Because the battle enters its 708th day, these are the primary developments.
Right here is the state of affairs on Thursday, February 1, 2024.
The wrestle
- A Russian bomb hit a hospital in northeastern Ukraine, forcing the evacuation of dozens of sufferers, smashing home windows and damaging gear. Volodymyr Tymoshko, head of the Kharkiv regional department of the nationwide police, mentioned the bomb instantly hit the hospital within the city of Velykyi Burluk, northeast of Kharkiv, and a second bomb landed close by. 4 folks had been barely injured.
- Ukraine's air protection shot down 14 of 20 drones launched by Russia in an in a single day assault that injured one individual and broken business buildings. The air drive mentioned the Iranian-made Shahed drones and three Iskander missiles focused 5 Ukrainian areas within the south and east.
- Russia mentioned it destroyed 20 missiles launched by Ukraine over the Black Sea and the Crimean peninsula, which Moscow invaded in 2014 and later annexed.
- Ukraine's air drive commander Mykola Oleshchuk mentioned his forces struck the Belbek army airfield in Crimea. He didn’t go into element.
Politics and diplomacy
- Russia and Ukraine change a whole bunch of prisoners of battle. Russia's Protection Ministry mentioned 195 of its troopers had been freed, whereas Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy mentioned 207 folks, together with some civilians, had been returned to Ukraine.
- German Chancellor Olaf Scholz informed his nation's parliament that he would rally European companions to offer assist to Ukraine that was “so big” that it weighed on Russian President Vladimir Putin. His feedback got here forward of a key European Union summit on 50 billion euros ($54 billion) in funding for Ukraine that’s blocked by Hungary.
- Victoria Nuland, the deputy secretary of state in the USA, visited Kiev and mentioned that she was inspired by the strengthening of Ukraine's defenses and that Moscow ought to anticipate some “surprises” on the battlefield. A US army help package deal for Ukraine is being held up in Congress by Republicans who wish to hyperlink it to coverage adjustments on the US border. Nuland mentioned she was assured he could be adopted.
- The Worldwide Court docket of Justice (ICJ) has rejected a lot of a case introduced by Ukraine accusing Russia of funding separatist rebels in japanese Ukraine a decade in the past, saying solely that Moscow had failed to research alleged violations.
- Boris Nadezhdin has submitted his candidacy to run for the Russian presidency within the March elections after delivering 105,000 signatures supporting his marketing campaign to the Central Election Fee (CEC). The 60-year-old has emerged as a distinguished critic of the Kremlin and has vowed to finish the battle in Ukraine.
Weapons
- EU international coverage chief Josep Borrell admitted that the EU's pledge to produce Ukraine with a million artillery shells by March could be missed, with simply over half of that quantity anticipated to be offered by that deadline. The remaining 155 mm artillery shells are prone to be delivered by the tip of the yr, Borrell mentioned.
