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Russian Forces Conquer a Dozen Eastern Settlements So Far in February, as Ukraine’s Lack of Energy Hinders Its Military Industry

February 16, 2026

Even in the very rigorous winter, Russian troops keep advancing.

Russia advances as Ukraine devolves.

While the Ukrainian leader is going around the world showing off his defiance, back home things go from bad to worse: blackout and lack of heating, millions of draft dodgers, hundreds of thousands of soldiers going AWOL, massive corruption scandals unfolding… and of course, Russian forces keep advancing, even in the harsh winter conditions.

Besides that, the destruction of the power generation and transmission grids deeply hurts the means of production in Ukraine, which now not only face energy shortages but the energy itself has become economically unviable.

RT reported:

“Through a series of strategic strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure, Russia is pushing the country back into the 19th century. […] Ukraine now risks devolving into a rudimentary agrarian society, akin to the poorest nations in Africa or Asia. Recovering from this could take years, if not decades.

Obviously, an agrarian nation cannot have a strong military. An industrially advanced neighbor will always have the upper hand, even when other conditions seem equal.

Russia’s goal is clear: demilitarization through deindustrialization. A rival with a crippled economy poses a significantly lower threat and becomes a greater burden for any potential allies. Moreover, rebuilding its military capabilities will require significantly more time.”

In the meantime, Russia’s army chief Valery Gerasimov visited his troops in the Donbas and announced that Moscow’s forces seized a dozen eastern villages so far in February.

AFP reported:

“Gerasimov visit comes days before U.S.-mediated talks with Kiev in Geneva on ending almost four years of war and ahead of the fourth anniversary of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

‘In two weeks of February, despite severe winter conditions, combined forces and military units of the joint task force liberated 12 settlements’, Gerasimov said.”

Russian forces are advancing towards the last offensive in the all-important Donetsk Oblast: the Slavyansk-Kramatorsk agglomeration, the last bastions in the region that is the cradle of this war.

“Russia demands that Kyiv withdraw from the Donetsk region for any deal to end the conflict — terms unacceptable to Ukraine.”

Moscow’s forces are around 15 kilometers (nine miles) from industrial hub Slovyansk.

“Gerasimov said Russia was ‘expanding a security zone’ in border areas in the northeastern Sumy and Kharkiv regions, where it controls pockets of territory.”

Read more:

Kiev Mayor Klitschko Says City Near Catastrophe, Survival of Ukraine ‘An Open Question’, as Anti-Corruption Bureau Arrest Former Minister Galushchenko Trying To Flee the Country

The post Russian Forces Conquer a Dozen Eastern Settlements So Far in February, as Ukraine’s Lack of Energy Hinders Its Military Industry appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.