News
In this week's summary:
- In Russia's Kursk Region, North Korean fighters have rejoined the fighting after a pause, using the well-known tactic of “human wave” assaults.
- The Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) have successfully counterattacked along the entire arc near the Pokrovsk — Myrnohrad agglomeration.
- West of Kurakhove, the situation for the AFU “sharply deteriorated,” with Russian troops taking the defensive area in a pincer movement from the north.
- In the Kupyansk sector, Ukrainian Territorial Defense forces are failing to contain the expansion of the Russian Armed Forces' bridgehead on the right bank of the Oskil River.
- During an air raid on Ukraine, a drone struck the New Safe Confinement over the destroyed Unit 4 of the Chornobyl nuclear power plant.
- Ukrainian F-16 fighter jets are attempting to shoot down Russia's Aerospace Force aircraft involved in striking ground targets, Russian pro-war channel Rybar reports.
- According to lawsuit statistics, at least 12,000 Russian military personnel have gone missing in the war in Ukraine.
- The supplies of drones to the AFU have increased tenfold over the past year, from 20,000 to 200,000 units monthly.
Situation at the front
In Russia's Kursk Region, Russian troops pushed the AFU back from the village of Ulanok and cleared Fanaseevka, which the AFU had captured during the Feb. 6-7 counterattack southeast of Sudzha, according to Russian pro-war channels. Judging by footage from the Ukrainian side (geolocation), fighting was ongoing near Cherkasskaya Konopelka on Feb. 9, and Russian pro-war blogger Yuri Podolyaka wrote about fighting for this village on Feb. 13. Furthermore, North Korean troops (1, 2) rejoined the fighting in Russia's Kursk Region after a pause, and their incurred losses have not forced them to abandon the “human wave” tactic. The Russian Armed Forces have advanced in Nikolayevo-Darino and Sverdlikovo on the western flank of the Ukrainian bridgehead. The Ukrainian side also reports the enemy's active use of FPV (first-person view) drones with fiber optic cable control, which fly as far as Ukraine's Sumy Region, targeting military and civilian vehicles.
Meanwhile, the developments of the Ukrainian offensive in Russia's Kursk region have triggered an information battle between representatives of Russia's North Grouping of Forces and Russian pro-war bloggers (1, 2, 3), who accuse each other of alarmism and false reports. It also became known that after a strike on the boarding school in Sudzha, more than 100 civilians who had been in the building were evacuated to Ukraine. In the meantime, Russian human rights commissioner Tatiana Moskalkova announced “hope” for the opening of a humanitarian corridor across the front line.
In the Pokrovsk sector, the AFU conducted a series of counterattacks along the entire arc that was formed by a sequence of Russian offensives south of Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad. Counterattacks are known to have occurred in Dachenske, Vodyane Druhe, Kotlyne, and Pishchane. As a result, Russia's offensive — at least on the western flank of the Pokrovsk sector — has been halted, with Ukrainian military observer Kostiantyn Mashovets stating that there has been “virtually zero” progress in this area. In his opinion (1, 2, 3), the Russian command has yet to accomplish its main objective of enveloping Pokrovsk from the west. However, on the eastern flank, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported the capture of Vodyane Druhe and Zelene Pole, while Russian self-styled “war correspondent” Yuri Kotenok wrote about reaching the junction on the highway towards Kostiantynivka. Footage was released of a “cripple assault” in the Pokrovsk sector, performed by poorly treated wounded Russian soldiers moving on crutches and on all fours.
In the vicinity of Kurakhove, the situation for the AFU has “sharply deteriorated,” with Russian forces capturing almost all of Andriivka in the north of the “Kurakhove pocket” and Dachne west of Kurakhove. Pressure has increased “literally in every area.”
In the Kupyansk sector, a new threat for the AFU has emerged near the Russian bridgehead on the right bank of the Oskil River, where the Russians have advanced in Dvorichna and Fyholivka. As Ukrainian OSINT resource DeepState reports, local Territorial Defense brigades are failing to contain the Russian offensive, in part because of the Russians' superiority in FPV drones.
Mutual strikes and sabotage
The AFU Air Force reported (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7) downing 484 Shahed-type and unidentified UAVs out of 893 launched during the week. Another 383 UAVs were “radar lost.” The Air Force also claims to have shot down six ballistic missiles out of seven.
On the night of Feb. 11, the Russian Armed Forces launched a missile strike on gas infrastructure facilities in the Poltava Region, leaving several settlements without gas supply. Russia is known to have struck the following civilian targets:
- On the night of Feb. 9, six people were injured in a Russian shelling strike in northern Donbas. Kostiantynivka was subjected to four air strikes, which injured four people.
- Late at night on Feb. 9, a strike on Kramatorsk (1, 2, 3) with a FAB-500 aerial bomb equipped with a Unified Gliding and Correction Module (UMPK) killed one person and injured nine.
- A missile strike on Kyiv in the early hours of Feb. 12 killed one person and injured four. The building housing the studios of Ukrainian State Foreign Broadcasting was damaged.
- On Feb. 13, the Russian Aerospace Forces struck Kramatorsk with two FAB-250 bombs with UMPK kits, killing one person and injuring five.
- On the night of Feb. 14, a Russian drone hit the New Safe Confinement over the destroyed Unit 4 of the Chornobyl nuclear power plant. The Security Service of Ukraine showed the wreckage of the drone, which bore the caption “Geran-2.”
Ukrainian F-16s are trying to shoot down Russian planes as they strike ground targets, Russian pro-war channel Rybar claims.
The Russian Ministry of Defense in turn reported (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11) the destruction of 268 Ukrainian fixed-wing UAVs. Known targets that came under attack are:
- Rostec's helicopter plant, the Kuibyshev-Lysychansk oil pipeline, an oil depot, three refineries, and oil pumping stations in Krasnodar Krai, Rostov Region, and Volgograd Region between Feb. 8 and Feb. 10.
- Customs checkpoints on the Russian-Ukrainian border in the Bryansk Region, where Russian troops were stationed, on Feb. 9.
- Saratov Oil Refinery on the night of Feb. 11.
- An unnamed oil infrastructure facility in the Rostov Region and the Andreapol Oil Pumping Station in the Tver Region on the night of Feb. 13.
- Slavyansk-on-Kuban, a town with an oil refinery in Krasnodar Krai, on the night of Feb. 14.
According to CIT volunteers' estimates(1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6), at least 21 civilians were killed and another 207 injured as a result of strikes against civilian infrastructure on both sides between 20:00 Feb. 7 and 20:00 Feb. 14.
Losses
OSINT analyst Naalsio updated the estimates of visually confirmed losses of military vehicles and weapons of the two sides in the Pokrovsk sector. From Jan. 13 to Feb. 10, 2025, the AFU's confirmed losses totaled 63 pieces of equipment (663 total), and the Russian Armed Forces lost 86 pieces (2,285 total).
The BBC Russian Service, together with the independent publication Mediazona and a team of volunteers, has identified 93,641 Russian combatants killed in the war with Ukraine. Between Jan. 31 and Feb. 14, 2025, 2,582 people were added to the list. Also, based on lawsuit statistics, at least 12,000 Russian fighters appear to be missing in action.
A Russian Su-25 attack aircraft was lost in the vicinity of Horlivka (geolocation). According to their own statements, Ukrainian troops shot down the aircraft with MANPADS and then used FPV drones to attack the helicopter carrying the search and rescue team. Fighterbomber, a Russian Telegram channel with sources in the Air Force, writes that the pilot was rescued and is in the hospital: “Yes, we lost the jet. It happens. The pilot's in the hospital. He's fine. Kudos to the infantry. 🤝” In connection with the incident, Fighterbomber notes the need to equip helicopters with means of detection and jamming against radio-controlled drones of all types. At the moment, no Russian helicopter is equipped with such systems by default.
Weapons and military vehicles
During the week, the following military aid packages for Ukraine were announced, mainly during the Ramstein Contact Group meeting:
- The UK has earmarked £150 million for drones, armored vehicles (including upgraded T-72 tanks), and Gravehawk air defense systems; a total of £4.5 billion ($5.4 billion) has been set aside for military aid to Ukraine in 2025.
- Latvia will transfer 42 Patria 6x6 armored personnel carriers to Ukraine, manufacturing most of them from scratch.
- Germany will soon deliver about 100 surface-to-air missiles for IRIS-T air defense systems.
- German startup Helsing plans to transfer to Ukraine 6,000 AI-enhanced kamikaze drones with a range of up to 100 kilometers.
- The Netherlands transferred 25 YPR armored medical evacuation vehicles to Ukraine and completed the delivery of T-72 tanks modernized in the Czech Republic.
- Norway will allocate $107 million to buy air defense equipment from the U.S. and will join the “drone coalition.”
- Finland will invest in armored vehicles for Ukraine as part of a new military aid package.
As for the Ukrainian military-industrial complex, the country's Defense Ministry said that the AFU is receiving 10 times as many drones as it did last year. Today, 200,000 drones are supplied to the front every month, although the quality of these UAVs sometimes raises questions. The AFU uses drones, among other things, to deliver water, food, and basic necessities to the front line.
Russian front-line craftsmen demonstrated a tank enhanced with “royal barbecue” makeshift armor made from chains and rubber-fabric screens, as well as a Moskvich light vehicle converted into a pickup truck with a tripod installed in the cargo bed for mounting an anti-drone shotgun.