Ukraine updates: Frontline situation is difficult, Kyiv says
Published February 11, 2024last updated February 11, 2024
What you need to know
The Ukrainian military described the situation along the war's frontlines in the east and south as difficult late Saturday, with the Ukrainian army repulsing 87 attempted attacks by Russian forces over the day.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian air defenses reportedly repelled another Russian drone attack on Kyiv overnight.
The Ukrainian Air Force said it had shot down 40 out of 45 Russian-launched drones.
Here's a look at the latest developments in Russia's war in Ukraine on Sunday, February 11.
US Senate advances Ukraine, Israel aid bill
The US Senate passed a key procedural vote Sunday on a contentious bill that secures $95 billion (approximately €88 billion) in emergency aid for Ukraine and Israel.
Senators voted 67 to 27 to clear the latest procedural hurdle for the aid package.
It includes $60.1 billion to help Kyiv in its war against Russia and $14.1 billion to Israel for its war against Hamas.
The ultimate vote on passage in the Democrat-controlled Senate, was expected around midweek.
The aid deal had looked dead in the water after Republicans rejected an earlier version on Wednesday, but in a rare sign of bipartisanship, 18 Republicans joined Democrats to advance the measure.
Opposition from right-wing Republicans may block it from ultimately becoming law.
Russia suspected of spy drone flights over German bases
Germany suspects that Russia is behind a series of unauthorized drone flights over German military bases, the country's Military Counter-intelligence Service (MAD) has said.
Some of the suspected spy activity is focused on the Bundeswehr's training of soldiers from Ukraine, MAD was cited by DPA news agency as saying.
"The number of such incidents has increased in the recent past," a spokesman for the Bundeswehr's Territorial Command told DPA.
He said there is increased vigilance among soldiers over possible spying attempts.
The spokesman said the conspicuous flights were observed at the beginning and end of training sessions for Ukrainian soldiers.
Suspicious activity has been reported in Wildflecken in Bavaria, Grafenwoehr and Idar-Oberstein in Rhineland-Palatinate, as well as at
the Altengrabow military training area in Saxony-Anhalt.
No arrests have so far been made, which DPA said could be due to jurisdiction issues between the army and the police.
Bundeswehr members have jurisdiction over army properties, but any suspects apprehended would then be handed over to the police along with any drones seized, according to the Territorial Command.
Outside of Bundeswehr properties, however, the police are responsible for pursuing and arresting individuals.
Russian forces using Musk's Starlink in occupied areas, says Ukraine
Russian forces in occupied Ukraine are using Starlink terminals produced by Elon Musk's SpaceX for satellite internet communications, Ukraine's main military intelligence agency has said.
"Cases of the Russian occupiers' use of the given devices have been registered. It is beginning to take on a systemic nature," the Ukrainian Defense Ministry's Main Directorate of Intelligence (GUR) quoted spokesman Andriy Yusov as saying.
In a statement, the agency said the terminals were being used by units like Russia's 83rd Air Assault Brigade, which is fighting near the embattled towns of Klishchiivka and Andriivka in the partially occupied eastern region of Donetsk.
GUR said it had intercepted an exchange between two soldiers discussing setting up the terminals.
The agency didn't say whether the terminals had been procured from abroad or captured from Ukrainian forces.
The terminals were rushed in to help Ukraine after Russia's February 2022 invasion and have been vital to Kyiv's battlefield communications.
Starlink says it does not do business of any kind with Russia's government or military.
"If SpaceX obtains knowledge that a Starlink terminal is being used by a sanctioned or unauthorized party, we investigate the claim and take actions to deactivate the terminal if confirmed," a statement from the firm said this week.
Russia's Defense Ministry did not immediately reply to a Reuters request for comment.
Zelenskyy names Ukraine's new land forces commander
Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has named the former deputy defense minister Oleksandr Pavliuk as the new commander of the Land Forces.
The appointment is part of a wider reorganization of the country's top military brass.
Pavliuk succeeds Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi, who was appointed the new commander-in-chief of the armed forces a few days ago.
Zelenskyy also replaced several other high-ranking military officers, including in territorial defense and airborne troops.
Valerii Zaluzhnyi was fired as commander-in-chief of the armed forces on Thursday after almost two years of Russia's full-scale invasion.
The move followed weeks of speculation about the fate of the general, who was popular with the army and the population and had been in office since July 2021.
Zaluzhnyi had been outspoken on the need to increase the mobilization of Ukrainian men to the military, which Zelenskyy has resisted.
NATO chief wants West to ramp up production of weapons and ammo
Talking to Germany's Welt am Sonntag paper, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg urged the West to quickly restore and build up its industrial capacity to help Ukraine and restock its own supplies of weapons and ammo.
"This means switching from slow production in times of peace to fast production, which is necessary in times of conflict," Stoltenberg was quoted as saying in the German-language paper.
"The economy and industrial strength of the West far outstrip that of Russia. We therefore have the means to surpass Russia in terms of both production and investment," he said.
With the invasion of Ukraine nearing its second anniversary, Stoltenberg warned that Russia was preparing for a "long war." He noted that Russia was boosting its military budget by 70% and said the Kremlin was continuously buying rockets from North Korea and Iran.
"With Russia orienting its entire economy towards war, we also have to do something for our security," Stoltenberg told the paper.
Kyiv says it destroyed 40 out of 45 drones launched by Russia
The overnight Russian attack targeting various Ukrainian regions consisted of 45 attack drones from the occupied Crimea, the Ukrainian Air Force said.
Kyiv said 40 out of 45 of the aircraft were destroyed.
"Units of anti-aircraft missile troops, mobile fire groups of the Air Force and Defense Forces of Ukraine, and radio-electronic warfare equipment were involved in repelling the air attack," the Air Force said in an online post.
Drones were reported over the regions of Kyiv, Kherson, Odesa, Vinnytsia, Cherkasy and several others.
Ukraine's armed forces claim the occupying troops used Iranian-made Shahed drones, which they say are deployed regularly by Moscow to target Ukrainian cities and military installations.
Iran has repeatedly denied supplying drones to Russia to be used in Ukraine.
Ukrainian air defenses repell Russian drone attack
Ukraine's air defense systems have repelled a Russian air attack on Kyiv, the military head of the capital said early Sunday.
Earlier, the country's air force said several regions were under threat of drone attack.
There were no reports of casualties.
Ukraine reports heavy fighting in south, east along the front
The Ukrainian military described the situation along the frontlines in the east and south as difficult late Saturday, with the Ukrainian army repulsing 87 attempted attacks by Russian forces over the course of the day, the general staff said in a situation report.
Fighting was particularly intense on two sections of the front near the city of Donetsk, which has been controlled by Russian forces since 2014, according to the Ukrainian military.
The small town of Avdiivka, just north of Donetsk, came under renewed shelling. Fighting was almost as intense on the Mariinka front, a small town captured by Russia in late 2023.
dh/sms (AP, AFP, dpa, Reuters)