• 6:04 a.m .: senior European officials visit Kyiv on Thursday

Several senior European officials will travel to kyiv on Thursday February 2 to show the European Union's support for Ukraine as the anniversary of the start of the Russian invasion approaches.

European leaders should pledge to provide further assistance to Ukraine, including military and financial.

"We are sending a strong signal, which shows that we stand with kyiv in this conflict. This is a signal sent to the Ukrainian people. A signal sent to Russia. A signal sent to the world “, said a senior European official.

The President of the EC, Ursula von der Leyen, and the President of the EU, Charles Michel, will meet on Friday with the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky

  • 6:02 a.m .: Russia celebrates 80 years of victory at Stalingrad, in full offensive in Ukraine

Russia celebrates Thursday the 80th anniversary of the Soviet victory in the Battle of Stalingrad, a major turning point in the Second World War and a symbol of patriotism advocated with redoubled force by Vladimir Putin in the midst of the offensive in Ukraine.

The celebrations come as fierce fighting pits Russian forces against Ukrainian soldiers in the former Soviet republic, the scene for more than a year of a Russian offensive launched according to the Kremlin to "demilitarize" and "denazify" this country neighbor.

The Russian president will travel to Volgograd to take part in the celebrations, according to the Kremlin. 

Considered one of the bloodiest in history, with around two million deaths in total on both sides, the Battle of Stalingrad (1942-1943) changed the course of the conflict in the Soviet Union, demoralized until then by several crushing defeats.

It is still glorified by Russia, which claims the legacy of the Soviet Union as the event that saved Europe from Nazism.

  • 5:59 a.m .: Rescuers work to find survivors in the rubble of a building in Kramatorsk

Rescuers were active at dawn on Thursday to try to find survivors in the rubble of an apartment building in Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine, destroyed by a Russian strike that left at least two dead. , when kyiv says it expects a major offensive from Moscow for the first anniversary of the invasion.

The strike took place at around 9:45 p.m. (7:45 p.m. GMT) on Wednesday against eight buildings in central Kramatorsk, one of which completely collapsed, Donetsk police said on their Facebook account.

About 100 police were deployed to search the rubble.

  • 1:32 a.m.: US defense firm offers Ukraine two cutting-edge drones for a token dollar

A US defense company said on Wednesday it wanted to supply two sophisticated combat drones to Ukraine for just a token dollar and called on the US government to approve the deal.

General Atomic Aeronautical Systems, a subsidiary of General Atomics, said it had been urging Washington for months to deliver to Ukraine its powerful Gray Eagle and Reaper drones (also called "killer drones"), used by the American armed forces during surveillance and targeted attack operations in Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq and other conflict areas.

These drones, which can travel long distances at medium altitude, are among the technologies that would strengthen Ukraine's defense capabilities in the war between it and Russia, according to the manufacturer.

With AFP and Reuters

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