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Reuters: Iran has provided Russia with a large number of powerful surface-to-surface ballistic missiles, six sources told Reuters, deepening the military cooperation between the two U.S.-sanctioned countries. Iran's provision of around 400 missiles includes many from the Fateh-110 family of short-range ballistic weapons, such as the Zolfaghar. This road-mobile missile is capable of striking targets at a distance of between 300 and 700 km, experts say.

Bloomberg: Ukraine is near an agreement with the International Monetary Fund to get the next $900 million disbursement from its $15.6 billion loan, a boost to the nation’s war-ravaged budget and a vote of confidence as US aid remains elusive (archive).

AP News: The U.N.’s humanitarian appeal to meet needs in Ukraine is only 10% funded for 2024, the country’s resident coordinator said Wednesday, putting in jeopardy crucial assistance needed to reach those in need across frontline areas.

ERR: Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) officers require travelers crossing the Russia-Estonia border to fill in questionnaires about their attitudes to the war in Ukraine, a source told Mediazona.

AFP: EU member states on Wednesday backed a push from Brussels for "safeguards" to stop cheap Ukrainian farm imports from flooding the market amid angry demonstrations in Poland.

AP News: Ukraine’s president on Wednesday invited Poland’s leaders to meet him at their shared border to resolve a blockade by Polish farmers protesting Ukrainian food imports, while Polish authorities voiced concern after slogans praising Putin and his war against Ukraine appeared at the demonstrations.

Reuters: Police in Ukraine said on Wednesday they had arrested a father-son duo who belonged to the cybercrime gang Lockbit, which was disrupted by an international law enforcement operation led by Britain's National Crime Agency and the FBI earlier this week.

The Guardian: Andrey Morozov, a prominent pro-war Russian blogger, has reportedly died by suicide following outrage over a post in which he claimed that the Russian army lost 16,000 soldiers during the capture of the eastern Ukrainian city of Avdiivka.

Reuters: Russia lacks sufficient domestic ammunition production to meet its needs in its war on Ukraine but Putin has not given up his hopes of subjugating the country, Western officials said on Wednesday.

Reuters: Switzerland is increasing its efforts to crack down on companies and individuals who are using the neutral country to circumvent sanctions imposed on Russia.

Reuters: Payment services used by Russians to transfer money overseas were knocked offline on Wednesday after the central bank revoked digital bank Qiwi's licence, sending its Moscow-listed shares plummeting almost 50% to a record low.

BBC News: At least 60 Russian troops have been killed after a training area in occupied eastern Ukraine was hit by two missiles, reports say. Sources familiar with the situation told the BBC that troops had gathered at the site in Donetsk region for the arrival of a senior commander.

Bloomberg: The Russian State Duma has banned British ships from fishing, including cod, in Russia’s Arctic waters and along the coast of the Kola Peninsula.

Reuters: EU members approved a 13th package of Ukraine-related sanctions against Russia on Wednesday, banning nearly 200 entities and individuals accused of helping Moscow procure weapons or of involvement in kidnapping Ukrainian children.

Reuters: Britain on Wednesday imposed sanctions on six individuals in charge of the Arctic penal colony where Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny died last week.

Reuters: Russia is the main international security threat to Sweden, and foreign enemies may try to exploit an elevated risk of extremist violence from Islamists and the far right, the Swedish security service said on Wednesday.

Bloomberg: A group of legal experts sought to bolster the case for seizing frozen Russian central bank assets, arguing that such actions are allowed under international law given the scale of Russia’s continuing attacks in Ukraine.

AFP: Ukraine's army on Wednesday denied Russian claims that it had lost a key bridgehead on the Dnipro river frontline that has faced fierce attacks since Russia lost it.

The Kyiv Independent: Ukraine's military shot down another Russian Su-34 fighter jet, Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk reported on Feb. 21. This is the seventh Russian military plane destroyed by Ukraine over the past week.

Reuters: A Russian businessman who flaunts his pro-war credentials on Instagram is planning to take over Danone's Russian assets for 17.7 billion roubles ($191.52 million), the Financial Times reported on Wednesday, months after Moscow seized temporary control.

worth mentioning

How Russia’s criminal justice system has been weaponised as part of the country’s war effort

Brussels spyware bombshell: surveillance software found on officials’ phones

Insight: How life in Ukraine has been shattered by two years of war

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