to this initiative,” Putin’s spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said during a regular press briefing.

Pressed further if the Kremlin is ready for such a meeting in principle, Peskov said: “President Putin is always ready for a dialogue with the president of Belarus, who will be in Moscow today.”

On Thursday, Lukashenko said he wants to host peace talks, calling on CNN to relay the message: “If Biden has a desire, pass on to him through your channels that we are ready to welcome him in Minsk and have a serious talk with him if he wishes for peace in Ukraine. Even Putin will fly to Minsk, and we can meet here, the three of us -- two aggressors and a peace-loving President. Why not?” 

Putin is expected to hold talks with Lukashenko in his Novo-Ogaryovo residence Friday. The two presidents are planning to consider “key issues of further development of Russian-Belarusian relations of strategic partnership and alliance, as well as integration cooperation within the framework of the Union State,” according to the Kremlin.

Read more:

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US Vice President Kamala Harris is set to join world leaders at the Munich Security Conference in Germany, where the war in Ukraine will be at the top of the agenda.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron will be among those speaking Friday, the first day of the three-day summit. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will also appear by videolink.

The conference comes just ahead of the one-year anniversary of of Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell are among other top officials in attendance.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a tweet on Friday morning: "It has now been almost one year since Russia brought an imperialistic war to our continent. At the @MunSecConf, let us renew our commitment to a global order governed by the rule of law – not the right of might."

Russian government officials were not invited to this year’s annual MSC.

Three people were killed and seven were injured by Russian shelling in Ukraine's Kherson region on Thursday, the Kherson region military administration said in a statement Friday.

Russian forces attacked Kherson region 76 times over the last 24 hours, the regional military administration said. "They fired from MLRS, mortars, artillery, tanks and UAVs," it added.

"The Russian army attacked Kherson city 9 times -- residential areas of the city once again came under enemy fire," the regional military administration said. 

"The occupiers hit the commercial port and residential buildings," the regional military administration added.

Some background: The regional capital of Kherson was captured last March in the early stages of Russia’s invasion, and many of its 290,000 citizens left then. In November, Ukrainian forces swept into the key city as Russian troops retreated to the east, delivering a major victory to Kyiv. Since then, Kherson has been the scene of Russian shelling, and many residents have fled, on the advice of Ukraine's administration.