Published On 7 Feb 20267 Feb 2026
Here is where things stand on Saturday, February 7:
Fighting
- Fierce fighting continues on the front line between Russian and Ukrainian forces despite the frigid winter temperatures, said Ukraine’s Commander in Chief Oleksandr Syrskii, who stated the front line now stretches about 1,200km (750 miles) in length along eastern and southern parts of Ukraine.
- Increasing technological improvements in drone warfare on both sides of the conflict mean that the so-called “kill zone” – where troops are in greatest danger on the front line – is now up to 20km (12 miles) deep, Syrskii told reporters.
- Russia launched 328 drones and seven missiles at Ukraine overnight and into the early morning on Friday, Ukraine’s air force said, claiming that air defences had shot down 297 drones.
- One person was killed and two others were injured in an overnight Russian attack using drones and powerful glide bombs on the central Dnipropetrovsk region, according to the head of the regional military administration, Oleksandr Hanzha.
- A Russian aerial attack on the southern Zaporizhia region during early daylight hours injured eight people and damaged 18 apartment blocks, according to regional military administration head Ivan Fedorov. A dog shelter in the Zaporizhia regional capital was also struck, killing 13 dogs, Zaporizhzhia City Council Secretary Rehina Kharchenko said.
- Russia’s Ministry of Defence said that air defences downed 38 Ukrainian drones overnight, including 26 over the Bryansk region. Bryansk regional Governor Alexander Bogomaz said the attack briefly cut power to several villages in the region.
- Another Ukrainian nighttime strike damaged power facilities in the Russian city of Belgorod, disrupting electricity distribution, regional Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said. Local reports stated that Ukrainian missiles hit a power plant and an electrical substation, cutting power to parts of the city.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the performance of the Ukrainian air force in parts of the country as “unsatisfactory” and said that steps are being taken to improve the response to large-scale Russian drone barrages of civilian areas.
- President Zelenskyy called for faster action in boosting Ukrainian air defences and in repairing damage to electricity grids and heating systems following massive Russian air attacks. He said more than 1,110 apartment blocks remained without heat in the aftermath of Russian attacks on energy infrastructure this week.
- A top Russian military intelligence official was shot in his Moscow apartment building and rushed to hospital, investigators said, the latest in a series of assassination attempts Russia has blamed on Ukraine.
- An unidentified gunman fired several shots at Lieutenant General Vladimir Alexeyev, deputy head of the GRU, Russia’s military intelligence arm, before fleeing the scene, investigators said. Alexeyev’s position meant he would have been closely involved in prosecuting Russia’s war in Ukraine.
- At least three bullets hit the intelligence officer – two in the stomach and one in his leg, causing Alexeyev to lose a lot of blood, according to reports.
- Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused Ukraine of being behind the assassination attempt, which he said – without citing evidence – was designed to sabotage peace talks. Alexeyev’s boss, Admiral Igor Kostyukov, the head of the GRU, has been leading Russia’s delegation in negotiations with Ukraine in Abu Dhabi on security-related aspects of a potential peace deal.
- Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha told the Reuters news agency that Kyiv had nothing to do with the attack.
