Portal:Current events/2022 February 18

February 18, 2022 (Friday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Russo-Ukrainian War
- 2021–2022 Russo-Ukrainian crisis
  - War in Donbas
    - The Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's Republic order mandatory mass evacuations of civilians from their respective capital cities, Donetsk and Luhansk. Around 700,000 people are expected to be evacuated to Russia with the first buses carrying civilians to the Russian border already travelling to Rostov Oblast. Russian President Vladimir Putin orders lump-sum allowances of 10,000 rubles (130 US dollars) to be paid to refugees from Donbas. (MSN) (TASS)
    - A UAZ-469 jeep is blown up outside of a building of the Donetsk People's Republic government in Donetsk city. No injuries are reported. (The Jerusalem Post)
    - Russia confirms that the Druzhba pipeline is on fire in rebel-held Luhansk Oblast after a massive explosion cut off gas to almost a hundred households. Transit supplies to Europe were not affected and continue as usual. (Reuters)
    - Additional explosions are reported in Luhansk. The Luhansk People's Republic authorities state that a gas station has been blown up. (Metro) (National Post)
  - Reactions to the 2021–2022 Russo-Ukrainian crisis
    - The British government relocates its embassy from Kyiv to the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, and again urges its citizens to leave the country while they still can. (Reuters)
    - Estonia delivers a shipment of U.S.-made FGM-148 Javelin anti-tank missiles to Ukraine. (Reuters)
    - U.S. President Joe Biden says that Vladimir Putin will launch a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in the "coming days" and that Russian troops will try to capture the capital Kyiv. (Reuters) (Mirror)
    - Anti-war protesters gather in Burlington, Vermont to call for a peaceful solution to the ongoing conflict amidst fears of a war with Ukraine. (MyChamplainValley.com) (WCAX-TV)
Mali War
- Eight Malian soldiers and 57 Islamist militants are killed during a gunfight in the Archam region, after 40 civilians were killed there during terrorist attacks last week. (Al Jazeera)
- Mali's ruling military junta demands that French forces leave the country "without delay" after French President Emmanuel Macron announced a withdrawal of troops in an "orderly fashion" in the coming months. (France 24)
Piracy in the Gulf of Guinea
- Denmark recalls its frigate HDMS Esbern Snare from the Gulf of Guinea following a request from NATO to increase readiness and contribute to deterrence in Europe. The warship has been conducting anti-piracy measures in the Gulf since October. (The Local)
Iran–Israel proxy conflict
- Israel's Iron Dome fails to intercept a Hezbollah-operated military drone from Lebanon that penetrated seventy kilometers into Israeli airspace. The drone flew for forty minutes before returning to Lebanon. Israeli jets fly at very low altitude over Beirut in response to the incident. (Times of Israel) (ABC News)

Disasters and accidents

2021–22 European windstorm season
- At least seventeen people are killed in Belgium, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Poland and the United Kingdom as Storm Eunice impacts northwestern Europe. Millions are also left without power. (BBC News) (Dutch News) (Euronews)
- England records a record wind gust of 122 mph (196 kmh) on the Isle of Wight in the English Channel. (Reuters)
- The Grain Power Station in Kent, England, goes offline following the collapse of one of its towers and the roof of The O2 Arena in London is severely damaged due to high winds. (BBC News) (ITV News)
- The roof of the ADO Den Haag Stadium, in The Hague, the Netherlands, is severely damaged. (The Guardian)
Eleven people are missing after a ferry travelling between Greece and Italy catches fire. (Reuters)

Health and environment

COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea
  - South Korea reports a record 109,831 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 1.75 million. (Al Jazeera)

International relations

India–United Arab Emirates relations
- India and the United Arab Emirates sign a free trade agreement over digital goods, raw materials, and apparels. It is the first major trade deal signed by India since Prime Minister Narendra Modi came into power in 2014. (Moneycontrol)
Poland–United States relations
- U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin announces the sale of 250 M1 Abrams main battle tanks to Poland amid tensions with Russia. The Polish Land Forces will become the first European military to operate the American M1 Abrams. (Reuters)

Law and crime

Canada convoy protest
- The Ottawa Police Service makes over 100 arrests, including the arrest of protest organizer Pat King. Police accuse protestors of assaulting officers with one person being arrested after allegedly throwing a bicycle at a horse with a mounted officer on it. (CBC News) (MSN)

Sports

2022 Winter Olympics
- LGBT athletes in the Olympic and Paralympic Games
  - Timothy LeDuc becomes the first openly non-binary athlete to compete at a Winter Olympics. They competed in figure skating with their skating partner Ashley Cain-Gribble for the United States. (HuffPost)