[Korrespondent] 22:42 President of the European Council Charles Michel officially invited Zelensky to take part in the EU summit on February 9-10 in Brussels, his speaker Barend Leith said. He added that for security reasons, no further information was provided.
22:36 Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Kirill, whose real name is Vladimir Gundyaev, was a Soviet intelligence agent in Switzerland in the 1970s.
| So many were, back in the bad old days of the Soviet Union — hence the police state sobriquet. |
22:03 The European Parliament began to prepare Zelensky's visit to Brussels to participate in the EU summit, scheduled for February 9-10, writes Associated Press. Although, due to security factors, the personal participation of the President of Ukraine is still in question, journalists say.
21:55 Zelensky said in an evening video message that the key issue of today's meeting of the Headquarters was actions on the front line: "Special attention to Bakhmut. Our defense, the occupier's attempts to surround the city and break our defenses there. We are counteracting. We also considered providing our soldiers with ammunition. Artillery - that's one of the key factors."
The president also said that leaders with military experience would be appointed in a number of regions, especially border and front-line ones.
20:13 Deputy Head of the Office of the President Andriy Smirnov named three models for the founding and operation of the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Russian Aggression against Ukraine, which were developed as a result of practical discussions with Ukraine's allies:
- creation of a Special Tribunal on the basis of an agreement with the UN with the adoption of the relevant resolution of the UN General Assembly;
- creation of a tribunal on the basis of a multilateral open international treaty between the states of the civilized world;
- creation of the Special Tribunal as a court that will operate on the basis of Ukrainian law and Ukrainian jurisdiction (that is, it will be part of the judicial system of Ukraine), with the involvement of an international element for its construction and activities (international judges and prosecutors, location in Europe, international support).
According to Smirnov, the first two options "are acceptable and will indeed demonstrate the world's readiness for a heavy legal blow against specific international criminals." The third, hybrid option, contains the risks of narrowing the legal assessment of ongoing aggression to the level of an interstate conflict. Smirnov emphasized that the world needs the widest possible territorial international institution of responsibility for aggression with the maximum level of legitimacy and recognition.
18:44 The likelihood of an escalation of Russia's war against Ukraine continues to grow, while the chances for peace are declining, said UN Secretary General António Guterres: "The prospects for peace continue to decrease. The chances of further escalation and bloodshed continue to grow ... I am afraid that peace is not going to dream of a wider war. I'm afraid he does it with his eyes wide open." The Secretary General stressed that if each country fulfilled its obligations under the UN Charter, then peace would be guaranteed.
18:40 In the Kherson region, the invaders are strengthening filtration measures. To check the local population with a pro-Ukrainian position, FSB officers arrived in Novotroitskoye, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said in an evening summary. And in order to make up for losses in manpower, in addition to mobilization, the occupiers carry out propaganda and agitation work among young people. Thus, in the schools of the Skadovsky district, cadet classes with enhanced military training are being created. The occupiers promise that graduates of these classes will allegedly be provided with benefits when entering the contract military service in the form of appointment to sergeant positions.
In the city of Kremennaya, Lugansk region, employees of the so-called "state enterprises of the LPR" who are not in line for a Russian passport are reduced wages by 30%.
18:21 Media reports about the possible start of the Russian offensive within ten days. The Ukrainian military does not directly refute this and declare that they are preparing to storm the Russian Federation in three directions. Read more in the material New date and directions?
17:56 The head of the Luhansk OVA, Sergei Gaidai, predicts that the Russian Federation may attack in the Lugansk region in three directions - Svatovo, Kremennaya and Belogorivka.
17:20 Ukraine nationalized factories and an agricultural holding owned by Russian oligarchs Mikhail Shelkov and Sergei Chemezov, the SBU reported. We are talking about the Demurinsky Mining and Processing Plant, the wholesale pipe manufacturer VSMPO Titan LLC, the metal trading company Tai-Minerals LLC and the Invest Agro agricultural holding. The value of the property transferred to Ukraine is at least UAH 2 billion.
16:54 Zelensky held a regular meeting of the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, the presidential press service reported. The leadership of the Armed Forces and the commanders of the troops of operational areas reported on the current situation at the front. The meeting participants paid special attention to the positions of the defense forces in the Bakhmut direction and providing them with the necessary weapons and ammunition.
Information was also heard from intelligence about the possible actions of the enemy in the near future. In addition, the meeting participants considered the issue of candidates for appointment to the positions of heads of regional military administrations in a number of regions.
16:23 The Verkhovna Rada called on the IOC to prevent athletes from Russia and Belarus from participating in international competitions, including the 2024 Olympic Games.
16:12 The Verkhovna Rada, for the period of martial law, exempted import duties and value-added tax on operations for the import of UAVs, optical and collimator sights, night vision sights, thermal imaging binoculars, monoculars and night vision devices.
15:50 Yermak said that today's recognition of PMC Wagner as a terrorist organization in the Verkhovna Rada is a step towards bringing them to justice. According to him, Ukraine will apply to the courts of the allied states, and this will also affect the confiscation of Russian assets in the future.
15:33 Norway plans to provide financial assistance to Ukraine in the amount of $7.3 billion over five years (about $1.4 billion a year). Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stere and Finance Minister Trygve Slugsvold Vedum presented the aid package to Kyiv today at a meeting with faction leaders in the Norwegian Parliament. According to their proposal, this year half of the allocated amount will be directed to military assistance, another half - to civilian assistance. The package is expected to be approved by February 24, the anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
15:25 This night, the Ukrainian military destroyed two Russian DRGs and two enemy boats in the areas of the islands on the Dnieper, Natalia Gumenyuk, speaker of OK Pivden, said. In addition, according to her, two enemy strongholds on the Kinburn Spit were destroyed.
15:19 The Verkhovna Rada adopted a resolution recognizing PMC Wagner as an international criminal organization. A resolution was also adopted on the recognition of all Russian PMCs as terrorist organizations.
14:58 The head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, worked in Geneva in the 1970s for the Soviet foreign intelligence service of the KGB, Matin Dimanche and Sonntagszeitung write, citing data from the Swiss Federal Archives. In particular, Kirill was supposed to officially represent the Moscow Patriarchate in the World Council of Churches. His task was to influence the council. The goal of the Soviet leadership was to force the Geneva Institute to condemn the US and its allies and soften their criticism of the lack of religious freedom in the USSR.
14:36 ​​The Baltic countries and Finland have banned the import of Russian fuel in canisters into their territory. According to Piret Tinkus, head of the Estonian Service for Prohibitions and Restrictions, the ban came into effect on February 6. She noted that today about 80% of passenger cars at the first border crossing with Estonia have a ten-liter canister of fuel, in addition to the standard filled fuel tank.
14:10 The Russians brought personnel from the Kalinin NPP to ZNPP, Energoatom reported. In particular, these are reactor control engineers, shift supervisors, electrical fitters and other specialists. The invaders promised them training, but the Ukrainian instructors refused to work for the enemy, so they were blocked from accessing their jobs. Atomists from the Russian Federation themselves say that they were offered six-month contracts and the opportunity to transport their families to Energodar.
In the meantime, the traitors from ZNPP, who signed a contract with the fake JSC Operating Organization of the Zaporizhzhya NPP, were significantly reduced in salary. In addition, the collaborators were also announced the abolition of seniority and vacations earned "under Ukraine".
14:01 A group of Ukrainian military arrived in the UK to train on the AS90 self-propelled guns, the British Ministry of Defense reported.
13:53 In the occupied Gola Pristan, the Russians fired on a civilian car, which caught fire after an artillery strike. There were three people in the cabin, including an eight-year-old child. It is known that the child died on the spot, the Kherson OVA reported.
13:27 The Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation demanded to recognize it as "terrorist" and to ban the Legion of Freedom of Russia operating in Ukraine.
13:02 Ukrainian military intelligence believes that the Russians can launch an offensive from three directions - in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, as well as Zaporozhye. At the same time, Russian troops will conduct defense in the Kherson region and Crimea, said Vadim Skibitsky, a spokesman for the Main Intelligence Directorate.
He also noted that Russia plans to mobilize another 300 to 500 thousand people to ensure offensive operations in the east and south of Ukraine in the spring and summer of 2023. Intelligence predicts that a new wave of mobilization in Russia will last up to two months, but the implementation of the Kremlin's plans is directly dependent on both the equipment of Russian reservists and the level, quality and pace of Western military support for Ukraine.
12:43 Reznikov believes that during the expected new offensive in February, the Russians will not try to simultaneously capture all of Ukraine, as was the case at the beginning of a full-scale invasion, but will wage concentrated battles in specific directions. In an interview with the UP, the defense minister said that now the most serious groups of Russians are concentrated in the east and south - the occupiers intend to use a different tactic in these areas.
12:27 Russia handed over weapons seized in Ukraine to Iran for study, in response, Tehran agreed to provide Moscow with ballistic missiles, The Wall Street Journal writes, citing sources among US officials. At the same time, they specified that today there are no signs that Iran has already sent missiles to the Russian Federation.
12:21 Russia used about 660 Shahed drones out of 1,750 under the contract with Iran. The delivery of the next batch of these drones will soon take place, said the representative of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense, Vadim Skibitsky. According to him, Russians usually imported Iranian drones in batches of 250-300 pieces.
11:54 Peskov confirmed that the topic of Ukraine was in Putin's negotiations with former Israeli Prime Minister Bennett, "but we are not in favor of disclosing details."
Commenting on reports about the plans of Russia and Iran for the joint production of drones, Peskov said that the Russian Federation has its own programs for their creation.
11:37 Electricity consumption in Ukraine is growing, a power shortage persists, especially noticeable in the morning and evening consumption peaks, Ukrenergo reported. Due to network restrictions, emergency shutdowns are applied in Odessa and nearby areas, as well as in Kyiv and the Kyiv region. Consumption limits have been brought to all oblenergos.
11:26 The FSB is setting up systems for monitoring Internet activity in Mariupol, not only in the occupation administrations: installation of equipment for global surveillance has begun. Also, on February 11, the Internet will be turned off for an indefinite time for all providers - precisely because of the FSB's setup of the tracking system, said Petr Andryushchenko, adviser to the mayor of Mariupol. According to him, the level of resistance and constant leaks of information are very annoying to the new head of the FSB in the Donetsk region.
10:55 Arakhamia said that personnel changes in the defense sector will not take place during this week, but the appointments of the heads of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Security Service are expected.
10:49 The offensive of the occupiers in the Luhansk region can begin at any moment after February 15, said the head of the OVA Serhiy Gaidai. According to him, they will need about ten days to prepare. Now the occupiers are pulling equipment to this direction, which they hide in the forests and bury, as well as building more fortifying lines. They also bring ammunition, which they save for the offensive.
10:32 Kursk Governor Roman Starovoit said he would lead the "voluntary people's squad" of the region. The squad was created in December on the basis of the Patriot center (the PMC Patriot operates in Russia, which is associated with Shoigu). Initially, more than 300 people joined it, but they plan to increase the number to 6,000. Among the tasks are patrolling the streets, protecting infrastructure, Russian media write.
10:25 In the morning, a drone exploded over Russian Kaluga, 150 km from Moscow. Local authorities reported that the explosion did not damage civilian objects. The Mash publication reported that the drone was flying towards one of the military facilities.
09:42 According to the International Energy Agency, the oil and gas revenues of the Russian Federation fell by 30% or about $8 billion in January due to the introduced ceiling on oil prices compared to December. This is an all-time new monthly low, said IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol.
09:00 In the Kherson region over the past day, four people were injured due to Russian shelling, the OVA reported.
08:48 The American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) believes that Putin is cautious about making decisions that could shake his status quo, and therefore the risks of nuclear escalation or war with NATO are minimal. Analysts point out that while declaring maximalist goals in the war against Ukraine, Putin is showing hesitation in decision-making, which demonstrates his desire to avoid risky scenarios that could threaten his power or international escalation.
According to the ISW, Putin is in no hurry to announce a second wave of mobilization and is likely leaning back towards "quiet mobilization" due to concerns about the unpopularity of such a move.
08:41 In the Donetsk region over the past day, as a result of Russian shelling, one person died - in Bakhmut. Another person in the region was injured, Pavel Kirilenko, head of the OVA, said.
08:36 In the port of Mariupol, the invaders are accumulating military equipment and manpower. At night, the port recorded the movement of at least eight MLRS units, six buses with manpower, six trucks with ammunition and two S-300 air defense systems, said Petr Andryushchenko, an adviser to the mayor of the city.
08:19 The General Staff announced the approximate losses of the enemy as of the morning of February 6.
- personnel - about 132,160 (+870) people liquidated,
- tanks - 3231 (+11),
- armored combat vehicles - 6415 (+10),
- artillery systems - 2231 (+5),
- MLRS - 461 (+1),
- air defense systems - 227 (+0),
- aircraft - 294 (+0),
- helicopters - 284 (+0),
- UAV operational-tactical level - 1958 (+0),
- cruise missiles - 796 (+0),
- ships/boats - 18 (+0),
- automotive equipment and tankers - 5104 (+13),
- special equipment - 203 (+0).
08:13 The occupiers are focusing their main efforts on conducting offensive operations in the Kupyansky, Limansky, Bakhmutsky, Avdeevsky and Novopavlovsky directions, the General Staff said in the morning report . During the fighting in the Bakhmut area, there is a complete lack of coordination and interaction between the military personnel of the Russian troops and the mercenaries of the PMC Wagner.
Over the past day, the Defense Forces repelled the attacks of the invaders in the areas of the settlements of Verkhnekamenskoye, Vasyukovka, Paraskoveevka, Bakhmut, Ivanovskoye, Kamenka, Severnoye, Pervomayskoye, Veseloye, Nevelskoye, Krasnogorovka, Maryinka, Pobeda and Novomikhailovka of the Donetsk region.
07:52 Russian Mi-35M helicopters and Su-30SM fighters will arrive in Belarus by the end of April, Andrei Lukyanovich, Chairman of the Belarusian Air Force, said. According to him, the package should also include Rosa radar systems, but they have already been manufactured in Belarus. In addition, about two weeks ago, Belarus received the Russian TOR-M2K air defense system.
07:15 The first Leopard 2 tank, which Canada handed over to Ukraine, has already arrived in Poland, Canadian Defense Minister Anita Anand said. "Together with our allies, we will soon begin training the Armed Forces of Ukraine to use this equipment," she added.
04:00 Pope Francis said he was ready to meet with Zelensky and Putin to discuss the war in Ukraine. He stressed that he is equally open to meeting with both presidents.
00:41 Reznikov told ICTV Facts that he knows nothing about his possible appointment as Minister for Strategic Industries and will refuse such an offer: "If suddenly I received such an offer from the President of Ukraine or the Prime Minister, then I would refuse it , because I do not have the expertise that would allow me to qualitatively be the head of the Ministry of Strategic Industries."