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Morning Headlines
BBC: A Russian strike has killed at least four people, including three young children, in a town west of Kharkiv, a Ukrainian official says.
The Kyiv Independent: A Russian drone attack on Zaporizhzhia late on Feb. 10 left over 11,000 subscribers without electricity in the city, local officials reported.
Reuters: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy intends to announce the plan for presidential elections and a referendum on February 24, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday, citing Ukrainian and European officials involved in the planning.
BBC: The number of British troops in Norway will double over the next three years as part of efforts to combat Russian threats in the High North.
Ukrainska Pravda: Ukrainian engineers have developed and successfully tested a new laser-based air defence system known as Sunray, capable of effectively destroying Russian drones while costing significantly less than comparable Western systems.
The Kyiv Independent: Kateryna Kotsar, a Ukrainian freestyle skier, said on Feb. 10 that the International Olympic Committee barred her from using a custom helmet with the inscription "Be Brave like Ukrainians" at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
ISW: Russia’s ability to acquire foreign machine tools despite Western sanctions is reportedly allowing Russia to increase its production of tank and artillery barrels - a key constraining factor on Russia’s defense industrial base.
Reuters: Faced with what the authorities say is an immediate shortage of at least 2.3 million workers, a shortfall exacerbated by the strain of Russia's war in Ukraine and one that Russia's traditional source of foreign labour - Central Asians - is not able to fill, Moscow is turning to a new supplier: India.
More News
The Kyiv Independent: Russia is coercing the families of Ukrainian prisoners of war to register Starlink terminals for use by Russian troops on the battlefield, Ukraine's Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said on Feb. 10.
FT: The EU is seeking to ban all cryptocurrency transactions with Russia, in a bid to crack down on Moscow using assets outside the traditional banking system to evade sanctions (archive).
The Guardian: “We don’t exclude a land grab from Russia as part of their plan to protect their own nuclear capabilities, which is the only thing they have left that actually threatens the United States,” said Gen Eirik Kristoffersen, Norway’s chief of defence.
Byline Times: Nigel Farage’s party refused to attend the debate, called after more than 100,000 people signed a petition demanding a public inquiry into Russian interference in British politics.
The Kyiv Independent: Moldova announced a 700,000 euro aid package for Ukraine on Feb. 10 to help the country cope with ongoing disruptions to its energy system caused by Russian attacks, Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said.
Reuters: European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Tuesday she would propose a list of concessions that Europe should demand from Russia as part of a settlement to end the war in Ukraine.
BBC: Kenya says it will talk to Russia over growing reports that its citizens are being recruited to fight in the war in Ukraine. Speaking to the BBC, Foreign Minister Musalia Mudavadi called the practice "unacceptable and clandestine", and said Nairobi had shut down illegal recruiters and would urge Moscow to sign a deal banning the conscription of Kenyan soldiers.
Reuters: Telegram, an important platform for public and private communications in Russia, will face further restrictions from the authorities because it has failed to correct previous violations, the state communications watchdog said.
Ukrainska Pravda: Two people have been killed and another seven have sustained injuries in a Russian aerial bomb attack on the city of Sloviansk in Donetsk Oblast on 10 February.
The Kyiv Independent: Japan is set to join the NATO-led program to fund the purchase of weapons from the U.S. to support Ukraine, Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported on Feb. 10, citing unnamed NATO officials.
RFI: French President Emmanuel Macron has said he wants to include European partners in a resumption of dialogue with Putin nearly four years after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
Reuters: Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych said on Tuesday he will defy an International Olympic Committee ban and compete in his "helmet of remembrance" honouring those killed in the war with Russia.
The Kyiv Independent: The transition of Ukraine's military to a corps command system has entered its "second stage," with more work to be done to improve each corps' effectiveness on the battlefield, Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said on Feb. 10.
ERR: Russia is using U.S.-backed peace talks to end the war in Ukraine as a "tool" for manipulating the West and has no interest in a deal, the Estonian Foreign Intelligence Service says in its newly published yearbook.
Reuters: Russia has no intention of launching a military attack on any NATO state this year or next, but is racing to rebuild its forces as Europe steps up its rearmament, Estonia's foreign intelligence service said in its annual report on Tuesday.
ERR: Russia is using "drastic measures" to find new soldiers and targeting groups who would not normally be allowed to handle weapons. Lawlessness is widespread in the army and there are reports of illegal weapons trafficking, the Estonian Foreign Intelligence Service says.
Reuters: Russian forces struck energy facilities in Ukraine's Odesa region on the Black Sea overnight, leaving over 95,000 people in the southern part of the region without power, a regional official said on Tuesday.
worth mentioning
ISW Special Report: Russia’s FPV drone campaign in Ukraine institutionalizes intentional civilian harm as a tool of war
Germany to order strike drones worth 536 million euros
Rosneft oil refinery in Germany warns of risks from US sanctions
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