Aftermath of a Russian attack on a warehouse in the Kyiv region of Ukraine, February 7, 2026

EA-War and Politics 24 VideoCast: Can Ukraine Hold Off Kremlin Manipulation of Trump’s Envoys?

Saturday’s Coverage: Zelensky — “We’re Not Losing. The Question Is Whether We Will Win”

UPDATE 0822 GMT:

In an interview with Fox TV, Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff has proclaimed that Vladimir Putin has “never been anything other than straight with me”.

The real estate developer complained, “I say that and I get attacked but that is an accurate statement.”

Witkoff said he hopes for a face-to-face meeting between Putin and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky in the next three weeks, with Donald Trump later joining them.

UPDATE 0801 GMT:

American investor Gentry Beach, a friend of Donald Trump Jr. since their college days, signed a liquefied natural gas agreement last year with Russia’s largest private gas producer Novatek.

Beach, a Dallas-based hedge fund and private equity executive, completed the agreement after August’s summit between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin.

He told the New York Times that the project had been discussed “at the highest levels” in both Moscow and Washington.

“It’s time for all of us to work together,” he declared.

Putin said after the Alaska summit that Novatek was in talks with “US partners” about potential liquefied natural gas production projects in the Arctic and Alaska.

Seeking Ukraine’s surrender, the Kremlin has tried to manipulate Donald Trump and his envoys — real estate developer Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner — through the prospect of joint projects worth trillions of dollars.

UPDATE 0745 GMT:

A 23-year-old policewoman has been killed and 15 civilians injured by explosions, labelled a “terrorist attack” by authorities, in Lviv in western Ukraine.

Explosives were detonated near the historic Old Town as officers responded to a call about a burglary in a store. A patrol car and a civilian vehicle were damaged.

UPDATE 0733 GMT:

Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry has condemned the “ultimatums and blackmail” by Hungary and Slovakia to cut supplies of electricity.

Budapest and Bratislava, each led by Prime Ministers who are long-time allies of Vladimir Putin, threatened the cutoff unless Kyiv restores Russian oil deliveries through the Druzhba pipeline on its territory.

The pipeline was damaged by a Russian attack in western Ukraine and shut down on January 27.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said, “Ultimata should be sent to the Kremlin, and certainly not to Kyiv.”

Slovakia and Hungary are the only two European countries that still rely on significant amounts of Russian oil.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Russia launched ballistic missile strikes on Ukraine’s capital Kyiv overnight, injuring an adult and a child in the suburbs.

Explosions began around 4:00 a.m. More blasts were heard 30 minutes later and around 5:13.

“The enemy is attacking the capital with ballistic weapons. Please stay in shelters until the all-clear signal is given,” said Tymur Tkachenko, head of the capital’s Military Administration.

Air raid alerts were extended to all of Ukraine at 4:47 a.m. as Russian bombers took off, according to the Air Force.

The Polish Air Force deployed fighter jets to protect airspace: “On-duty fighter pairs and an early warning aircraft were scrambled, and ground-based air defense and radar reconnaissance systems were brought to the highest level of alert.”

4 Murdered in Sumy Region in Northeast

Two brothers and a married couple were murdered by a Russian drone attack on the Sumy region in northeast Ukraine.

The victims were slain in Znob-Novhorodske, less than 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) from the border with Russia.

The brothers, one of them 17 years old, were injured by an explosive device dropped by a drone. Sumy Governor Oleh Hryhorov reported, “On the way to the hospital, the Russians deliberately attacked the emergency vehicle with a strike drone,” killing the siblings.

A Russian missile damaged a production facility belonging to the US multinational company Mondelez. The plant is in Trostyanets, 30 km (18 miles) from the border with Russia and occupied by Russian forces in the early days of Moscow’s full-scale invasion.

Ukraine Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha posted:

This is not a military target, but a factory that has operated since the 1990s, producing globally known brands, employing Ukrainians, contributing to our and American economy.

When Russian missiles hit such sites, they are not only targeting Ukraine. They are targeting American business interests in Europe.

Moscow cannot speak of economic dialogue with the United States while attacking U.S.-owned production facilities.