Ukraine has reported a major loss for Russian forces following a failed frontline infiltration, with dozens of troops killed in intense fighting.
The 225th Separate Assault Regiment on February 14 said 40 Russian soldiers were eliminated near Huliaipole within 24 hours after attempting to slip between Ukrainian defensive lines.
According to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, clashes were recorded in multiple locations along the same axis, including near Huliaipole, Zahirne, Dorozhnyanka, and toward Zaliznychne and Staroukrayinka.
Ukrainian military sources further reported that operations in the wider sector are ongoing but shifting eastward, with no clear confirmation on the timing or exact locations of further advances.
However, localised fighting is reported to be continuing around the village of Dobropillia, though details on timing and scope remain limited.
Russia intensifies strikes
This came as Russian aerial attacks persisted across Ukraine, killing and injuring civilians in several regions. Officials said at least five people were killed nationwide in the past 24 hours.
Governor Oleksandr Proudkin confirmed that two people died in the southern Kherson region after Russian forces struck 31 settlements.
According to regional authorities in neighbouring Zaporizhzhia, one person was killed and three others injured in separate strikes.
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Governor Oleh Hryhorov on his part said a woman was killed in Odesa, while another person died in Sumy, where a teenage boy was also injured.
In the Kyiv region, a man and a woman were hospitalised with injuries following a Russian attack, while a 22-year-old man was reported injured in Kharkiv.
The strikes came amid renewed diplomatic activity by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during the Munich Security Conference.
Zelenskyy on Saturday shared an insight into his “good meeting” with senators from the United States on the sidelines of the conference.
The Ukrainian president said he discussed putting further pressure on Russia while also outlining the necessary “security guarantees” Ukraine requires to secure a peace deal with Moscow.
“The clarity and precise understanding of each point are crucial for our society’s trust in the security guarantees document,” Zelenskyy adds. “For all Ukrainians, it is vital that security guarantees are ratified by the US Congress.”
During the conference, Zelenskyy also stressed the strategic role of Ukraine’s military in Europe’s broader security framework. He declared that “Europe needs Ukraine” adding that Ukraine’s army “is the strongest” in Europe and that it is not “smart to keep this army outside NATO”.
Despite concerns about the longevity of NATO, Zelenskyy said Ukraine supports the alliance and wants it to become stronger.”
Concerns over peace talks raised by Zelenskyy
Zelenskyy also voiced concern over the direction of ongoing negotiations aimed at ending the war. The president said he hopes next week’s peace talks in Geneva will be “serious” but voiced concern that Ukraine was being asked “too often” to make concessions.
“We truly hope that the trilateral meetings next week will be serious, substantive, helpful for all of us but honestly sometimes it feels like the sides are talking about completely different things,” he said.
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The president added he is feeling “a little bit” of pressure from President Donald Trump, who on Friday said Ukraine’s president should not miss the “opportunity” to make peace soon.
“The Americans often return to the topic of concessions and too often those concessions are discussed only in the context of Ukraine, not Russia.”
He noted that recent talks mediated by Washington in Abu Dhabi were described as constructive but produced no major breakthroughs.
At the same time, Zelenskyy highlighted the scale and intensity of Russia’s continued aerial campaign reporting that Russia sent 6,000 attack drones in January alone.
The Ukrainian leader added that “most of them were Shahed drones” as well as 150 Russian missiles and more than 5,000 glide bombs.
Meanwhile, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte described Russia’s battlefield losses as severe. The NATO chief during the Munich Security Conference, said the “dictator in Moscow” is willing to have “so many of his own people killed” in the war with Ukraine.
“They are not winning this. They make very small gains in Donetsk and other places, so small that it’s almost not relevant,” Rutte said.
He added that Vladimir Putin‘s willingness to suffer “crazy losses” in Ukraine should be taken seriously “because this is crazy behaviour at every level.”
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