Key developments on Feb. 3:
- Trump seeks Ukrainian uncommon earths in trade for assist, Kyiv eager to agree
- Kursk operation, long-range strikes in Russia — Syrskyi outlines Ukraine's priorities
- Ukraine's laser applied sciences 'already hit sure objects,' commander says
- Biden admin's escalation fears, 'chaotic' group delayed assist to Ukraine, Reuters stories
- UN displays see 'alarming rise' in executions of Ukrainian POWs by Russia
Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi on Feb. 3 named Ukraine's operation in Russia's Kursk Oblast and strikes towards navy services deep inside Russian territory as Kyiv's key battlefield priorities.
"We proceed successfully destroying Russia's navy services to cut back its strike potential. We’re destroying Russian forces each in Ukraine and Russia," Syrskyi wrote on social media.
The commander outlined Ukraine's key priorities, together with holding defensive strains, stopping Russian advances, and enhancing using unmanned methods.
"On the bottom, to start with, we saturate items holding the defenses on the entrance line with personnel and tools," Syrskyi mentioned. He harassed the necessity to enhance recruitment and psychological assist for troopers and higher combine newcomers from coaching facilities earlier than they undertake fight missions.
Ukraine has intensified its long-range drone strikes on Russian oil services up to now weeks, aiming to disrupt gas provides to the Russian navy and weaken Moscow's vitality export revenues. Oil earnings stay a key supply of funding for Russia's warfare effort.
In Kursk Oblast, Ukrainian forces have been holding positions because the begin of the cross-border incursion in August 2024, reportedly seizing round 1,300 sq. kilometers (500 sq. miles) of Russian territory.
Whereas Ukraine has since then misplaced roughly half of the captured space, preventing continues as Kyiv seeks to leverage its presence in Kursk Oblast in potential negotiations.
The Kyiv IndependentAsami Terajima
Trump seeks Ukrainian uncommon earths in trade for assist, Kyiv eager to agree
U.S. President Donald Trump is in search of to have Ukraine provide the U.S. with uncommon earths as a situation for assist for the war-torn nation.
"We're seeking to do a cope with Ukraine, the place they're going to safe what we're giving them with their uncommon earths and different issues," Trump informed reporters within the Oval Workplace on Feb. 3.
"I need to have safety of uncommon earths. We're placing in a whole bunch of billions of {dollars}. They’ve nice uncommon earths. And I need safety of the uncommon earths, and so they're prepared to do it," he added.
Trump didn’t specify what sort of supplies Washington is in search of from Kyiv.
A supply within the President's Workplace accustomed to the matter informed the Kyiv Unbiased that sharing Ukrainian sources with allies was a part of President Volodymyr Zelensky's "victory plan" proven to international leaders, together with Trump.
"However for this, (Ukrainian) safety should be assured in order that the Russians don’t occupy this Ukrainian land with minerals," the supply informed the Kyiv Unbiased.
Trump's remarks come amid uncertainty over the way forward for the U.S. assist to Ukraine.
The Kyiv IndependentChris York
Ukraine's laser applied sciences 'already hit sure objects,' commander says
Ukraine is already utilizing laser applied sciences to hit Russian targets, Colonel Vadym Sukharevskyi, commander of the Unmanned Techniques Forces, mentioned in an interview with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty printed on Feb. 3.
"Laser applied sciences are already hitting sure objects at a sure altitude," Sukharevskyi mentioned.
The commander first mentioned in mid-December 2024 that Ukraine is among the many few nations with laser weapon capabilities. In line with Sukharevskyi, Ukraine’s laser system, known as Tryzub, can down plane at altitudes exceeding 2 kilometers.
The Unmanned Techniques Forces, established lower than a 12 months in the past, already embody fight and analysis items working throughout air, land, and sea.
When requested how profitable the event of those applied sciences has been, Sukharevskyi mentioned that the Ukrainian navy's R&D (Analysis and Improvement) "entails a variety of areas."
The brand new system was the results of efforts to seek out an efficient countermeasure towards Russian plane and drones, particularly Shahed-type assault drones, he added.
The Kyiv Unbiased couldn’t instantly confirm these claims.
Ukraine's protection business has gained momentum since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022.
In late January, the Unmanned Techniques Forces mentioned that Ukraine deployed a long-range drone able to touring as much as 2,000 kilometers (1,242 miles) and carrying a 250-kilogram air bomb.
The Kyiv IndependentAsami Terajima
Biden admin's escalation fears, 'chaotic' group delayed assist to Ukraine, Reuters stories
U.S. navy assist to Ukraine was delayed not solely by opposition from congressional Republicans but additionally by considerations inside President Joe Biden's administration about escalating the battle with Russia, Reuters mentioned in its evaluation printed on Feb. 3.
Additional complicating deliveries was a chaotic weapons-tracking system by which completely different branches of the U.S. navy reportedly used various definitions of "delivered," creating confusion over how a lot assist reached Ukraine.
Essentially the most important delays nonetheless stemmed from months of congressional gridlock in later 2023 and early 2024 over approving $60 billion in further navy help, primarily attributable to Republican resistance, the information company wrote.
Democratic and Republican lawmakers had urged Home Speaker Mike Johnson for months to deliver the help bundle to a vote. Laborious-line Republicans aligned with President Donald Trump reportedly pressured Johnson to dam additional help to Kyiv.
Even after Congress authorised the funding, U.S. navy assist to Ukraine remained inconsistent, Reuters reported, citing sources in Washington and Kyiv.
By November 2024, Ukraine had acquired solely half of the navy assist the U.S. had promised for that 12 months from present Pentagon stockpiles. In line with the evaluation, solely 30% of the pledged armored automobiles had been delivered by early December.
The Kyiv IndependentArvydas Anušauskas
UN displays see 'alarming rise' in executions of Ukrainian POWs by Russia
The U.N. Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine is alarmed over a pointy rise in executions of Ukrainian prisoners of warfare (POWs) by Russian forces, in line with a press launch obtained by the Kyiv Unbiased on Feb. 3.
A complete of 79 such executions in 24 separate incidents have been recorded by the mission because the finish of August 2024. Presumably, a few of these incidents concern group executions.
Ukrainian authorities have documented widespread violations of the Geneva Conventions by Russia in the course of the warfare. Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets mentioned in an interview with Ukrainska Pravda that as of mid-December 2024, Kyiv had recorded the execution of 177 captured Ukrainian troopers, with 109 of them final 12 months.
The U.N. mission interviewed witnesses and analyzed movies and images printed by Ukrainian and Russian sources exhibiting killings or lifeless our bodies of Ukrainian POWs.
The mission additionally mentioned it had documented the execution of an injured and incapacitated — however not but captured — Russian soldier by the Ukrainian military in 2024. Kyiv has not commented on this report.
Many Ukrainian troopers who surrendered or have been within the custody of the Russian forces have been shot lifeless on the spot, in line with the assertion. Unarmed and wounded Ukrainian troopers have been additionally killed, witnesses mentioned.
The reported executions befell in areas the place Russian offensive operations have been ongoing.
In line with Danielle Bell, the top of the mission, Russian public figures have explicitly known as for the inhumane remedy and execution of captured Ukrainian troopers, with a minimum of three such appeals recorded by the mission together with social media posts made by Russian military-linked teams.
"These incidents didn’t happen in a vacuum," Bell mentioned.
"All allegations of execution of captured Ukrainian navy personnel and public statements calling for, or condoning, such actions should be investigated."
The assertion that "no quarter" shall be given is a critical violation of worldwide humanitarian legislation and a warfare crime, in line with the assertion.
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