As the war enters its 715th day, key developments include:
This is the situation as of Thursday, February 8, 2024.
finding
- Russia launched a large number of missiles and Shahed-type drones into six regions of Ukraine, including the capital Kiev, killing at least five people and injuring 50 others. The Ukrainian military said it had intercepted 44 out of 64 drones and missiles launched by Russia. Approximately 20,000 homes in Kiev were left without power. The Russian government claimed it was targeting a weapons factory in Ukraine.
- Serhiy Volbinov, head of the region's national police investigation department, said a preliminary assessment of the Russian attack concluded that two of the five missiles targeting Kharkov in northeastern Ukraine were North Korean-made. .
- Russia said its air defense systems intercepted two separate Ukrainian air strikes, destroying rockets and 12 drones over southwest Belgorod. Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov announced that two people were injured.
- The UN human rights watchdog in Ukraine said civilian casualties from the war were starting to rise again after falling last year. Last month, 158 civilians were recorded killed and 483 injured, an increase of 37% compared to last November. The conflict has left more than 10,000 civilians dead and around 20,000 injured, according to the United Nations.
- International Atomic Energy Agency Director-General Rafael Grossi visited the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Russia-occupied southern Ukraine. He welcomed the reduction in shelling around Zaporizhzhia, but he said security remained fragile.
politics and diplomacy
- Sweden has suspended its investigation into the 2022 explosion that crippled the Nord Stream gas pipeline that transports Russian gas to Germany under the Baltic Sea. Russia, Ukraine and Western countries are blaming each other for the incident. Sweden announced that it had handed over the evidence it had collected to Germany.
- An amended bill lowering the draft age and making it harder to avoid military service has passed its first reading in Ukraine's parliament. Further amendments are expected and it is expected to take several weeks to become law.
- Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis said he hoped China would “lend a hand” in the Ukraine peace talks, which the country has agreed to host at the request of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Ukraine announced that it has invited Chinese President Xi Jinping to a world summit.a The date and venue have not yet been decided.
- A Russian court has jailed two Russian nationals in separate cases on charges of treason over aiding Ukraine, state news agencies said.
- After a brief debate, the upper house of Russia's parliament passed a bill that would allow authorities to confiscate money, valuables and other assets from people convicted of spreading “deliberately false information” about the country's military. It was unanimously supported.
- The Ukrainian Olympic Committee has asked the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to investigate the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes at the Paris Olympics following an alleged violation of neutrality.
- The Kremlin has announced that Russian President Vladimir Putin has granted an interview to right-wing American TV host Tucker Carlson, who previously worked for Fox News.
weapons
- President Zelensky expressed his condolences to the families of the victims of Wednesday's Russian attack and called on Ukraine's Western allies to speed up and increase shipments of artillery shells. Earlier, Zelenskiy met with visiting European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell to discuss arms supplies and other aid. Borrell said the EU needs to provide Ukraine with “whatever it takes” to defeat Russia.
- US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said the US would provide further military aid to Ukraine, with North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Secretary Jen Stoltenberg stressing that such support was “essential”. “We can and will provide it,” he said. Both men made the comments after a meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels.