The war in Ukraine is having many exciting new developments (Illustration photo: Skynews).
Ukraine receives bad news one after another: 3 terrible months
Military Summary channel reported that in just the past three months, Ukraine has received consecutive bad news, they have lost cities and villages such as Marinka, Avdiivka, Tabaivka, Krokhmalne, Vesele and most recently the Krynky bridgehead on the left bank of the Dnieper River in the Kherson region.
Tobi Ayodele and SGS channels confirmed that Russia has also taken control of the village of Pobeda south of Marinka, on the way to Ugledar. Accordingly, Moscow forces have pushed Ukrainian troops out of the area. The cleanup is underway. Russia's next target is taking shape in the white square on the map below.
Map of the Ukrainian war in Pobeda as of February 21. In which, Moscow forces control the brown area, red lines and small Russian flags are where they have gained control, yellow arrows are the direction of Kiev's retreat, white squares are Russia's next target (Photo: Geroman).
Meanwhile, according to the Military Summary channel, the Russian armed forces have released footage of the attack on the southern stronghold of Popyvskyi forest west of Bakhmut.
During the fighting, they defeated a group of Ukrainian soldiers, cleared a stronghold and took full control of the area. The next target is Ivanivske. If Russia takes this village, they can form a siege of Chasov Yar from the south, the important stronghold behind Bakhmut will begin to be truly dangerous.
Map of the Ukrainian war west of Bakhmut as of February 20. Russia controls the brown area, the red arrow is the direction of their attack, and the red area is where Moscow forces have just gained control (Photo: Military Summary).
Not stopping there, according to Tobi Ayodele channel, in the west of Avdiivka, according to what is known, Russian forces attacked near the village of Severnoye, the Ukrainian army could no longer hold the field and was forced to retreat.
Map of the Ukrainian war west of Avdiivka as of February 20. Russia controls the brown area, the red arrows show the direction of their attack and the yellow circled area is where Kiev forces are retreating (Photo: Tobi Ayodele).
The situation may even get worse, to the point that Ukraine will soon fall in Robotine, Novomykhailivka, Synkivka, Ivanivske, Klishchiivka, Andriivka, Terny, Yampolivka, Bilohorivka.
Russia claims to have eliminated Ukraine's bridgehead in Kherson
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Russian forces had recaptured Krynky, a Ukrainian bridgehead on the left bank of the Dnipro River currently controlled by Moscow, TASS reported.
"I confirm that Krynky has been cleared," Mr. Shoigu reported to President Vladimir Putin at a meeting on February 20.
Russia claims to have destroyed Ukraine's Krynky bridgehead on the left bank of the Dnieper River in the Kherson region (Photo: Tobi Ayodele).
The 810th Guards Marine Brigade, together with Russian paratroopers, officially announced that they had destroyed the Ukrainian bridgehead in Krynki on the left bank of the Dnieper River in the Kherson region, Tobi Ayodele channel reported.
The Military Summary channel also confirmed that the Russian army had taken full control of Krynky. During months of fierce fighting at this bridgehead, the Ukrainian forces had 1,820 people killed and wounded.
Meanwhile, the Suriyakmaps channel reported more cautiously, only confirming that, similar to what happened in Avdivka, the Ukrainian army decided to stop sending reinforcements and withdraw from the bridgehead on the southern bank of the Dnieper River.
It is possible that Ukrainian forces will regroup and be sent to Zaporizhia after Moscow increases its offensive operations around Robotine. The Battle of Krynky is considered a strategic disaster for Kiev, which is unable to consolidate control over the Dnieper River and advance south to Kherson.
Ukraine’s decision to hold on to this bridgehead was intended to hold back Russian forces and prevent them from moving to other fronts. However, as in Zaporizhia, the Russian army was well prepared after the Kherson incident in 2022. At this point, Moscow’s forces were advancing into the village center, conducting sweeps of areas still beyond their control. Thus, Krynky was considered cleared of Kiev forces.
Map of the Ukrainian war at the Krynky bridgehead in Kherson as of February 21. In which, Russia controls the brown area, the red arrow shows the direction of their attack and the area surrounded by the red dashed line is where Moscow forces have just gained control, the blue dashed arrow is the direction Kiev retreated (Photo: Suriyakmaps).
Ukrainian General Staff: The bridgehead is still standing - Russia focuses on attacking Marinka
Following Shoigu's statement that Russia had taken full control of Krynky, the Ukrainian General Staff denied it and said that its forces continued to hold their positions and inflict significant losses on the enemy, Ukrainska Pravda reported. On February 20, Russian forces carried out only one attack and retreated after suffering significant losses.
The Ukrainian General Staff reported on the evening of February 20 that in the past 24 hours, there had been 50 clashes, most of them in the direction of Marinka. Russia launched 1 missile, carried out 99 air strikes and 82 artillery and rocket attacks.
The report said: "During the day, the Ukrainian Air Force attacked 10 enemy troop concentrations and 5 air defense missile systems. Missile forces hit 9 Russian manpower and equipment concentrations and 10 artillery positions."
The Ukrainian General Staff confirmed that it had repelled enemy attacks in Kupyansk, Liman, Avdiivka, Marinka, Novopavlovsk and Zaporizhia. At the same time, Russia did not give up its intention to dislodge our units from the bridgehead on the left bank of the Dnieper River and its only attack in this area was repelled.
Map of the Ukrainian war at the Krynky bridgehead in Kherson as of February 21. In which, Russia controls the brown area, the red arrow shows the direction of their attack and the red area is where Moscow forces have just gained control (Photo: Suriyakmaps).
White House accuses Congress of inaction, causing Ukraine to lose Avdiivka
European Pravda reported that White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby stated that the reason Ukraine lost Avdiivka was because the US Congress did not act.
He stressed that Ukraine was able to hold off Russian forces' attacks for several months until it began to run out of ammunition.
“Artillery shells in particular are needed to prevent Russian forces from reaching Ukrainian defense lines and capturing these positions,” he said.
It should be emphasized that Ukraine's decision to withdraw from Avdiivka was not due to a lack of courage or lack of command or combat skills.
"This happened because of Congress's failure to act. And we warned Congress that if they didn't act, Ukraine would suffer on the battlefield, and that happened," Mr. Kirby emphasized.
He also called the Ukrainian command's decision to withdraw troops from Avdiivka "wise", first of all to preserve human resources, the most valuable resource in the confrontation with Russia.
NATO points out 'dilemma' in supplying F-16s to Ukraine
In an interview with Radio Liberty on February 20, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg could not give a time frame for supplying Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets and pointed out the need to take into account the pilots' readiness to operate them.
"It's impossible to say exactly when, because this is a difficult issue... We all want the F-16s to be there (in Ukraine) as soon as possible. Of course, in this case, the impact of the F-16s will be even stronger, the pilots will be more trained and prepared, not only the pilots but also the maintenance, the personnel and all the necessary support systems in place..." Mr. Stoltenberg said.
“We have to listen to military experts about exactly when we will be ready or when our allies will be ready to start shipping and delivering F-16s. The sooner the better. At the same time, it has to be an effective weapon with well-trained pilots, with a good maintenance system at the time we deliver them to Ukraine,” he said.
Responding to a question asking for clarification on whether the F-16s would be accompanied by restrictions on not attacking Russian territory, Stoltenberg noted that this would be decided by the allies supplying the aircraft.
US-made F-16 fighter jets are about to be supplied to Ukraine (Photo: Airforce Times).
Ukrainian and US militaries discuss frontline situation and ammunition
Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Alexander Syrsky had a phone conversation with Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin, Ukrainska Pravda reported.
According to Minister Umero, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine provided the latest information on developments at the front, the sides "discussed a common understanding of the situation and a plan of action".
"The focus is also on the issue of ammunition supplies. We are working on the urgent needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and long-term planning in the Ramstein format," the head of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry added.
The White House had earlier accused the US Congress of inaction, which led to the Ukrainian army being forced to withdraw from Avdiivka in the Donetsk region.
Sweden announces largest defense aid package for Ukraine
The Kyiv Independent reported that Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson said on February 20 that his country will provide Ukraine with military assistance worth 7.1 billion Swedish kronor ($682 million). This is Stockholm's largest aid package to date, bringing the total value of Swedish military aid to Ukraine since the start of the conflict in February 2022 to 30 billion Swedish kronor ($2.88 billion).
The latest batch will include 10 CB 90 warships, 20 other small boats and underwater weapons, Mr Jonson said.
Swedish warship CB 90 (Photo: Wikipedia).
Ukraine will also receive artillery shells worth 2 billion Swedish kronor ($192 million), RBS 70 portable air defense missile systems, anti-tank missiles, Carl Gustaf grenade launchers, grenades and medical supplies, SVT television reported.
"This aid package will add approximately $96 million to the joint Swedish-Danish CV90 infantry fighting vehicle procurement contract for Ukraine. Thus, Sweden and Denmark will jointly invest $385 million for this purpose," Mr. Jonson revealed.
"Ukraine is defending not only its own freedom but also that of all of Europe. Sweden will stand by Ukraine as long as necessary. Russia must not be allowed to win this war," said Sweden's defense minister.
Germany does not supply Taurus missiles to Ukraine
Germany is preparing a weapons proposal for Ukraine that does not include Taurus cruise missiles, Bild reported. The new proposal aims to increase supplies of ammunition, vehicles and weapons systems to Kiev but does not specifically mention Taurus missiles.
The Taurus missile has been the subject of widespread discussion since Kiev asked Berlin to supply the weapon with a range of up to 500km by May 2023, with much of the debate surrounding the Taurus supply being related to the risk of the missile being used by Ukraine to strike at Russian territory.
Last weekend, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius told reporters that there was still no new information about Germany sending long-range Taurus missiles.
According to Bild, TASS, Ukrainska Pravda, Kyiv Independent, European Pravda, Tobi Ayodele, Military Summary, SGS
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