Aftermath of a Russian missile attack, Izyum, Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine, February 4, 2025
Tuesday’s Coverage: Trump Wants Rare Earth Minerals In Return for Aid
Map: Institute for the Study of War
UPDATE 1916 GMT:
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has announced the return of 150 Ukrainian prisoners of war.
The released POWs included members of the Navy, the Air Force, the Airborne Troops, the National Guard, the State Border Guard, the Territorial Defense Forces, and a police officer.
Some had been held captive for more than two years.
Moscow announced the freeing of 150 Russian troops in the exchange.
Today is a good day for all of us. We are bringing home 150 of our defenders from Russian captivity. These are soldiers, sergeants, and officers – warriors of the Navy who were taken prisoner in Mariupol and the Zaporizhzhia region, warriors of the Air Force, Air Assault Forces,… pic.twitter.com/FScWB1303p
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) February 5, 2025
UPDATE 1040 GMT:
A drone strike has set ablaze the oil depot in Novominskaya in the Krasnodar region in southwest Russia.
The attack, around 250 km (155 miles) from the Ukrainian frontlines, set several oil storage tanks on fire just before 1:30 a.m. Wednesday.
Russian officials claimed any fire was from “falling debris”, but video on social media shows a direct strike.
Fire erupted at the Novominsk oil depot in Russia's Krasnodar Krai after a night drone attack
Although regional head Kondratiev said a drone attack of the "Kyiv authorities, was repelled and falling drone wreckage was to blame, Russian MoD mentions only 2 drones shot down in… pic.twitter.com/8y0XMYQxou
— Euromaidan Press (@EuromaidanPress) February 5, 2025
UPDATE 0951 GMT:
European and US shipowners have sold at least 230 ageing tankers into Russia’s “shadow fleet” used to evade oil sanctions.
The Dutch investigative outlet Follow the Money established that owners made more than $6 billion selling their vessels into countries that have not sanctioned Russia such as India, Hong Kong, Vietnam, and the Seychelles.
Owners from 21 of the 35 countries that have placed sanctions on the oil trade with Russia have sold tankers.
Greek owners sold 127; UK companies 22; and German and Norwegian owners 11 and 8. Most of the tankers would otherwise have been sold for scrap at a fraction of the price.
In late 2023, the EU required companies selling vessels to third countries to check they were not used to circumvent sanctions. However, 32 European-owned tankers have been sold into the shadow fleet since then.
Individual tankers are now barred from EU ports and services if found to be transporting Russian oil or involved in “dangerous shipping practices”. Around 70 have been put under sanctions by the bloc, with reports that 74 more will join them.
There are no reported plans to introduce specific measures outlawing the sale of vessels into the shadow fleet, partly because of resistance from member states with shipping sectors such as Greece, Cyprus, and Malta.
UPDATE 0938 GMT:
The European Union says international lawyers have “laid the foundations” for a special tribunal to try Russia for the crime of aggression.
The EU executive said Russian political and military leaders “who bear the greatest responsibility” will be held to account.
The tribunal’s creation was proposed by Ukraine days after the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.
EU foreign policy head Kaja Kallas told reporters:
There is no doubt that Putin has committed the crime of aggression, which is deciding to attack another country.
And without that crime, there wouldn’t be any killings on the ground. There wouldn’t be any attacks on civilian infrastructure, civilians, rapes.
Kallas said the aim of the tribunal would be “putting pressure” on Putin and the regime “to really stop this war, and also to give a clear signal to other aggressors or would-be aggressors who are or may be contemplating attacking neighboring countries”.
But in a compromise to advance the process, Putin and senior figures will not be prosecuted while in office.
Talks began last June between the EU, Ukraine, the Council of Europe, and 37 other countries. They had been held up over whether Putin and other Russian leaders should be granted immunity.
UPDATE 0928 GMT:
At least eight civilians have been killed and at least 70 injured by Russian attacks across Ukraine over the past day.
The Russians launched 104 drones overnight. Air defenses downed 57 over nine regions, and 42 were lost to electronic counter-measures.
The Russians also launched two ballistic missiles, one of which killed five civilians and injured 55 in Izyum in northeast Ukraine (see Original Entry).
In the Donetsk region in the east, two civilians were killed. One was slain in the Kherson region in the south.
UPDATE 0845 GMT:
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has hosted International Atomic Energy Agency head Rafael Grossi.
The two men discussed Russia’s occupation of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, the largest in Europe with six reactors, since the early days of the 35-month invasion. Zelensky urged the IAEA to be “more actively involved at other critical facilities of our energy system”.
I met with IAEA Director General @rafaelmgrossi. The respective IAEA missions are currently operating in Ukraine—at nuclear power plants. We agreed that the missions will also be more actively involved at other critical facilities of our energy system.
We also discussed with… pic.twitter.com/7VxdkHxu6A
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) February 4, 2025
Earlier in the day, Greenpeace Ukraine called on the IAEA to “take immediate action to stop Russia’s illegal plans to restart the reactors” at Zaporizhzhia.
In December, Sergey Kiriyenko, a senior aide to Vladimir Putin, announced the intention to restart the reactors “as fast as possible”. Russia’s “director” of the complex followed up on December 25 with the declaration that new pumping station equipment was being manufactured to provide cooling water from the Dnipro River for operations.
Grossi visited the Kyivska Electrical Substation in the Kyiv region to assess damage from Russian strikes. He emphasized that a direct strike on the substation or a disruption of the power supply could cause a nuclear accident.
UPDATE 0836 GMT:
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeated his call for “real guarantees” of security for Ukraine.
NATO ensures that Putin is highly unlikely to invade again. NATO also strengthens its own security with hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian troops. This is vital for everyone.
Even for Russia, NATO membership for Ukraine is a guarantee that we will not seek revenge through war. Instead, we will resolve disputes diplomatically. That’s why I said NATO is a guarantee for all—stable and more cost-effective.
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) February 4, 2025
In an interview on a UK outlet, Zelensky acknowledged, “We remain in a difficult situation, fighting not only against [Vladimir] Putin but also for the continued support of our allies.”
He emphasized the need for continued US aid, with any reduction also threatening a disruption to European assistance.
Zelensky estimated Russia’s “immense losses” at 300,000 to 350,000 troops killed, 50,000 to 70,000 missing, and 600,000 to 700,000 wounded.
But despite these losses, Russia is not ready to end this war. They don’t want peace. Next time, they will claim they’re ready for direct talks with President Trump. They will say Ukraine doesn’t matter, that this is a global war between Russia and NATO, and that they will only negotiate with the U.S. But this is just another excuse to prolong the war. Putin’s only goal is for Ukraine to cease to exist.
The President put Ukraine’s losses at 45,100 people killed and 390,000 injured.
ORIGINAL ENTRY: At least five civilians, including a pregnant teenager, have been killed and 55 injured by a Russian missile attack against Izyum in the Kharkiv region in northeast Ukraine.
Among the wounded from Tuesday’s attack are a six-year-old boy and two girls aged 14 and 16.
Four people were killed immediately by the strike. Rescue services recovered the body of a fifth victim from rubble.
Izyum was seized by Russia in early April 2022 in the first weeks of the full-scale invasion. It was liberated in September by a Ukrainian counter-offensive.
When the town was freed, Kyiv’s forces found 471 bodies of people slain during the Russian occupation.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky posted soon after the attack:
Izyum. The rescue operation continues after a Russian missile strike on the city. This attack destroyed part of the city council building.
As of now, we know there are casualties – twenty people have been injured. Tragically, five people have died. My condolences to the families… pic.twitter.com/HaZUg8bNOc
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) February 4, 2025