Published on: 02/09/2026 - 07:44 Modified on: 02/10/2026 - 04:55

Russian air attacks killed at least three people overnight from Sunday to Monday in the Kharkiv region (in eastern Ukraine) and in Odessa (in the south). These deadly strikes come after two rounds of negotiations between Russians, Ukrainians and Americans in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates. Here is the thread for February 9, 2026.

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Zelensky justifies wearing a helmet with photos of athletes who died in war

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday evening justified the wearing at the 2026 Olympics by his country's flag bearer, Vladislav Heraskevych, of a helmet bearing photos of athletes killed by Russia.

Vladislav Heraskevych took part in skeleton training in Cortina on Monday with a gray helmet on his head bearing the screen-printed images of several of his compatriots who died in the war, before, according to him, being banned from wearing it. "This decision breaks my heart. I feel like the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is betraying athletes who have been part of the Olympic movement by not allowing them to be honored where they will never be able to perform again," he wrote on Instagram.

Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed his compatriot's initiative. "His helmet bears the portraits of our athletes who were killed by Russia. Figure skater Dmytro Sharpar, killed in combat near Bakhmut; Yevhen Malyshev, a 19-year-old biathlete killed by the occupiers near Kharkiv; and other Ukrainian athletes whose lives were taken by the war led by Russia," he said on Telegram.

The IOC has not commented on this incident at this stage but the Olympic charter in principle bans demonstrations deemed “political”.

Marco Rubio will travel to Europe, including Hungary, amid transatlantic tensions

The head of American diplomacy Marco Rubio will visit Hungary next week after President Donald Trump gave his "full" support to the nationalist Viktor Orban, and while transatlantic relations are going through a tense moment, his spokesperson said on Monday.

Marco Rubio will travel to Hungary as well as Slovakia, also led by a right-wing ally of Trump, after participating at the weekend in the Security Conference in Munich, where last year, Vice-President JD Vance provoked strong reactions by denouncing attacks on freedom of expression in Europe.

Ukraine and France wish to develop their joint arms production

The Ukrainian Minister of Defense announced the signing of a letter of intent between Ukraine and France to develop joint arms production, after a visit to kyiv by his French counterpart Catherine Vautrin.

“We are moving from simple deliveries to joint production and long-term solutions that systematically strengthen our defense,” Mykhailo Fedorov said on Telegram.

France is one of the main European supporters of kyiv, which has been facing the invasion of its country by Russia since February 2022, the worst conflict in Europe since the Second World War.

According to Mr. Fedorov, this collaboration also concerns "the acceleration of aircraft deliveries and the continuation of production in record volumes of AASM Hammer propelled aerial bombs."

According to kyiv, Russia launched 11 ballistic missiles and 149 drones on Ukraine

According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Russia launched 11 ballistic missiles and 149 drones – including Shahed drones developed in Iran – at Ukraine between Sunday evening and the early hours of Monday.

Ukrainian air defenses shot down more than a hundred drones as well as several missiles, she added.

Russian drone attack kills one in Chernihiv region

In the town of Novgorod-Siversky (Chernihiv region, northern Ukraine), a 71-year-old man was killed by Russian drones in his bed, local authorities said.

Attempted assassination of a Russian general: the FSB charges kyiv

The alleged perpetrator of the attempted assassination of General Vladimir Alekseyev in Moscow, arrested in the United Arab Emirates, confessed and said he was recruited by the Ukrainian security services, the Russian security service (FSB) said on Monday.

Accused of being "the direct perpetrator" and arrested in Dubai, Lioubomir Korba, born in 1960, and his accomplice Viktor Vassine, born in 1959 and arrested in Moscow, "admitted their guilt", assured the FSB in a press release.

They "told the details of the preparations" for this assassination attempt committed "on the orders of the Ukrainian security services (SBU)", he continued.

According to the press release, Lioubomir Korba "was recruited by an SBU agent in August 2025", with the help of his son Liouboch Korba, a Polish citizen, before following training as a shooter in kyiv and being sent to Russia.

Russian attacks kill two people in Kharkiv region

Russian air attacks have killed two people in the Kharkiv region of eastern Ukraine.

“Tonight, the enemy attacked residential areas in the town of Bogodukhiv [in the Kharkiv region, editor’s note] using drone strikes,” the national emergency service reported on Telegram.

The lifeless bodies of a woman and a 10-year-old child were extracted from the rubble, he added, specifying that three other people had been injured and that a residential building had been "completely destroyed".

Russian drone attack kills one in Odessa

A Russian drone attack killed at least one person in Odessa, the head of the military administration of this city in southern Ukraine announced early Monday.

The operation, carried out using Iranian-made Shahed drones, damaged homes, Serguiï Lyssak reported on Telegram, without specifying the time of the events.

“Unfortunately, there are reports of one death,” he wrote, adding that emergency services were on site.

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With AFP, Reuters and AP

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