Russian strike on Snake Island in Black Sea, launch of NPP reactors, new personnel decision: highlights of the day

Russian attack on Snake Island

On the night of February 11, the Russian occupation forces bombed Snake Island with two Su-24M aircraft, dropping four bombs on the island.

Natalia Humeniuk, head of the press center of the Security and Defense Forces of the Southern Military District, explained that the Russians were trying to test Ukraine's readiness for defense and create an artificial "victory" for their propaganda by attacking the Island.

Launch of new reactors at a nuclear power plant

Two more power units, which had previously been under repair, were put into operation at the Rivne Nuclear Power Plant. They added 1220 MW of capacity to Ukraine's power grid. According to Energy Minister German Galushchenko, this will help reduce the deficit and shorten the duration of power outages.

Kyiv, Kyiv, Odesa and Dnipropetrovsk oblasts will not have power outages on February 12, DTEK reported. In addition, the head of the Rivne Oblast State Administration added that the power supply will not be cut off in Rivne Oblast.

New personnel decision

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has dismissed Ruslan Dziuba from the post of deputy commander of the National Guard. In June 2019, the head of state appointed Dziuba as the Deputy Commander of the National Guard for Logistics.

On Russian resources for new offensive

A representative of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, Andriy Chernyak, said that rumors and reports that a new massive Russian attack is expected on February 24, 2023, are inappropriate.

Chernyak did not deny that Russia is planning something in the coming weeks, noting that it is now "trying to find weaknesses in [Ukraine's] defense."

But he added that, according to intelligence, Russia does not have the resources to launch a large-scale offensive. An attack from Belarus and a second attempt to take Kyiv are "unlikely in the coming weeks."

Other news

• Russian troops shelled the village of Stepnohirsk, Zaporizhzhya Oblast, with artillery on the morning of February 11. A woman died there as a result;
• the Belarusian and Russian military in Belarus began to imitate the takeoff of MiG-31K fighter jets, which activated the air raid alert throughout Ukraine, according to the monitoring group Belarusian Hajun;
• Chief Commander of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valerii Zaluzhnyi, in a conversation with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley, shared his concern about Russia's use of maritime surface drones, which poses a threat to civilian navigation in the Black Sea;
• more than 20,000 people have applied to join the assault brigades of the "Offensive Guard," according to National Guard spokesman Ruslan Muzychuk;
• on February 11, Ukrainian border guards shot down the second Russian warplane in a week near Bakhmut in the Donbas.