The Ukrainian military said on Thursday that it shot down three more Russian Su-34 fighter-bombers, continuing a string of successes. Thus, according to Kyiv, the balance of Russian planes shot down in the last 12 days has reached 13. However, the situation on the eastern front remains difficult, said the commander-in-chief of the army, General Oleksandr Syrskyi. In a fiery speech ahead of presidential elections in two weeks, Russian leader Vladimir Putin appealed to Westerners, saying that “they must understand that we also have weapons capable of hitting targets on their territory. All they are concocting now, in addition to what scares the whole world, is the real threat of conflict with the use of nuclear weapons, and therefore the destruction of civilization.”

All information about the war in Ukraine – day 737 – LIVE on HotNews.ro:

07:45 Ukrainian forces pushed back Russian troops from the village of Orlivka, west of Avdiyivka, but the situation on the eastern front remains difficult, said the commander-in-chief of the army, General Oleksandr Syrskyi. Orlivka is located less than 2 km northwest of Lastochkino, which was recently occupied by Russian troops, The Guardian notes. Sirsky noted that the Russian army is trying to capture the cities of Tonenke, Orlivka, Semenivka, Berdychi and Krasnohorivka in the east of the Donetsk region. These are the places where the military said they would create a new line of defense after the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from Avdiivka on February 17.

A brief retelling of the last events of the war:

• Vladimir Putin, address to the nation: The absolute majority of Russians support the “special operation” / We will not allow anyone to interfere in our internal affairs / Our army has gained tremendous combat experience
• The United States on Thursday qualified as “irresponsible” the statements of Russian President Vladimir Putin regarding the “real threat” of nuclear war
• The European Commission compares Putin with Stalin and considers him responsible for all the consequences in Ukraine
• Donald Tusk says that Poland can ban the import of agricultural products from Russia, following the example of Latvia
• Poland will launch military satellites in 2025 – Deputy Minister of Defense / Lessons from the invasion of Ukraine
• General Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukraine’s military intelligence, has launched an attack on former army chief General Valery Zaluzhny, a rare sign of public dissent among the military leadership in Kyiv.
• Death of Navalny’s opponent: Eight EU countries, including Romania, demand new sanctions against Russia
• Russia banned the export of gasoline for six months in order to “stabilize” the prices at the pumps
• After his statements about the introduction of troops into Ukraine, Emmanuel Macron says that all his words were “weighed” and “measured”

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Thursday’s most important information about Russian aggression was live on HotNews.ro