Russia and Belarus are practicing airstrikes on the Belarusian border. Will Lukashenko join Putin’s side in the Ukraine war after all? News ticker.
- Putin warns of attacks in border area: Experts believe in diversionary tactics
- Russia bombed Kramatorsk: dead and injured
- Belarus and Russia rehearse airstrikes: Concerns about entering the war are increasing
- This News ticker on military events in the Ukraine war is continuously updated.
Update from February 2, 10:18 p.m.: Russian forces are preparing for a “covert mobilization” in the eastern Donetsk region, according to the Ukrainian Army General Staff. “In the temporarily occupied areas of the Donetsk region, Russia is preparing for a covert mobilization. In the town of Horlivka in particular, all budgetary and communal institutions were instructed to submit lists of the required persons to the Military Commissariat of the Occupation. All these people will be investigated by enemy special commissions and then drafted into the ranks of the enemy,” the statement of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Facebook read.
The Russian armed forces are “continuing active reconnaissance and preparing for an offensive in several directions,” it said, adding that “offensive operations” are continuing in the direction of Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiiv and Novopavliv.
War in Ukraine: Russian army attacks Kramatorsk
Update from February 2, 8:22 p.m.: The Russian army attacked the city of Kramatorsk on Thursday. At least five people were injured in the rocket hits and several buildings, including a children’s hospital and a school, were damaged. This was announced by Pavlo Kyrylenko, head of the military administration of the Donetsk region.
Kramatosrk is located in the Donetsk region, around 35 kilometers from the battlefield town of Bakhmut. On Wednesday, three people died in attacks by the Russian army in the city.
Update from February 2, 6:50 p.m: Because of the delivery of German “Leopard 2” and American “M1 Abrams” – a Russian energy company promised a cash bonus for the capture or destruction of western battle tanks during the Ukraine war. The same applies after a possible delivery of fighter jets.
Update from February 2, 5:50 p.m: Germany and its NATO partners deliver 90 “Leopard 2” to Ukraine. But: The Russian army apparently has a missile system that can pose a threat to main battle tanks not only on the battlefields of Donbass.
Ukrainian secret service suspects that Russia wants to take the entire Donbass by March
Update from February 2, 4:50 p.m.: According to Ukrainian sources, Russia intends to take over the entire Donbass region by March. This was announced by the spokesman for the Ukrainian secret service, Andriy Yusov, according to the Unian news agency.
Russian Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov was given the task by Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin to take the Donbass region by March. Heavy fighting is therefore expected in the area in February and March. Despite the losses in soldiers and equipment, Russian soldiers would try “to fulfill the duties of the Russian dictator”.
Ukraine war: Experts suspect new offensive by Putin’s military
February 2 update at 1:56 p.m: “They could start a two-front offensive”: Many experts and the Ukrainian government suspect that the Russian military is planning a new major offensive close to the first anniversary of the Russian invasion.
As Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov explained in an interview broadcast on French television, “Given that (the Russians) live by symbols, we think they’ll try something around February 24.” He again demanded further deliveries of arms in order to be able to meet the enemy.
According to Reznikov, the Ukrainian government estimates that Russia has mobilized around half a million soldiers for the operation in Ukraine – far more than the 300,000 that Moscow officially states.
Ukraine-News: Black Sea Fleet movements worry Zelenskyy’s forces
Update from February 2, 12:03 p.m.: According to the Ukrainian military, Russia is preparing a new massive missile attack on Ukraine. Most of the ships of the Russian Black Sea Fleet have returned to their bases, which indicates that a new strike is being prepared, spokeswoman for the Southern Command of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Natalya Humenyuk said on TV.
Russia fires its cruise missiles at Ukrainian cities and infrastructure mostly from ships in the Black or Caspian Seas. According to the Ukraine spokeswoman, there are currently only ten ships on the open sea, most of them submarines. Usually there are significantly more. This suggests an impending attack.
Ukraine News: Putin warns of attacks in the border area – experts believe in diversionary maneuvers
Update from February 2, 11:25 a.m.: In view of Russian-Belarusian military exercises on the border with Ukraine, the question arises as to whether Belarus soon wants to join Putin militarily in the Ukraine war. The analysts of the US Institute for the Study on War (ISW) consider this unlikely, but believe in a strategic diversionary maneuver by Russia.
In your current management report Regarding the Ukraine war, the institute writes that Putin is currently consciously trying to focus on possible dangers on Ukraine’s northeastern border. In doing so, he might want to get Ukraine to withdraw some of its soldiers to the north-east. He hopes that the Russian army will meet less solid resistance in its expected major offensive.
According to the ISW, Putin has repeatedly warned against Ukrainian attacks on the Russian border area. “Putin’s focus on the alleged danger of a Ukrainian shelling” probably also serves to portray Ukraine as an existential threat to the Russian people, writes the ISW.
Ukraine-News: Russia bombs residential buildings in Kramatorsk – dead and injured
Update from February 2, 10:45 a.m.: At least three people were killed and around 20 others injured in a Russian missile attack in the city of Kramatorsk in eastern Ukraine. A residential building was hit, the Ukrainian police said on Wednesday evening (February 1). It is feared that there are other victims under the rubble of the house.
“Peaceful people were killed and buried under rubble,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said of the attack. “This is the daily reality of life in our country.” Reporters from the AFP news agency saw two bodies recovered from the rubble. During the night, rescue workers searched the rubble for survivors and other possible victims.
Kramatorsk is located in the Donetsk region. This has been fiercely contested for months, and its complete capture is one of Russia’s key war goals in the Ukraine war.
Belarus and Russia are rehearsing airstrikes on the border – fears about the Ukraine war are increasing
Moscow/Minsk – Will Belarus soon join the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine? Current military exercises along the Belarusian borders are fueling these fears.
According to Belarus, units of a joint Belarusian-Russian force conducted exercises that “imitate the conflict with an enemy force”. This was stated by Alexander Wolfowitch, State Secretary of the Belarusian Security Council, on Tuesday (January 31) in a video message published by the Belarusian military. This is reported by the Russian state news agency Tass.
The joint task force of Russia and Belarus was formed in autumn 2022. Around 9,000 Russian soldiers are stationed in Belarus for this purpose – officially to protect the external borders of the Russian-Belarusian Union.
Ukraine-News: Russia and Belarus rehearse airstrikes against simulated enemy
Russia and Belarus have therefore rehearsed airstrikes against simulated enemy formations on the border. Officially, it is said that the military exercises served to be able to react if, for example, an “illegal armed group” crossed the state border with Belarus, or if offensive bases were set up near the border. The exercises were “defensive in nature,” it was emphasized.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has also spoken out in favor of establishing joint military training centers with Belarus. Putin on Tuesday (January 31) instructed the defense and foreign ministers to start talks and sign an agreement.
Ukraine-News: Fears rise – will Lukashenko join the war?
In light of these developments, fears are growing that Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko could enter the Ukraine war and fight on Moscow’s side. Belarus has already allowed Russia to use Belarusian territory as a launch pad for last year’s Ukraine offensive.
Despite increased military cooperation with the Russian government, Lukashenko has always insisted that he would not send his soldiers to Ukraine. (smu/dpa)
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