February 20, 2024 - Russia-Ukraine news

Our live coverage of?Russia’s war in Ukraine has moved here.

Sergei Shoigu addresses a conference in Kubinka, Moscow region, on August 15, 2023.?

Russia produces “thousands of drones a day,” Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said in an interview with state media TASS on Tuesday.

Shoigu said Russia had made a “giant step” in making uncrewed aircraft “over the past eight to nine months.”

According to Shoigu, the significant increase in production was possible in part due to “the new generation of entrepreneurs” who got involved in drone and military equipment production.

Ukraine also plans to ramp up its drone production this year.

During a press conference in December, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Kyiv plans to produce one million drones in 2024.

Two men were killed and one woman was injured after a Russian drone hit a car with civilians in Ukraine’s northeastern region of Kharkiv, a military official said on Telegram Wednesday.

A man with his wife and a driver were on their way home from work at a local farm when the strike took place in the village of Petropavlivka, said Oleh Syniehubov, the head of Kharkiv regional military administration.

The woman was taken to the hospital after the strike, Syniehubov said.

Oleksandr (L), who was kept at a state boarding school in Russian-occupied Lugansk hugs his aunt Viktoria, after he crossed the border from Belarus to Ukraine, in the Volyn region, on February 20.

Eleven Ukrainian children reunited with their families after being repatriated from Russia on Tuesday, the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets said on X.

Oleksandr, 16, told Agence France-Presse (AFP): “Everything will get better. After all, with loved ones, life will be easier from now on.”

The children were repatriated from Russia through Qatari mediation and with the support of the United Nations Children’s Fund.?

A local civilian chops wood for making fire in the downtown of Ocheretyne, a village near Avdiivka on February 19.

An Ukrainian commander stationed on the outskirts of Avdiivka said Russia has the capacity to continue its advance into the eastern town and will “continue to do so.”

Maksym Zhorin, deputy commander of the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade, posted to Telegram on Tuesday that Ukrainian troops are “clearly aware that the Russians have enough forces in the town itself to continue their offensive.”

He said Russian troops were headed in the direction of Lastochkyne.

Here are the latest headlines:

In this July 2021 photo, a US Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft, assigned to the 121st Expeditionary Fighter Squadron, is refueled during a mission in support of Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve in the US Central Command area of responsibility.

The first four Ukrainian pilots are scheduled to complete training on F-16 fighter jets by summer, according to the Arizona National Guard.?The pilots began training in mid-October with the 162nd Fighter Wing in Tucson, Arizona. The Pentagon said the training process would take several months to complete.

A second group of another four pilots began training in January, according to Capt. Erin Hannigan, a spokeswoman for the Arizona National Guard, while a third group of four is currently going through English-language training, which is required to fly the fourth-generation US fighter jet.

All of the pilots are expected to complete their training between May and August, said Hannigan, though the exact timeline depends on the progress of the program.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky requested F-16 fighters for months, believing the advanced US jets would be able to challenge Russia’s aerial power over the battlefield.?

Last summer, a coalition of nations led by Denmark began training Ukrainian pilots on the US jets. The Netherlands, Denmark and Norway have pledged to provide Ukraine with the F-16s jets after the training program. The US also committed to approving the transfer of the jets as soon as training was completed.

Estonia has detained 10 suspects for “acting on behalf of a Russian special service” in connection to influence operation on its territory, its government announced Tuesday.

The people arrested by the Estonian Internal Security Service include both Russian and Estonian nationals, officials said. The goal was for the Russian group to “spread fear and create tension in Estonian society,” the Estonian Internal Security Service said in a statement.

Investigators suspect these people were recruited by the Russian special service to gather information and perform various actions —?like vandalizing the cars of the interior minister and several monuments. Some of those arrested were recruited via social media, according to Margo Palloson, director general of the Estonian Internal Security Service.

Russia has not yet responded to these claims.

More context: With Russia’s war in Ukraine raging in the region, the arrests in Estonia come as the tension between Talinn and Moscow has continued to rise in recent days.

Estonia joined NATO in 2004 and has been a particular target because of its substantial Russian-speaking minority — nearly 25% of the population. The Kremlin is also directly involved in shaping Russian influence operations in neighboring countries, according to Presidential Administration documents leaked last year.

CNN’s Jim Sciutto contributed reporting to this post.

Russian President Vladimir Putin talks during the Strong Ideas For The New Times Forum in Moscow, Russia on February 20.

Russian President Vladimir Putin called the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from Avdiivka “an unconditional success” during his meeting with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu in the Kremlin on Tuesday.

However, Putin said the success in Avdiivka “needs to be developed” and Russian troops have to push further, well prepared “with personnel, weapons, equipment, and ammunition.”

Putin noted that he would talk to Shoigu separately about meeting the needs of the military in this area.

Shoigu echoed Putin, agreeing that the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from Avdiivka is “a great success for the mixed group of troops, units, formations, everyone without exception.”

“For nine years, day after day, underground passages, concrete structures were made, special lines were made so that one could move without going to the surface,” Shoigu said, adding that Russian air force, army and attack aviation played a major role in capturing Avdiivka as Russia carried out “about 460 aerial strikes” daily before the withdrawal from the city.

Shoigu claimed that Ukrainian armed forces leadership was ordered to withdraw from the city when the Ukrainian troops “were already on the move and leaving this settlement” and called it “a chaotic retreat.” Shoigu noted that while retreating, a lot of Ukrainian soldiers were captured as they were wounded in the process and were unable to escape.

The defense minister also claimed that Krynky, a small riverside village situated on the left bank of Dnipro river in Ukraine’s southern Kherson region, is “completely” under Russian control at the moment.

Ukraine’s Operational Command “South” denied Russian claims of being in control of Krynky after Shoigu’s announcement and called it “a manipulation and falsification of facts.”?

“The defense forces of southern Ukraine continue to hold their positions, inflicting significant losses on the enemy,” the?command?said.

US officials had been working on a new sanctions package for Russia ahead of last week’s death of Alexey Navalny, and are now supplementing them in the wake of the opposition leader’s death, according to a senior US official.

The package will be timed around the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and officials are coordinating with European partners on the new package, the official said.

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said Tuesday the new measures would be a “substantial package” that covers a wide range of elements linked to the Russian defense industrial base and sources of revenue for the Russian economy that power the country’s “war machine.”

Sullivan described the package as “another turn of the crank” after withering western sanctions on Moscow since the start of the Ukraine war. While those sanctions have hampered Russia’s economy, they haven’t deterred President Vladimir Putin from proceeding with the invasion.

Existing sanctions have “isolated” Russia on the world stage, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said aboard Air Force One Tuesday. American assistance has degraded the country’s military, she said.

Jean-Pierre said the White House was being careful in detailing the exact parameters of the sanctions to avoid capital flight before the punishments are in place.

President Joe Biden plans to confer with fellow G7 leaders on a conference call Friday timed around the anniversary of the start of the Ukraine war.

Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) arrested a dual United States-Russian citizen on charges of treason for collecting funds for Ukrainian organizations and openly supporting Kyiv.

A regional court website from Sverdlovsk, where the case was opened, on Tuesday listed the person’s name as Ksenia Pavlovna Karelina. It said she is being charged under article 275 of the Russian Criminal Code: treason.?Karelina said she is appealing her arrest, according to Russian state media outlet RIA Novosti.

The FSB said earlier Tuesday that a 33-year-old Los Angeles resident was detained in Russia’s city of Yekaterinburg for “providing financial assistance to a foreign state in activities directed against the security of our country.”

The funds raised were used to “purchase tactical medicine, equipment, weapons and ammunition by the Ukrainian Armed Forces,” the FSB said.

The Sverdlovsk Regional Court press service told RIA her hearing was meant to take place today, but due to the absence of a lawyer, it was postponed until February 29.

CNN has reached out to the US Embassy in Moscow for comment.

This post has been updated with the US citizen’s name and other information from RIA.

Pentagon Deputy Spokesperson Sabrina Singh holds a press briefing at the Pentagon on January 26, 2023 in Arlington, Virginia.

Deputy Pentagon press secretary Sabrina Singh once again urged the US House of Representatives on Tuesday to pass the national security supplemental legislation and provide security aid to Ukraine.?

Singh noted that allies and adversaries of the US are watching. “So we need the House to urgently pass and act —?and work to pass this bipartisan supplemental agreement that passed last week in the Senate,” she said.

Singh added that there would only be days after the House returned from recess — in roughly a week — before the funding for military construction will expire, and another week before funding for the entire Department of Defense expires.?

More countries have summoned their Russian ambassadors over the death of Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny.

The Russian ambassador to France was summoned on Monday and the ambassador to Poland on Tuesday, according to both country’s foreign ministries.

The French Foreign Ministry called for an “independent and thorough investigation” into the circumstances of Navalny’s death. It urged also for the “immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners in Russia.”

Similarly, Poland called on the Russian authorities to take responsibility for the death of Navalny and conduct “a full and transparent investigation,” in a statement from the Polish foreign ministry.

The European Union’s diplomatic body, the European External Action Service (EEAS) also summoned Russia’s Chargé d’Affaires to the European Union Kirill Logvinov in Brussels Tuesday. The bloc called on Russia to allow for an international investigation into Navalny’s “sudden death” and said Russia must release all political prisoners and those people detained in Russia when paying tribute to Navalny.

Some background: Several nations — including Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom and Germany — have also summoned?the Russian ambassador?to their countries over Navalny’s death in the last couple of days. Vassily Nebenzia, Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations, accused Western countries of politicizing Navalny’s death and said the investigation into the cause of death has “not concluded yet.”

This post has been updated with the latest information from the European External Action Service.

CNN’s James Frater contributed reporting to this post.

Maksym Zhorin speaks on stage during a rally in Kyiv, in December 2021.

A Ukrainian commander stationed on the outskirts of Avdiivka says Russia has the capacity to continue its advance into the eastern town and will “continue to do so.”

Maksym Zhorin, deputy commander of the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade, posted to Telegram on Tuesday that Ukrainian troops are “clearly aware that the Russians have enough forces in the town itself to continue their offensive.”

He said Russian troops were headed in the direction of Lastochkyne.

Some context: After years of fighting, Ukrainian forces made the decision over the weekend to abandon the town, handing Russia its most significant victory since it captured the city of Bakhmut last year.

White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby speaks during a press briefing at the White House in Washington, DC, on February 15.

The White House will announce a major sanctions package against Russia on Friday, US National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said on Tuesday.

The sanctions will hold Russian President Vladimir Putin accountable for Russia’s war in Ukraine — which hits the 2-year mark on Saturday — and for the death of opposition figure Alexey Navalny, he said.?

Kirby also repeated calls for Congress to pass the administration’s national security supplemental, directly tying the aid for Ukraine to the legislation, which remains stalled in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives.

President Joe Biden previewed the upcoming announcement at the White House on Tuesday, telling reporters they’d hear more from him on the subject Friday.?

“I told you we’d be announcing sanctions on Russia — we’ll have a major package announced on Friday,” Biden told reporters gathered on the South Lawn before departing the White House for a three-day fundraising swing in California.

Meanwhile, Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters on a call Tuesday that the new sanctions against Russia will impact a “significant range of targets that we have worked persistently and diligently to identify, to continue to impose costs for what Russia has done — for what it’s done to Navalny, for what it’s done to Ukraine, and for the threat that it represents to international peace and security.”

A view of the town of Avdiivka on Monday.

The town of Avdiivka would not have been lost if Ukraine “had received all the artillery ammunition that we needed to defend it,” Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour in Kyiv on Tuesday.

Kuleba said the war would continue and that “Russia does not intend to pause.”

White House official John Kirby also laid the blame for Ukraine’s withdrawal from Avdiivka at the feet of Republicans in Congress.

“Let’s be clear about this: Ukraine’s decision to withdraw from Avdiivka wasn’t because they weren’t brave enough, wasn’t because weren’t well-led enough, it wasn’t because they weren’t trained, it wasn’t because they didn’t have the tactical acumen to defend themselves and to defend that town. It was because of congressional inaction,” he said Tuesday.

The White House is calling for “complete transparency” surrounding the circumstances of Alexey Navalny’s death, even as it conceded there was little confidence in getting a straight answer from Russia on how the opposition leader died.

He pointed the finger at Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying “regardless of the actual scientific answer, Mr. Putin is responsible for it.”

Navalny’s body will not be returned to the family for at least another 14 days, his spokesperson Kira Yarmish said Monday. His body will be under “some sort of chemical examination” in that period, the spokesperson added.

The White House said absent a “credible investigation” of Navalny’s death, it would be difficult to get a clear cause.

“It’s hard to get to a point where we can just take the Russians’ word for it. So clearly, we’re calling for complete transparency by the Russian government for how he died and we’ll continue to do that.,” Kirby said.

Captain Maxim Kuzminov, pilot of a Russian military Mi-8 helicopter, who flew the machine into Ukrainian territory and surrendered to the country's authorities, pictured in Kyiv, Ukraine, on September 5.

A Russian helicopter pilot Maxim Kuzminov who defected to Ukraine in a dramatic operation is dead, Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence Directorate (GUR) tells CNN.

The statement comes as Spanish authorities investigate the killing of a man shot dead in Spain a week ago.

Initially, the Spanish Civil Guard said the victim was a 33-year-old Ukrainian but later said the man’s identity was still part of an investigation, which had been sealed by a judge.?

A source at Ukraine’s GUR confirmed to CNN the body was that of Kuzminov, but would not comment on how he had died.

Spanish Civil Guard officers investigate the garage where the body of Russian pilot Maxim?Kuzminov?was found in Villajoyosa, Spain, on February 13.

Asked Tuesday whether Russia had any knowledge of the death, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Moscow had no information on the matter.

Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Director Sergey Naryshkin would also not comment directly on Kuzminov’s death, but told reporters the defector had become “a moral corpse the moment he began planning his dirty and terrible crime,” Russia’s RIA Novosti reported.??

Some context:?Last September, CNN reported on how the Russian pilot flew his Mi8 combat helicopter across the border – in an operation directed by Ukraine’s GUR. In an interview, carried out under the auspices of the GUR, Kuzminov explained how he planned his defection and why he did it, telling reporters he was opposed to the war.

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba attends the World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos, Switzerland, on January 18.

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba says the nation is staunchly committed to democracy, even as it is unclear if elections will be held this year during the country’s war against Russia.

Elections usually occur every five years in Ukraine — with the last held in 2019, when President Volodymyr Zelensky was elected — but do not take place while the country is under martial law, as it has been since Russia’s full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022.

In November, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also said holding elections during wartime would be “irresponsible.” Elections were scheduled for March 31 this year.

Speaking to CNN’s Christiane Amanpour in Kyiv on Tuesday, Kuleba said that “people will be simply afraid to go and cast their votes.”

Amanpour asked what it would mean for democracy in the country if no elections were held.

“This is not an issue of willing or not willing to hold elections. This is an issue of finding answers to very specific questions. How do you ensure the security of voters who will go to the voting station?” he said.

On Navalny: Kuleba also commented on the death of Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny, saying Russian President Vladimir Putin cannot be considered a legitimate ruler if he “does not stick to his word.”

Yulia Navalnaya Twitter suspended on February 20.

The X account of Yulia Navalnaya, widow of Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny, was briefly suspended on Tuesday morning.

The page @Yulia_Navalnaya displayed the following message:?

About 30 minutes later, however, Navalnaya’s account had been restored, with seemingly no explanation. Later in the day, X’s safety team said the platform accidentally flagged Navalnaya’s account as spam. In a post, they said they rectified the issue as soon as it came to light and would be updating their defense system.

While it was suspended, Alexey Navalny’s foundation, the Anti-Corruption Foundation, took to X, tagging the platform’s owner, Elon Musk, and asking, “Please explain exactly which rules were violated by @yulia_navalnaya.”

The account was online Tuesday morning, when Navalnaya responded to Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.

Peskov said her comments blaming Russian President Vladimir Putin for Navalny’s death were “boorish” and “absolutely unfounded,” prompting Navalnaya to respond:

“I don’t care how the killer’s press secretary comments on my words. Give back Alexey’s body and let him be buried with dignity, don’t stop people from saying goodbye to him,” she posted on X.?

CNN has asked her team for comment.

This post has been updated with Navalnaya’s account being restored and comment from X’s safety team.

Polish farmers with their tractors and vehicles block the highway linking Warsaw and Lublin outside the town of Ryki, Poland, during a protest of farmers across the country against EU climate measures on February 20.

Ukraine on Tuesday slammed the scattering of Ukrainian grain on railroad tracks by protesters in Poland.

Ukraine’s Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov posted a video that shows demonstrators opening railway carriages and allowing the grain to pour onto the tracks.?

Farmers in Poland have vowed to continue their demonstrations, which started on February 9, for 30 days. They have also been blocking access routes to border crossings with Ukraine.

Why are farmers protesting: Farmers in central and eastern Europe have been speaking out since 2023 against the impact of cheap?Ukrainian grain?imports, which have undercut domestic prices and hit the sales of local producers. They cannot compete with the price of Ukrainian grain, they say, and have demanded compensation from the European Commission.

Ukraine is often called the “breadbasket of Europe” due to the vast quantities of grain it produces. When Russia blocked Ukrainian Black Sea ports, it sparked fears about global food supplies and prompted the European Commission to?set up?what it called “solidarity lanes” in May to facilitate exports. The commission also temporarily eliminated all duties and quotas on Ukraine’s exports, allowing a glut of cheap grain to flow into Europe.

Anger grew after the European Commission announced a draft decision to extend duty-free and quota-free imports of Ukrainian grain until June 2024.

CNN’s Christian Edwards, Alex Hardie and Antonia Mortensen contributed reporting.

Alexey Navalny's wife, Yulia Navalnaya attends a meeting at the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium, on September 28, 2022.

In a 2022 CNN Films documentary,?Alexey Navalny?delivered a message to the Russian people.?If he was killed, he said, “You’re not allowed to give up.”?

Following his death Friday, the task that Navalny set himself, of opposing and exposing the ills of Putin’s regime is now left to Russia’s disparate, disunited, and partially dismantled opposition, with a new figurehead: Navalny’s?widow Yulia.

On Monday, Yulia Navalnaya rebranded herself as a political force, vowing to pick up where her husband left off.?

This is a first for Navalnaya.?She has always been by her husband’s side, through campaigns, protests, and incarcerations, but until now she has never tried to claim the spotlight, a point she emphasized at the start of her recording. “I should not have been in this place, I should not have recorded this video.”

And yet, behind the scenes, she proved herself an effective operator.?After her husband’s poisoning in 2020, Navalnaya took the first flight available to the Siberian city of Tomsk where his plane had landed,?and wrote?a direct appeal to President Vladimir Putin to allow his evacuation to Germany.?Even after that,?her resolve to stand by him was unshaken.?Less than two months later?she told?Russian journalist and YouTube star Yuri Dud, “I absolutely?support what Alexey does.?I’m being completely sincere.?And quitting halfway is not great.”

A North Korean ballistic?missile fired last month by?the Russian?military?in Ukraine?contained?hundreds of components?that?trace back to?companies in the US and Europe, according to a new?report by UK-based investigative organization?Conflict Armament Research (CAR).

The findings mark the first public identification of North Korea’s reliance on foreign technology for its missile program and underscore the persistent problem facing US President Joe Biden’s administration as it tries to keep?cheap, Western-made microelectronics intended for civilian use?from winding up in weapons used by North Korea, Iran and Russia.

CAR directly examined 290 components from remnants of a North Korean ballistic missile recovered in January from Kharkiv, Ukraine, and found that 75% of the components were?designed and sold by?companies incorporated in the United States, according to the report shared first with CNN.

A further 16% of the components found in the missile were linked to companies incorporated in Europe, the researchers found, and 9% to companies incorporated in Asia. These components primarily comprised the missile’s navigation system and could be traced to 26 companies headquartered in the US, China, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Singapore, Switzerland and Taiwan, the report says.

Last year,?as CNN previously reported, CAR determined that 82% of components inside Iranian-made attack drones fired by Russia inside Ukraine were made by US companies.

Keep reading about CAR’s report on the weapons Russia is using in Ukraine.

People visit the graves of fallen Ukrainian soldiers at Lychakiv Cemetery in Lviv on October 1.

Lychakiv military cemetery in Ukraine’s western city of Lviv opened shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. It is now a sea of hundreds of graves and flags for fallen soldiers.?

Liubov told CNN that her son returned from abroad to volunteer for the fight. He was killed last month in the Donetsk region.?

“He went to liberate our Ukraine,” she cried. “He said ‘Mom, I’m going to defend you.’”

Liubov’s son was killed last month in the Donetsk region.?

Ahead of the second anniversary of the war, families are wrestling with the prolonged absence and often loss of their loved ones.

It comes as parliament debates?whether there needs to be a call to mobilize more troops to the front. Ukraine is under mounting pressure on the battlefield, where lack of ammunition has become a crucial problem.?

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke candidly about this at the Munich Security Conference over the weekend.?

At a recruitment office for the Army’s Third Assault brigade, CNN found 43-year-old Volodymyr, a builder, signing up for the fight.?

When Sergent Pavlo Dokin, who oversees recruitment in this office, was asked about morale, he said:

Watch Christiane Amanpour’s report below:

Mark Phillips and Olha Konovalova contributed to this report.

Yulia?Navalnaya, the widow of Alexei Navalny, sits next to European Union Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell, as she takes part in a meeting of European Union foreign ministers in Brussels, Belgium, on February 19.

Alexey Navalny’s widow has urged the European Union to not recognize next month’s Russian elections.

A transcript released Tuesday revealed Yulia Navalnaya’s passionate plea to the Foreign Affairs Council of the European Union as she blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin for killing her husband.

On Tuesday, Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said Navalnaya’s allegations against Putin were “absolutely unfounded” and “boorish.”

In her address, Navalnaya also asked the EU and the wider global community to rethink its strategies against Putin.

Some background: The Kremlin leader is running for a fifth term as Russia’s president in next month’s election in which he’s expected to secure a term that will keep him in office until 2030. He is now the longest-serving Russian ruler since Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin.

Oleg?Navalny, the brother of Alexey?Navalny, looks on during a protest in front of the Russian embassy in Berlin, Germany, on January 24, 2023.

Alexey Navlany’s younger brother has been added to Russia’s wanted list, according to Russian state media TASS.?

Oleg Navalny now appears as “wanted” on the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs’ database for alleged unspecified charges under criminal law.

Some context: Alexey Navalny died on Friday in a Russian penal colony in Siberia after being imprisoned upon returning to Russia in February 2021, according to the Russian prison service. The cause of his death is not known. Navalny’s wife, Yulia Navalnaya, has called for the release of his body and vowed to continue her late husband’s work.

U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks from the Roosevelt Room of the White House on February 16 in Washington, DC.

The White House is again prodding House Republicans to move on Ukraine aid, criticizing lawmakers for taking a two-week recess as assistance languishes for the war-torn country.

It comes as President Joe Biden has sought to ramp up the pressure on House Republicans.

“The way they’re walking away from the threat of Russia, the way they’re walking away from NATO, the way they’re walking away from meeting our obligations — it’s just shocking. I’ve never seen anything like it,” the president said Monday

Five people, including a mother and her sons, have been killed by a Russian drone attack in the Sumy region of northeastern Ukraine, according to the region’s military administration.

The drone hit a residential building in the city of Konotop on Tuesday morning, killing a mother, her two sons and two of their relatives — including a grandmother — who had traveled from another city, the administration said in a Telegram post.

The Sumy region has suffered a series of attacks in early February, with one on February 11 killing at least two people, according to an an update from?the?Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine.?

The Ukrainian Air Force said that it shot down two Russian fighter jets in the east of the country, and the armed forces said they held off a series of Russian attacks in the southeast.

Meanwhile, amid growing international concern about Ukraine’s dwindling supplies of weaponry, Sweden said it would provide a record aid package to Kyiv.

And, in Russia, a US-Russian dual citizen was arrested by security services on treason charges, according to authorities.

Here are the latest headlines:

Lyudmila?Navalnaya, left, the mother of late Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny, and lawyer Vasily Dubkov arrive at the regional department of Russia's Investigative Committee in the town of Salekhard in the Yamal-Nenets Region, Russia, on February 17.

Lyudmila Navalnaya, Alexey Navalny’s mother, has released a video appealing directly to Russian President Vladimir Putin to “let me finally see my son.”

Navalnaya filmed the video standing outside the penal colony in Siberia where her son died.

“Behind me is the IK-3 “Polar Wolf” colony, where my son, Alexey Navalny, died on February 16. I haven’t been able to see him for five days. They won’t give me his body. They don’t even tell me where he is,” she says, directly staring at the camera.

Some context: The opposition figure died while serving a sentence in a Russian penal colony. The cause of his death remains unclear, and a Navalny spokesperson said Monday that the body won’t be released to the family for at least 14 days.

US journalist Evan Gershkovich, appears inside a defendants' cage before a hearing to consider an appeal on his extended pre-trial detention, at the Moscow City Court in Moscow, Russia, on February 20.

The Moscow City Court has upheld a decision to keep US journalist Evan Gershkovich in Russian detention until March 30.?

Gershkovich, a journalist for the Wall Street Journal, was arrested in Russia in March 2023 on spying charges.

The FSB, Russia’s main security service, accused him of trying to obtain state secrets – a charge Gershkovich, his employer and the US government have strenuously denied.

The Moscow City Court said it considered the appeal but would support the decision made earlier by the Lefortovo District Court to extend Gershkovich’s period of detention.

Already, he has had his pre-trial detention extended twice since his arrest, once in May and again in August.?

If convicted of spying, he faces up to 20 years in prison.

Alexey Navalny, center, his wife Yulia, center right, and other demonstrators march in memory of murdered Kremlin critic Boris Nemtsov in downtown Moscow, Russia, on February 29, 2020.

The Kremlin has dismissed Yulia Navalnaya’s accusation that Russian President Vladimir Putin is behind the death of her husband Alexey Navalny as “absolutely unfounded” and “boorish.”

Navalny, Russia’s highest-profile opposition leader, died in prison on Friday. Days later, Navalnaya released a video message in which she said “Vladimir Putin killed my husband.”

CNN asked Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov to comment on her statement during a call with journalists Tuesday.

“No, we leave this without comment,” he said.

CNN also asked Peskov to comment on Navalnaya’s comments that her husband’s body hasn’t been returned to his family because “they are waiting for the traces of Putin’s next ‘Novichok’ to disappear there.”

Peskov responded: “This is nothing more than unfounded accusations.”

“Because they are not linked to anything, not confirmed by anything. In this case, only for ethical reasons, I cannot assess these words as they should be,” Peskov added.?

Navalnaya later responded.

Remember:?Novichok is a poison used on Navalny in August 2020.?A CNN and Bellingcat investigation?later uncovered that a Russian intelligence service squad planted the poison on his underwear.?

Asked separately if Putin had seen Navalnaya’s video address, Peskov said he had not.

The post was updated with Navalnaya’s response.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky and his wife Olena attend a commemoration ceremony at a monument "Heavenly Hundred", the people killed during the Ukrainian pro-European Union (EU) mass demonstrations in 2014, in Kyiv,?Ukraine, on February 20.

Ukraine is today marking the Day of Remembrance of the Heroes of the Heavenly Hundred – those who lost their lives during the peak of the clashes between demonstrators and the regime of former president Viktor Yanukovych in 2014.?

The protests erupted after Yanukovych decided not to sign an association agreement between Ukraine and the European Union, choosing instead closer ties with Moscow.?

The largest number of people, 78, were killed on Kyiv’s Independence Square from?February 18 to February 20, according to Ukrainian state news agency Ukrinform.?

After February 20, more than 20 protesters died from injuries. Those more than 100 people are known as the “Heavenly Hundred.”

European Commission President Ursula?von?der?Leyen also praised “the brave souls who sacrificed their lives on the Maidan for Ukraine’s freedom in 2014.”

US Ambassador to Ukraine?Bridget Brink?said the sacrifice?“will forever find its place in the history of Ukraine’s fight to be free.”

A Swedish-made?Archer?self-propelled?howitzer?of Ukraine’s 45th separate artillery brigade fires at Russian positions in the Donetsk region on December 16.

Sweden has announced a record $683 million in aid to Ukraine — the country’s largest support package to the war-torn country.?

Swedish defense minister Pal Jonson?said that “continuing support” for Ukraine is crucial for safeguarding both Swedish and Ukrainian security, during a press conference announcing the package.?

There has been a renewed focus on countries’ financial commitments to Ukraine as the US Congress drags its feet over approving $60 billion in further aid to Ukraine.

Jonson said in a thread on X that the package “meets some of Ukraine’s most pressing needs” and will include artillery ammunition, air defense weapons, anti-tank missiles, hand grenades, and grenade launchers.?

The Scandinavian country will also donate?military boats, group boats, and underwater weapons, he said.

“As global military stocks dwindle we will focus more on donations,” Jonson said, outlining Sweden’s commitment to “stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes.”?

Ukraine’s armed forces said they repelled Russian attacks toward?the southeastern region of Zaporizhzhia in what they described as a “difficult” night.?

Ukrainian forces repelled 11 attacks near Malynivka and Robotyne in the Zaporizhzhia? region overnight, according to an update Tuesday by the General Staff of Ukraine.

Ukraine’s Air Force said Tuesday it was attacked overnight by two S-300 or S-400 anti-aircraft guided missiles, a guided aircraft missile, and 23 attack drones.

All of the drones were shot down in the Kharkiv, Poltava, Kirovohrad, Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, and Mykolaiv regions, it said.

On Monday, the Ukrainian military said it had thwarted a renewed Russian offensive in?Zaporizhzhia, saying that offensive personnel were “fleeing” and that their equipment was “destroyed.

The Ukrainian military command also said that Russian forces repeatedly tried to “storm our positions,” but were unsuccessful.

Former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump prepares to deliver remarks at a Nevada Republican volunteer recruiting event on July 8, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

US politics is now split by a fault line over Russia that could have far graver?global?implications even than condemning Ukraine to defeat?after President Vladimir Putin’s invasion.

The refusal of pro-Donald Trump?Republicans in Congress to extend a military lifeline for Ukraine, and?the former president’s?return to attacking NATO allies in ways that align with Putin’s goals, show?that Trump is already reshaping geopolitical realities months before his possible White House return.

The result is rising alarm about Trump’s intentions in any second term, including over whether he would seek to quit the alliance and thereby dismantle the post-World War II trans-Atlantic security arrangements that won the Cold War and led to 80 years of peace in Europe.

Read the full analysis here.

Ukraine shot down two Russian fighter jets in the eastern part of the country, the Ukrainian Air Force reported on Monday.

The two aircraft destroyed were an Su-34 and an Su-35S, according to the Ukrainian Air Force. No further details were provided.

This comes after three Russian fighter jets, two Su-34s and an Su-35, were shot down?on February 17 in the east as well, the Air Force added.

US President Joe Biden has directly tied Ukraine’s?withdrawal from the key town?of Avdiivka to?Congress’ inability to pass further aid?for the country’s effort to fend off Russia’s invasion.

International pressure is growing on the United States to act on more funding for Kyiv as Russia advances in some parts of Ukraine and ammunition is low.

With US aid for Ukraine facing an uncertain future, US President Joe Biden said House Republicans are “making a big mistake” in not responding to Russian aggression with more security funding.

The $95.3 billion foreign aid bill?with assistance for Ukraine that passed in the Senate last week faces an uncertain future?in the House where Speaker Mike?Johnson has signaled he will not bring it for a vote — despite growing international pressure.

Here’s what to know:

Defense minister Bill Blair announces drone support to Ukraine in Toronto on February 19.

Canada is donating 800 drones to Ukraine to help fight Russia’s invasion of?the country, the Minister of National?Defense Bill Blair said on Monday.?

Remember: Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, prompting a war that has thrust Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to an international stage, with many countries, including the US, offering help.?

Pressure is now mounting to offer more aid as Russia advances in some parts of Ukraine and ammunition is low.

US Speaker of the House Mike Johnson speaks at the US Capitol on February 15 in Washington, DC.

US House Speaker Mike Johnson is facing?international criticism?over his lack of swift action?on?Ukraine aid,?adding pressure to make a decision that will have massive implications for his rookie speakership and for Ukraine’s war effort against Russia.

Johnson has resisted calls to bring a Senate-passed aid package up for a quick vote — a move that would require Democratic support and almost certainly spark a revolt from his right flank, something he is eager to avoid.

The speaker has said the legislation, which includes over $60 billion in assistance for Ukraine, would not pass in its current form, and privately told Republicans during a closed-door meeting last week there is “no rush” to address the issue,?with Congress?since having left town?for a nearly two-week recess.

The high-profile debate’s stakes became even greater focus over the weekend.?Russian opposition figure?Alexei Navalny died?in?prison, and Ukraine suffered a significant setback to Russian forces on the battlefield.

Those developments have injected a new sense of urgency for Congress to act as the?second?anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine approaches this weekend.

While there is a contingent of House Republicans who support additional Ukraine aid, and it?has?majority support from the chamber as a whole, Johnson?has to manage a right flank that is resistant to additional aid.

Republican presidential frontrunner?Donald?Trump has injected himself into the debate, urging Republicans to oppose Ukraine funding and continuing to rail against NATO.

Here’s more about the House speaker and Ukraine aid.

The Ukrainian military is monitoring how Russian forces are regrouping and preparing for their next moves after capturing the eastern town of Avdiivka in the Donetsk region, a Ukrainian military spokesperson said Monday.?

Illia Yevlash, the spokesperson for the Eastern Group of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, said many brigades who had been involved in taking Adviivka, including intelligence units, special operations units, artillery, paratroopers, and motorized infantry units, could now be redirected.

Russian forces have been attacking areas near Bakhmut and Mariinka in the Donetsk region, pushing towards the city of Kupiansk in Kharkiv region in the north, and amassing forces in Zaporizhzhia region in the south.?

Yulia Navalnaya shared a video on her husband's social media platforms.

After the death of her husband, Yulia Navalnaya has made a promise: She will not be deterred by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Russian opposition figure and outspoken Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny died Friday in a Russian prison north of the Arctic Circle after being arrested in 2021 upon returning to Russia.

On Monday Navalnaya vowed to continue her late husband’s legacy, saying “no one except ourselves will protect us.”

Now a more defiant symbol than ever for Navalny’s cause, Navalnaya has promised she will continue his fight for a democratic Russian government.

Jailed Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny is seen on a screen via a video link from the IK-3 penal colony during a hearing of his complaint at the Supreme Court in Moscow, Russia, on January 11.

The body of Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny will not be returned to the family for at least another 14 days, his spokesperson Kira Yarmish said.

Navalny died at a penal colony north of the Arctic Circle on Friday. The cause of his reported death is unclear.

His body will be under “some sort of chemical examination” in that period, the spokesperson said.

Navalny’s widow has accused President Vladimir Putin of being responsible for his death.

Yulia Navalnaya said Monday that the Russian authorities are hiding her husband’s body and “lying pathetically,” while waiting for traces of poisoning to disappear.

Her remarks, part of an 8-minute address shared on her husband’s social media platforms, referenced “traces of another of (President Vladimir) Putin’s Novichoks’s to disappear.”?

Remember: Novichok is a poison used on Navalny in August 2020. A CNN and Bellingcat investigation later uncovered that a Russian intelligence service squad planted the poison on his underwear.?

Navalny returned to Russia in 2021 from Germany, where he had been treated after being poisoned with Novichok, a Soviet-era nerve agent. On arrival, Navalnvy was swiftly arrested on charges he dismissed as politically motivated.

Ukainians have had little to celebrate as the second anniversary of the Russian invasion looms, but continuing successes in the Black Sea are one surprising bright spot.

Last week, Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence announced it had attacked and destroyed a large landing ship of Russia’s Black Sea fleet –?the Caesar Kunikov?– with maritime drones off the coast of Crimea.?

Ukraine has virtually no navy of its own, but?technological innovation, audacity and Russian incompetence have given it the upper hand in much of the Black Sea.

It has now destroyed or disabled more than 20 Russian naval ships in the region, a third of Russia’s total Black Sea fleet.

That has secured a maritime corridor that allows Ukraine to export much of its grain and other produce from ports such as Odesa – an economic boon at a time when the economy has been battered by the conflict.

Remember: In July last year, Russia quit the UN-brokered Black Sea Initiative, which had allowed Ukraine safe passage to ship 31.5 million tons of grain and other food products from its ports to world markets. The deal had lasted just under a year.

Rather than fold, the Ukrainians declared a unilateral “Black Sea Humanitarian Corridor” for merchant shipping and stepped up its use of maritime drones and missile attacks against Russia’s Black Sea fleet. The corridor hugs the Ukrainian coast before reaching the waters of two NATO states, Romania and Bulgaria.

Read more about the flashpoints in the Black Sea here.