Russia-Ukraine war updates fromFeb 21, 2024

Iran has actually supplied Russia with a a great deal of effective surface-to-surface ballistic rockets, 6 sources informed Reuters, deepening the military cooperation in between the 2 U.S.-sanctioned nations.

Iran’s arrangement of around 400 rockets consists of numerous from the Fateh-110 household of short-range ballistic weapons, such as the Zolfaghar, 3 Iranian sources stated. This road-mobile rocket can striking targets at a range of in between 300 and 700 km (186 and 435 miles), specialists state.

Iran’s defense ministry and the Revolutionary Guards – an elite force that supervises Iran’s ballistic rocket program – decreased to comment. Russia’s defense ministry did not instantly react to an ask for remark.

The deliveries started in early January after an offer was settled in conferences late in 2015 in between Iranian and Russian military and security authorities that happened in Tehran and Moscow, among the Iranian sources stated.

An Iranian military authorities – who, like the other sources, asked not to be determined due to the fact that of the level of sensitivity of the details – stated there had actually been at least 4 deliveries of rockets and there would be more in the coming weeks. He decreased to supply more information.

Another senior Iranian authorities stated a few of the rockets were sent out to Russia by ship through the Caspian Sea, while others were transferred by airplane.

“There will be more shipments,” the 2nd Iranian authorities stated. “There is no reason to hide it. We are allowed to export weapons to any country that we wish to.”

â $” Reuters

Ukraine’s  Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has actually lost connection to its only staying backup power line, the International Atomic Energy Agency stated Wednesday, though the website stays linked to its one primary line.

The nuclear reactor, Europe’s biggest, has been inhabited by Russia considering that March2022 While it is not creating power, it requires a continued supply of electrical energy to cool its reactors and carry out other vital functions.

The UN nuclear guard dog’s group stationed at the plant was informed of the disconnection Tuesday afternoon. It was credited to an undefined “problem” on the other side of the DnieperRiver The Ukrainian grid operator has actually started deal with the line.

The plant lies in southeastern Ukraine, in among the areas that has actually seen a few of the fiercest frontline combating and shelling.

IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi  stated the concern underscored “the fragile nuclear safety and security situation at the site.”

The plant is being powered by one 750 kilovolt (kV) line. Before the war with Russia, it had 4 750 kV lines and 6 330 kV lines readily available, according to the IAEA.

â $” Jenni Reid

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated he had actually directed his “entire government” to get to the border with Poland by the weekend, as he required high-level talks with Polish authorities over farmers’ demonstrations.

” I wish to address Polish society and reveal Ukraine’s appreciation to everybody who compares political control and crucial nationwide security concerns. I would likewise like to deal with the Polish federal government, particularly Prime Minister [Donald] Tusk and his ministers,” Zelenskyy stated in a video published to the social platform X.

Ukraine has actually remained in conflict with numerous of its allied next-door neighbors, consisting of Poland, for months over the export of Ukrainian grain, which regional farmers argue has actually been depressing costs.

Tensions intensified Tuesday as Polish farmers obstructed the Ukrainian border and opened train carriages to spill Ukrainian grain, according to a Reuters report.

“We are now witnessing an excessive and unfair politicization that threatens to dump common achievements,” Zelenskyy stated, including that he wished to deal with the European Commission to “preserve Europe’s unity.”

â $” Jenni Reid

The U.K. enforced sanctions on 6 individuals in charge of the Arctic chastening nest where political opposition leader Alexei Navalny was put behind bars and passed away recently.

The people, who held the positions of head or deputy heads of the jail, will be prohibited from the U.K., and their properties will be frozen, according to U.K. foreign secretary David Cameron.

“It’s clear that the Russian authorities saw Navalny as a threat and they tried repeatedly to silence him,” Cameron stated in a declaration. “Those responsible for Navalny’s brutal treatment should be under no illusion – we will hold them accountable.”

Russian authorities state that Navalny, who was currently serving a combined sentence of 19 years, fell ill and passed away after walking.

Western federal governments have actually commonly blamed the Kremlin for Navalny’s death. Navalny, who required democratic reforms in Russia, wared corruption, and vocally slammed the federal government, was viewed as the most powerful challenger to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Russia has actually refuted such criticism before forensic information is readily available.

â $” Natasha Turak

Russia’s monetary tracking firm, Rosfinmonitoring, has actually put Republican Senator Lindsey Graham on its list of “terrorists and extremists,” Russian state news firm Tass reported.

The listing of Graham, who is popular for his strong anti-Russian and pro-Ukrainian position, seems mostly symbolic, as the senator has no Russian properties for the monetary guard dog to freeze. Graham has actually called various times for Russia to be contributed to the U.S. list of state sponsors of fear.

The “terrorists and extremists” list on Rosfinmonitoring consists of more than 12,000 individuals and 400 business, both domestic and foreign, and includes both terrorist entities and political opposition groups, according to the platform opensanctions.org.

In a post on the X social networks platform, Graham responded to the news with what seemed sarcasm: “There goes all my rubles!”

â $” Natasha Turak

Russia is Sweden’s leading external security danger, the Nordic nation’s security service stated, detailing parts of a yearly report on domestic and global hazards.

“We must all learn to live with the serious security situation,” Â Charlotte von Essen, the head of Sweden’s Security Service, informed an interview, according to Reuters.

“Above all Russia, but also China and Iran continue to constitute the biggest threat to Sweden and they are working and to a certain extent also working together to change the current security system,” she stated.

Shortly after Russia’s intrusion of Ukraine almost 2 years earlier, Sweden, in addition to its next-door neighbor Finland, braked with a historical position of nonalignment and used to sign up with the NATO alliance. Stockholm is awaiting the approval of one holdout member state, Hungary.

Moscow has actually vocally condemned Sweden’s relocation.

In a declaration accompanying the report, Sweden’s Security Service explained domestic dangers from both Islamists and far best groups, and alerted that Russia and other outdoors stars might want to make use of those dangers.

â $” Natasha Turak

The European Union has actually authorized in concept its 13 th sanctions bundle versus Russia, the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the EU revealed in a post from its main account on X.

“EU ambassadors just agreed in principle on a 13th package of sanctions in the framework of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine,” the post stated, calling it “one of the broadest approved by the EU.”

The brand-new steps will sanction some 200 individuals and entities, however no particular sectors will be targeted in this round, according to reports. The bundle is anticipated to work in time for the two-year anniversary of Russia’s major intrusion of Ukraine onFeb 24.

â $” Natasha Turak

Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko contacted police on Tuesday to arrange patrols with little arms on the streets of Belarusian cities to make sure the security of individuals.

“People should feel safe at home, at work, on the street, at any time of the day,” Lukashenko stated in a video from a conference with the nation’s leading security bodies, published on Pul Pervovo, a state outlet that reports on Lukashenko’s activities.

Lukashenko stated that while the criminal activity rate in Belarus was reducing, the nation was at danger of criminal activities of an “extremist nature.”

“Today, this is the most important aspect of maintaining law and order – to suppress the actions of thugs and preventing the loss of souls, who do not yet fully understand what foreign curators are targeting them,” he stated in the video.

“I warn the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the KGB, the special services, everyone, the prosecutor’s office – anyone: we need to take control of this. Our patrol guys must be on the streets…Patrols must be armed with small arms, at least pistols.”

Lukashenko backed Russia’s intrusion of Ukraine in February 2022 by permitting Moscow to utilize its area to release the war and concurred in 2015 to release Russian tactical nuclear weapons in his nation on Russia’s western border.

Last week he stated numerous “saboteurs”, consisting of Ukrainian and Belarusian nationals, had actually been apprehended on the border of the 2 nations in a “counter-terrorist operation” which comparable groups were apprehended “two or three times a week”.

In January, authorities in Belarus released an examination into a group of 20 independent experts and analysts now outside the nation and implicated of conspiring to take power and promote extremism.

In power considering that 1994, Lukashenko staged a brand-new crackdown on dissent after marking out unmatched presentations versus what his challengers state was his rigged re-election in2020

â $” Reuters

Russia’s military chief has actually gone to soldiers in eastern Ukraine as Moscow continues to promote its capture of Avdiivka after months of heightened combating.

On Wednesday, Chief of the General Staff Valeriy Gerasimov fulfilled soldiers associated with offending operations around Avdiivka in Donetsk and “presented state awards to military personnel who distinguished themselves during the liberation of Avdiivka,” the defense ministry stated, according to news firm RIA Novosti.

“To date, the main task that was set has been completed, Avdiivka has been liberated. I must say that it was liberated in a fairly short time, but this was preceded by a long period of preparation,” Gerasimov stated in a video dispersed by the ministry and pointed out by RIA.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu supposedly informed Russian President Vladimir Putin about Avdiivka’s capture last Saturday, with the president congratulating soldiers on their success. Capturing the commercial city of Avdiivka implies that the cutting edge moves further away from the close-by city of Donetsk and strengthens Russia’s protective position.

Analysts at the Institute for the Study of War kept in mind Tuesday that Russia is enjoying its triumph, specifying that Putin and Shoigu have considering that “preened themselves on the Russian seizure of Avdiivka.”

The success has actually come at a high expense, nevertheless, with price quotes recommending that Russia lost in between 16,000 and 47,000 soldiers in the defend the city.

â $” Holly Ellyatt

White House nationwide security interactions consultant John Kirby stated Tuesday that the U.S. strategies to reveal a “major sanctions package” on Friday, looking for to hold Russia accountable for the death of put behind bars opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

No more information about the steps were readily available at the time of composing.

U.S. President Joe Biden stated Friday that “Putin is responsible” for Navalny’s death.

The Kremlin has actually declined such accusations, with the Russian foreign ministry calling the response from some world leaders “self-exposing,” considered that no forensic medical checkup has actually yet been provided.

â $” Sam Meredith

Oleg Navalny, the bro of dead Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, has actually been returned on Russia’s desired list, according to Russian state news firm Tass.

It wasn’t instantly clear why Oleg Navalny had actually been put on the list.

Tass reported Tuesday, pointing out Russia’s Interior Ministry, that the relocation remained in connection to “an article of the Criminal Code,” without offering more information.

â $” Sam Meredith

Estonia Prime Minister Kaja Kallas stated on Tuesday that the nation, which borders Russia, effectively warded off a hybrid operation by Russia’s security services on its area.

“We know the Kremlin is targeting all of our democratic societies,” Kallas said through social networks platform X.

“Our answer: be open and reveal their methods. This is the way to deter harmful actions and make us resilient,” she included.

Public broadcaster ERR reported Tuesday that Estonia’s Internal Security Service stated an overall of 10 individuals were apprehended as part of a criminal examination connected to vandalized vehicles coming from the nation’s interior minister and a reporter.

The ISS stated the function of the hybrid operation, which happened in 2015, was to “sow fear and create tension in Estonian society.”

â $” Sam Meredith

X brought back access to the social networks account of Alexei Navalny’s widow, Yulia Navalnaya, after a short suspension.

It was not instantly clear what activated the suspension, which lasted less than an hour. A representative for X has yet to react to a CNBC ask for remark.

Navalnaya developed her account previously this month. Her very first public post datesFeb 19 and includes a video address to the Russian fans of Navalny.

Supporters of Navalny have actually rallied around Navalnaya considering that the death of her other half, amidst global protest and vigils that have actually resulted in 397 detentions throughout 39 cities in Russia since Tuesday, according to rights group OVD-Info

â $” Ruxandra Iordache

Lyudmila Navalnaya, the mom of the Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, has actually required that Russian President Vladimir Putin turn over her kid, so that she can bury him.

“Behind me is the penal colony IK-3 ‘Polar Wolf’ where my son, Alexey Navalny, died on February 16th. I haven’t been able to see him for five days. I’m not handed over his body and I’m not even told where he is,” Navalnaya stated in remarks transmitted on the Navalny LIVE YouTube channel, according to an NBC translation.

“I am addressing you, Vladimir Putin — the solution of the issue depends only on you. Let me finally see my son. I demand that Alexei’s body be immediately handed over so that I can bury him humanely,” Navalnaya stated.

Navalny’s representative Kira Yarmysh on Monday stated that private investigators had actually informed Lyudmila Navalnaya they would not provide her his body for another 14 days while a “chemical examination” is performed. CNBC might not individually validate the report.

Navalny’s better half, Yulia Navalnaya, has actually implicated authorities of holding the activist’s stays to await traces of the Soviet- age nerve representative Novichok, with which he was supposedly poisoned in 2020, to leave his body. The Kremlin stated Tuesday that these accusations were “unfounded.”

â $” Sam Meredith