Putin still wants to take over Kyiv – Zelenskyy.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy believes that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin has not given up hope of occupying the city of Kyiv.

"I think President Putin still wants to occupy Kyiv. However, their ideas, mission, and hope are for Ukraine. They want us to lose our independence and our sovereignty. And so, I think everyone has understood: if you cannot occupy the capital, if you cannot occupy Kyiv, you cannot occupy Ukraine," - stated President Zelenskiy.

At the same time, the president is confident that it would be a considerable challenge, a problem, and a big mistake for Russians and Belarusians, in case the latter join the former, to take Kyiv.

Zelenskyy believes the Russian army is no longer as strong as it used to be. And even in its best shape, it could not capture the Ukrainian capital.

The journalist asked Zelenskyy whether Ukraine could cope if Belarusian troops joined the Russian ones. The president stressed that the Ukrainian Defence Forces would hold out.

The situation with heating in Kherson is critical because of the Russian attacks.

"The situation is complicated. We expect frost at night. All services will be working all night to remove the consequences, but I advise everyone to prepare warm clothes and heaters," - Oleksandr Prokudin, Head of Kherson Oblast Military Administration, reported.

Ukrainian border guards repel three Russian attacks near Bakhmut.

The soldiers of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine repelled three Russian attacks on the Bakhmut front on Thursday, 23 February.

The Russian forces attempted to storm the area with infantry units supported by artillery and aviation.

Despite heavy shelling, the Ukrainian forces held their positions firmly. The border guards managed to detect the approach of the enemy infantry using UAVs and adjusted the fire of mortar and artillery units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The occupiers who managed to approach our positions were attacked by small arms and grenades.

The border guards reported that Russian attacks were unsuccessful and the Russians retreated in order to regroup. The losses inflicted on the Russians are being specified.

The US still doesn't know exactly what Russia's "suspension" of the nuclear weapons treaty means – Nuland.

The United States continues to ascertain the implications of Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision to "suspend" Moscow's participation in the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START III), signed with the United States in 2010.

Victoria Nuland, US Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs, in an interview with The Washington Post, reported: "[Putin] did not ‘withdraw’ from the START treaty. He ‘suspended’ it. We’re still trying to understand what that means in practical terms, but the thing that’s most important to know is that Russia has not been fulfilling its inspection obligations under the treaty for at least two years."

Nuland noted that inspections have not taken place since 2020 – first because of the coronavirus pandemic and later because of Russia's deliberate decision to block access to its nuclear facilities for American representatives.

"So, you know, he [Putin] basically just declared for his own people because he had to do something, what they have already done. This treaty is of at least equal value to Russia because they are not in a position now to be rebuilding nuclear weapons and frankly, we have no interest or intent in doing that ourselves," the representative of the US State Department stated.