Additional Russian forces arrive in Belarus

2:29 AM

UK to provide more military aid to Ukraine this year than ever before, Starmer says.

"We must do all that we can to support Ukraine's defense," U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Feb. 3. Starmer pledged to ramp up pressure on Russia in order to "crush Putin's war machine."

12:42 AM

US briefly paused weapons to Kyiv in first days of Trump term, sources tell Reuters.

The Trump administration was initially inclined to stop all aid to Ukraine, but arms deliveries resumed over the weekend following internal debate, sources claimed.

11:50 PM

'We need the corps system' — Zelensky approves plan to restructure army.

Ukraine's Armed Forces are transitioning to a new organizational structure intended to modernize the army, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Feb. 3.

11:01 PM

Rubio takes control of USAID amid Musk's threats to shut down agency.

Trump has named Rubio acting USAID administrator "as an interim step toward gaining control and better understanding over the agency's activity," the state department said in a press release.

10:57 PM

War update

Ukraine war latest: Kursk operation, long-range strikes into Russia — Syrskyi outlines Ukraine's priorities

10:25 PM

Unmanned Systems Forces have carried out over 220 operations deep into Russia since its establishment, commander says.

"Our units have conducted over 220 operations to engage the enemy on Russian territory. More than 3,500 weapons have been launched so far," Colonel Vadym Sukharevskyi said.

10:24 PM

Ukrainian citizen beaten to death in Bratislava, media reports.

Local law enforcement agencies have not ruled out the possibility that the man was beaten by police and private security guards. The Ukrainian Embassy has reached out to the Slovak authorities.

10:04 PM

Education

From drone simulators to civics: Ukraine reforms school curriculum to protect next generation from Russian threat

9:37 PM

Ukraine announces privatization auction of country’s largest electromagnetic switch manufacturer.

The auction, which is for a 100% stake in the plant, will be held on Feb. 4. Its starting price is Hr 234.4 million ($5.6 million), which includes debts for the last six months.

9:13 PM

Trump & Ukraine

Trump seeks Ukrainian rare earths in exchange for aid, Kyiv keen to agree

8:52 PM

Ukrainian bakery Lviv Croissants opens first French location in Cannes.

Ukrainian cafe chain Lviv Croissants opened its first restaurant in Cannes, France, making it the fifth country outside of Ukraine where it now operates, the company said in a press release on Feb. 3.

8:32 PM

Field report

‘We are where we are needed:’ The local entrepreneurs, businesses who stay in front-line Donetsk Oblast

8:20 PM

Ukrainian commander involved in liberation of Kharkiv Oblast killed in combat.

Anton Spitsyn was one of the co-founders of the unit, called the Peaky Blinders after the British crime drama series of the same name.

7:03 PM

'Let's leave judgment to historians' — Orban evades question of whether he considers Russia responsible for war.

"Let's leave the judgment to the historians. I am a politician, and we have an EU decision. It obliges me to speak of 'Russian aggression,'" Prime Minister Viktor Orban told Neue Zurcher Zeitung.

6:00 PM

Raiffeisen Bank cooperates with companies supplying Russian army, Bloomberg reports.

In 2023, the Russian branch of Raiffeisen Bank earned over $1 billion in the first three quarters, which accounted for about 50% of the group's total profit. The bank also paid 277 million euros ($284 million) in taxes to Russia over the same period, Bloomberg reported.

5:35 PM

Romanian presidential candidate says his claims on Ukraine's partition are 'theoretical.'

"I was talking about a very simple thing, by the way. We have to learn from our historical experience. The world is changing," Romanian far-right presidential candidate Calin Georgescu said.

4:00 PM

24-year-old Ukrainian pilot killed in action.

"He was only 24, but he was a competent and experienced warrior who mercilessly beat the (Russian forces) on all their approaches and front lines," the 831st Tactical Aviation Brigade said.

3:52 PM

Ukraine identifies soldier in severed head photo, documents Russian war crime.

The National Police will conduct investigations to clarify the circumstances of the incident, locate the body, and gather further details.

3:14 PM

Ukraine's laser technologies 'already hit certain objects,' commander says.

Ukraine is already using laser technologies to hit Russian targets, Colonel Vadym Sukharevskyi, commander of the Unmanned Systems Forces, said in an interview with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty published on Feb. 3.

12:53 PM  (Updated:  February 3, 2025 3:02 pm)

Pro-Russian paramilitary leader dies in hospital after Moscow explosion.

Armen Sarkisyan, a pro-Russian collaborator from Donetsk Oblast wanted by Ukraine, died in the hospital after being injured in an explosion in an elite residential complex in Moscow on Feb. 3, the state news agency TASS reported, citing healthcare officials.

2:48 PM

Russia sees Saudi Arabia, UAE as possible venues for Trump-Putin meeting, Reuters reports.

Senior Russian officials have allegedly visited both Saudi Arabia and the UAE in recent weeks, according to Reuters.

2:33 PM

Kursk operation, long-range strikes in Russia — Syrskyi outlines Ukraine's priorities.

Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi outlined Ukraine's key priorities, including holding defensive lines, preventing Russian advances, and enhancing the use of unmanned systems.

2:24 PM

Biden admin's escalation fears, 'chaotic' organization delayed aid to Ukraine, Reuters reports.

Further complicating deliveries was a chaotic weapons-tracking system in which different branches of the U.S. military reportedly used varying definitions of "delivered," creating confusion over how much aid reached Ukraine.

2:01 PM

Ukrainian drones strike 2 major energy facilities in Russia, Kyiv confirms.

The drones, operated by the SBU and the Special Operations Forces, targeted the flare farm, two primary processing units, and two technological units at the Volgograd oil refinery, an SBU source said.

1:21 PM

UN monitors see 'alarming rise' in executions of Ukrainian POWs by Russia.

According to Danielle Bell, the head of the U.N. Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, Russian public figures have explicitly called for the inhumane treatment and execution of Ukrainian POWs.