Ukrainian drones, operated by the Special Operations Forces (SSO) and Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), hit the Ilsky Oil Refinery in Krasnodar Krai and the Kropotkinskaya oil pumping station in the Kavkazsky District of Kuban overnight on Feb. 17, an SBU source told the Kyiv Independent. “The SBU and SSO of the Armed Forces continued […]
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Kremlin foreign policy advisor Yuri Ushakov will fly to Saudi Arabia for talks with a U.S. delegation about how to end the war in Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Feb. 17. “They are expected to hold a meeting with their American counterparts on Tuesday, which will focus […]
U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, Keith Kellogg, attended a panel discussion during the Munich Security Conference on Feb. 15 where he called for the the U.S. to implement additional sanctions on Russia’s “shadow fleet,” while also calling for concessions from both countries to secure a peace deal. “What is driving […]
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Feb. 14 that Russia would be reintegrated into the world economy and Europe’s energy system once a peace deal is reached in the Russia-Ukraine war, Reuters reported. “If the U.S. president comes and creates peace, there is a deal, I think Russia will be reintegrated into the world […]
Russia’s military spending, driven by President Vladimir Putin’s efforts to put the country’s economy on a war footing, has now surpassed the combined defense budgets of all European nations, according to a new study. In 2024, Russia’s total defense expenditures surged by 42% in real terms, reaching 13.1 trillion rubles. When adjusted for purchasing power […]
An attempt to assassinate President Volodymyr Zelensky at the onset of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022 resulted in people being killed inside the Presidential Office, Zelensky said in a segment of an interview with The Guardian published on Feb. 12. “There were people who wanted to kill (me), there were gunshots, and more. Some people […]
Ukrainian forces struck Russia’s Saratov oil refinery in a strike overnight on Feb. 11, the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces said after reports of drone attacks in the region. Unverified videos posted to social media showed a large fire and search lights raking the sky reportedly in the vicinity of the refinery. “The refinery […]
At least 76 apartments were damaged, and 215 windows were shattered in a drone attack on Russia’s Rostov-on-Don overnight on Feb. 9, Mayor Alexander Scriabin claimed in a social media post. A state of emergency was declared in the affected district of Rostov-on-Don as Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed 18 drones were shot down over the […]
U.S. President Donald Trump does not have an official plan to end Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Feb. 6, Interfax-Ukraine reported. “There is no official plan yet. What is in certain publications… I am sure that this is not President Trump’s official plan,” Zelensky said. Trump’s designated envoy for Ukraine, […]
Russia’s continued attacks against Ukraine’s power grid heighten the risk of a nuclear accident, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi warned during his visit to Kyiv on Feb. 4. Grossi is visiting Kyiv to meet with Ukrainian officials regarding nuclear safety in wartime before heading to Moscow to discuss the […]
Greenpeace Ukraine has urged the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to prevent Russia from illegally restarting reactors at the occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), the organization said in a Feb. 4 press release. The appeal comes as IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi is visiting Kyiv to meet with Ukrainian officials before heading to Moscow […]
On the night of Dec. 15, 2024, two Russian oil tankers, Volgoneft-212 and Volgoneft-239, sank in the Kerch Strait, a narrow maritime connection between the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, off the coast of occupied Crimea. Both vessels were constructed for service on rivers, not on the open sea, and did not have […]