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Morning Headlines
Reuters: U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Thursday said further U.S. sanctions against Russia depend on talks aimed at ending the nearly four-year-old Ukraine war.
AFP, Barrons: Finland is barely out of the treaty banning them but the country's armed forces are already training soldiers to lay anti-personnel mines, citing a threat from neighbouring Russia.
The Kyiv Independent: Blackouts and heating outages were reported in Russia’s Belgorod Oblast overnight on Feb. 6 following a reported missile attack that damaged key energy infrastructure, including a thermal power plant and an electrical substation.
ISW: Ukraine’s efforts to register Starlink terminals will likely impact Russian battlefield air interdiction efforts.
France 24: Dishes clatter, steam bursts from large cooking pots and music is seeping through the bustling chatter of Russian pensioners, hunched over bowls of free meals in a Saint Petersburg soup kitchen. The general mood is upbeat but the place, at full capacity, is a testament to financial hardships plaguing an ever-increasing number of Russia's elderly people, struggling to make ends meet as the country's war economy stutters.
More News
Ukrainska Pravda: Norway has signed off on a new contribution of €86.4 million to the Ukraine Energy Support Fund, Ukraine's Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal has said.
Sweden's government has announced an energy support package for Ukraine for SEK 1 billion (€94 million), with the funds to be directed towards the most urgent needs in electricity generation and the recovery of damaged infrastructure.
Reuters: Poland is preparing a new 200 million zloty ($55.91 million) aid package for Ukraine mainly made up of armoured equipment, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Thursday during a visit to Kyiv.
Finland will deliver its 32nd materiel assistance package to Ukraine. The President of the Republic decided on the matter on 5 February 2026 on the proposal of the Government. The overall value of the capabilities now delivered to Ukraine is around EUR 43 million.
The Moscow Times: A bank closely linked to oil major Rosneft has become the first among Russia’s top 10 lenders by assets to post a net loss, highlighting mounting strains in the country’s banking sector.
United24 Media: Ukraine’s unmanned units eliminated more than 30,000 Russian personnel in January 2026. “All losses are verified—every strike has video confirmation in the DELTA system,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
AP News: The U.S. and Russia agreed Thursday to reestablish high-level military dialogue for the first time in more than four years in another sign of warming relations between the two countries since Trump returned to office and sought to end the war in Ukraine.
Politico: Trump announced Thursday that he will let the last arms control treaty between Russia and the United States lapse and instead direct his administration to work toward a new one.
Reuters: Discounts on Russian oil exports to China widened to new records this week as sellers cut prices to lure demand from the world's top crude importer and offset the likely loss of India sales, traders said.
Ukrainska Pravda: Starlink terminals reportedly stopped working en masse for Russian forces on 5 February. The Russians are complaining that they are unable to restore the connection and that this will affect their coordination along the entire front line.
The Kyiv Independent: Ukrainian air strikes have damaged a key hub for Russia's intercontinental ballistic missiles over the past month, officials say, damaging a hangar and other infrastructure.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development provided a record 2.9 billion euros in financing to Ukraine in 2025, with nearly half directed to its Ukraine's embattled energy sector, the bank said in a press release on Feb. 5.
RFE/RL: The US Congress has approved $200 million in security assistance for the Baltic states as Russian activity along NATO’s eastern flank intensifies.
The Kyiv Independent: The U.S. Pentagon is trialing attack drones for new contracts that should total $1.1 billion, inviting two Ukrainian drone makers to take part.
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