Ukraine-Russia war – live: Three children among seven killed as Russian drone strikes petrol station
Ukrainian troops shot down the Russian aircraft in eastern Ukraine near the city of Avdiivka, Kyiv claimed
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At least seven people, including three children, have been killed overnight after a Russian drone hit a petrol station in the north-eastern city of Kharkiv.
The strike caused a massive fire that burned down 15 private houses, while 50 people were evacuated as emergency workers tackled the blaze.
It comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky sacked army chief Valeriy Zaluzhny and replaced him with Oleksandr Syrsky.
It follows days of speculation that Zelensky was considering dismissing Zaluzhny, who is seen by many Ukrainians as a national hero for overseeing the war effort since February 2022.
“We discussed what renewal the Armed Forces of Ukraine need. We also discussed who could be in the renewed leadership of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The time for this renewal is now,” Zelensky’s statement said on Telegram.
In other developments, Ukrainian troops have shot down a Russian attack helicopter in eastern Ukraine near the city of Avdiivka as soldiers step up street fighting, Kyiv claimed.
Meanwhile, Russian forces launched the second largest combined drone and missile strike on Ukraine this year with around 64 munitions hitting the country, according to a US think tank.
Fears for Ukrainian town as Russian soldiers attack ‘from all directions’
Fears for Ukrainian town as Russian soldiers attack ‘from all directions’
Avdiivka’s fall would be sold by Russian authorities as a hard-fought victory before an election next month
Russian anti-war Putin critic says he has been banned from presidential election
Russian anti-war Putin critic says he has been banned from presidential election
Russian presidential challenger Boris Nadezhdin, who has been crictial of both Vladimir Putin and his war in Ukraine, says he has been banned fromn standing in the election next month.
Two officers injured in overnight 'mass attack', says Ukraine's national police
Two officers have been injured in an overnight Russian drone attack, Ukraine’s national police has said.
The force said Russia launched a “mass attack” on the city of Odesa overnight, damaging a six-storey building and an “educational institution”, according to a post on Telegram.
It said the two policeman were patrolling and on their way to help residents when they were hit. They have both suffered mine-explosive injuries but they are in a stable condition, it added.
Germany’s Scholz praises Biden for united Russia response ahead of visit
US president Joe Biden’s leadership is critical in ensuring a united response to Russian aggression, German chancellor Olaf Scholz said.
“Our message is clear: We have to do our utmost to prevent Russia from winning” in Ukraine, Mr Scholz wrote in the Wall Street Journal.
“The long-term consequences and costs of failing to stop Mr. Putin’s aggression would dwarf any of the investments that we are making now.”
Huge explosion rocks Russian missile plant
A huge explosion has rocked a Russian missile plant in what state media claimed was a “planned rocket engine test”, footage appears to show.
The blast was recorded near the Votkinsk Machine Building Plant, which manufactures missile engines and strategic ballistic missiles in Izhevsk, Russia.
“We received a notification from the Votkinsk Machine Building Plant. It was a rocket engine test. A planned event, not an emergency,” Zavyalovsky District united dispatch service said.
Russia launches 600 guided munitions at Avdiivka in last month, MoD says
Vladimir Putin’s troops have launched around 600 guided munitions at the besieged town of Avdiivka, Ukraine, over the last month, the UK’s ministry of defence said.
The MoD said the town remained the primary focus of Russian operations with offensive pressure highly likely to continue over the next few weeks.
“Over the past four weeks, approximately 600 guided munitions have been launched against Ukrainian positions in Avdiivka from tactical aircraft,” the MoD said.
“Russian sorties increased guided aerial munitions strikes from 30 to 50 per day on 5 February 2024, an increase of 66 per cent over the last two weeks.”
Biden blames trump for sinking US deal to fund Ukraine war effort
President Joe Biden has blamed Donald Trump for sinking a bill set to deliver billions of dollars of aid to Ukraine after Republicans ditched their support over pressure from the former president.
The $118bn deal would also include aid to Israel and Taiwan, as well as securing immigration along the US’s southern border with Mexico.
“He’d rather weaponise this issue than actually solve it. For the last 24 hours, he’s done nothing at all but reach out to Republicans in the House and the Senate and threaten them and try to intimidate them to vote against this proposal. And it looks like they’re caving,” Mr Biden said.
The soldiers who swapped fighting drug cartels with a bloody war against Putin
The sound of Colombian Spanish fills a hospital treating soldiers wounded fighting Russian forces.
Ukraine‘s ranks are depleted by two years of war. As it battles Putin’s war machine, Ukraine is welcoming hardened fighters from one of the world’s longest-running conflicts.
Professional soldiers from Colombia bolster the ranks of volunteers from around the world who have answered Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s call for foreign fighters to join his nation’s war with Russia.
The soldiers who swapped fighting drug cartels with a bloody war against Putin
Ukraine’s ranks are depleted by two years of war
11 out of 17 Russian drones downed over Ukraine, air force says
Ukrainian air defence and mobile drone hunter groups shot down 11 out of 17 Russia-launched drones over four regions of the country, the air force said.
It said in a statement the Iranian-made Shahed drones were downed over the Odesa and Mykolayiv regions in the south, the Dnipropetrovsk region in the southeast, and the central Vinnytsia region.
Regional officials said the drone attack damaged more than 20 residential houses and commercial buildings in the city of Mykolayiv and hit civilian infrastructure facilities in Odesa on the Black Sea in the south.
There were no casualties reported. Details of damage in other regions were not immediately clear.
Ukraine launches new branch of armed forces dedicated exclusively to drones
Volodymyr Zelensky has ordered officials to create a separate branch of the army dedicated to drones as they have been instrumental in Ukraine’s fight against Russian forces.
“I have just signed a decree initiating the establishment of a separate branch of our defence forces – the unmanned systems forces. This is not a matter of the future, but something that should yield a very concrete result shortly,” Mr Zelensky said in his nightly address.
Ukraine launches new branch of armed forces dedicated exclusively to drones
Ukraine has ‘truly changed security situation in Black Sea with help of drones’, says Zelensky
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