February 21, 2023 (Tuesday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Southern Ukraine campaign
- Russian forces shell the city of Kherson, killing at least six people and injuring 12 others, according to local officials. (Reuters)
- Southern Ukraine campaign
- Somali Civil War
- The Somali National Army kills 42 al-Shabaab jihadists in an operation in Mahaday, Middle Shabelle, Somalia, which began overnight and lasted for several hours. (Xinhua)
Business and economy
- 2022–2023 food crises
- Supermarkets in the United Kingdom, such as Asda and Morrisons, begin rationing fruit and vegetables, citing poor harvests in Spain and North Africa, and a domestic farming crisis. The shortages are expected to last several weeks. (The Telegraph)
Disasters and accidents
- 2022–23 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season
- Cyclone Freddy makes landfall in Madagascar, killing at least four people. (Reuters)
- The Philippine Air Force and Navy locate on Mayon Volcano, Albay, the debris of a Cessna 340 aircraft that went missing after taking off from Daraga for Manila on February 18. However, the whereabouts of the two pilots and two Australian passengers on board have yet to be located due to inclement weather. (AP via ABC News)
International relations
- Russia–United States relations, Russia and weapons of mass destruction
- Russian President Vladimir Putin suspends Russia's participation in the New START treaty, the last remaining nuclear arms control pact with the United States, citing the U.S.'s goal of defeating Russia in the ongoing war in Ukraine. (AP)
Law and crime
- He Jiankui affair
- The Immigration Department of Hong Kong cancels Chinese scientist He Jiankui's work permit and initiates a criminal investigation into his failure to declare a three-year prison sentence over his unethical genome editing research conduct while applying for the permit. (AFP via The Japan Times)
- A 17-year-old male student at Matanzas High School viciously attacks a teacher due to being told not to use the Nintendo Switch during class. The student knocks the teacher unconscious. The student faces battery charges and is to be tried as an adult. (MBC Miami)