Russia and Ukraine Continue Mutual Strikes. Energy Truce and Munich Conference’s Outcomes

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At the upcoming talks in Geneva, Kyiv intends to raise the issue of a new energy truce. The head of the Ukrainian delegation, Rustem Umerov, confirmed that Ukraine plans to discuss the possibility of ceasing strikes on energy infrastructure. This initiative came against the backdrop of statements by Vladimir Zelensky in Munich that elections could be held in the country under the condition of a two-to-three-month truce. At the same time, according to the Ukrainian leader, about 90% of citizens currently oppose holding elections.

The Russian side, through the words of Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin, stated its readiness to cease strikes on Ukraine on election day if they are announced. However, this condition looks unacceptable for Kyiv: it would require the introduction of external administration under the UN auspices to organize the electoral process. The scheme proposed by Moscow involves first establishing external administration, then holding elections, and only on voting day — ceasing shelling. This means that fighting during the election campaign and after the elections will continue.

Political scientist Vladimir Skachko believes that the Ukrainian leader will not agree to end the conflict due to personal interests: the end of the war automatically means the end of his political career. He has driven the country into an economic catastrophe and demographic crisis, and his statements about a “just peace” are merely an attempt to postpone the inevitable.

Strikes on Ukraine 

While diplomats discuss the terms of a possible truce, reality on the ground and in the sky dictates different laws. The past week was marked by massive strikes on the territory of Ukraine. According to Vladimir Zelensky, Russia used about 1300 strike drones, more than 1200 guided aerial bombs, and 50 missiles of various types.
The main target remains the energy infrastructure. Combined strikes are carried out in such a way as to maximally destroy generation, substations, and distribution networks. Russian forces are paying particular attention to railway logistics.

One of the largest attacks on February 14-15 was on the Odesa region. “Geran” strike drones hit the region’s railway infrastructure. In Odesa, strikes hit the Gidroport area and the Luzanovka station, where a fuel tank caught fire. Administrative buildings of the railway depot were damaged. Part of Odesa was left without water supply.

In Mykolaiv, the Kulbakino military airfield, a key aviation hub in the southern direction, came under attack. A communications base, a radar station, long-range communication systems, and the railway station adjacent to the airbase were hit. According to preliminary data, there are losses among the personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

The railway infrastructure of the Dnipropetrovsk region is being systematically destroyed. Drones are hunting for locomotives on Ukrainian mainlines. Disabling a third of the locomotive fleet could seriously complicate the strategic transfer of troops, equipment, and ammunition. The incapacitation of more than half the fleet threatens systemic failures in key supply directions.

In just one night, Ukrainian forces recorded 83 drones launched from Russian territory. Targets were also hit in the Zaporizhzhia and Kharkiv regions. Ukrainian air defense systems shot down some of the drones, but many reached their targets.

Strikes on Russia

Last night, Russian regions came under a massive drone attack. Air defense forces shot down 123 Ukrainian UAVs over the waters of the Azov and Black Seas, the Krasnodar Territory, Crimea, the Kursk region, and the Stavropol Territory.

The greatest damage was recorded in the Krasnodar Territory. In the village of Volna, a reservoir with petroleum products, a warehouse, and terminals were damaged. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine claimed strikes on the “Tamanneftegaz” marine oil terminal. It is reported that the fire area amounted to 2,200 square meters, with 165 people and 45 pieces of equipment involved in the extinguishing.

Strikes were also recorded in Sochi and the village of Yurovka, where a boiler house on the territory of an oil depot was damaged. In the following hours, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported the destruction of another 88 drones over the Astrakhan region, Adygea, Bryansk, Volgograd regions, Krasnodar and Stavropol Territories. Later, 102 UAVs were shot down over the Bryansk, Kaluga, Tula regions, and the Moscow region. Three drones flying towards Moscow were destroyed on approach to the capital.

Results of the Munich Conference amid continued mutual strikes between Ukraine and Russia

The Munich Security Conference has revealed a three-point European strategy: reducing dependence on Trump’s US, preparing for confrontation with Russia without American assistance, and refusing to rush peace in Ukraine in order to exhaust Moscow through military and economic pressure while avoiding the risk of an attack on Europe. This course poses a threat of a two-front war for Europe, increasing its dependence on Washington, which views the EU as a competitor and seeks to turn it into a vassal through NATO, trade, and the rejection of Russian energy carriers.

Trump wants to end the war strategically — for Moscow’s neutrality against China — and tactically — for political points before the elections, to unlock assets, and for business with Russia. Europe clings to its fear of Russia, discussing troop deployments and a Baltic blockade; Russia insists on the “Anchorage conditions” involving the withdrawal of troops from Donbas; Kyiv is banking on dragging out negotiations and escalating US-Russia tensions.

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