Around 55,000 Ukrainian soldiers killed since start of war, Zelensky says
· France 24This liveblog is no longer being updated.
05/02/2026 - 03:57
This liveblog is no longer being updated.
05/02/2026 - 01:13
UN Secretary General calls end of nuclear treaty a 'grave moment'
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the end of Russia and the US's nuclear treaty a “grave moment for international peace and security” and urged Washington and Moscow to move quickly to the negotiating table.
“For the first time in more than half a century, we face a world without any binding limits on the strategic nuclear arsenals of the Russian Federation and the United States of America,” Guterres said in a statement, which deemed the treaty to have expired at midnight GMT, or 7 p.m. in New York.
“This dissolution of decades of achievement could not come at a worse time — the risk of a nuclear weapon being used is the highest in decades,” he said, following Russian suggestions of using tactical nuclear weapons early in the war in Ukraine.
05/02/2026 - 00:52
Ukraine warns of worsening blackouts amid threat of fresh Russian strikes
Ukraine’s energy minister warned households on Wednesday that planned blackouts could worsen in the coming days and that Russian forces could launch a new air attack to further disable power and heating networks.
Denys Shmyhal said well over 200 emergency crews were at work in the capital restoring heating to apartment buildings after a series of major Russian attacks in January. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Tuesday that more than 1,100 buildings remained without heating.
“The situation with energy remains very difficult. There is a risk that timetables for power cuts could get worse,” Shmyhal wrote on Telegram after a daily meeting of senior officials devoted to energy issues.
04/02/2026 - 23:14
Melania Trump says she remains in contact with Putin team over Ukrainian children
US first lady Melania Trump said on Wednesday she remains in contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s team in an effort to secure the return of more Ukrainian children from Russia.
“I’m working on it, and we are in the process,” she told reporters at the White House. “I hope we have success very soon.”
She did not share details about talks between her representatives and Putin’s team.
An East Wing spokesman said the lines of communication had continued after Melania Trump wrote a letter to Putin – hand-delivered by her husband, President Donald Trump, last August – about abducted Ukrainian children.
Fifteen children have been returned to Ukraine since the first lady started her advocacy, including seven children in December.
04/02/2026 - 21:14
Zelensky says 55,000 Ukrainian troops killed since start of war
Around 55,000 Ukrainian troops have been killed since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, said President Volodymyr Zelensky, adding a "great number" were also missing in action.
"In Ukraine, officially, on the battlefield, the number of soldiers killed is 55,000. And there are a great number Ukraine lists as missing," he said in an interview with French TV network France 2, which translated his comments.
04/02/2026 - 19:49
Macron's diplomatic advisor visited Moscow on Tuesday, source says
Emmanuel Bonne, diplomatic advisor to French President Emmanuel Macron, visited Moscow on Tuesday to meet with Russian officials, a source familiar with the trip told Reuters on Wednesday.
No details were given by the source, except that the aim was to establish dialogue between the two sides.
04/02/2026 - 19:26
Kremlin confirms low-level Russia-France talks are under way
The Kremlin has said working level talks between Russia and France were under way, but that there was nothing to announce for now when it came to a possible conversation between President Vladimir Putin and President Emmanuel Macron.
The French leader on Tuesday said he was looking at resuming contact with Putin on the war in Ukraine even though he saw little readiness from Moscow to negotiate a ceasefire and that discussions were taking place at a technical level.
04/02/2026 - 17:32
Ukraine says talks with Russia, US were 'substantive and productive'
Ukraine has said talks with Russian and US delegations in Abu Dhabi trying to broker an end to the four-year Ukraine war were "substantive and productive".
"The work was substantive and productive, focused on concrete steps and practical solutions," Ukraine's top negotiator Rustem Umerov said on social media after the first day of discussions, without providing further details.
The negotiations are to continue on Thursday.
04/02/2026 - 17:30
German intelligence says Russian military spending far higher than reported
Russia has been spending far more on its military than it has reported, Germany's foreign intelligence agency said Wednesday as it warned of Moscow's threat to NATO's eastern border.
The BND said that its analysis of Russian budget data showed that in 2022 and 2023, military spending had been around 66 percent higher than officially reported.
"These figures are a concrete embodiment of the growing threat to Europe posed by Russia," the agency said in a rare public statement.
It said Russia's definition of defence spending differed from that used by NATO and excluded expenses such as military construction and IT projects or welfare payments to service members' families.
If these and other "hidden" amounts are taken into account, total spending in 2024 reached 202 billion euros ($171 billion) instead of the official 140 billion euros, it said.
For the first three quarters of 2025, the total jumps to 163 billion euros, as opposed to the officially reported 118 billion euros, according to the BND.
04/02/2026 - 16:07
Lavrov accuses Zelensky of putting his own career before a peace deal
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of not wanting to seal a peace deal as it would mean the end of Zelensky's political career, Russia's state RIA news agency reported.
Zelensky has said he does want a deal, but is not willing to agree to Russian terms that he says amount to surrendering and is not ready to gift Moscow territory which its army has not won on the battlefield.
04/02/2026 - 16:03
First day of Ukraine-Russia talks in Abu Dhabi ends, source say
The first day of US-brokered Ukraine-Russia talks in Abu Dhabi has ended, Reuters is reporting, citing an unnamed source.
The talks are expected to continue tomorrow, the source added.
04/02/2026 - 14:46
Italy foils Russian cyberattacks targeting Winter Olympics
Italy has thwarted a series of Russian cyberattacks targeting the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, Italian media reports, citing Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani.
"We have foiled a series of cyber attacks on foreign ministry offices, starting with Washington, and also some Winter Olympics sites, including hotels in Cortina," Tajani said during a trip to Washington, adding that they were "of Russian origin".
04/02/2026 - 14:01
Ukraine-Russia peace talks brokered by US begin in Abu Dhabi
04/02/2026 - 13:59
Russian comedian jailed for nearly six years over joke about war veteran
A Russian stand-up comedian was convicted of inciting hatred and jailed for nearly six years on Wednesday over a joke he made about a legless war veteran, which triggered outrage among nationalists and military bloggers.
The comedian, Artemy Ostanin, was handed a sentence of five years and nine months and a fine of 300,000 roubles ($3,908).
Ostanin, who had apologised to anyone whose feelings he had hurt, denied wrongdoing and said that the joke he made about the war veteran had made no mention of the conflict in Ukraine.
He was also convicted of offending the feelings of Christians with another off-colour joke he made about Jesus, which angered Orthodox nationalists.
04/02/2026 - 13:35
Putin abusing ceasefire talks to keep attacking civilian infrastructure, EU spokesperson says
Russian President Vladimir Putin is abusing the ceasefire talks to attack civilian infrastructure in Ukraine, a spokesperson of the European Commission said.
"Putin can end this war right now. He doesn't show any signs of wanting to do so. He misuses even the discussions on the ceasefire to continuously attack the civilian infrastructure and kill innocent people", EU spokesperson Anitta Hipper said.
04/02/2026 - 13:24
At least seven killed, eight hurt in Russian attacks in Ukraine-controlled Donetsk, governor says
At least seven people were killed and eight more hurt in Russian attacks in the town of Druzhkivka in the Ukraine-controlled frontline region of Donetsk in the east, the regional governor said on Wednesday.
Russia shelled the town with cluster munitions, targeting the market, and dropped two aerial bombs, Vadym Filashkin said on the Telegram messaging app.
There was no immediate comment from Russia on the attacks. Both Moscow and Kyiv deny they are targeting civilians in the war that started with Russia's invasion in 2022.
04/02/2026 - 13:23
Russia says its forces take control of two settlements in Eastern Ukraine
Russia's defence ministry said on Wednesday its forces had taken control of the settlements of Staroukrainka and Stepanivka in Eastern Ukraine, state-run TASS news agency reported.
04/02/2026 - 13:22
Russia attacked Ukraine's energy system 217 times since start of 2026, PM says
Russia attacked Ukraine's energy system 217 times since the start of 2026, Ukrainian Prime
Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said on Wednesday.
"Overall, only since the beginning of this year 217 Russian attacks on our energy sector have been recorded," Svyrydenko said in a post on the Telegram messaging app.
04/02/2026 - 13:21
- Kremlin says Russia will keep fighting in Ukraine until Kyiv makes 'decisions'
- Ukraine-Russia-US talks begin in Abu Dhabi, Ukraine negotiator says
- Ukraine says talks with Russia, US were 'substantive and productive'
- Kremlin confirms low-level Russia-France talks are under way
- Macron's diplomatic advisor visited Moscow on Tuesday, source says
- Ukraine warns of worsening blackouts amid threat of fresh Russian strikes
- Zelensky says 55,000 Ukrainian troops killed since start of war
04/02/2026 - 11:17
Kremlin says Russia will keep fighting in Ukraine until Kyiv makes 'decisions'
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russian troops would keep fighting in Ukraine until Kyiv made "decisions" that could bring the war to an end.
Russia's position remains unchanged, which is known to both Ukrainian and US negotiators, Peskov said. A new round of peace talks began in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.
Ukraine rejects Russia's demand that it cede the remainder of its Donbas region, land that Moscow's forces have not captured in four years of fighting.
Yesterday's key developments:
- Ukrainian and Russian negotiators are scheduled to meet in Abu Dhabi for US-brokered peace talks on Wednesday.
- Russia launched its most powerful strikes of the year on Ukraine's energy facilities overnight on Tuesday, cutting heating to hundreds of thousands of homes in freezing temperatures.
- NATO chief Mark Rutte, who visited Kyiv on Tuesday, said "Russian attacks like those last night do not signal seriousness about peace".
(FRANCE 24 with Reuters, AP and AFP)