Update:
The death toll from the Russian Iskander-M missile strike on Izium's administrative building has risen to six, with 56 others injured, according to the Kharkiv Oblast Prosecutor's Office.


The next Ukraine Defence Contact Group meeting will be chaired by the UK instead of the US on February 12, according to Radio Liberty sources. These are the “Ramstein meetings.”


Russia targeted one of Kharkiv's largest markets in the Kyivskyi district with a Geran drone strike, causing fires in retail units, Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov reported.


The IAEA mission rotation at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant has been postponed due to the lack of Russian security guarantees, Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi announced. A previous rotation of IAEA officials at the plant was disrupted by a Russian drone attack.


Ukrainian struck Russia’s Primorsko-Akhtarsk airfield in Krasnodar Krai on Feb. 6, causing explosions and a fire. Russian Telegram channel Astra reported that drones and at least 2 missiles were used. At least one soldier was wounded and power outages were reported in the area. The airfield is 230 km from the front line. It is used as a main launch site for Shahed drones and serves as a storage, training, and maintenance hub for aircraft operating in the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions. The airfield houses the 960th Guards Assault Aviation Regiment, which is equipped with Su-25, Su-25UB, and Su-25SM3 aircraft.


French Minister of Defense Sebastien Lecornu:

“On June 6, 2024, @EmmanuelMacron announced the delivery of French Mirage 2000 aircraft to Ukraine. The first of them arrived in Ukraine today. With Ukrainian pilots on board, trained for several months in France, they will now take part in defending Ukraine’s skies.”

The Crimean Wind telegram channel reported that a Russian conscript without a driver's license crashed a KAMAZ truck into a Su-25SM3 attack aircraft at a Simferopol airfield, totally destroying it. The driver, Alexander Erlikh, from Chelyabinsk was speeding and collided with the aircraft. The damage amounted to 386.8 million rubles, leaving the aircraft incapable of performing combat duties. Erlikh was given a one-year suspended sentence with 1.5 years of probation, and the court partially upheld a 10 million ruble fine.


UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy announced a $69 million aid package for Ukraine's energy, business, and social programs. The UK's total non-military support for 2024-2025 will amount to £282 million $352 million, according to the UK Foreign Office.


Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov claimed Russia is open to talks with President Zelenskyy while simultaneously calling his presidency "illegitimate."


Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev signed a decree allocating $1 million for electrical equipment as humanitarian aid to Ukraine.


Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi reported that Ukraine's forces destroyed 13,000 Russian artillery systems in 2024, which is higher than the total for the previous two years combined.


Ukraine announced plans to establish national resistance training centers that teach guerrilla and irregular warfare, focusing initially on recruiting instructors, particularly veterans and volunteers, Deputy Head of the President's Office Iryna Vereshchuk stated.


An OCCRP and IStories investigation discovered that the Russian company Pallada supplied Egypt with over 20,000 tons of wheat potentially stolen from occupied Ukrainian territory. The grain is believed to be worth approximately $6.7 million.


The Eco-Optima group will build the Sokal Wind Power Plant in Lviv Oblast, with €40 million in financing from Oshchadbank. The facility will have seven NORDEX turbines and generate approximately 122 million kWh annually.


Ukrainian paratroopers captured 21 Russians in the Kursk area.

Ukraine launched an offensive in Kursk, successfully capturing several settlements and expanding the area under Ukrainian control on February 6. There are conflicting Russian reports about the state of the frontlines. Ukrainian forces achieved marginal gains along the Sudzha-Oboyan highway and in the fields east of Fanaseyevka. Russian sources have claimed they've stopped Ukrainian progress southeast of Sudzha, though they acknowledge Ukrainian forces hold new positions near several settlements including Cherkasskaya Konopelka, Fanaseyevka, and Ulanok. The status of Cherkasskaya Konopelka remains particularly unclear, some Russian milbloggers say Ukrainian forces have captured the village, some say Ukraine bypassed it, and some say Russia has retaken it.

The Russian forces in the area include the 11th Airborne Brigade, naval infantry, the "Veterany" Assault Brigade, and specialized drone operators. There are complaints emerging about the Russian Ministry of Defense failing to acknowledge the role of Chechen drone operators played in defending against Ukrainian attacks. Additionally, there are reports that the commander of the 11th VDV Brigade has been removed from their position, due to his failure to properly defend positions near Cherkasskaya Konopelka.


Reuters reported that North Korean missiles being fired by Russia at Ukraine have shown a dramatic improvement in accuracy since late December, according to Ukrainian sources. While these missiles previously landed 1-3 kilometers from their targets, they now strike within 50-100 meters of their targets. Russia has fired approximately 100 North Korean missiles at Ukraine, with over 20 showing this improved accuracy. It isn’t clear yet what changes were made to improve the accuracy, it could be due to better navigation systems, steering mechanisms, or guidance from Russian technology.


On February 5, 2025, Ukraine secured the release of 150 prisoners of war from Russian captivity. The freed prisoners include members from the Navy, Air Force, Air Assault Forces, Ground Forces, National Guard, border guards, Territorial Defense Forces, and one police officer. Some of these soldiers had been held captive for over two years, with many having fought in Mariupol, Azovstal, and the Zaporizhzhia region. The United Arab Emirates helped facilitate this exchange.


Russia's oil revenue in January was near a one-year low, with oil taxes reaching 572.6 billion rubles ($5.8 billion), according to Bloomberg and Russia's Finance Ministry. This is an increase from 501.2 billion rubles a year earlier, with total oil and gas industry revenues hitting 789.1 billion rubles (US$8.05 billion). The impact of recent US sanctions has not been factored into these numbers yet, as they are too recent. The Russian government gave 156 billion rubles (US$1.59 billion) to domestic fuel producers, which is a five-month high in subsidies.


President Zelenskyy announced that there will be new sanctions following a National Security and Defense Council meeting and promised additional financial transparency. He reported that there are ongoing efforts to disrupt illegal financial schemes involving oligarchs, officials, and MPs. Recent leadership changes include appointing Ruslan Kravchenko as chief of the State Tax Service and Filip Pronin as head of the State Financial Monitoring Service. Zelenskyy said that investigations must remain objective, regardless of who is violating the law.


Ukrainian troops from the 10th Mountain Assault Brigade destroyed a Russian Zoopark-1 counter-battery radar in Luhansk region. The 109th separate battalion used FPV drones to hit the radar system, which Russia uses to detect the location of Ukrainian artillery. Since the invasion began, Ukraine has destroyed about 15 Zoopark-1M units.


Bulgaria has received compensation from Denmark for military equipment transferred to Ukraine, according to the Bulgarian Ministry of Defense Information Center. The funds will be used exclusively for military modernization. In December 2024, Bulgaria sent its 7th defense package to Ukraine, including all promised BTR-60 armored personnel carriers. The promised vehicles were all delivered and are undergoing maintenance and modernization.


France has provided Ukraine with two batteries of Crotale NG air defense systems mounted on a trailer. Each system weighs 4,800 kg and includes surveillance radar, tracking radar, and eight missile launchers. The trailer systems were originally developed for airfield defense in France.


Russian Telegram channels report that Russian drone operators received booby-trapped FPV goggles containing 10-15 grams of plastic explosives. The Skyzone Cobra XV4 goggles were reportedly found in volunteer humanitarian aid shipments, with explosives placed near the cooling fan and connected to the power button.


Belarusian security forces have arrested Maksim Nikitenko, a 42-year-old former Mozyr Oil Refinery worker, after hacking the Belaruski Hajun monitoring group's Telegram bot. According to Digital Intelligence Team, Belarusian authorities accessed the bot's old messages through a 2022 link, allowing them to identify users who provided information about Russian troop movements.


NATO has launched a competition seeking solutions to neutralize Russian UMPK and UMPB D-30 glide bombs used in Ukraine. The Innovation Challenges program is accepting proposals until March 13, 2025, focusing on various countermeasures including: Detection Electronic jamming, Preventing the aircraft from reaching the launch line (interception, neutralization), Destruction of munitions in the air, and Protection of critical infrastructure in the information plane (psychological operations, cybersecurity).


Ukrtransnafta has delivered 10 pickup trucks with turrets to National Guard soldiers in Zhytomyr, according to Colonel Oleksii Melnyk of military unit 3047. The vehicles will be used formobile air defense, and areequipped with large-caliber machine guns.


The United Kingdom is developing two maritime drones called Wasp and Snapper to help Ukraine in the Black Sea. These drones are part of a larger plan to build up Ukraine's unmanned fleet. They are designed to have capabilities such as a speed of over 40 knots, a range of 800 nautical miles, and the ability to carry multiple high-explosive weapons. The UK plans to start purchasing these drones in early 2025 and will also buy hundreds of munitions for testing later this year.


Ukraine's SBU Security Service has arrested a 41-year-old Russian agent in Donetsk Oblast's Kramatorsk district. The agricultural enterprise employee was recruited by Russia's FSB in December 2024 and allegedly directed airstrikes by sending coordinates and Google Maps screenshots of Ukrainian military positions. He faces life imprisonment for high treason.


Reuters reports Russia is drafting laws to allow the confiscation of foreign assets in response to Western seizures of Russian funds. About $300 billion in Russian assets were frozen abroad after the start of the 2022 invasion. The new legislation would affect all "unfriendly" countries and could impact billions in foreign investments held in blocked "C-type" accounts.


British intelligence reports Russia's territorial gains slowed in January 2025, capturing about 320 square kilometers Velyka Novosilka. Russia took over 700 square kilometers by November. The report says North Korean troops temporarily withdrew from the Kursk Oblast front line due to heavy losses.


The Ukrainian Land Forces Command announced increased security measures at military facilities following recent bombings. New protocols include enhanced patrolling, stricter access control, upgraded surveillance systems, and additional training for security personnel at territorial recruitment centers and other military sites.


DeepState analysts report ongoing fighting in Toretsk, Donetsk Oblast, denying claims that Russia has completely captured it. While Russian forces control most of the city center, Ukrainian forces continue resisting in the Zabalka neighborhood and on northern and western outskirts.


Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi clarified that Ukraine is working specifically on transporting Azerbaijani gas to Europe, not gas from other sources. He pointed out that Russia's offers of cheaper gas often come at the cost of sovereignty.


Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal announced Ukraine has allocated $17.8 billion for weapons production and procurement in 2025. The government is implementing three to five-year contracts with defense manufacturers to ensure long-term production, enabling the companies to continue to invest in the expansion of production capacity.


President Trump announced plans to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy next week in Washington, according to Voice of America correspondent Steve Herman. Trump intends to discuss exchanging U.S. support for access to Ukraine's rare earth minerals. President Zelenskyy told Reuters that Ukraine is open to jointly developing mineral resources with the United States in exchange for security assistance. He emphasized this would be a partnership, not a concession, noting Ukraine has Europe's largest titanium reserves and significant uranium deposits.


Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha proposed using Ukrainian gas storage facilities to store US liquefied natural gas, presenting it as an opportunity to improve European energy security.


Ukraine's Energy Minister German Halushchenko announced the country will need to import approximately 1 billion cubic meters of gas by the end of 2025. This amount may increase due to damage from Russian infrastructure attacks. Naftogaz has been provided a €200 million credit line from the EBRD with the possibility of additional grants.


Ukrainian security services arrested three men aged 21-22 for detonating an explosive device near a military recruitment center in Pavlohrad, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. On February 2, the attackers injured a 24-year-old serviceman with an improvised explosive device. The suspects were recruited by Russian special services through Telegram, hoping to disrupt mobilization efforts. They created and planted the explosives and installed a hidden camera to record the results of the attack. The three men face up to 12 years in prison under terrorism charges, with law enforcement detaining them in Dnipro and Odesa Oblast.


German outlet Focus reports Russian dictator Vladimir Putin criticized Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger during a March 2024 meeting in Rostov-on-Don, leading to security concerns. Papperger now wears a bulletproof vest and travels with armed guards following US intelligence reports of Russian assassination plans.


Newsweek reports a U.S. Air Force Boeing RC-135V Rivet Joint reconnaissance plane gathered intelligence near Crimea on February 5, the first such mission since Russia's 2022 invasion. The four-hour flight carried over 30 personnel.


Ukraine's Air Force spokesman Yurii Ihnat confirmed to Suspilne that Ukrainian forces shot down a Russian guided bomb near Zaporizhzhia. Governor Ivan Fedorov reported an explosion but no casualties. Since September 2024, Russia has modified these bombs to have enough range to reach central Zaporizhzhya.


The Center for Strategic Communication and Information (SPRAVDI) denied reports that Russia attempted to launch an Oreshnik missile at Kyiv on February 6. The center disputed claims by military blogger Kirill Sazonov, stating there was no concrete evidence of such a launch. Ukraine's Center for Countering Disinformation confirmed no warning was issued about the alleged missile.



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