
Ukraine strikes Russia's Saratov oil refinery, military confirms
"The refinery mainly produces gasoline, fuel oil, and diesel fuel. In total, more than 20 types of oil products (are being produced there)," the General Staff said.
Team
Martin Fornusek is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent. He has previously worked as a news content editor at the media company Newsmatics and is a contributor to Euromaidan Press. He was also volunteering as an editor and translator at the Czech-language version of Ukraïner. Martin studied at Masaryk University in Brno, Czechia, holding a bachelor's degree in security studies and history and a master's degree in conflict and democracy studies.
"The refinery mainly produces gasoline, fuel oil, and diesel fuel. In total, more than 20 types of oil products (are being produced there)," the General Staff said.
"They (Ukraine) may make a deal. They may not make a deal... But we’re going to have all this money in (Ukraine) and I say, I want it back," U.S. President Donald Trump said.
Editor’s note: The transcript of this interview has been edited for length and clarity. Poland holds a special position among Kyiv's partners — with a shared history of Russian oppression and conquest, its leaders have left no room for doubt that the full-scale invasion of Ukraine represented an existential threat
German Chancellor Olaf Schlolz and his main challenger in the upcoming elections, Friedrich Merz, agreed during a television debate on Feb. 9 that Berlin must continue supporting Ukraine and that Russia's war must end.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky and U.S. Vice President JD Vance are expected to meet during the Munich Security Conference later this week, CBS News reported on Feb. 9, citing undisclosed sources.
The released captives included members of the Navy, the Air Force, the Airborne Troops, the National Guard, the State Border Guard, the Territorial Defense Forces, and a police officer, according to the president.
"I continue to support foreign aid. But foreign aid is not charity. It exists for the purpose of advancing the national interest of the United States," U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said.
"I look forward to speaking about (Trump's) goal to end the bloody and costly war in Ukraine," Keith Kellogg said on X.
An explosion near a military enlistment office in Kamianets-Podilskyi in Khmelnytskyi Oblast on Feb. 5 left at least one person dead and four injured, Suspilne reported, citing a police spokesperson.
"We do not see (that) Russia is serious about negotiations and serious about peace," U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy said alongside his Ukrainian counterpart, Andrii Sybiha.
The Azerbaijani airliner that crashed in Kazakhstan in December after diverting from the Russian airspace was struck by a Russian Pantsir air defense missile, an undisclosed Azerbaijani source told Reuters in comments published on Feb. 4.
An attack carried out by the SBU and the Defense Forces set fire to the Albashneft oil depot in Novominskaya in southwestern Russia, according to the General Staff.
"But we are having very good talks, very constructive talks on Ukraine. And we are talking to the Russians. We're talking to the Ukrainian leadership," Donald Trump said during a press conference in Washington with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy arrived in Kyiv on Feb. 5 to discuss Ukrainian-British cooperation and Ukraine's security, said Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Ukraine's ambassador to the U.K.
The fire at the Albashneft oil depot was extinguished at 8:11 am Moscow time, the independent Telegram channel Astra reported, publishing a video of what appears to be a burning oil tank.
The number of Poles backing continued military assistance to Kyiv dropped from 54% to 49% during 2024, according to a survey by the ARC Rynek i Opinia research group published on Feb. 4.
The European Commission and Moldova signed a two-year strategy for energy independence and resilience, allocating 250 million euros ($258 million) to Chisinau in 2025, the commission said on Feb. 4.
A pregnant woman was among the killed, according to Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Syniehubov.
Russia launched 65 Shahed-type attack drones and decoy drones against Ukraine overnight, the Air Force reported. Thirty-seven drones were shot down over five oblasts, while 28 others were lost in the airspace without causing any damage, according to the statement.
"Since mid-January, there have been no signs showing North Korean troops deployed to the Russian Kursk region engaging in battle," South Korea's National Intelligence Service (NIS) said, suggesting that heavy losses may have been one of the reasons for their withdrawal.
Senior Russian officials have allegedly visited both Saudi Arabia and the UAE in recent weeks, according to Reuters.
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.
The pro-state outlet Kommersant identified one of the injured victims as Armen Sarkisyan, a pro-Russian collaborator from Donetsk Oblast wanted by Ukraine. The injured victims reportedly include Sarkisyan's security guards.
Ukrainian drones attacked energy facilities in Russia's Astrakhan and Volgograd oblasts overnight on Feb. 3, causing a fire, according to local authorities.
This brings Finland's total defense aid provided to Ukraine since the outbreak of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022 to 2.5 billion euros ($2.6 billion).
"These are standard measures – rotation due to large casualties," a military intelligence source commented for the Kyiv Independent, confirming the reports.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the U.S. has been "fund(ing) a stalemate" that "set (Ukraine) back a 100 years" and called for a swift resolution.
Russia launched 102 Shahed-type attack drones and decoy drones against Ukraine overnight, the Air Force reported. Fifty-nine drones were shot down over 12 oblasts, while 37 were lost in the airspace without causing damage, according to the statement.
Somewhere in the streets of Russian-occupied Simferopol, the capital of Crimea, a woman puts a sticker on the wall. It’s a short message, but if she is seen doing it, she will face arrest, prosecution, and likely, torture. The message is: "Soon, we will be home again." On another
PACE's table office explained its decision by saying that "calling Putin a terrorist is against the rule of procedure because it 'insults his dignity,'" Ukrainian lawmaker Oleksandr Merezhko told the Kyiv Independent.
"On 100% it will happen," Calin Georgescu said in the interview with journalist Ion Cristoiu about redrawing Ukraine's borders as a result of the Russia-Ukraine war, suggesting Romania could claim some of Ukraine's regions.
Russia launched 81 Shahed-type attack drones and decoy drones against Ukraine overnight, the Air Force said. Thirty-seven were shot down over 10 oblasts, while 39 were lost in the airspace, according to the statement.