Ukraine-Russia war: Russia ‘identifies all 74’ on board downed plane

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Russia has identified all 74 people it says were on board the military transport plane that crashed in Belgorod on Jan 24.
The investigative committee set up by Vladimir Putin said “genetic examinations” enabled it to make “an unambiguous conclusion” about the 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war, six crew members and three military police officers it claims were travelling on the Il-76 transport aircraft.
It also repeated a claim made by Putin on Wednesday that evidence had been found showing an American-made Patriot missile shot it down.
Ukraine has called for an international investigation into the incident.
Andriy Yusov, spokesman for the HUR military intelligence agency, said last week that only five bodies were found at the crash site and that several high-ranking “VIP officials” had been due to board the plane before being warned against doing so “at the last moment” by the FSB.
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Ukraine expects to receive the first tranche of aid from the European Union’s newly-approved £43billion ($54billion) package in March.
Yuliia Svyrydenko, Ukraine’s first deputy prime minister and economy minister, said £3.8 billion ($4.9 billion) would be delivered then.
“We are grateful to our allies for their assistance and trust in Ukraine,” she said.
Hungary’s parliament will meet on Monday to vote on ratifying Sweden’s application to Nato.
Opposition parties have requested an extraordinary meeting at which Sweden’s bid is expected to be on the agenda.
But it can only be ratified if MPs from the ruling Fidesz party attend, since they have a large majority.
Hungary is the only Nato member yet to ratify Sweden’s application to the alliance.
There is an “urgent need” to accelerate deliveries of ammunition and missiles to Ukraine, the leaders of European Union member states have said.
They made a joint statement after agreeing a new £43billion ($54billion) military aid package for Ukraine.
Viktor Orban has said he won a guarantee from the European Union that it would not send Ukraine aid pledged to Hungary which has since been suspended.
“We finally negotiated a control mechanism to guarantee that the money would be used sensibly, and we received a guarantee that Hungary’s money would not end up in Ukraine,” he said.
Alexei Navalny has called on Russians to vote in March’s presidential elections at noon in a protest against Vladimir Putin.
“This can be a powerful demonstration of the mood of the country,” the imprisoned opposition leader wrote on his Telegram channel, which is controlled by his team.
“At 12 noon there is already a high turnout, there are a lot of people, and it’s simply impossible to single out those voting ‘against’.
“This will be a nationwide protest against Putin that takes place near your home. It’s available to everyone, everywhere. Millions will be able to take part. And tens of millions will witness it.”
The investigative committee set up by Vladimir Putin to look into the military transport plane that crashed in Belgorod on Jan 24 has said all 74 people on board have been identified.
It said “genetic examinations” enabled it to make “an unambiguous conclusion” about the 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war, six crew members and three military police officers it claims were travelling on it.
Russian investigators have said they have evidence that Ukrainian soldiers shot down the military transport plane that crashed in Belgorod on Jan 24 using American-made Patriot missiles.
The investigators also released footage of body parts which they said proved their claim that 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war were on board.
“The fragments seized from the scene, according to their design features, geometric characteristics and available markings, are structural elements of the MIM-104A anti-aircraft guided missile of the Patriot complex of the United States, developed by Raytheon and Hughes corporations and manufactured by Raytheon,” the investigative committee said.
A Russian court on Thursday extended the pre-trial detention of American-Russian journalist Alsu Kurmasheva until April 5.
She faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison for allegedly violating censorship law.
Russian authorities have charged Kurmasheva, a Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalist, with failing to register as a “foreign agent” and spreading “false information” about Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine.
Ukraine has released dramatic footage of sea drones sinking a Russian warship in the Black Sea overnight.
The drones were filmed homing in on the Ivanovets, a Tarantul-class missile corvette, over choppy waters as the Russian sailors on board fired a hail of bullets at them.
They struck the ship’s hull multiple times, causing heavy damage which eventually sank the vessel.
“As a result of a number of direct strikes to the hull, the Russian vessel sustained critical damage causing immobilisation – it heaved aft and sank,” Ukraine’s Ukraine’s military intelligence agency (GUR) said.
Russia has not commented on the incident and the numbers of casualties and survivors are not known.
Ship wreck of the day!Warriors of the special unit “Group 13” of the @DI_Ukraine destroyed the missile corvette “Ivanovets” of the russian Black Sea Fleet.As a result of a number of direct hits to the hull, the corvette was damaged, rolled to the stern, and sank. The value of… pic.twitter.com/JZwh8aggn0
Volodymyr Zelensky has hailed the European Union for reaching an agreement on the £43billion ($54billion) military aid package.
Grateful to Charles Michel and EU leaders for establishing the €50 billion Ukraine Facility for 2024-2027.
It is very important that the decision was made by all 27 leaders, which once again proves strong EU unity.
Continued EU financial support for Ukraine will strengthen long-term economic and financial stability, which is no less important than military assistance and sanctions pressure on Russia.
Ukraine is facing a “critical” shortage of artillery shells, its defence minister has said.
Rustem Umerov told Bloomberg that Ukraine is only able to fire 2,000 shells a day, one-third of the 6,000 that the Russian armed forces get through.
“The side with the most ammunition to fight usually wins,” he said.
The European Union’s new aid deal for Ukraine includes the option for it to be reviewed in 2026 “if needed”, two EU diplomats have told Reuters.
That is in addition to the debates which will be held every year on the deal.
The former mayor of Sevastopol in occupied Crimea has been arrested in London.
Dmitry Ovsyannikov, an ally of Vladimir Putin, was arrested by the National Crime Agency at his home last week on suspicion of sanctions breaches and money laundering.
He has since been charged with seven counts of circumventing sanctions and two of money laundering and will appear before Southwark crown court on Feb 20.
Mr Ovsyannikov is Russia’s former deputy minister of industry and trade and governed Sevastopol from 2017 to 2019.
He was sanctioned by Britain in 2020 and the European Union in 2017 for making public statements in support of the invasion of Crimea. 
Charles Michel, the president of the European Council, made this statement announcing the European Union’s £43billion ($54billion) military aid package for Ukraine.
We have a deal. Unity.
All 27 leaders agreed on an additional €50 billion support package for Ukraine within the EU budget.
This locks in steadfast, long-term, predictable funding for Ukraine.
EU is taking leadership and responsibility in support for Ukraine; we know what is at stake.
Denys Shmyhal, Ukraine’s prime minister, has welcomed the European Union’s agreement of a £43billion ($54billion) military aid deal.
“EU member states one more time show their solidarity and unity in the actions to Ukrainian people to withstand the war,” he said.
“Grateful to Charles Michel, the leaders of EU member states for your unwavering support.
“Each of your votes is a significant contribution to our joint victory.”
The European Union has agreed a £43billion ($54billion) military aid package for Ukraine.
Charles Michel, president of the European Council, said all 27 member states voted for the deal at an emergency summit of their leaders in Brussels on Thursday.
“This locks in steadfast, long-term, predictable funding for Ukraine,” he said.
Hungary had vetoed the package in December but appeared to have dropped its opposition after the EU said there would be annual debates on the three-year deal.
Two EU diplomats told Reuters that the agreement also includes an option to review the package in 2026 “if needed”.
The package includes more than £28 billion ($35 billion) in cheap loans on favourable interest rates and £14 billion ($18 billion) in grants which do not need to be repaid.
Most European Union member states are trying to “blackmail” Hungary to approve a £43billion ($54billion) aid package to Ukraine, Viktor Orban’s chief of staff said on Thursday, adding that a deal was not guaranteed.
“The prime minister conducts continuous discussions at the EU summit, we continue to strive to reach an agreement taking national interests into account, but it is not certain that this will happen,” Gergely Gulyas told a briefing.
Earlier this week, Orban reiterated his warning that Ukraine’s integration posed a “serious problem” to Europe even without the war.
Donald Tusk also suggested there could be “political pressure” used to force Viktor Orban to back the Ukraine aid package, Brussels Correspondent Joe Barnes writes.
“The stakes for Budapest, for Viktor Orban, are about being inside the community or outside,” the Polish leader said.
“At stake are gigantic funds available to any country that respects our common European interests. He’s the one who must draw conclusions.”
Mr Orban was summoned to an early morning meeting with a number of the bloc’s most powerful leaders, including France’s Emmanuel Macron and Germany’s Olaf Scholz. 
The Hungarian prime minister shared a picture on his social media account of the group smiling during what he described as “casual” talks.
European Union leaders have vented their frustrations with Viktor Orban ahead of the emergency Brussels summit on Ukrainian aid, reports Brussels Correspondent Joe Barnes.
Donald Tusk, Poland’s prime minister, said: “There’s no problem with so-called Ukraine fatigue. For sure, we have Orban fatigue now in Brussels, we have so many things to solve.
“I can’t accept this very strange egotistic game. There is no room for compromise on our principles,” Mr Tusk added in a doorstep interview with journalists arriving at the summit.
Leo Varadkar, the Irish Taoiseach, told reporters: “I’m certainly very frustrated by it and I think all the other heads of government are too.”
Kaja Kallas, Estonia’s prime minister, warned that Hungary’s economy depends on its membership of the EU, echoing a leaked strategy that suggested Brussels could hit Budapest with financial penalties if he didn’t fall in line with the bloc’s Ukraine support.
“If you look at the economy of Hungary … the interest rate of their central bank is nine per cent, that shows how well his economy is going. Hungary needs Europe, so he should also look into what is in it for Hungary, being in Europe,” Ms Kallas said.
There is no “plan B” for European Union aid to Ukraine if the proposed £43billion ($54billion) package is rejected today, Poland’s prime minister has said.
Donald Tusk, the former president of the European Council, said: “We need to play hard and play fair, but there is no room for compromise.
“There is no middle way – either you are on the Ukrainian side or on the Russian side.”
A number of former Wagner Group divisons have been incorporated into Russia’s national guard, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has said.
In its latest defence intelligence update, the MoD said the Rosgvardia had incorporated the 15th, 16th and 17th assault detachments of Yevgeny Prigozhin’s mercenary force into its volunteer corps.
“Rosgvardia will likely deploy its new volunteer detachments to Ukraine and Africa,” the MoD said.
“Rosgvardia is reportedly offering volunteers six-month contracts for service in Ukraine, and nine-month contracts for service in Africa.
“The incorporation of former Wagner assault detachments into Rosgvardia’s Volunteer Corps highly likely indicates that Wagner has been successfully subordinated to Rosgvardia, increasing the Russian state’s command and control over the Wagner Group.”
A Ukrainian couple who were taken separately as prisoners of war have been reunited after being exchanged by Russia.
Illia Muzyka, 29, and Alina Panina, 27, were captured in the southern city of Mariupol in April and May 2022 respectively.
Ms Panina was freed in October that year but Mr Muzyka remained in captivity until Jan 3, when the couple reunited in Kyiv.
“We had waited for so long to speak, to embrace, to talk,” Ms Panina told Reuters. “We were so happy.”
Olaf Scholz has said “now is the time” for the European Union to reach agreement on the proposed £43billion ($54billion) military aid package for Ukraine.
“I believe now is the time to reach a decision,” the German chancellor told reporters in Brussels. “I will work very hard to come to an agreement of all 27 [EU member states].”
He added: “We need an agreement at 27. We shouldn’t look for workarounds.”
The leaders of European Union member states are meeting in Brussels on Thursday to vote on a proposed £43 billion ($54 billion) military aid package for Ukraine, Brussels Correspondent Joe Barnes reports.
The package involves just over £28 billion ($35 billion) in cheap loans and £14 billion ($18 billion) in grants.
Viktor Orban blocked the deal at a previous summit in December but is set to drop his veto after the EU promised an annual debate on the four-year package.
There could be some bad-tempered language at the summit as frustrations grow with Mr Orban, who has repeatedly blocked and delayed EU aid for Ukraine.
Ukraine plans to strike all of Russia’s “major” civilian and military infrastructure, its army spy chief has said.
Kyrylo Budanov, head of the GUR military intelligence agency, told CNN: “Hypothetically, there is a plan according to which all this happens.
“And I believe that this plan includes all the major critical infrastructure facilities and military infrastructure facilities of the Russian Federation.”
Mr Budanov added that the drone strikes force Russian civilians to “see the real picture” of the war.
“They see burning oil depots, destroyed buildings in factories and plants, and so on. This is all beneficial,” he said.
Ukraine attacked Russia with 11 drones overnight.
Russia’s defence ministry claimed it had shot the 11 down over the Belgorod, Kursk and Voronezh regions.
“This night, an attempt by the Kyiv regime to commit a terrorist attack with aerial drones against sites on Russian territory was foiled,” it said.
It did not comment on casualties or damage.
The European Union has admitted that it will fail to deliver its promise of supplying Ukraine with one million artillery shells by almost 500,000.
The target was set for March but Josep Borrell, the EU’s chief diplomat, said it could only be met “by the end” of the year.
“Since last March until now, until the beginning of this year, we have already delivered 330,000 ammunition rounds,” he said.
“So one third of the objective, mainly taken from our stockpiles, from existing stocks. 
“By March, today I expect this figure will be increased by 200,000 more, thus reaching 524,000. This is a little bit more than 52 per cent of the objective.”
Only four drones attacked Ukraine overnight in a less intense Russian aerial assault than usual.
Anti-air defences shot down two of the Iran-designed Shahed drones over the north-eastern Kharkiv region, the Ukrainian air force said.
It did not comment on the other two drones.
Russia injured four civilians when it bombed a hospital in Ukraine’s north-eastern Kharkiv region on Wednesday night.
Windows were blown out and brickwork was damaged at the hospital in the village of Velykyi Burluk after the attack at 9.50pm local time (7.50pm GMT).
Oleh Syniehubov, the regional governor, said all 38 people inside were evacuated.
Volodymyr Zelensky will sack Gen Valery Zaluzhny by the end of the week, it has been reported.
CNN said an official announcement is imminent and the sacking was postponed and not cancelled after a meeting between the two men on Monday night.
The Washington Post separately reported that Mr Zelensky and the Ukrainian army’s commander-in-chief had fallen out over Gen Zaluzhny’s demands for 500,000 new soldiers and his discontent with insufficient Western military aid.
Reports have previously claimed that the Ukrainian president asked Gen Zaluzhny to step down as head of the army on Monday night but he refused.
The Kremlin mocked Mr Zelensky on Wednesday and said it proved his government “has a lot of problems”.