Here are the latest updates as of Thursday, February 5:
Fighting
An estimated 55,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed on the battlefield in Ukraine’s war with Russia, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an interview with France 2 television. He added that in addition to those casualties, there are also a “large number” of people officially classified as missing.
Russian forces have carried out 217 attacks on Ukraine’s energy system since the beginning of 2026, Ukrainian Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said in a post on the Telegram messaging app.
A Russian strike on the town of Druzhkivka killed at least seven people and injured eight, Donetsk regional governor Vadym Filashkin said on Telegram. The governor said Russia used cluster munitions to strike a market and dropped two aerial bombs.
Planned power outages may intensify in the coming days as Russian forces could launch new airstrikes to further cripple electricity and heating networks, Ukraine’s Energy Minister German Galushchenko warned the population. He described the current situation as “very difficult.”
The energy situation in Kyiv is even worse than in other cities, with resources being redirected to the capital, while Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, will also receive additional aid, President Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address to the nation.
Moscow’s Defense Ministry said its forces have taken the settlements of Starukrainka and Stepanivka in eastern Ukraine, according to Russia’s official TASS news agency.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is abusing ceasefire talks to strike civilian infrastructure in Ukraine, European Commission spokeswoman Anita Hipper said. She added that Moscow could “end this war right now” if it wanted to.
Russian forces will continue fighting in Ukraine until Kyiv makes “decisions” that can end the war, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. Peskov said Russia’s stance on the war has not changed.
Recent Russian strikes on Ukraine’s rail network appear to be aimed at cutting entire regions off from the rest of the country, the head of Ukraine’s state-owned railway operator, Oleksandr Pertsovskyi, told AFP. Last week, a Russian drone strike on a passenger train in Kharkiv killed five people.
Military
Russia’s military spending far exceeds its published figures, Germany’s BND foreign intelligence agency said in a rare public statement. In 2022 and 2023, Russia’s military spending was 66% higher than officially reported, the BND said.
Aid
European Union ambassadors have approved a detailed plan for a €90 billion ($106 billion) loan to Ukraine. The loan scheme, agreed upon by EU leaders in December, is intended to cover most of Kyiv’s financial needs for 2026 and 2027. On military aid, the agreement stipulates that Kyiv should prioritize using the loan to purchase weapons from Ukraine or the EU, but can also buy from other countries if specific conditions are met.
(Image: Ukrainian rescuers and community workers at the site of a Russian drone strike on a residential building in Odesa on Wednesday.)
Ceasefire Talks
Ukrainian and Russian officials have concluded a “substantive” and “productive” first day of US-brokered talks in Abu Dhabi, Ukraine’s chief negotiator, Rustem Umerov, said on X.
Negotiations must lead to real peace, not just give Russia new opportunities to continue the war, Zelenskyy said after the new round of talks began. He also said Ukraine expects a new exchange of prisoners of war shortly after the talks conclude.
Technical and military teams from Ukraine and Russia are participating in the trilateral meeting in Abu Dhabi, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said.
Zelenskyy is unwilling to agree to a peace deal because it would mean the end of the Ukrainian president’s political career, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said, according to RIA Novosti.
Politics & Diplomacy
c and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a video call on the eve of the fourth anniversary of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, praising their relationship. News reports quoted Putin as saying Moscow’s ties with c are an important stabilizing factor in turbulent times, while c called for a “grand plan” to further develop bilateral relations.
French President Emmanuel Macron’s top diplomat, Emmanuel Bonne, has visited Moscow for talks with Russian officials, Reuters reported, citing three sources. The purpose of the visit was to engage in dialogue on key issues, most importantly Ukraine, Reuters said.
US First Lady Melania Trump said she will remain in contact with President Putin’s team to work towards returning more Ukrainian children from Russia. Fifteen children have returned to Ukraine since the first lady began advocating for their return. At least 19,000 children are said to have been taken to Russia or Russian-occupied territory without consent since the start of the war in Ukraine in 2022.
Russian talk show comedian Artemy Ostanin has been convicted of inciting hatred and sentenced to nearly six years in prison for joking about a veteran who lost his legs. The joke sparked outrage among nationalists and military bloggers. In addition to the prison term, he was ordered to pay a fine of 300,000 rubles ($3,900). He was also convicted in a separate case for offending the feelings of Christians with another crude joke that angered Orthodox nationalists.