Live blog: Deadly Ukrainian shelling hits bakery in Lysychansk — officials

Saturday, February 3, 2024

1547 GMT — Ukrainian shelling that hit a bakery in the eastern occupied city of Lysychansk has killed at least eight people and wounded 10 others, Moscow-installed authorities said.

They believed there were more dead under a bakery that was struck, Natalia Pashchenko, the Russian-installed health minister of the occupied Lugansk region, posted on Telegram.

The TASS and RIA Novosti news agencies quoted a local Moscow-installed police source as saying "up to 40 people could be under the rubble."

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1436 GMT — Russia’s Lukoil: Volgograd refinery working as normal after fire

Volgograd oil refinery in southern Russia is working as normal following a fire, oil producer Lukoil, which owns the refinery, has said.

A fire was extinguished at the refinery on Saturday following a drone attack, local authorities said earlier.

1356 GMT — Reporters detained at Moscow protest by soldiers' wives

Russian police have released about 20 reporters, including an AFP journalist, who had been detained at a protest in Moscow by wives of men mobilised to fight in Ukraine.

The women have staged rare protests outside the Kremlin walls for weeks — an uncomfortable movement for the authorities that has so far not been put down.

Police had detained the group of Russian and foreign reporters — all men — and took them to a police station earlier on Saturday.

The group had been arrested outside Red Square as they covered and filmed the women, who were demanding their partners be brought home from Ukraine.

1123 GMT — Polish president criticised for doubting Ukraine can retake Crimea

Poland's president declared he has always been unwavering in his support for Ukraine after coming under strong criticism for saying he was unsure whether Kiev would be able to regain control over Russian-occupied Crimea.

Warsaw has been one of Kiev's staunchest supporters since Russia's February 2022 invasion and has said Ukraine must regain control over all of its territory in order to deter Moscow from further aggression.

President Andrzej Duda reiterated this position during an interview on YouTube channel Kanal Zero late on Friday. However, when asked if he believed Ukraine would really be able to retake Crimea, he said, "It is hard for me to answer that question".

"I don't know if (Ukraine) will regain Crimea, but I believe it will regain Donetsk and Luhansk," he said.

0639 GMT — Russian drones target Ukraine, hitting energy facilities: Kiev

Ukraine's air defences have downed nine of 14 Russian drones in an overnight attack that hit energy infrastructure in the city of Kryvyi Rih, the air force and regional officials said.

It is the second drone attack in two days on the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih, the hometown of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Mayor Oleksandr Vilkul said energy facilities were hit, resulting in electricity cut-offs for thousands of people.

In some districts water supplies and heating were also disrupted as temperatures hovered just below freezing. Hospitals were switched to generators for electricity supplies, he said.

0658 GMT — Fire put out at Russia's Volgograd refinery after drone attack

A fire was extinguished at Volgograd oil refinery in southern Russia following a drone attack, local authorities have said.

Russia and Ukraine have targeted each other's energy infrastructure in strikes designed to disrupt supply lines and logistics and to demoralise their opponent as they try to get the edge in a nearly two-year-old conflict that shows no sign of ending.

Russia energy infrastructure has been also hit by technical failures in the past month, adding to uncertainty in global oil and gas markets already rocked by the conflict in the Middle East.

Volgograd governor, Andrey Bocharov, said on the local administration's Telegram channel that there were no casualties from the incident.

2229 GMT — Ukraine plans top military shake-up amidst strategy disagreement

Ukraine tells US that it plans to dismiss top military commander General Valeriy Zaluzhnyi due to clashes with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, two knowledgeable sources have said.

Zaluzhnyi's push for a massive troop mobilisation against Russian forces led to the disagreement. Zelenskyy opposes Zaluzhnyi's proposal to call up 500,000 troops.

Despite plans to replace Zaluzhnyi, the process is currently on hold as both sides navigate their next steps.

The ousting follows a failed counteroffensive against Russian forces last year, contributing to the decision.

The White House has not taken a stance on Zaluzhnyi's replacement as tensions persist.

2200 GMT — Zelenskyy hails arrival of new air defence systems

Zelenskyy has welcomed the arrival of two new air defence systems that he said could "shoot down anything".

Zelenskyy also said that he and his top commanders had discussed conditions along the 1000-km frontline of the conflict against Russia, singling out the situation in the beleaguered town of Avdiivka as "extraordinarily difficult".

In his new video address, the president pointedly said he could give no details of the newly arrived air defence systems but described them as the culmination of "working tirelessly at various levels for months".

"But these are systems that can shoot down anything," he said.

"We will be protecting the regions. And while the systems are not yet sufficient for the complete defence of Ukraine, we are working towards that goal every day."

For our live updates from Friday, February 2, click here.