Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 708

admin February 1, 2024

As we enter the 708th day of the war, these are the most important developments.

Here is the situation as of Thursday, February 1, 2024.

Battle

A Russian bomb hit a hospital in northeastern Ukraine, forcing the evacuation of dozens of patients, shattering windows and damaging equipment. Volodymyr Timoshko, head of the Kharkiv regional branch of the national police, said the bomb directly hit the hospital in the town of Velykyi Burluk, northeast of Kharkiv, and a second bomb fell nearby. Four people were slightly injured.
Ukraine’s air defense shot down 14 of 20 drones launched by Russia in a nighttime attack, injuring one person and damaging commercial buildings. According to the air force, the Iranian-made Shahed drones and three Iskander missiles targeted five Ukrainian regions in the south and east.
Russia said it destroyed 20 missiles fired by Ukraine over the Black Sea and the Crimean peninsula, which Moscow invaded and then annexed in 2014.
Ukrainian Air Force commander Mykola Oleshchuk said his forces attacked Belbek military airfield in Crimea. He didn’t elaborate.

Russia and Ukraine exchanged Hundreds of prisoners of war. Russia’s Defense Ministry said 195 of its soldiers had been released, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said 207 people, including some civilians, had been returned to Ukraine.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told his country’s parliament he would bring together European partners to provide support to Ukraine “so enormous” it would weigh on Russian President Vladimir Putin. His comments came ahead of a key EU summit over 50 billion euros ($54 billion) in funding for Ukraine that is being blocked by Hungary.
Victoria Nuland, the acting assistant secretary of state of the United States, visited Kiev and said she was encouraged by the strengthening of Ukraine’s defenses and that Moscow should expect some “surprises” on the battlefield. A US military aid package for Ukraine is being held up in Congress by Republicans who want to tie it to policy changes at the US border. Nuland said she is confident it will be accepted.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) rejected It is largely a lawsuit filed by Ukraine that accused Russia of funding separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine a decade ago and simply alleged that Moscow had failed to investigate alleged violations.
Boris Nadezhdin submitted His attempt to run for the Russian presidency in the March elections after submitting 105,000 campaign signatures to the Central Election Commission (CEC). The 60-year-old appeared as a prominent Kremlin critic and promised to end the war in Ukraine.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell admitted that the EU’s promise to supply Ukraine with one million artillery shells by March would not be fulfilled, with just over half of that number expected to be delivered by that date. The remaining 155mm artillery shells are expected to be delivered by the end of the year, Borrell said.