The situation at the front
In the Bakhmut direction, PMC Wagner is trying to take Paraskoveevka, through which they want to go to the northern highway to Slavyansk. There are very powerful battles going on right now. This was told to The Insider by a military expert, Colonel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the reserve Roman Svitan.
“The Russians are now under tight fire control of the Ukrainian artillery in this area – reserves have been brought up there, the main flow of ammunition goes there, because there is the best option for destroying enemy manpower. The district itself and the fortified area are located in such a way that they cannot be surrounded, except perhaps from the south through Chasov Yar. You can’t work with equipment there, so the Russians go with manpower, and Ukrainian artillery works with manpower. This is a body-throwing tactic that worked in Solidar. The same picture is in Ugledar, which is located on a hill, and everything to the south, east and west is a lowland, and therefore the Ukrainian artillery, which stands on a hill, works out very well in any parts that fit.”
The founder of the Wagner PMC, Yevgeny Prigozhin, responding to a request from the Internet newspaper "Voice of the People", confirmed this information, saying that in Bakhmut "the enemy is becoming more active in all directions, pulling up more and more new reserves. Every day, from 300 to 500 new fighters approach Bakhmut in all directions. Artillery fire intensifies every day. To date, heavy fighting is going on in the north. There are no prerequisites for encircling the enemy in the northern regions."
Footage of the destruction of the Russian installation TOS-1 appeared on the network: Ukrainian artillery struck near Ugledar.
In its next report on the situation at the front, the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) analyzes the statements of President Vladimir Putin.
“The naval infantry is working as it should. Right now. They fight heroically. Both the Pacific Fleet and the Northern Fleet,” the Russian president said .
According to ISW experts, these words are intended to show support for the Russian Ministry of Defense when the Russian army suffers catastrophic losses near the town of Vuhledar in the Donetsk region.
The Institute for the Study of War recalls that the 155th Marine Brigade of the Pacific Fleet was defeated during an attempt to storm Ugledar. At the same time, the Russian military department did not report losses as a result of these battles, and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu spoke about the "successful development of the offensive." Putin's comments, the Institute for the Study of War notes, also "may indicate an intention to strengthen the offensive on Vugledar with a large number of mobilized troops or send the remaining units of the Northern Fleet there."
Losses
Russian troops are suffering the highest casualties of the entire war, according to a report by Mediazona and the BBC, which they, together with a team of volunteers, are conducting through open sources, compiling a list of names of Russian soldiers who died in the war with Ukraine.
From January 27 to February 12, 1,555 people were added to this list. This is the largest increase for the entire period of the war. Not all of the soldiers died during this period, the date of death of most is unknown. However, this growth is consistent with the statements of British intelligence and the Armed Forces of Ukraine about record losses of the RF Armed Forces. As noted by Mediazona and the BBC, the biggest losses are among mercenaries and prisoners fighting in the Wagner PMC near Bakhmut.
Arms deliveries
Greece donated ammunition and 20 BMP-1 armored vehicles to Ukraine. This was announced by Defense Minister Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos at a conference of the contact group on Ukraine, which was organized at the initiative of US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, RIA Novosti reports .
Athens will continue to support Kyiv, stressed the Greek minister. It is also reported that on the sidelines of the meeting of the contact group, a meeting was held between the Minister of National Defense of Greece and his American counterpart Austin.
Poland will hand over Leopard tanks to Ukraine in March. This was reported by the Minister of Defense of Poland Mariusz Blaszczak. “Today, during the Defense Contact Group meeting in Brussels, we talked about effective support for Ukraine. Other countries have announced their participation in this coalition. Already in March, the first Leopard tanks will go to Ukraine,” Blaschak said.
At the same time, it became known that the Norwegian authorities decided to transfer 12 tanks of various types to Ukraine, said the head of the Norwegian Ministry of Defense, Bjorn Arild Gram.
“Norway will transfer eight Leopard 2 tanks and up to four special purpose tanks to Ukraine. We are also providing funds for the purchase of ammunition and spare parts,” Gram said in a statement on the Norwegian government website.
The Minister noted that Norway will help with the training of Ukrainian tankers in Poland, together with other allied countries, and will transfer 250 million NOK to the EU fund for Ukraine. The funds will be used to purchase ammunition and spare parts for the Leopard 2.
Germany will supply Ukraine with two more IRIS-T SLM air defense systems in March. This was announced by German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius.
In total, the German authorities promised to supply Ukraine with four IRIS-T SLM systems. One of them was handed over last fall.
Tu-160M engineer escaped from Russia
A Russian engineer who worked at the Kazan Aviation Plant on a modernized Tu-160M White Swan strategic bomber fled to the United States, where he requested asylum in exchange for information about military developments. Writes about this Yahoo News with reference to the reports of the customs service. The man and his family crossed the border between Mexico and the United States in an armored jeep, after which the engineer surrendered to the American authorities. He explained that he was afraid of persecution in the Russian Federation because of his participation in protests against the actions of the Russian authorities and in support of opposition leader Alexei Navalny. In the United States, he is being interrogated about the capabilities of the upgraded Tu-160M.
The Tu-160 "White Swan", according to Russian authorities, is the most advanced strategic bomber in the arsenal of Russia, it is used in the war in Ukraine. At the same time, according to the Moscow calling Telegram channel, aviation expert Vadim Lukashevich believes that the recently released Tu-160M (on video) was assembled from the Soviet backlog: “According to reports from Kazan, it was clear that since the 1990s, two or three 160 are in the final assembly shop. They've been collected before."
Shot down Su-24, from which Prigozhin challenged Zelensky to a duel
The Ukrainian Armed Forces shot down a Su-24 bomber over Bakhmut, from the cockpit of which Yevgeny Prigozhin challenged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to a duel in the sky. Telegram channel Fighterbomber publishes video .
Prigozhin confirmed the information.
“Yes, indeed, it was this board that was attacked today from the ground by enemy air defense systems. The pilot performed a miracle, landed a burning car, having fully completed the combat mission.
The report states that the plane is being repaired.
On February 6, the Telegram channel "Prigozhin's Cap" published a video in which Prigozhin addresses Zelensky while sitting in the cabin of a fighter jet. He claims that he “bombed” Bakhmut and promises to board the MiG-29 the next day. Also, the founder of the PMC suggested that the President of Ukraine “meet in the sky” and, if Zelensky wins, return Artemovsk to Ukraine (as the Russian side calls Bakhmut).
Read also The Insider's February 13 report: “ Russia storms Bakhmut, Iran has delivered a new batch of drones, NATO is running out of ammunition. What's going on at the front ."