Key developments on Feb. 7:
- North Korean soldiers "brought in again" to fight in Kursk Oblast, Zelensky says
- Ukraine downs Russian guided bomb near Zaporizhzhia, Air Force says
- Kyiv denies reports of alleged failed Russian Oreshnik missile launch at Ukraine
- Trump ready to step up Russia sanctions to end war in Ukraine, special envoy says
North Korean soldiers were "brought in again" by Russia to the embattled Kursk Oblast, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his evening address on Feb. 7.
Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi briefed Zelensky about new Russian attacks in Kursk Oblast, a day after Russian media claimed Ukraine had launched a new offensive in the Russian region.
"A significant number of occupiers have been eliminated, we are talking hundreds of Russian and North Korean servicemen," the president said.
The Kyiv Independent could not verify these claims.
The New York Times reported on Jan. 30 that North Korean troops had been pulled from the front, and a Special Operations Forces spokesperson confirmed to the Kyiv Independent that Ukraine's special forces had not faced Pyongyang's soldiers for three weeks.
Ukraine's spy chief Kyrylo Budanov denied these reports. He said that the number of North Korean troops has decreased, and Ukraine is trying to establish why.
"A total of 60,000 Russian troops in Kursk Oblast are 60,000 that have not replenished the already significant occupier's forces in Pokrovsk and other sectors in our Donetsk Oblast," Zelensky said.
Ukraine downs Russian guided bomb near Zaporizhzhia, Air Force says
Ukrainian forces shot down a Russian guided aerial bomb near the front-line southern city of Zaporizhzhia on Feb. 7, Air Force spokesperson Yurii Ihnat told Interfax-Ukraine.
Guided aerial bombs (KABs), while having a shorter range than missiles, are cheaper to produce and are launched from aircraft within Russian territory or Russian-occupied territories, beyond the reach of Ukrainian air defense.
They are nearly impossible to shoot down because they have heavy iron structures, and come in extremely fast from high altitudes, unlike cruise missiles or drones, according to experts.
According to Ihnat, it was not the first time Ukraine downed a guided bomb.
"To counter this threat, we need a comprehensive approach — both the use of ground-based air defense and aviation components to drive the carriers of these KABs as far as possible," the spokesperson said, without specifying how the target was shot down.
His remarks came after Telegram channels reported that Ukrainian soldiers had down the guided aerial bomb on the morning of Feb. 7, allegedly using experimental weaponry.
Kateryna Denisova
Kyiv denies reports of alleged failed Russian Oreshnik missile launch at Ukraine
Ukraine's Center for Strategic Communication and Information Security on Feb. 7 refuted media reports of Russia's alleged failed launch of its new intermediate-range ballistic missile, the Oreshnik, at Ukraine.
The statement came after Forbes, citing Ukrainian soldier and blogger Kyrylo Sazonov, wrote that Russia launched another Oreshnik missile on Feb. 6 "apparently targeting Kyiv." Sazonov claimed that the missile "didn't fly far" and exploded in Russia.
"The article in the U.S. media is based only on Sazonov's assumptions, not on actual data," the statement, published by the center that operates under Ukraine's Culture and Information Ministry, read.
Neither Ukraine nor Russia has officially reported the launch of Oreshnik.
Sonya Bandouil
Trump ready to step up Russia sanctions to end war in Ukraine, special envoy says
U.S. President Donald Trump is prepared to double down on the sanctions against Russia to pressure the Kremlin into ending its war against Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, the U.S. special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, told The New York Post in an interview published on Feb. 6.
According to Kellogg, current U.S. sanctions on Russia, particularly those targeting its energy sector, amount to a "3 on a 10-point scale" regarding economic pressure. He argued there is significant room to strengthen them further.
"You could really increase the sanctions — especially the latest sanctions (targeting oil production and exports)," Kellogg said. "It's opened the aperture way high to do something."
He added that Trump has already gathered his national security team, including Vice President J.D. Vance and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, to discuss a coordinated strategy to end the war.
Kellogg criticized former President Joe Biden's approach of supporting Ukraine "as long as it takes," calling it "a bumper sticker, not a strategy."
Kellogg emphasized that Trump's administration is focused on a "holistic approach" to ending the war, combining support for Ukraine with increased pressure on Russia.
Trump's special envoy is expected to visit Ukraine later this month for talks with Ukrainian officials, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's Chief of Staff Andriy Yermak said on Feb. 7.
Kateryna Denisova
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