Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,444 

Here is where things stand on Saturday, February 7:

Fighting

• Fierce fighting continues on the front line between Russian and Ukrainian forces despite the frigid winter temperatures, said Ukraine’s Commander in Chief Oleksandr Syrskii, who stated the front line now stretches about 1,200km (750 miles) in length along eastern and southern parts of Ukraine.
• Increasing technological improvements in drone warfare on both sides of the conflict mean that the so-called “kill zone” – where troops are in greatest danger on the front line – is now up to 20km (12 miles) deep, Syrskii told reporters.
• Russia launched 328 drones and seven missiles at Ukraine overnight and into the early morning on Friday, Ukraine’s air force said, claiming that air defences had shot down 297 drones.
• One person was killed and two others were injured in an overnight Russian attack using drones and powerful glide bombs on the central Dnipropetrovsk region, according to the head of the regional military administration, Oleksandr Hanzha.
• A Russian aerial attack on the southern Zaporizhia region during early daylight hours injured eight people and damaged 18 apartment blocks, according to regional military administration head Ivan Fedorov. A dog shelter in the Zaporizhia regional capital was also struck, killing 13 dogs, Zaporizhzhia City Council Secretary Rehina Kharchenko said.
• Russia’s Ministry of Defence said that air defences downed 38 Ukrainian drones overnight, including 26 over the Bryansk region. Bryansk regional Governor Alexander Bogomaz said the attack briefly cut power to several villages in the region.
• Another Ukrainian nighttime strike damaged power facilities in the Russian city of Belgorod, disrupting electricity distribution, regional Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said. Local reports stated that Ukrainian missiles hit a power plant and an electrical substation, cutting power to parts of the city.
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the performance of the Ukrainian air force in parts of the country as “unsatisfactory” and said that steps are being taken to improve the response to large-scale Russian drone barrages of civilian areas.
• President Zelenskyy called for faster action in boosting Ukrainian air defences and in repairing damage to electricity grids and heating systems following massive Russian air attacks. He said more than 1,110 apartment blocks remained without heat in the aftermath of Russian attacks on energy infrastructure this week.

• A top Russian military intelligence official was shot in his Moscow apartment building and rushed to hospital, investigators said, the latest in a series of assassination attempts Russia has blamed on Ukraine.
• An unidentified gunman fired several shots at Lieutenant General Vladimir Alexeyev, deputy head of the GRU, Russia’s military intelligence arm, before fleeing the scene, investigators said. Alexeyev’s position meant he would have been closely involved in prosecuting Russia’s war in Ukraine.
• At least three bullets hit the intelligence officer – two in the stomach and one in his leg, causing Alexeyev to lose a lot of blood, according to reports.
• Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused Ukraine of being behind the assassination attempt, which he said – without citing evidence – was designed to sabotage peace talks. Alexeyev’s boss, Admiral Igor Kostyukov, the head of the GRU, has been leading Russia’s delegation in negotiations with Ukraine in Abu Dhabi on security-related aspects of a potential peace deal.
• Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha told the Reuters news agency that Kyiv had nothing to do with the attack.

Military aid

• Canada is supplying AIM missiles to strengthen Ukraine’s air defences, Ukrainian Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov wrote on X, adding that delivery is already under way. Fedorov did not disclose the number of missiles but also said that he had discussed joint drone production, military training and experience sharing in a call with his Canadian counterpart, David McGuinty.
• The United States Department of State has approved the potential sale of spare parts for military equipment and related items to Ukraine for an estimated cost of $185m, the Pentagon said.

Peace talks

• A third round of talks aimed at ending the war between Russia and Ukraine should take place “soon”, although there is no fixed date yet, the Kremlin said on Friday.
• The latest and second round of talks between Russia and Ukraine, mediated by the US on Wednesday and Thursday in Abu Dhabi, resulted in the two sides agreeing to a major prisoner swap but failed to yield a breakthrough on a ceasefire.
• US and Ukrainian negotiators have discussed an ambitious goal of March for Russia and Ukraine to agree on a peace deal, Reuters news agency reports, according to three sources familiar with the matter.
• Under the framework being discussed by US and Ukrainian negotiators, any deal would be submitted to a referendum by Ukrainian voters, who would simultaneously vote in national elections, according to five sources, who requested anonymity to discuss private deliberations, Reuters reported.

Sanctions

• US President Donald Trump has lifted an additional 25 percent tariff he imposed on goods from India over its purchases of Russian oil. “India has committed to stop directly or indirectly importing Russian Federation oil,” according to an executive order Trump signed.
• The European Commission proposed a sweeping ban on any services that support Russia’s seaborne crude oil exports. Russia exports more than a third of its oil in Western tankers – mostly from Greece, Cyprus and Malta – with the help of Western shipping services. The ban would end that practice.

Politics and diplomacy

• Two top Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) officials said on Friday they had paid their first visit to Moscow since Russia’s 2022 all-out invasion of Ukraine. OSCE’s acting head, Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis, and OSCE Secretary-General Feridun Hadi Sinirlioglu met Russia’s Foreign Minister Lavrov on Thursday and Friday.
• France has detected a Russia-linked disinformation effort alleging President Emmanuel Macron’s involvement with convicted US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, a government authority said.
• France’s Viginum agency, which tracks foreign disinformation campaigns, said it had on Wednesday detected a social media operation involving a fabricated video report alleging that “journalists had uncovered a compromising exchange implicating Emmanuel Macron”.

Regional security

• Russian and US negotiators discussed the expiration of the last remaining nuclear arms pact between the two countries and agreed on the need to quickly launch new arms control talks, the Kremlin said.
• Washington accused Beijing of conducting a secret nuclear test in 2020 as it called for a new, broader arms control treaty that would bring in China as well as Russia.

Sport

• The Ukrainian delegation was met with deafening applause as athletes and staff entered San Siro Stadium in Milan, Italy, for the opening ceremony of the 2026 Olympic Winter Games

Energy

• Ukraine’s energy minister said that he discussed US liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports during an online meeting with his US counterpart. Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal said on the Telegram app that LNG supplies could be crucial to ensuring Ukraine’s energy security as the country faces its worst wartime energy crisis due to Russian air strikes, cold winter and accumulated damage.