Russia has canceled its international air show, MAKS, due to security concerns, according to the U.K. Ministry of Defense.
In its regular update, the ministry theorized that recent drone attacks inside Russia contributed to the decision to cancel. Organizers were also aware of reputational damage if fewer international delegations attended, the ministry said.
MAKS, which is held near Moscow every other year, is Russia's flagship show demonstrating its civilian and military aerospace sectors and has become "key" to securing export customers.
The war and accompanying international sanctions have done a lot of damage to Russia's civil aviation and aerospace industries, while highly-trained specialists are encouraged to serve as infantry in the space agency Roscosmos's militia, according to the U.K. Defense Ministry.
The chief of the aerospace forces, Sergei Surovikin, has not been seen since the Wagner Group's one-day mutiny on June 24, presumed to have been arrested for siding with Yevgeny Prigozhin.
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Sunday, February 8
(Updated: )
Kyiv Independent journalists on the ground reported hearing explosions in the capital around 9 p.m. local time on Feb. 8, amid an ongoing Russian attack.
Zelensky also announced the upcoming production of Ukrainian drones in Germany.
“We don’t know what happened with that particular general — maybe it was their own internal Russian infighting,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said.
Ukraine’s energy system remains under severe strain, and nuclear plants are still partially discharged as of Feb. 8 following Russia's mass attack on Ukraine's power grid overnight on Feb. 7.
In the latest episode of Ukraine This Week, the Kyiv Independent’s Anna Belokur examines SpaceX’s move to curb Russia’s illegal use of Starlink satellite internet — a technology that has been vital to Ukraine’s defense since 2022.
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The General Staff attributed the strikes to "using long-range strike weapons of Ukrainian production, particularly the FP-5 'Flamingo.'"
Those targeted include are citizens and residents of Russia, Hong Kong, Kyrgyzstan, and the United Arab Emirates.
Russian forces launched 101 drones at Ukrainian cities overnight, according to Ukraine's Air Force.
The number includes 1,040 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day.
"An agent of our movement set fire to a hardware module at the base of a communication tower. As a result of the destruction of the ground equipment, all the infrastructure installed on the mast was completely de-energized and put out of action," the Atesh partisan group announced.
Saturday, February 7
"The Armed Forces of Ukraine attacked our region using long-range Neptune missiles and HIMARS multiple rocket launcher systems," Bryansk Oblast Governor Alexander Bogomaz claimed. "As a result of the attack, power supply was disrupted in seven municipalities."
Blackouts and heating outages were reported in the Russian city of Belgorod on Feb. 7 after alleged attacks on a local thermal power plant and electrical substation.
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"This is a level of attack that no terrorist in the world has ever dared," President Volodymyr Zelensky said the following evening.
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The controversy erupted after promotional photos appeared on social media showing models styled as schoolgirls in a classroom setting, wearing outfits widely perceived as sexualized versions of high school uniforms.
