US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov held a telephone call on February 16 to "open a channel of communication" for future talks about the war in Ukraine.
Russian forces conducted a series of drone strikes against Ukraine on the night of February 16 to 17.
The Ukrainian Air Force reported that Russian forces launched 147 Shahed and decoy drones from Oryol, Bryansk, and Kursk oblasts; Millerovo, Rostov Oblast; Primorsko-Akhtarsk, Krasnodar Krai; and Shatalovo, Smolensk Oblast.[97] The Ukrainian Air Force reported that Ukrainian forces downed 83 drones over Kharkiv, Poltava, Sumy, Chernihiv, Cherkasy, Kyiv, Kirovohrad, Zaporizhia, Dnipropetrovsk, and Odesa oblasts and that 59 decoy drones were ”lost,” likely due to Ukrainian electronic warfare (EW) interference as of 0900 local time. Ukrainian officials reported that Russian forces struck civilian infrastructure in Kharkiv, Kyiv, and Zaporizhia oblasts and caused power outages in Kyiv and Dnipropetrovsk oblasts.[98] Ukraine’s Southern Operational Command reported that two Russian Su-30 fighters launched three Kh-31P anti-radar missiles from the Black Sea toward Odesa Oblast on the night of February 17.[99]
Ukrainian officials stated that Ukrainian authorities extinguished three fires in the shelter above the fourth power unit of the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant (CNPP) as of the morning of February 17 following the February 14 Russian strike on the CNPP and that the strikes caused power supply problems to equipment in the New Safe Containment structure.[100]
The Ukrainian Air Force reported that Ukrainian forces downed 83 drones over Kharkiv, Poltava, Sumy, Chernihiv, Cherkasy, Kyiv, Kirovohrad, Zaporizhia, Dnipropetrovsk, and Odesa oblasts
Ukrainian forces continue to conduct drone strikes against Russian energy facilities supplying the Russian military. Head of Ukraine's Center for Combatting Disinformation Lieutenant Andriy Kovalenko reported that Ukrainian forces struck the Ilsky Oil Refinery in Ilsky, Krasnodar Krai on February 17, and that the refinery has an annual refining capacity of about 6.6 million tons and specializes in producing fuel, mazut, bitumen, and gas oil.[29] Kovalenko noted that the oil refinery supplies Russian forces, particularly in southern Russia and occupied Ukraine. Kovalenko also reported that Ukrainian forces struck the Kropotkinskaya oil pumping station in Kavkazsky Raion, Krasnodar Krai on February 17, and that the station is the largest pumping station in the Caspian Pipeline Consortium.[30] The consortium confirmed that seven drones struck the Kropotkinskaya station, leading authorities to take the station out of operation.[31] Ukrainian outlet Suspilne reported that sources in the Ukrainian special services stated that Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) and Special Operations Forces (SSO) conducted the drone strikes against the Ilsky Oil Refinery and Kropotkinskaya oil pumping station.[32] Krasnodar Krai Governor Veniamin Kondratyev claimed that falling drone debris damaged houses in Ilsky and Slavyansk-on-Kuban.[33] The Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) claimed that Russian forces downed 70 drones overnight, including 24 drones over Krasnodar Krai.[34]
Key Takeaways:
- The Kremlin reiterated its demands that Ukraine cede additional territory in eastern and southern Ukraine to Russia and disband the Ukrainian military in the future while continuing to message that the Kremlin is unwilling to make territorial concessions itself in any future peace negotiations.
- Lavrov and Nebenzya also categorically rejected European involvement in future peace negotiations and accused European countries of being aggressive toward Russia.
- The Kremlin also appears to be resurrecting Putin's previous demands and information operations aimed at delegitimizing Ukraine and its government in the eyes of the West – notably ahead of the February 18 Russia-US bilateral meeting in Saudi Arabia.
- The Russian delegation participating in Russian-American talks in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on February 18 does not include one of the members of Russian President Vladimir Putin's innermost circle who had been reported as a likely negotiator.
- Ukrainian forces continue to conduct drone strikes against Russian energy facilities supplying the Russian military.
- Russian commanders continue to give orders for Russian forces to execute Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) on the frontline.
- Unspecified sources told Bloomberg that Russia appears to be nearing a deal with the Syrian interim government to maintain a “reduced” military presence in Syria.
- Russian forces advanced near Toretsk, Pokrovsk, Kurakhove, and Velyka Novosilka.
- Russian occupation authorities continue to violate the Geneva Convention by conscripting civilians in occupied Ukraine to serve in the Russian military.
https://t.co/Ipi1YSLfn9
Russian forces continued offensive operations in the Ukrainian salient in Kursk Oblast on February 17 but did not make any confirmed advances. Fighting continued northwest of Sudzha near Nikolsky, west of Sudzha near Sverdlikovo, and south of Sudzha near Kurilovka.[47] A Russian milblogger claimed that Ukrainian forces unsuccessfully counterattacked near Kurilovka.[48]
