Ukraine Breaking News Today Live on 02-07-2025

Guerrillas say this decision is driven not only by Ukrainian strikes on oil depots and military infrastructure, but also by mounting public pressure within Russia who feel at risk.

The Russian army command has begun withdrawing individual anti-aircraft missile units from occupied Crimea and redeploying them deep into Russia, according to the Atesh guerrilla movement in a Friday Telegram post.

The report citing Atesh’s agents within the Russian Armed Forces said, “This decision is dictated not only by strikes from the Ukrainian Defense Forces on oil depots and military infrastructure, but also by public pressure inside Russia.”

It is the biggest settlement that Moscow claims to have captured since Avdiivka in late February 2024, almost a year ago.

Russia said Friday its forces had seized the mining town of Toretsk in east Ukraine after months of heavy fighting, allowing Moscow to push further into the Donbas region. 

Kyiv denied Russia had full control of the industrial hub.

Ukraine’s 414th Strike UAV Battalion, known as “Madyar’s Birds,” detected and destroyed a Russian fiber-optic drone

Bulgaria expects €500 million in revenue from military aid to Ukraine over the past three years, after Kyiv’s biggest donors agreed to compensate Sofia generously.

SOFIA - Bulgaria expects €500 million in revenue from military aid to Ukraine over the past three years, after Kyiv’s biggest donors agreed to compensate Sofia generously.

Military revenues are particularly important for Bulgaria, which is trying to reduce its deficit to 3% of GDP in order to join the eurozone on 1 January 2026. The government announced that it had received €174 million from Denmark as part of two contracts to send military aid to Ukraine, which will offset the country’s budget deficit.

Short on manpower to man the trenches, frontline troops turned to drones to do part of their job.

Though drones cannot man the trenches, Ukrainian troops have increasingly relied on them to monitor frontline movements and act as a first line of defense before threats reach the soldiers themselves.

If Russian troops managed to slip past, only then did the infantries fire their rifles.

Russian milbloggers voiced concerns that continued Ukrainian advances in Kursk could threaten Russian supply lines and rear positions south of Sudzha.

The Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) launched a new wave of battalion-sized mechanized assaults in Kursk Oblast on Feb. 6, pushing up to 5 kilometers (3 miles) behind Russian lines southeast of Sudzha, according to a report by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) Thursday.

Geolocated footage published on the same day shows that Ukrainian troops advanced southwest of Makhnovka (southeast of Sudzha) and north and east of Cherkasskaya Konopelka, seizing the settlements of Kolmakov and Fanaseyevka along the 38K-028 Sudzha-Oboyan highway.

Experts tell AFP the sanctions announced by Trump, angered by the ICC investigation into alleged Israeli war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza, will have a wide-reaching impact on the court.

US President Donald Trump’s decision to slap sanctions on the International Criminal Court, set up to rule on humanity’s worst crimes, sent shock waves around the world.

Experts tell AFP the sanctions announced by Trump, angered by the ICC investigation into alleged Israeli war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza, will have a wide-reaching impact on the court.

Following the collapse of Syria’s Assad regime in December, Russia has started withdrawing military equipment and weapons from its Tartus Naval Base.

The Syrian transitional government might maintain Russian military bases, but only if it serves Syria’s national interests, Defense Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra said in an interview with The Washington Post, published on Thursday, Feb. 6.

“If we get benefits for Syria out of this, yes,” Abu Qasra responded when asked whether Russian bases would remain.

The Daily Mail got there with its scoop, revealing what it suggests is Trump’s peace plan for the war in Ukraine. Is it credible?

The Daily Mail got there with its scoop revealing what it suggests is Trump’s peace plan for the war in Ukraine - the scoop itself gleaned from the Ukrainian source, Strana (Country).

Keith Kellogg, Trump’s newly appointed special representative for Ukraine peace talks has suggested this week that the Trump peace plan is not yet ready.

Military issues commentator David Axe wrote on the website that Russia had fired a second “hazelnut” IRBM aimed at Kyiv on Thursday which failed in mid-flight.

Writing for Forbes on Thursday, the US military commentator David Axe, citing Ukrainian milblogger Kyrylo Sazonov, said it seemed “likely” that Russia had attempted to fire a second Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) against the Ukrainian capital.

Sazonov wrote on his Telegram channel: “Something heavy (presumably the vaunted ‘Oreshnik’) was launched from the Astrakhan region at the territory of Ukraine. The possible target was Kyiv. But the missile did not fly far and fell on their territory.”

The White House’s Ukraine envoy rejected claims that he would reveal the peace plan for Ukraine at the upcoming Munich Security Conference – the US president would deliver it in person later, he said.

Keith Kellogg, US President Donald Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, rejected rumors that he would unveil the Trump administration’s peace plan for Ukraine at the upcoming Munich Security Conference between Feb. 14 and 16.

Speaking to US conservative outlet NEWSMAX, Kellogg discussed his perspectives on the developments in Ukraine and rejected the rumors when asked about what could be expected from the upcoming conference.

In part 1 (of 3) Vasyl Bodnar, discusses his personal ties to Warsaw, the stakes of Ukraine’s European integration, and why NATO remains Kyiv’s only viable security guarantee.

In this first part of an exclusive interview Ukraine’s ambassador to Poland, Vasyl Bodnar gives his views on the partnership with Warsaw as Ukraine navigates this most challenging chapter in its history. As the Ambassador told Kyiv Post’s Michał Kujawski, he sees that Poland remains a vital partner - a gateway for refugees, a strategic ally in the EU, and a key player in military and economic cooperation.

He also discusses his personal ties to Warsaw, the stakes of Ukraine’s European integration, and why NATO remains its only viable security guarantee. With the EU presidency in Polish hands and negotiations for membership underway, Bodnar outlines the challenges ahead, the expectations from European partners, and the lessons Ukraine can share with the West.

The world in focus, as seen by Canadian leading global affairs analyst Michael Bociurkiw in a quick review of the biggest news in international media today.

The Trump administration plans to reduce the number of workers at the U.S. Agency for International Development from more than 10,000 to about 290 positions, three people with knowledge of the plans said on Thursday. The small remaining staff includes employees who specialize in health and humanitarian assistance, the people said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they were not allowed to publicly discuss the cuts. A spokeswoman for the State Department, whose umbrella the remnants of the agency have moved under, did not immediately return a request for comment. Officials at U.S.A.I.D. are pushing for less severe cuts, and they submitted significantly longer lists to the State Department of personnel they deemed essential to carry out lifesaving and other critical programs, according to two people with knowledge of their efforts. - NYT

The Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle the U.S. Agency for International Development has left American workers in limbo and threatens billions of dollars the agency spends on American businesses and organizations, global development experts and industry representatives told The Washington Post. USAID oversees projects such as food aid, disaster relief and health programs in over 100 countries with a staff of more than 10,000 and a budget of around $40 billion. Billions of those dollars flowed back into the American economy until President Donald Trump ordered a 90-day freeze on foreign-aid spending last month. Now U.S. businesses that sold goods and services to USAID are in limbo. That includes American farms, which supply about 41 percent of the food aid that the agency, working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, sends around the world each year, according to a 2021 report by the Congressional Research Service. In 2020, the U.S. government bought $2.1 billion in food aid from American farmers. Purchases and shipments of U.S. food aid worth over $340 million — including rice, wheat and soybeans — have been paused during Trump’s foreign-aid freeze, according to officials and an email obtained by The Post. That has left hundreds of tons of American-grown wheat stranded in Houston alone, Rep. Angie Craig of Minnesota, the highest-ranking Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee, said Tuesday - Washington Post

One of Trump’s first acts in power was to freeze international aid, with his allies hinting he should make support to Ukraine conditional on Kyiv entering peace talks.

Tracey, an American fighting in Ukraine, got angry at social media posts from his friends back home calling for Washington to cut its support to Kyiv.

US President Donald Trump has repeated money should be spent at home rather than abroad, part of his “America First” programme that has invigorated many, including Tracey’s friends.

Formed in March 2022, KleptoCapture was tasked with enforcing sanctions and export restrictions against Russia, particularly targeting “corrupt Russian oligarchs.”

Oligarchs, Sanctions, Russia, Trump

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) is dissolving KleptoCapture, a task force dedicated to tracking down and seizing the assets of Russian oligarchs sanctioned after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

According to a memo from Attorney General Pam Bondi, reviewed by Reuters, the DOJ will shift resources away from sanctions enforcement and toward fighting drug cartels and other international crime.

Depending on maturity, yeilds increased to almost 16-17%. Bond Market Insight for Feb. 5

Yesterday, the Ministry of Finance increased borrowings fivefold, raised interest rates on UAH military bonds for the second time in a row, but just by 25bp vs 50bp last week. The Ministry also placed a considerable amount of USD-denominated bills. So, in total, the budget received over UAH13bn.

The volume of bids for UAH military bills rose by a third to UAH3.2bn, including UAH1.5bn for 1.5-year bills, the same as last week, and almost doubled from last week to UAH1.7bn for 2.5-year paper.

A spoof Russian news report that China’s DeepSeek AI app was based on a secret Soviet code has gone viral after being reported as factual on state TV.

A spoof Russian news report that China’s DeepSeek AI app was based on a secret Soviet code has gone viral after being reported as factual on state TV.

Russian fake news website Panorama, which calls itself a satirical publication and is transparent about its fictional content, ran a fabricated interview with Liang Wenfeng, the founder of DeepSeek, in which he praised Soviet programmers.

Ukraine’s leading pet food producer is to open its second factory that could create more than 200 jobs for Ukrainian and Lithuanian professionals.

Ukraine’s largest pet food manufacturer the Kormotech Group has started construction of a second plant in the Lithuanian city of Kėdainiai aimed at strengthening its position in the European market.

The total cost of the project is estimated to be €60 million ($62.27 million), of which around two thirds will be allocated by the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), according to Kormotech’s press release.

Head of Zelensky’s Office Andriy Yermak stated that he and Keith Kellogg discussed the special representative’s upcoming visit to Ukraine and the situation on the front.

Ukrainian officials held their first meeting with Keith Kellogg after he assumed his role as US President Donald Trump‘s Ukraine envoy, Ukrainian Ambassador to the United States Oksana Markarova reported on Facebook.

Kellogg said that elections are a “sign of a healthy democracy,” adding, “We also used to have elections even in the midst of war.” But the US never had voting citizens living abroad as refugees.

US Special Envoy for Ukraine and Russia Keith Kellogg has said that elections are a “sign of a healthy democracy” and added that Ukraine must be ready to hold them even during wartime.

He made this statement during an interview with NEWSMAX on Thursday, according to Ukrinform.

More than 1,500 civilians are still living in areas of Russia’s western Kursk region that Ukraine’s army seized in an offensive launched in August, 2024.

Ukraine said Thursday it was ready to open a humanitarian corridor to let hundreds of Russian civilians living in border areas seized by its army return to Russian-controlled territory, if Moscow requests one.

More than 1,500 civilians are still living in areas of Russia’s western Kursk region that Ukraine’s army seized in a shock cross-border offensive launched in August.

The Center for Economic Strategy says US interest in Ukraine’s rare earth elements and raw materials could boost its economy despite obstacles of outdated data, large capital needs and corruption.

US President Donald Trump’s idea of exchanging support for Ukraine in return for access to the country’s rare earth elements and other in-demand raw materials could benefit Ukraine’s economy, the Ukrainian Center for Economic Strategy (CES) said in a post on Telegram.

The CES said the exchange could boost Ukraine’s heavy industries and provide guarantees for its investment climate.

Latest from the Institute for the Study of War.

Key Takeaways from the ISW:

• Ukrainian forces launched a new series of battalion-sized mechanized assaults in Kursk Oblast and advanced up to five kilometers behind Russian lines southeast of Sudzha, Kursk Oblast on February 6.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin praised elite Russian VDV and naval infantry formations defending Kursk Oblast on February 5, highlighting the fact that the Ukrainian incursion has pinned about a combined arms army’s worth of Russian troops in Kursk Oblast since August 6, 2024.
• Ukrainian officials provided additional details about Ukraine’s operation in Kursk Oblast in honor of the six-month anniversary of the incursion.
• A Russian state-run poll suggests that the Russian public maintains a high level of support for the war in Ukraine despite mounting challenges.
• North Korea appears to be using its alliance with Russia to leverage the war in Ukraine as a testing ground to refine its missile technology and broader military capabilities.
• Ukrainian forces conducted a strike against an air base in Krasnodar Krai on the night of February 5 to 6 as a part of an ongoing strike campaign against Russian defense industrial enterprises and oil refineries.
• Ukraine’s Western partners continue to provide military assistance to Ukraine.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin appointed Deputy Minister of Transport Dmitry Bakanov to replace Yuri Borisov as head of the state-owned Russian space agency Roscosmos on February 6.
• Ukrainian forces recently advanced in Kursk Oblast and recaptured lost positions near Kurakhove.
• Russian forces recently advanced near Kupyansk, Chasiv Yar, and Kurakhove.
• Russian authorities continue efforts to increase social benefits for Russian military personnel likely to support ongoing recruitment efforts.

The world in focus, as seen by Canadian leading global affairs analyst Michael Bociurkiw in a quick review of the biggest news in international media today.

Gazans were defiant on Wednesday over any attempt to relocate them from the enclave, saying US President Donald Trump‘s plans to take control and redevelop the territory were “fantasies” bound to fail. The president made a surprise announcement on Tuesday alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the US will “take over” Gaza and send in troops if necessary, in an astonishing pivot in American policy that could reshape the Middle East. “We’re going to develop it, create thousands and thousands of jobs, and it’ll be something that the entire Middle East can be very proud of,” Mr Trump told a news conference in Washington. He did not say whether Palestinians would be allowed back to Gaza, instead saying “the world’s people” would be welcome. It was not clear whether Mr Trump will press ahead with the idea or if his remarks were a bargaining strategy. - The National

The White House on Wednesday tried to soften the most extreme elements of President Donald Trump’s declaration that he wanted to take ownership of Gaza, floating a more limited vision of U.S. involvement in the region. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters at the White House news briefing that Palestinians would be displaced temporarily rather than permanently, as Trump had said a day earlier. She said he had made no U.S. troop commitments despite his vow that the United States would dismantle bombs and clear out the territory. And she said that no U.S. tax dollars would be spent in the years-long reconstruction effort despite Trump’s statement the day before that “the U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it, too. We’ll own it. Leavitt’s explanation did little to appease critics, including a wide array of U.S. allies and Palestinians themselves, who condemned what they said would amount to an involuntary displacement of more than 2 million Gazans from their territory. - Washington Post

New US Attorney General says she will dismantle units designed to enforce sanctions on Russians, catch criminal foreign agents in the US, and lay groundwork for what Trump called the “Russia hoax.”

Newly appointed US Attorney General Pam Bondi unveiled plans this week to eliminate two separate Department of Justice task forces that target foreign influence in US politics on behalf of adversarial countries and help enforce US sanctions.

In a memo sent to staff Wednesday, Bondi revealed she had disbanded the Foreign Influence Task Force, a unit dedicated to investigating violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), which requires such agents to register with US authorities. AFP reported that the decision was made to free up resources “to address more pressing priorities and end risks of further weaponization and abuses of prosecutorial discretion.”