Russian forces conducted a series of drone strikes against Ukraine on the night of February 5 to 6.
The Ukrainian Air Force stated that Russian forces launched 77 Shahed and decoy drones from Oryol, Kursk, and Bryansk oblasts; Millerovo, Rostov Oblast; and Shatalovo, Smolensk Oblast and two Iskander-M ballistic missiles from Rostov Oblast.[80] The Ukrainian Air Force reported that Ukrainian forces downed 56 drones over Kharkiv, Poltava, Sumy, Kyiv, Chernihiv, Zhytomyr, Cherkasy, Zaporizhia, Dnipropetrovsk, and Vinnytsia oblasts; that 18 decoy drones were "lost," likely due to Ukrainian electronic warfare (EW) interference; and that Russian drones struck Kharkiv, Cherkasy, and Dnipropetrovsk oblasts. Ukrainian officials stated on February 5 and 6 that Russian drones struck a market in Kyivskyi raion, Kharkiv City, causing a fire at a nearby pavilion and that a Russian drone struck a residential building in Saltivskyi raion, Kharkiv City.[81] BBC Russia reported on February 5 that a Russian missiles strike struck a residential building in Odesa raion, Odesa Oblast.[82]
www.understandingwar.org/...
The Ukrainian Air Force reported that Ukrainian forces downed 56 drones over Kharkiv, Poltava, Sumy, Kyiv, Chernihiv, Zhytomyr, Cherkasy, Zaporizhia, Dnipropetrovsk, and Vinnytsia oblasts
Ukraine has already deployed laser weaponry against Russian targets, Colonel Vadym Sukharevskyi, commander of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces, revealed in an interview with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty on February 3.
The commander had first stated in December 2024 that Ukraine was among a handful of countries capable of developing and fielding laser-based weapons. According to Sukharevskyi, Ukraine’s laser system, known as Tryzub, is powerful enough to take down aircraft flying at altitudes of over 2 kilometers.
united24media.com/...
Kursk
- Ukrainian forces launched a new series of battalion-sized mechanized assaults in Kursk Oblast and advanced up to five kilometers behind Russian lines southeast of Sudzha, Kursk Oblast on February 6.
- Russian President Vladimir Putin praised elite Russian VDV and naval infantry formations defending Kursk Oblast on February 5, highlighting the fact that the Ukrainian incursion has pinned about a combined arms army’s worth of Russian troops in Kursk Oblast since August 6, 2024.
- Ukrainian officials provided additional details about Ukraine's operation in Kursk Oblast in honor of the six-month anniversary of the incursion.
- A Russian state-run poll suggests that the Russian public maintains a high level of support for the war in Ukraine despite mounting challenges.
- North Korea appears to be using its alliance with Russia to leverage the war in Ukraine as a testing ground to refine its missile technology and broader military capabilities.
- Ukrainian forces conducted a strike against an air base in Krasnodar Krai on the night of February 5 to 6 as a part of an ongoing strike campaign against Russian defense industrial enterprises and oil refineries.
- Ukraine's Western partners continue to provide military assistance to Ukraine.
- Russian President Vladimir Putin appointed Deputy Minister of Transport Dmitry Bakanov to replace Yuri Borisov as head of the state-owned Russian space agency Roscosmos on February 6.
- Ukrainian forces recently advanced in Kursk Oblast and recaptured lost positions near Kurakhove.
- Russian forces recently advanced near Kupyansk, Chasiv Yar, and Kurakhove.
- Russian authorities continue efforts to increase social benefits for Russian military personnel likely to support ongoing recruitment efforts.
Ukrainian forces have launched an offensive in the Kursk region south of Sudzha
The Ukrainian incursion in Kursk Oblast is a partial proof of concept of how limited Ukrainian battlefield activity that leverages vulnerabilities in Russia's warfighting capabilities and that integrates technological adaptations with mechanized maneuver can have theater-wide impacts on operations. It showed that surprise is still possible even on the partially transparent battlefield and that rapid maneuver is possible under the right conditions.The war in Ukraine, in other words, is not permanently stalemated. Either side can potentially restore maneuver and begin to gain or regain significant territory. Russia will be able to do so if the West reduces or cuts off aid. Ukraine may be able to do so if Western support continues to empower Ukrainian innovation.
Ukrainian forces launched a new series of battalion-sized mechanized assaults in Kursk Oblast and advanced up to five kilometers behind Russian lines southeast of Sudzha, Kursk Oblast on February 6. Geolocated footage published on February 6 indicates that Ukrainian forces recently advanced southwest of Makhnovka (southeast of Sudzha) and north and east of Cherkasskaya Konopelka (southeast of Sudzha) along the 38K-028 Sudzha-Oboyan highway and seized Kolmakov (north of Cherkasskaya Konopelka) and Fanaseyevka (just southeast of Cherkasskaya Konopelka).[1] The Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) claimed that Ukrainian forces attacked in several waves in the direction of Cherkasskaya Konopelka and Ulanok (southeast of Cherkasskaya Konopelka along the 38K-028 highway) with up to two mechanized battalions' worth of armored vehicles and that Russian forces repelled the attack.[2] ... The Ukrainian General Staff published a map on February 6 indicating that Russian forces recently marginally advanced in a forested area southwest of Kurilovka.[6] ...Russian sources acknowledged that elements of the Russian 11th Airborne (VDV) Brigade, 810th Naval Infantry Brigade (Black Sea Fleet), 30th Motorized Rifle Regiment (72nd Motorized Rifle Division, 44th Army Corps [AC], Leningrad Military District [LMD]), and 177th Naval Infantry Regiment (Caspian Flotilla) and Chechen Akhmat drone operators are the main forces defending against the Ukrainian attacks southeast of Sudzha.[10]
https://t.co/U0HBmns6Gs
Russia lost almost 40,000 soldiers in six months of the Kursk operation, - General Staff
