31 January 2026
Articles
“Mum, I don’t want to go back there…”: blind political prisoner Sizikov was released from a penal colony on health grounds, but then the decision was overturned
Political prisoner’s mother, Olena Sizikova, spoke about what he had to endure in the colony, how he adapted to life at home after prison, and the circumstances of his new detention
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Russian strikes hit Sumy and Odesa: Children among the injured in latest attacks
On the night of February 21, 2026, Russian troops launched strikes on the Sumy "hromada," a local government area that includes one or more nearby settlements, and the Odesa region. As a result of the attack on Sumy, three civilians were injured, two of whom were children. In the Odesa region, two injuries were reported
Just peace in Ukraine must fully protect territorial integrity — UN Secretary-General António Guterres
António Guterres emphasized that a just peace in Ukraine must fully ensure the country's sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders, in accordance with the UN Charter, international law, and the relevant UN resolutions.
Russian shelling killed four people in Ukraine on February 17
According to the National Police of Ukraine, Russian military shelling on February 17, 2026, killed four civilians in the Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk regions. Nearly 20 others were injured, with casualties also reported in the Kherson and Odesa Oblasts
Greece urges Russia to immediately return forcibly “transferred Ukrainian children”
Greece joined international calls for Russia to immediately return over 20,000 Ukrainian children forcibly transferred or deported since the invasion, with officials warning the practice represents "a blatant assault on our humanity"
Family rescued from forced separation in temporarily occupied territory
This family lived under occupation, during which the children were forced to attend a Russian school. Occupation structures systematically pressured the mother: they threatened her with fines and promised to take the children to an orphanage. Russian military personnel regularly came to their home for inspections. The father, who is an ATO veteran, was repeatedly detained, interrogated, and beaten
Moscow launched record number of ballistic missiles against Ukraine in January
Zelenskyy thanked the European countries whose support enables Ukraine to receive air defense missiles. In particular, he thanked Germany, Norway, and the Netherlands for their strong leadership in Europe in providing Ukraine with air defense systems
An elderly couple from a village on the banks of the Dnipro River rescued from under the rubble following a Russian strike
There was a threat of a "double-tap" strike on the police officers. Ultimately, it didn't occur, and both survivors are now under medical supervision
Russian authorities have sentenced a resident of occupied Tokmak to 15 years in prison for donating to the Armed Forces of Ukraine
In total, the pensioner made 24 transfers totaling 63,420 rubles. She sent the funds in hryvnias from her Ukrainian pension, believing she had the right to manage her own savings to support the Ukrainian military
Russian nighttime attack in Kharkiv region leaves five civilians injured
Five civilians were wounded as a result of Russian shelling in the Kharkiv region during the night of February 16, 2026, according to the Kharkiv Oblast Prosecutor's Office
Disqualified skeleton racer Heraskevych and German initiative Athletes for Peace launch campaign for fallen Ukrainian athletes’ families (updated)
The athlete showcased a helmet featuring 24 portraits, yet emphasized that far more athletes [650 persons] have been killed. He urged that this must be remembered
Over the four years of the full-scale war, Russians have killed 45 employees of Ukrposhta
According to Smilyanskyy, the enterprise has invested over 1 billion hryvnias of its own and borrowed funds into restoring its vehicle fleet. The company is also involved in implementing social initiatives: it delivers aid under the "Winter Support" program, facilitates the registration of Starlink equipment, and ensures the delivery of medicines and charging stations for children with disabilities so they can maintain the operation of essential equipment during power outages
Russian attacks killed over 160 people in Ukraine during January — UN report
The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) stated in its report that at least 161 civilians were killed and another 757 people were injured due to Russian attacks across Ukraine in January 2026. Massive strikes on energy infrastructure caused large-scale disruptions of electricity, heat, and water for millions of Ukrainians
Zelenskyy compares Donbas withdrawal risk to Afghanistan pullout
Zelenskyy emphasized that Ukraine simply cannot withdraw from its own territory in exchange for its other sovereign territories where thousands of people live
Prosecutor General Kravchenko is attempting to control NABU and SAPO; anti-corruption bodies remain under pressure — Ukrainska Pravda news outlet
It was Kravchenko who developed mechanisms to subordinate anti-corruption bodies to the prosecutorial vertical and limit their independence, according to the Anti-Corruption Action Center
On February 12, Russian shelling killed eight adults and child in Ukraine
As a result of Russian shelling during the 24-hour period of February 12, 2026, nine civilians were killed in the Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, Kharkiv, and Kherson regions, and more than two dozen others were injured, including in Kyiv and the Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa regions
Russian military has been killing children in Ukraine with shelling for four consecutive days
In total, since 2022, the Russian army has killed 684 children in Ukraine according to official data alone, and injured more than 2,300 others. Last year, the number of killed and injured children tripled compared to the year before
Russian strike kills three brothers, injures their mother and grandmother in Kramatorsk
Four people, including three brothers, have been killed and two of their relatives have been injured in a Russian strike on the city of Kramatorsk in the Donetsk Oblast on the evening of February 12
Russians killed six adults and three children in Ukraine with shelling on February 11
As a result of Russian military shelling over the course of February 11 in the Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, and Donetsk regions, nine civilians were killed, and more than four dozen others sustained various injuries, specifically in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions
Ukraine condemns IOC disqualification of Ukrainian athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych over helmet honoring killed by Russians 650 sportspeople
After the IOC decision, Heraskevych and his team announced that they plan to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to challenge the disqualification and protect their rights. The athlete claims that he did not break any rules and emphasizes the importance of the symbolic weight of his action
Bodies of two Nigerian mercenaries found in Luhansk region, Ukraine’s intelligence says
These are Hamzat Kazeen Kolawole (born April 3, 1983) and Mbah Stephen Udoka (born January 7, 1988). Both served as part of the 423rd Guards Motorized Rifle Regiment (military unit 91701) of the 4th Guards Tank Kantemirovskaya Division of the Russian Armed Forces
Russian night drone strikes kill father and three children: widespread destruction and further injuries reported
Four victims of the overnight strike are a family from Bohodukhiv in the Kharkiv Oblast
Kenya to сonfront Russia over “unacceptable” recruitment of citizens for Russia’s war against Ukraine
Mudavadi has told the BBC that Kenya's engagement with Russia will focus on curbing illegal recruitment practices, including discussions on visa policy and bilateral labour agreements, excluding military conscription
Moscow pressures families of Ukrainian POWs to register blocked Starlink terminals
The Coordination Headquarters called on Ukrainians to contact them and law enforcement agencies if they receive offers or threats to register terminals in their name
Russians kill three, injure 26 in four regions over past day
Three people were killed and 26 others injured in Russian shelling over the past day in the Donetsk, Kherson, Sumy, and Chernihiv regions
Deadly cost of Russian shelligs and blackouts: 15 children among 25 injured in weekend carbon monoxide tragedies across Ukraine
The SES specified that the tragedies occurred mostly in rural areas and covered eight regions: Vinnytsia, Ternopil, Kyiv, Poltava, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kirovohrad, Mykolaiv, and Odesa
Russia carried out a massive attack on the energy of Ukraine overnight: under strike are substations, power lines, and TPPs
On the night of February 7, Russian troops carried out another massive attack on the energy infrastructure of Ukraine. The Russian army launched strikes on substations and overhead lines, as well as on the Burshtyn and Dobrotvir TPPs
Russian strikes across Ukraine killed 13 people on February 4
As a result of Russian shelling on February 4, 2026, 14 civilians were killed in the Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk, and Kherson regions, while nearly four dozen others were injured, including in the Zaporizhzhia, Odesa, and Sumy regions, according to the National Police of Ukraine
Last year’s Russian shelling of boarding school in Sudzha: analysts identified the likely perpetrators
During the Ukrainian occupation of parts of Russia's Kurs'k region, Russian troops launched a series of strikes using various weaponry on a boarding school in Sudzha. The facility served as a shelter for civilians and housed a military command post. According to a thematic report by Truth Hounds, a member of the "Ukraine. Five AM" coalition, soldiers from the "Sever" grouping may be responsible for the attacks. The unit is under the command of Russian Colonel General Alexander Lapin.
Human rights defenders urge Zelenskyy to prioritize protection for war victims
Human rights advocates believe that following the liquidation of the Ministry for Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Territories -- a decision approved by the President -- the head of state himself could initiate a revision of the support architecture and the creation of an effective government body
Russian strikes across Ukraine killed seven people on February 3
Russian military shelling on February 3, 2026, killed seven civilians across the Sumy, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk, and Donetsk regions. More than three dozen others sustained injuries, including in the Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Kherson, Kyiv, and Sumy regions
At least seven killed, 15 injured in Russian cluster munitions strike on Druzhkivka market
Russian forces also dropped two aerial bombs on Druzhkivka, damaging an industrial area, three apartment buildings, and three houses
Overnight Russian strikes leave dead and injured in several regions in Ukraine
Russian military strikes on the night of February 4, 2026, left civilians dead and injured in the Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa regions, while also causing large-scale destruction
Russia hits Ukraine’s power grid with heaviest missile attack of the year
Residents spent the night sheltering in metro stations, with some pitching tents on the platforms to protect themselves from the freezing cold
Russian strikes took the lives of six people in Ukraine on February 2
As a result of Russian shelling over the course of February 2, 2026, seven civilians were killed in the Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Dnipropetrovsk, and Zaporizhzhia regions, and at least 26 more were injured, including in the Sumy and Cherkasy Oblasts
Children in one of the schools in occupied Sevastopol are being militarized by Russian militant Pavel Klyasyuk
1.6 million Ukrainian children might have remained under Russian occupation. Their militarization intensified with the start of the full-scale war, although it has been ongoing in Crimea and parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions since 2014
On February 1, Russians killed 17 civilians in Ukraine
Russian military shelling on February 1, 2026, killed 17 civilians in the Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk regions, while over three dozen others sustained injuries across the Kherson, Kharkiv, and Zaporizhzhia regions
Russians kills at least 15 mine workers, injures seven with drones near service bus in the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast (updated)
Mykhailo Volynets, Chairman of the Independent Trade Union of Miners of Ukraine, clarified that Russians attacked a coal mining enterprise and a bus carrying mine workers during a shift transfer. The Russians utilized four Shahed-type UAV
Russia strikes maternity hospital in Zaporizhzhia, injures six civilians
Fedorov reported that six people were injured, including two women who were undergoing medical examinations at the time of the attack
