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Bridges, missiles and Moldova's strain, mid-February 2023
Summary
A look back at the security picture around 15 February 2023, from the Bakhmut front to Odesa region and Moldova's airspace.
What did the security picture look like on 15 February 2023? The reports from the days just before it point to pressure on several fronts at once: around Bakhmut, in the south near Odesa, and along Ukraine's border with Moldova.
Bakhmut: a bridge destroyed
On 14 February 2023, Ukrainian forces blew up a bridge between Bakhmut and Kostiantynivka while Russian troops and Wagner Group fighters advanced on the city. The report presents the demolition as part of the fighting for Bakhmut, with the two towns linked by that crossing.
Strikes across south and east
On 9 February 2023, Russia launched drone and cruise missile strikes across the south and east of Ukraine. Large explosions were reported in the Dnipropetrovsk, Luhansk, Mykolaiv and Zaporizhzhia oblasts.
On 10 February 2023, a Russian Navy drone boat struck the Zatoka railway bridge on Highway H33 near Odesa. It was believed to be the first use of that naval weapon by Russian forces in the war.
Moldova drawn closer to the war
Also on 10 February 2023, Moldova said Russia had fired missiles over its territory at targets inside Ukraine. Chisinau condemned the flyover as a violation of its sovereignty and summoned the Russian ambassador for an official explanation.
The same day, Moldovan prime minister Natalia Gavrilița resigned amid an economic crisis and the collateral effects of the war in neighbouring Ukraine.
What the sequence shows
Taken together, the reports show a war that was not confined to the front line. Infrastructure in the south and east was being targeted, a new type of weapon had appeared near Odesa, and a neighbouring state was dealing with missiles crossing its airspace while its government changed hands. Around Bakhmut, the destruction of a bridge underlined that the fight there was intensifying as Russian and Wagner forces advanced.
