Russia claims capture of village in eastern Ukrainian region Kharkiv; 2 civilians injured in city near Kyiv

Disclaimer: A number of claims and counterclaims are being made on the Ukraine-Russia conflict on the ground and online. While WION takes utmost care to accurately report this developing news story, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos.

The Russian military, in a statement on Saturday (February 18) claimed to have taken control of a village in the eastern Ukrainian region of Kharkiv and said that it has been "completely liberated". This comes amid Moscow's ongoing invasion of Kyiv which began nearly a year ago. The small village in question is Hrianykivka near the key city of Kupiansk, in eastern Ukraine.

“The settlement of Gryanykivka, Kharkov region, was completely liberated”, said the Russian defence ministry, in a statement, referring to the Ukrainian village of Gryanykivka by its Russian name, as per AFP. Prior to the Russian invasion, the village was home to 600 people. Notably, the city near which the village of Gryanykivka has been on the frontlines in eastern Ukraine locals fear it can be taken over again as Russia has continued to attack several cities including Kupiansk and Bakhmut, said the Ukraine army, on Saturday.

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They added that Russian troops were “conducting offensive actions” in the two aforementioned cities and that Ukraine’s east is witnessing the longest and bloodiest battle of the conflict so far, as per media reports. Additionally, the Russian military spokesperson, Igor Konashenkov also claimed that Moscow’s army has “inflicted combat defeat” on Ukrainian troops near the eastern town of Vuhledar, reported AFP.

Notably, this was following a statement by the governor of the Luhansk province, in Ukraine’s east, who told local media that there has been an uptick in ground and air attacks from Russian forces. “Today it is rather difficult on all directions. There are constant attempts to break through our defence lines,” said the governor of Luhansk to local media, addressing the fighting near the city of Kreminna.

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Blasts hit western Ukraine

Meanwhile, officials in the western Ukrainian city of Khmelnytskyi, said that recent blasts have injured two civilians and shattered hundreds of windows after Moscow fired missiles from the Black Sea on Saturday. The mayor of the aforementioned Ukrainian city, Oleksandr Symchyshyn, in an interview with the national tv, said, “There are three damaged educational institutions, around ten damaged high-rise apartment blocks. Around five hundred windows and balconies have been destroyed”, as per Reuters.

Kyiv’s air force claimed that Russia launched four Kalibr missiles from the Black Sea out of which two were shot down by their defences while two explosions were heard in Khmelnytskyi which is over 250 km westof the Ukrainiancapital. Air raid alerts were issued across Ukraine on Saturday morning while the authorities in eastern and southern regions were warned of potential precautionary power outages to limit the damage to energy grids in case of strikes.

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This follows reports of Moscow repeatedly targeting Ukraine’s energy infrastructure which has left millions without power, heating or water during the cold winter. However, these attacks have not been confirmed by the Russian authorities.

What is happening at the Munich Security Conference?

Amid the ongoing Munich Security Conference Ukraine’s western allies reaffirmed their support for the conflict-hit nation, on Saturday. Countries like the United States which has accused Russia of committing “crimes against humanity” in Ukraine and that it will support Kyiv “as long as it takes,” said Vice President Kamala Harris. Subsequently, United Kingdom Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said that the country will always be on the side of “freedom, democracy and the rule of law,” while assuring Ukraine of its support. “Security of the European continent will always be our priority,” said Sunak.

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This also comes a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky who addressed the security conference via a video link said that it is “obvious” that Kyiv would not be the last stop for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion. He added, “He’s going to continue his movement all the way...including all the other states that at some point in time were part of the Soviet bloc”. He also urged the West to maintain the speedy supply of weapons and said “delay has always been and still is a mistake”.

Meanwhile, on the same day, Russia accused the US of inciting Ukraine to escalate the war. “Now the American warmongers have gone even further: They incite the Kyiv regime to further escalate the war”, said Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Russian foreign ministry, addressing the reporters at the security conference on Friday. She added that some US officials dreamed like “crazies” of defeating Moscow, reported Reuters.

(With inputs from agencies)

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