He has been rushed to hospital and the gunman fled the scene, according to reports.

"If you want to call and talk about something serious, then call. Putin will always pick up the phone," Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.

"The enemy at the front doesn't have a problem, the enemy has a catastrophe," Serhiy "Flash" Beskrestnov said.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the U.S. would take "under consideration" additional measures targeting Russia's so-called shadow fleet.

Air raid alerts were issued shortly before 9 a.m. Kyiv time, with Ukraine's Air Force warning of Shahed-type drones and missiles in the country's airspace.

U.S. President Donald Trump publicly endorsed Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban ahead of Hungary’s upcoming parliamentary elections in a Feb. 5 post on his Truth Social platform.

Blackouts and heating outages were reported in Russia’s Belgorod Oblast overnight on Feb. 6 following a reported missile attack that damaged key energy infrastructure, including a thermal power plant and an electrical substation.

When Jeff Bezos gutted the Washington Post, carrying out mass layoffs that included foreign bureaus, we watched it from Ukraine with dismay — and recognition of a pattern we know too well.   As a Ukrainian newspaper publishing in English, we understand how essential it is to keep the world informed about Ukraine and Russia’s war. That is why we were alarmed to see one of the world’s most influential newspapers pulling back from exactly that mission. That retreat plays directly into the hands o

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk became the first high-ranking official to ask the question on everyone’s mind on Feb. 4 — Was convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein working with Russia? He added that Poland would investigate possible links between Epstein and Russian intelligence services. The latest batch of Epstein-related documents, released on Jan. 30, mentions Russia 5,876 times and Russian President Vladimir Putin 1,055 times. The files show that Epstein cultivated relationships with

Editor's Note: The story was updated to include the most recent comment by U.S. President Donald Trump. "If it expires, it expires," U.S. President Donald Trump said in his interview with The New York Times when asked about his intentions to extend the New START treaty that officially ended on Feb. 5. The expiration would put an end to the last bilateral agreement limiting Russian and U.S. nuclear arsenals — a combined 80% of the world's total. Russia's President Vladimir Putin announced his

"They discussed everything (during the negotiations). The delegation believes the information is very sensitive, so they want to come (to Ukraine) to share the details," President Volodymyr Zelensky told reporters in Kyiv.

As casualties in Ukraine continue to mount, the Kremlin is seeking new sources of manpower while trying to avoid the political shock of full mobilization. Just days before the New Year, Russian leader Vladimir Putin signed laws expanding military conscription. The changes allow year-round drafting and authorize the use of reservists to guard critical infrastructure. At the same time, a growing trend is drawing attention — the share of ethnic Russians among the dead is rising, as is the number

Editor's note: This is a developing story and is being updated. Parts of east Kyiv could be without heating for at least two months, officials have warned. On Feb. 5, Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko announced that repairs on the Darnytsia Thermo-Electric Station would take "no less than two months," even barring new strikes. The Darnytsia thermal power station supplied heating to 1,100 apartment buildings on the eastern side of Kyiv and came under attack on Feb. 3, resulting in what Klitschko te

The Kyiv Independent’s Oleksiy Sorokin speaks with Katarina Mathernova, the European Union Ambassador to Ukraine, after Russia's large-scale missile and drone attack on Kyiv during one of the coldest days of the winter, leaving parts of the city without heat and electricity.

The government has allowed companies that manufacture and repair transformer equipment to retain 100% of their draft-eligible employees, Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko said on Feb. 5.

Ukraine’s armed forces face mounting challenges along the southern and eastern fronts, where new technology, tactical shifts, force regeneration, and resource constraints are reshaping the battlefield. What are the key dynamics driving current operations, and how might they evolve in the months ahead? Join an exclusive KI Insights briefing with our defense analyst Mykolaj Suchy, who has recently returned from a trip to Ukraine’s southern and eastern frontlines. He will share firsthand observati

This is Tania Myronyshena reporting from Kyiv on day 1,442 of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Today's top story: Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR) agency has called on employees of Russia's defense industry to share information about missile research and production, warning of personal responsibility for their role in supporting the war against Ukraine. In a statement released on Feb. 5, HUR urged workers at Russian defense enterprises to establish direct, secure, and anonymous c

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk is expected to later hold talks with President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Ukraine has brought back home 157 Ukrainians from Russian captivity in its latest exchange with Moscow, following an agreement reached during the latest round of peace talks in Abu Dhabi, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Feb. 5.

When a Russian-speaking user asks Alice, Russia's most popular AI system, who started the war in Ukraine, the answer comes without hesitation: Ukraine did, backed by the West. The Bucha massacre? Staged. Nazi government in Kyiv? Confirmed. This is not a fringe chatbot. This is Russia's most popular AI assistant, developed by the country's largest tech company, delivering Kremlin propaganda to millions. I know this because I tested it. In EU-funded research presented at a NATO-supported panel i

Europe must ban entry to all Russian veterans of the war against Ukraine or face a surge in crime rates and hybrid attacks, Estonian officials have warned. Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna warned that battle-hardened "ex-prisoners and rapists" could flood Europe after the war and carry out nefarious activities on behalf of Russian intelligence. To boost common security, Tallinn proposed a blanket Schengen entry ban for Russian veterans during a meeting of European foreign ministers on

Following the first phase, the Pentagon says it will order $150 million in prototypes from successful competitors.

The General Staff attributed the strikes to "using long-range strike weapons of Ukrainian production, particularly the FP-5 'Flamingo.'"

Russia's flagship liquified natural gas (LNG) export terminal, Yamal LNG, exported a total of 1,690,517 metric tons of LNG to European markets last month, accounting for an 8% increase compared to January 2025, German environmental NGO Urgewald found in a report published Feb. 4.

Energy investments made up over 1.2 billion euros of the bank's financing to Ukraine last year, providing support for gas imports, decentralized generation, emergency repairs, as well as long-term reconstruction of the energy sector, the bank said.

"The Russians are conducting a targeted attack on Zaporizhzhia and the region all day long. As a result of the attacks, over 53,000 subscribers...are without electricity," Governor Ivan Fedorov reported.

It would also cost Russia "800,000 more corpses" to take eastern Ukraine by force, President Volodymyr Zelensky told France TV in a Feb. 4 interview.

Editor's note: This story has been updated with a comment from the White House. Keith Kellogg, formerly U.S. President Donald Trump's envoy on Ukraine and widely regarded in Kyiv as one of the most pro-Ukrainian voices in the White House, said his work on Ukraine is far from over after leaving government at the end of 2025. A highly decorated, retired three-star U.S. Army general stepped down on Dec. 31 and has since joined the America First Policy Institute, a Washington think tank. In an in

The New START Treaty, signed by Russia and the U.S. in 2010 and set to expire on Feb. 5, 2026, places mutual limits on strategic nuclear warheads and launchers.

U.S. President Donald Trump's claim that his Russian counterpart "kept his word" by not launching mass missile and drone strikes against Ukraine's energy infrastructure for a week has been met with bewilderment and dismay in Kyiv. "I believe this is either a mockery of our misfortune, a lack of understanding of the situation, or wishful thinking," Volodymyr Ariev, a lawmaker from the opposition European Solidarity party, told the Kyiv Independent. The confusing saga of a supposed truce on stri

The latest trilateral meeting in the United Arab Emirates took place a day after Russia launched its most massive strike against Ukraine this winter.

"I was just laid off by The Washington Post in the middle of a warzone. I have no words. I'm devastated," Ukraine correspondent Lizzie Johnson wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.