What did 10 February 2023 reveal about the war's spillover?
A look back at a day when Moldova's government fell, missiles crossed its airspace and a new weapon appeared near Odesa.
How far did the war in Ukraine reach beyond its borders on 10 February 2023? The reports from that day, and from the days just before, suggest the answer was: into the politics and airspace of its neighbours.
In Moldova, prime minister Natalia Gavrilița resigned amid an economic crisis and the collateral effects of the war next door. On the same day, Moldova said Russia had fired missiles over the country at targets inside Ukraine. Chisinau condemned the flyover as a violation of its sovereignty and summoned the Russian ambassador for an official explanation.
A new weapon near Odesa
Inside Ukraine, the fighting continued in the south. 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.
The strike followed a barrage the previous day. On 9 February 2023, Russia launched drone and cruise missile attacks across the south and east of Ukraine, with large explosions reported in the Dnipropetrovsk, Luhansk, Mykolaiv and Zaporizhzhia oblasts.
Diplomacy in the days before
The military pressure unfolded alongside a burst of diplomacy. On 8 February 2023, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the United Kingdom, his second trip outside Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion. He met King Charles III and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and addressed Parliament in Westminster Hall. Reports at the time said he would go on to France to meet President Emmanuel Macron and German chancellor Olaf Scholz.
Regional tension was visible elsewhere too. On 9 February 2023, Poland announced the closure of a major border crossing with Belarus until further notice, amid heightened tensions between the two countries. Only two checkpoints were then open between them.
A day in context
Taken together, the reports show a conflict that touched several states at once: a government resigning in Moldova, a sovereignty protest over missiles in its skies, a border closing between Poland and Belarus, and a Ukrainian president lobbying in Western capitals while new strikes hit his country's south and east.
