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rvps2001.bsky.social
Russia-Ukraine Daily News
@rvps2001.bsky.social
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I run a daily newsletter about Russia, Ukraine, and the war:
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rvps2001.bsky.social
Russia-Ukraine Daily News @rvps2001.bsky.social · Dec 19
A personal plea ☺️

1. I'm struggling to grow my newsletter despite the fact that it's one of the best in its little niche 😁 So please do subscribe or, if you already have, encourage others to do so:
russia-ukraine-newsletter.beehiiv.com/subscribe
Thank you ⬇️

1/3🧵
Russia-Ukraine Daily News
The latest news about Russia and Ukraine, hand-picked for you every weekday morning (09:30 GMT+3).
russia-ukraine-newsletter.beehiiv.com
rvps2001.bsky.social
🇺🇦 🇷🇺 Deep strike drones operated by the Security Service of #Ukraine successfully hit a large Russian chemicals plant that supplies the country's explosives production, a source in the agency told the Kyiv Independent.

kyivindependent.com/sbu-strikes-...
SBU strikes chemical factory used for explosives production deep inside Russia
The attack on the Metafrax Chemicals plant in Perm Krai was carried out overnight between Feb. 16-17 by deep strike specialists from the SBU's Alpha unit.
kyivindependent.com
February 17, 2026 at 5:19 PM
rvps2001.bsky.social
🇷🇺 🇸🇪 #Russia has stepped up its hybrid threat activities and seems willing to take greater risks in the area surrounding #Sweden, the head of Sweden’s military intelligence told AFP on Tuesday.

english.alarabiya.net/News/world/2...
Russia increasing hybrid threats around Sweden: Swedish military intelligence
Russia has stepped up its hybrid threat activities and seems willing to take greater risks in the area surrounding Sweden, the head of Sweden’s military
english.alarabiya.net
February 17, 2026 at 5:16 PM
rvps2001.bsky.social
🇪🇺 🇷🇺 The EU’s attempt to penalize foreign ports and banks that #Russia uses to illicitly sell oil is running into opposition, threatening to weaken the bloc’s latest sanctions package.

1/3🧵

www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
EU Countries’ Resistance Risks Blunting Latest Russia Sanctions
The European Union’s attempt to penalize foreign ports and banks that Russia uses to illicitly sell oil is running into opposition, threatening to weaken the bloc’s latest sanctions package.
www.bloomberg.com
February 17, 2026 at 5:11 PM
rvps2001.bsky.social
🇮🇹🇫🇷🇩🇪🇬🇧 Italy, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom have sent their representatives to the third round of Ukraine-Russia-US talks in Geneva, La Repubblica reports.

newsukraine.rbc.ua/news/four-eu...
Four European countries join Ukraine-Russia talks in Geneva
Read more
newsukraine.rbc.ua
February 17, 2026 at 5:05 PM
rvps2001.bsky.social
🇷🇺 🇺🇦 Three workers at the Sloviansk Thermal Power Station in Donetsk Oblast were killed, and another was injured on Feb. 17 when a Russian FPV drone struck their car, the Energy Ministry said.

kyivindependent.com/russian-dron...

#Russia #Ukraine
Russian drone strike on civilian car kills 3 energy workers in Donetsk Oblast
The civilian car was struck in the town of Mykolaivka, located east of the city of Sloviansk and only around ten kilometers from the front line.
kyivindependent.com
February 17, 2026 at 3:46 PM
rvps2001.bsky.social
🇺🇦 🇷🇺 Ukrainian drones hit the Taman oil terminal in Russia's southern Krasnodar region and a chemicals plant in the Perm region near the Ural mountains overnight, Ukraine's SBU domestic security service said on Tuesday.

www.reuters.com/world/europe...
Ukraine hits oil terminal in Russia's Krasnodar, chemicals plant in Perm, SBU says
Ukrainian drones hit the Taman oil terminal in Russia's southern Krasnodar region and a chemicals plant in the Perm region near the Ural mountains overnight, Ukraine's SBU domestic security service sa...
www.reuters.com
February 17, 2026 at 3:24 PM
rvps2001.bsky.social
🇺🇦🇩🇪 Ukrainian service members with frontline combat experience are expected to begin training soldiers of Germany’s armed forces in the near future, focusing on drone operations, counter-drone tactics, and battlefield coordination systems.

united24media.com/latest-news/...

#Ukraine
German Army to Learn Drone Warfare From Ukrainian Battlefield Veterans
Ukrainian veterans may soon train Bundeswehr units in drone use, anti-drone defense and mobile battlefield coordination, per Der Spiegel.
united24media.com
February 17, 2026 at 11:20 AM
rvps2001.bsky.social
🇺🇦 🇷🇺 Units of Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces have struck Russian military infrastructure in occupied territories, destroying a storage site for an Iskander missile system and a remote piloting point of the “Rubikon” unit.

united24media.com/latest-news/...

#Ukraine #Russia
Ukraine Destroys Iskander Missile Depot and “Rubikon” Control Center in Temporary Occupied Territory
Ukraine’s SOF says FP-2 drones hit Russian rear sites in occupied Crimea and Zaporizhzhia, damaging an Iskander storage and a Rubikon post.
united24media.com
February 17, 2026 at 11:17 AM
rvps2001.bsky.social
🇫🇷 French authorities have let the seized oil tanker GRINCH leave territorial waters after the company owning the vessel had to pay a penalty worth "several million euros," French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Tuesday.

www.reuters.com/world/europe...

#France #Russia
Suspected Russian shadow fleet tanker GRINCH allowed to leave France after paying fine
French authorities have let the seized oil tanker GRINCH leave territorial waters after the company owning the vessel had to pay a penalty worth "several million euros," French Foreign Minister Jean-N...
www.reuters.com
February 17, 2026 at 11:10 AM
rvps2001.bsky.social
🇷🇺 🇺🇦 Russian forces pounded Ukrainian power infrastructure before a new round of peace talks, killing three energy workers and leaving tens of thousands of people without power and heat, officials said on Tuesday.

www.reuters.com/business/ene...

#Russia #Ukraine
Russia pummels Ukraine's power grid before talks
Russian forces pounded Ukrainian power infrastructure before a new round of peace talks, killing three energy workers and leaving tens of thousands of people without power and heat, officials said.
www.reuters.com
February 17, 2026 at 11:08 AM
rvps2001.bsky.social
🇷🇺 🇺🇦 Russian forces advanced near Platonivka and in the city of Myrnohrad in Donetsk Oblast, while Ukrainian Defense Forces cleared an enemy incursion area near Bilytske in the Pokrovsk district, the DeepState reported on Feb. 17.

english.nv.ua/russian-war/...

#russia #ukraine
Russian forces advance in Myrnohrad – DeepState
Russian forces advanced near Platonivka and in the city of Myrnohrad in Donetsk Oblast, while Ukrainian Defense Forces cleared an enemy incursion area near Bilytske in the Pokrovsk district, the DeepS...
english.nv.ua
February 17, 2026 at 9:47 AM
rvps2001.bsky.social
🇷🇺📉 The Russian government will raise freight tariffs on Russian Railways by 1% from March 1, a move aimed at shoring up the company as it struggles with falling traffic and mounting debt.

www.themoscowtimes.com/2026/02/17/r...

#Russia
Russia to Hike Cargo Rates to Support Rail Monopoly Amid Mounting Losses - The Moscow Times
The Russian government will raise freight tariffs on Russian Railways (RZhD) by 1% from March 1, a move aimed at shoring up the company as it struggles with falling traffic and mounting debt.
www.themoscowtimes.com
February 17, 2026 at 9:14 AM
rvps2001.bsky.social
🇷🇺 #Russia could deploy its navy to prevent European powers from seizing its vessels and may retaliate against European shipping if Russian ships are seized, Nikolai Patrushev, a close ally of Putin, was quoted as saying on Tuesday.

www.reuters.com/world/europe...
Putin ally warns European powers over seizure of Russian vessels
Russia could deploy its navy to prevent European powers from seizing its vessels and may retaliate against European shipping if Russian ships are seized, Nikolai Patrushev, a close ally of President V...
www.reuters.com
February 17, 2026 at 8:04 AM
rvps2001.bsky.social
🇦🇿 Ruben Vardanyan, a founder of one of Moscow’s first investment banks, was sentenced to 20 years in prison by a court in #Azerbaijan

www.reuters.com/world/asia-p...
Billionaire Vardanyan gets 20 years in Azerbaijani prison, state media says
Ruben Vardanyan, an Armenian-born billionaire banker who served as a senior official in the breakaway Armenian administration of Nagorno-Karabakh before its collapse in 2023, was sentenced to 20 years...
www.reuters.com
February 17, 2026 at 8:03 AM
rvps2001.bsky.social
🇸🇰 PM Fico, who is close to Putin and opposes sending military aid to #Ukraine, insists Slovaks have nothing to fear from #Russia

But with the war uncomfortably close to home, his gov't has vowed to double the capacity of the Cold War-era nuclear fallout shelters.

www.france24.com/en/live-news...
Slovakia revamps bunkers with Ukraine war uncomfortably close
The war in neighbouring Ukraine feels distant to many in the Slovak city of Nitra but the local council is preparing for the worst and revamping its Cold War-era nuclear fallout shelters.
www.france24.com
February 17, 2026 at 7:47 AM
rvps2001.bsky.social
💬 #Trump on the trilateral talks in Geneva on 17-18 February: "We have big talks. It's gonna be very easy."

He added that "Ukraine better come to the table fast" 🤡

www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/202...

So, once again pressure on #Ukraine and not a word about #Russia 🤬

#usa
Trump on Ukraine-Russian talks: Ukraine better come to the table fast
US President Donald Trump said before trilateral talks in Geneva that Ukraine should quickly sit down at the negotiating table with Russia.
www.pravda.com.ua
February 17, 2026 at 7:41 AM
rvps2001.bsky.social
🇺🇦 🇷🇺 Drone attacks targeted several regions of #Russia overnight on Feb 17, including the Ilsky oil refinery in Krasnodar Krai, where a large-scale fire broke out following reported strikes, according to local authorities, Telegram channels, and monitoring groups.

kyivindependent.com/drones-strik...
Drones strike multiple Russian regions, sparking major fire at oil refinery in Krasnodar Krai
The Ilsky oil refinery in Krasnodar Krai, which supplies fuel to Russian troops, processes 6.42 million tons of oil annually, according to Ukraine's General Staff.
kyivindependent.com
February 17, 2026 at 7:01 AM
rvps2001.bsky.social
ISW:

🇷🇺 🇪🇺 #Russia may reintensify its sabotage campaign in 2026 by shifting from using unreliable organized crime networks to financially motivated individual agents.

understandingwar.org/research/rus...

#europe
February 17, 2026 at 7:00 AM
rvps2001.bsky.social
🇷🇺 Russian-born athletes who changed nationality and now compete for countries such as Poland are to be banned from reentering their homeland, stripped of their titles or even face prosecution, Russia’s sports minister has warned.

www.kyivpost.com/post/70168
Russia Warns Athletes Who Switch Nationality They ‘Could Face Jail’
Sports minister Mikhail Degtyarev told Russia’s state-owned Channel One last week: “We want to deprive them of everything, ban them from coming to the country and using our sports facilities.”
www.kyivpost.com
February 16, 2026 at 7:03 PM
rvps2001.bsky.social
🇱🇹 Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys on Feb. 14 dismissed the concept of "Article 5-like" security guarantees that #Ukraine is negotiating with the West, urging realistic solutions instead of "hollow" promises.

kyivindependent.com/lithuania-ar...

#nato
Lithuania warns against 'hollow' Article 5-like guarantees for Ukraine, urges real solutions
Dismissing any approximations to Article 5 as mere "rhetorical expressions," Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys named financial support for Ukraine's military or future EU membership as more ...
kyivindependent.com
February 16, 2026 at 6:13 PM
rvps2001.bsky.social
🇭🇷 #Croatia refused to transport Russian oil to Hungary and Slovakia following a request from the two countries, Croatian Economy Minister Ante Susnjar said on Feb. 16.

kyivindependent.com/croatia-reje...

#Russia
Croatia rejects transporting Russian oil to Hungary, Slovakia as flows via Ukraine halted
"A barrel bought from Russia may appear cheaper to some countries, but helps fund war and attacks on Ukrainian people. It’s time to stop that war profiteering," Croatian Economy Minister Ante Susnjar ...
kyivindependent.com
February 16, 2026 at 5:42 PM
rvps2001.bsky.social
🇷🇺 🇺🇦 Russian troops have scaled up their offensives from villages north of Pokrovsk, intensifying efforts to encircle the city and its sister town of Myrnohrad, the 7th Rapid Response Corps reported on Feb. 16.

kyivindependent.com/russia-scale...

#Russia #Ukraine
Russia scales up offensive from north of Pokrovsk, Ukrainian military says
The 7th Corps report comes as Ukraine clings to its last positions in Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad in eastern Donetsk Oblast, both of which have mostly been occupied by Russia, Emil Kastehelmi, a military a...
kyivindependent.com
February 16, 2026 at 4:48 PM
rvps2001.bsky.social
🇺🇦 🇷🇺 Ukrainian strikes hit several "important" military targets in Russian-occupied parts of Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Dnipropetrovsk oblasts, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces reported on Feb. 16.

kyivindependent.com/ukrainian-dr...
Ukrainian forces hit several 'important' Russian military targets in 3 regions, General Staff says
The strikes targeted areas where Moscow had concentrated its troops, along with a Russian communications hub and a drone control center, the report read.
kyivindependent.com
February 16, 2026 at 4:46 PM
rvps2001.bsky.social
🇷🇺 🇺🇦 Ukraine’s Office of the Prosecutor General has named senior commanders of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet as suspects in connection with the missile strike on Lviv and sites within the UNESCO buffer zone on July 6, 2023.

united24media.com/latest-news/...
Ukraine Names Russian Admirals in War Crimes Probe Over Lviv UNESCO Zone Strike
Ukraine names Black Sea Fleet commanders suspects over Kalibr strike on Lviv; civilians killed and UNESCO buffer zone landmarks damaged.
united24media.com
February 16, 2026 at 4:21 PM
rvps2001.bsky.social
🇷🇺 Police in Far East Russia’s republic of Sakha (Yakutia) have reportedly arrested a man suspected of killing two people after he was twice released early from prison for signing military contracts to fight in Ukraine.

www.themoscowtimes.com/2026/02/16/m...
Man Twice Released From Prison to Fight in Ukraine Is Arrested in 2 New Killings, Reports Say - The Moscow Times
Police in Far East Russia’s republic of Sakha (Yakutia) have reportedly arrested a man suspected of killing two people after he was twice released early from prison for signing military contracts to f...
www.themoscowtimes.com
February 16, 2026 at 4:14 PM