Live blog:  Russia refuses to turn over bodies of POW plane crash — Kiev

Friday, February 2, 2024

1515 GMT —Russia has refused Ukrainian requests to hand over the bodies of scores of prisoners of war whom the Kremlin claims were killed in the downing of a Russian military transport plane by Kiev's forces, a Ukrainian intelligence official said.

Andrii Yusov, the spokesperson for Ukraine's military intelligence, in televised remarks late Thursday reaffirmed Kiev's call for an international probe into the Jan. 24 crash inside Russia that would determine whether the Il-76 transport carried weapons or passengers along with the crew.

Russia accused Ukraine of killing its own men, while Kiev dismissed Moscow’s assertions as “rampant Russian propaganda.”

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1524 GMT — Top UN court says can rule on most of Ukraine invasion case

The United Nations' top court has said it had jurisdiction to rule in most parts of a case brought by Ukraine over Russia's 2022 military campaign, with Kiev urging reparations.

Ukraine dragged Russia before the International Court of Justice only a few days after the war, seeking to battle its belligerent neighbor on all fronts, legal as well as diplomatic and military.

When Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the attack on February 24, 2022, part of his reasoning was that pro-Russian people in eastern Ukraine had been "subjected to bullying and genocide by the Kiev regime".

Ukraine filed a suit at the ICJ, "emphatically denying" this and arguing that Russia's use of "genocide" as a pretext for invasion went against the 1948 UN Genocide Convention.

In a preliminary ruling in March 2022, the ICJ sided with Ukraine and ordered Russia to halt its invasion immediately.

But Russia objected to this judgment, saying the ICJ, which decides on disputes between states, had no legal right to decide in this case.

The ICJ on Friday tossed out Moscow's argument, saying it did have jurisdiction to rule on this.

1434 GMT — Ukraine suspends senior defence official amid corruption probe

Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov has suspended a senior official while authorities investigate suspected corruption in the procurement of weapons, his ministry said.

Toomas Nakhkur, who led the Defence Ministry's Department for Technical Policy and Weapons Development, was suspended after being named an official suspect in an unspecified criminal case, the ministry wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

The decision took effect on Feb. 1, it said.

1129 GMT — Macron condemns killing of French aid workers in Ukraine

French President Emmanuel Macron has confirmed that two French aid workers had been killed in a Russian strike in Ukraine and condemned the attack as "outrageous".

Ukrainian officials said the two men died in a recent drone attack in southern Ukraine.

"Two French aid workers have been killed in Ukraine by a Russian strike. A cowardly and outrageous act," Macron said on X.

"My solidarity goes out to all the volunteers who are committed to helping people," he added.

Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne added: "Russia will have to answer for its crimes."

1128 GMT — Two Swiss Church Aid staff killed in Ukraine: statement

Two workers with Swiss Church Aid have been killed in an attack in southeastern Ukraine and other staff members were wounded, the non-governmental organisation said.

"A group of employees was attacked... during a humanitarian intervention" on Thursday, the aid organisation of the Protestant church in Switzerland said, without giving their nationality, adding: "Two of the team's valued colleagues tragically lost their lives and other employees were injured."

0948 GMT — Downing POW plane was 'cynical' act by Kiev: Russia

Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said the crash of the Il-76 military transport plane on January 24 was a result of Ukraine's "cynical" actions, the RIA news agency reported.

Moscow has accused Kiev of shooting down the plane, which was carrying Ukrainian prisoners of war, using US-made Patriot surface-to-air missiles.

Kiev, which is fighting Russian forces in Ukraine, has neither confirmed nor denied that it downed the plane, but has challenged details of Moscow's account and called for an international investigation.

0941 GMT — Russian drone attack in Ukraine leaves 40,000 without power

Ukraine said that more than 40,000 people were without power after a barrage of two dozen Russian drones damaged energy infrastructure in the centre of the country.

The air force said Moscow had launched 24 Iranian-designed drones at Ukraine, where a national energy provider said its facilities in the Dnipropetrovsk region were damaged, adding that defence systems had downed 11.

The energy provider Ukrenergo said one of its substations in the city of Kryvyi Rig — President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's home town — was damaged during the attack.

In the northeastern Kharkiv region, authorities said around 64 towns and settlements had been left without electricity by Russian shelling.

0926 GMT — French confirms death of two French aid workers in Ukraine

The French foreign ministry said that two French volunteer aid workers were killed in a Russian drone attack in the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson, confirming reports from the regional governor and other officials.

Three other French nationals were injured, the ministry added.

0703 GMT — Russia condemns Ecuador for handing over Russian military hardware to US for Ukraine

Russia's foreign ministry condemned a decision by Ecuador to hand over Russian-made military hardware to the United States for use in Ukraine as a "reckless" breach of contract, the RIA news agency reported.

Maria Zakharova, the Russian foreign ministry's spokeswoman, told RIA that Ecuador's decision was made under pressure from external forces.

"Our partners are well aware of the provisions of the contracts, which include an obligation to use the supplied equipment for the stated purposes and not to transfer it to a third party without obtaining the relevant agreement of the Russian side."

Authorities in Ecuador have said that Moscow had advised against the hardware swap, but that they believed they had the right to do it anyway.

0626 GMT — Russia didn’t receive Ukraine's request to hand over PoW bodies

Russia has not received any requests from Kiev to hand over the bodies of prisoners of war killed in the IL-76 crash last week, the RIA news agency cited Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying.

The Ukrainian government has said it made such a request.

0607 GMT — Over ten Russian drones targeting infrastructure downed: Ukraine

Ukraine's air defence shot down 11 out of 24 Russian drones targeting critical infrastructure in the southeast, the Ukrainian air force has said.

After the overnight drone attack, electricity was cut off in the city of Kryvyi Rih in Dnipropetrovsk southeastern region, the national grid operator Ukrenergo said.

0200 GMT — Top UN court to rule on jurisdiction over Ukraine conflict

The United Nations' top court will decide whether it has jurisdiction to rule in a case brought by Ukraine over Russia's 2022 assault, with Kiev urging reparations.

The International Court of Justice ruled on Wednesday in a separate case filed by Ukraine alleging that Russia financially backed separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine for years before the conflict.

2228 GMT — Zelenskyy says EU's $54B aid sends 'clear signal' to Russia, US

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that the European Union's approval of a major aid deal for Ukraine was a "clear signal" both to Russia and the United States, where an assistance package has been held up in Congress.

"It is a clear signal to Moscow that Europe will stand firm and cannot be broken by any destructive waves devised by the Kremlin," he said in his new video address.

"At the same time, it is a clear signal across the Atlantic, a signal that Europe is assuming its responsibilities. Security responsibilities. Strong responsibilities. We await decisions from America."

2224 GMT — US senators set vote on precarious Ukraine aid package

The US Senate will vote next week on a border security package that would unlock vital aid for Ukraine, Democrats have announced, as President Joe Biden hailed a $54 billion package approved by the war-torn nation's European allies.

Chuck Schumer, the Democratic leader of the upper chamber of Congress, said an initial vote on the bipartisan bill would take place on Wednesday at the latest — although its prospects for being signed into law look vanishingly small.

"Addressing these challenges is not easy. But we cannot simply shirk from our responsibilities just because a task is difficult," Schumer said, adding that the text would be released between Friday and Sunday.

The Democratic president called European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen to thank her for the bloc's approval of $54 billion in aid for Ukraine, the White House said.

Biden welcomed the "significant financial aid package", which will "go a long way to helping Ukraine as they continue to battle back against Russia's aggression," National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters.

For our live updates from Thursday, February 1, click here.