Thursday, February 8

Russia’s war against Ukraine

Emergency services and local residents gather near a high-rise building in Kyiv damaged by missile debris on Feb. 7, 2024. Russia launched a massive missile attack on the capital the morning of Feb. 7. According to the statement from local authorities, more than 20 rockets were shot down. (Kostiantyn Liberov/Libkos/Getty Images)

Zelensky, Western leaders react to Russian morning attacks across Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelensky offered his condolences to those killed and wounded in the attacks and said that Ukraine “definitely retaliate against Russia; terrorists will always face the consequences of their actions.”

Zelensky, Borrell meet in Kyiv, discuss security cooperation, ammunition deliveries. President Volodymyr Zelensky and European Union’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell met in Kyiv on Feb. 7 to discuss security cooperation between Kyiv and the EU and ammunition deliveries to Ukraine, among other topics, the Presidential Office reported.

Ukrenergo: Russian morning attack has no critical consequences for energy system. According to Ukrenergo, its high-voltage power transmission lines are operating normally. There is some reported damage to power grids in Kyiv and Kharkiv, however.

Woman with disability rescued from high-rise building after Russian attack on Kyiv. First responders rescued a woman unable to walk on her own who was trapped on the 12th floor of an apartment building after it was damaged in a Russian missile strike against Kyiv early on Feb. 7, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said on Telegram around 1:30 p.m. local time.

Police: Russia fires 2 North Korean missiles at Kharkiv in morning attack. Two of the five missiles Russia launched at Kharkiv early on Feb. 7 were made in North Korea, said Serhii Bolvinov, the head of the investigative department of the Kharkiv Oblast police.

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Parliament passes mobilization bill in first reading. Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada supported the updated bill on mobilization in the first reading, lawmaker Yaroslav Zhelezniak reported on Feb. 7.

Poll: Fewer Ukrainians think country is moving ‘in the right direction’ than in early 2023. The share of Ukrainians who believe that “events in the country are developing in the right direction” has gradually decreased after reaching the peak in February-March 2023, according to a survey by the Razumkov Center published on Feb. 7.

IAEA chief visits Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant to assess safety. Director General of the UN’s nuclear watchdog Rafael Grossi visited the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine’s south on Feb. 7 to check the status of the plant’s cooling systems and assess whether it can operate with a reduced staff.

Minister: Ukraine preparing to launch mass production of Lancet drone analog. Ukraine will sign first contracts for the mass production of attack drones similar to Russian Lancet drones “in the coming weeks,” Digital Transformation Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said on Feb. 7.

Russian official claims 2 injured in attack on Belgorod. An attack on Belgorod injured two people and damaged windows in multiple apartments, Belorod Oblast Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov claimed on Telegram on Feb. 7.

Read our exclusives

Ukraine war latest: Russia’s large-scale attack kills 5, injures 50

Russia launched another large-scale attack against Ukrainian cities early in the morning on Feb. 7, killing at least five people and injuring around 50 others. Kyiv, Lviv, Mykolaiv, Dnipropetrovsk, and Kharkiv oblasts were targeted.

Photo: Serhii Korovayny/The Kyiv Independent

Ukraine wants to make reconstruction transparent. Will it work?

With an estimated over $410 billion in damages, rebuilding Ukraine will be a massive task. As reconstruction projects take place all over the country, DREAM is the government’s response to collate all the data in one place.

Photo: Masha Lavrova/The Kyiv Independent

‘My hatred only grows:’ Kyiv residents lament over their homes destroyed by Russian attack

Valentyna Savych, 70, was watching television in her single-room apartment in the capital’s southern Holosiivskyi district when a powerful blast threw her off the couch. “At my old age, my home was destroyed,” she said with tears in her eyes.

Photo: Serhii Korovayny/The Kyiv Independent

Human cost of war

Large-scale attack across Ukraine kills 5, injures 50. Russia launched another large-scale attack against Ukrainian cities early in the morning on Feb. 7. Kyiv, Lviv, Mykolaiv, Dnipropetrovsk, and Kharkiv oblasts were targeted.

General Staff: Russia has lost 391,470 troops in Ukraine. This number includes over 890 casualties Russian forces suffered just over the past day.

International response

Leading Chinese bank halts operations in Russia, Belarus. Major Chinese banks have reportedly strengthened their compliance with Western sanctions after new U.S. restrictions targeting financial institutions that help support Russia’s war effort were announced in December 2023.

US Senate to vote on aid bill without border reforms. The U.S. Senate will hold a procedural vote on Feb. 8 on whether to advance a foreign aid package that includes funds for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan but no reforms to border policy.

EU promises to deliver over 1 million shells by end of year. “We highly appreciate the military assistance of the EU,” said Shmyhal, who held a joint press conference with Borrell. “The European defense industry is building up its capabilities, and I’m sure we’ll feel it soon.”

Canada’s House of Commons passes new Ukraine free trade deal. The bill will now go to the Senate for review. The deal, backed by the ruling Liberal Party and two other parties, was opposed by the Conservatives.

Sweden ends investigation into Nord Stream explosion, claims lack of jurisdiction. Sweden’s Prosecution Authority said the primary purpose of their investigation was to determine “whether Swedish citizens were involved in the act and whether Swedish territory was used to carry out the act, and thereby risked damaging Swedish interests or Sweden’s security.”

Turkish drone manufacturer Baykar has begun construction of factory near Kyiv. The plant aims to employ around 500 people, said Baykar CEO Haluk Bayraktar.

Der Standard: Austria investigating ex-National Bank head who fled Ukraine. Austrian courts rejected Ukraine’s extradition request due to the ongoing war, but “the crimes that Shevchenko is accused of in Ukraine are also punishable here,” Der Standard reported.

In other news

Aliyev wins presidential election in Azerbaijan, secures 5th term in office. The election, which Aliyev was widely expected to win, was seen as a referendum on the country’s victory in September 2023 over Armenian forces in Nagorno-Karabakh after decades of ongoing conflict.

SBU head meets with G7 ambassadors after Bihus.Info surveillance scandal. Vasyl Maliuk, the head of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), met with ambassadors from the Group of Seven (G7) countries and answered questions “about the situation that occurred around the editorial office of Bihus.Info,” the SBU reported on Feb. 7.

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Martin Fornusek, Mariia Tril, Nate Ostiller, Elsa Court, Teah Pelechaty, Tanya Myronyshena, Lili Bivings, Dinara Khalilova, Abbey Fenbert, and Dmytro Basmat.

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