February 3, 2023 Russia-Ukraine news

We’ve wrapped up our live coverage for the day. You can read more on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine here.

The southern Ukrainian city of Kherson was shelled 18 times on Friday, Ukrainian authorities said, resulting in one death and one person injured. Apartments and private houses were also damaged in the shelling, the city council said in a?statement.

Here are the other developments:

Sanctions: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced that a 10th round of EU sanctions against Russia is “on its way” and that they will target the Russian trade and technology fueling the war.?President Volodymyr Zelensky said the sanctions should aim to stop Moscow from rebuilding its military capability.

In addition, the United States and its allies outlined new curbs on Russian energy sales.?The agreement between the US, the G7, the European Union and Australia places a price cap on “seaborne Russian-origin petroleum products,”?the US Treasury department said.

US Treasury also imposed sanctions on eight senior officials at the Iranian drone manufacturer Paravar Pars Company in response to Tehran’s provision of drones to Russia.

Assistance: The Biden administration announced a new security package?worth $2.17 billion?that includes longer-range missiles for the first time. Also, the European Union will provide an additional $27 million to support Ukraine’s de-mining of the liberated territories that were temporarily occupied by Russian armed forces, EU top diplomat Josep Borrell announced Friday.

Black Sea presence: The number of Russian ships capable of launching missiles on Ukrainian territory from the Black Sea has increased, the Ukrainian military’s Operational Command South said in a Facebook post. CNN is unable to independently verify this assessment.?

Oil tanks at the NNK-Primornefteproduct petroleum depot in the far eastern port of Vladivostok, Russia are seen in this drone photograph June 11, 2022.

The US and allies are trying to further limit Russia’s ability to make money and finance war efforts with new price limits on products like gasoline and fuel oil.

A senior Treasury official announced additional sanctions on Russian energy sales in response to the country’s invasion of Ukraine.?

The agreement between the US, the G7, the European Union and Australia places a price cap on “seaborne Russian-origin petroleum products,” the US Department of Treasury announced. There are two price levels: one applies to “premium-to-crude” petroleum products like diesel, kerosene and gasoline, which will be capped at $100 USD per barrel, and “discount-to-crude” petroleum products like fuel oil, which will be capped at $45 USD per barrel.?

Some background: In December, the same group implemented a price cap on crude oil — which the Treasury official said was already impeding Russia’s ability to finance the war. They added Russia had “openly acknowledged” the price cap was hurting the country’s economy. Data released by Russia showed that monthly tax revenues from energy sales declined 46% from the month prior.

Officials shrugged off reports that despite numerous sanctions, Russia’s economy is still expected to rebound, and may even outpace Germany and Britain. The senior Treasury official said economically, the country “doesn’t function any longer like a normal economy.”

“They’ve shut it down largely, meaning that if you have money of Russia, they’ll let you keep putting money in Russia, but you can’t take money out. They no longer allow foreign capital coming into Russia,” the official said. “They’re needing to spend more money to prop up their economy because they become a closed economy.”

Russian universities will teach the goals of the Russian so-called “special military operation” in Ukraine starting Sept. 1, Russian state media TASS reported Friday, citing the Russian Ministry of Science and Higher Education.?

Moscow has mostly avoided describing the conflict as an invasion or as a war, insisting it is a “special military operation.”

According to TASS, the new curriculum for universities will teach the origins of the “special military operation in Ukraine, sanctions, pressure from Western countries on Russia, attempts to isolate it from the rest of the world” as well as “the goals of a special military operation. Joining Russia with the Donetsk People’s Republic, the Lugansk People’s Republic, the Zaporizhzhia region, the Kherson region.”

The document, posted on the?Russian Ministry of Science and Higher Education’s website, outlined topics such as the “refusal of the US, NATO and the EU to discuss threats to Russia’s national security, armed provocations in the Donbas, armed provocations and preparations by Ukraine for the forcible seizure of the republics of Donbas, official recognition of the LPR and DPR by Russia,” TASS reported.?

An American volunteer aid worker, Pete Reed, was killed in the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut on Thursday while aiding civilians, according to a statement from Global Response Medicine, the humanitarian aid group he founded.?

Reed, a US Marine veteran, was listed as “killed while rendering aid” on a mission with another organization, GRM said in a statement posted on social media.

“Yesterday, GRM founder Pete Reed was killed in Bakhmut, Ukraine. Pete was the bedrock of GRM, serving as Board President for 4 years. In January, Pete stepped away from GRM to work with Global Outreach Doctors on their Ukraine mission and was killed while rendering aid,” according to a post shared on Instagram.

Reed was also listed as the Ukraine country director on the Global Outreach Doctors’ website.

A US State Department spokesperson confirmed “the recent death of a US citizen in Ukraine” when asked for comment.

Reed’s wife, Alex Kay Potter, wrote on Instagram that her husband not only lived for his duty but apparently died saving another team member’s life.

“He was evacuating civilians and responding to those wounded when his ambulance was shelled. He died doing what he was great at, what gave him life, and what he loved, and apparently by saving a team member with his own body,” the post said.

Reed started his humanitarian career working after Superstorm Sandy hit his home state of New Jersey, according to the biography pages on the Global Response Medicine and Global Outreach Doctors websites.

Reed led medical teams during the Battle for Mosul in Iraq, treating over 10,000 trauma patients, according to the websites.

European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen attends a joint briefing with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on February 2.

European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen said that the bloc’s 10th round of sanctions against Russia will target the Russian trade and technology fueling the war in Ukraine.?

“Our nine packages of sanctions are biting, and a 10th one is on its way,” von der Leyen said in a tweet as an EU-Ukraine summit wrapped in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv on Friday.?

The European Commission president stressed that the 10th sanctions package will “hit the trade and technology that supports Russia’s war machine.”

Speaking during a press conference in Kyiv earlier on Friday, von der Leyen said the bloc aims to publish the package — which will have a volume of $10.8 billion (or about 10 billion euros) — by Feb. 24, the one-year anniversary of the Russian invasion.

At the same press conference, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky asked the EU to use sanctions to prevent Russia from rebuilding its military capacity.?

CNN’s Eve Brennan,?Kostan Nechyporenko and Katharina Krebs contributed reporting to this post.

The southern Ukrainian city of Kherson was shelled 18 times on Friday, Ukrainian authorities said, resulting in one death and one person injured.

Apartments and private houses were also damaged in the shelling, the Kherson city council said in a?statement.

Earlier on Friday, Ukrainian Emergency Services reported that Russian shelling caused three large fires in Kherson city overnight.

US Attorney General Merrick Garland, left, meets with Ukrainian Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin and officials at the Justice Department in Washington, DC, on February 3.

US Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the first transfer of forfeited assets from sanctions against a Russia oligarch on Friday during an appearance with Ukrainian Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin at the Justice Department. The funds, according to Garland, will go toward aiding Ukraine.?

“Today, I am announcing that I have authorized the first ever transfer of forfeited Russian assets for use in Ukraine,” Garland said. “These forfeited assets follow the announcement I made last April of the indictment of designated Russian oligarch Konstantin Malofeyev, on charges of sanctions evasions.”?

In June, millions were?seized?from a US bank account belonging to Malofeyev, whom the United States announced sanctions against in April “for having acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly” the Russian government, the Treasury Department said at the time.?

Kostin echoed Garland’s statement Friday, adding that the two countries were sending a clear message: “There will be no immunity and impunity for international crimes.”?

“Today, we are witnessing the authorization of transfer of the confiscated assets in the amount of $5.4 million US dollars to the State Department for the purpose of rebuilding war ravaged Ukraine,” Kostin added.?

“We are grateful to the United States for its decisive efforts and support. Ukrainian people will never forget that,” he said.

The US Treasury Department on Friday imposed sanctions on eight senior officials at an Iranian drone manufacturer – its latest punitive measure in response to Tehran’s provision of drones to Russia for its war against Ukraine.

The manufacturer, Paravar Pars Company, was already under sanction in the United States and the European Union for manufacturing drones for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Aerospace Force, according to a Treasury statement.

The Treasury Department on Friday targeted the company’s board of directors.

The agency also identified two Iranian vessels. The IRIS MAKRAN, “an oil tanker that was repurposed for naval operations” but still has the capability to launch unmanned aerial vehicles (UVA), commonly known as drones, is “currently conducting an international voyage,” according to the Treasury. The Department said the tanker is accompanied by the naval frigate IRIS DENA (DENA).

“Iranian entities continue to produce UAVs for Iran’s IRGC and military. More broadly, Iran is supplying UAVs for Russia’s combat operations to target critical infrastructure in Ukraine,” Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson said in a statement. “The United States will continue to aggressively target all elements of Iran’s UAV program.”

Polish military drive a Leopard tank during a live fire demonstration part of the Bear 22 military exercises at the Nowa Deba training ground in Poland last year.

Ukraine’s Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said on Friday that new NATO-supplied tanks will serve as an “iron fist” in Kyiv’s counteroffensive against Russian forces in Ukraine.

In order to deter a possible new Russian offensive in the south and east, the Armed Forces of Ukraine will “primarily use 155-mm artillery” among other weapons, he added. “That is why we say today that the priority on the battlefield remains 155 mm artillery and shells for it.”

Recently, Vadym Omelchenko, Kyiv’s ambassador to France, said that numerous countries have confirmed “their agreement to deliver 321 heavy tanks to Ukraine.”

He did not specify which countries would provide the tanks or provide a breakdown of which models.

The US has pledged to provide 31 M1 Abrams tanks and Germany agreed to send 14 Leopard 2 A6s. Previously the United Kingdom has pledged 14 Challenger 2 tanks, while Poland has asked for approval from Germany to transfer some of its own German-made Leopard 2s to Ukraine.

CNN’s Pierre Meilhan?and?Heather Chen have contributed to this post.

Russian-installed authorities in Crimea said on Friday they had nationalized around 500 properties in the peninsula belonging to Ukrainian oligarchs and politicians.

“At an absentee vote, the deputies of the State Council of the Republic of?Crimea?adopted a resolution on the nationalization of the property of foreign citizens and states that commit unfriendly actions against Russia,”?Vladimir Konstantinov, speaker of the?Crimean parliament said?in a Telegram post.?

The property of Ukrainian oligarchs Serhiy Taruta, Igor Kolomoisky, Rinat Akhmetov and Arseniy Yatsenyuk are subject to nationalization. The list also includes the property of 12 Ukrainian banks and the Dynamo Kyiv football club, Russian state media TASS reported on Friday.?

Some background: Crimea was forcibly seized by Russia in 2014. The Crimean peninsula is home to Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, which is based at Sevastopol. The peninsula acted as a launching pad for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with Russian troops pouring into Ukraine’s south from the annexed region.

CNN’s Vasco Cotovio?and?Tara John contributed to this post.

President Joe Biden speaks in Washington, DC, on Friday, February 3.

The Biden administration has announced a new Ukraine security package?worth $2.17 billion?that includes longer-range missiles for the first time.

The package pulls $425 million from existing Defense Department stocks, and $1.75 billion in Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative funds. The new package marks $29.3 billion provided to Ukraine since Russia’s invasion began last February.

CNN reported on Thursday that the package would include the Ground-launched Small Diameter Bomb — a guided missile with a range of 90 miles. The latest aid package does not include the sought-after ATACMS missiles, which the US has consistently rebuffed over concerns they could be used by the Ukrainians to hit targets deep inside Russia.?

Though the missiles will effectively double the range of Ukrainian weaponry, the package?won’t include the long sought-after ATACMS missile with a range in excess of 200 miles.?The US has constantly rebuffed Ukraine’s requests for that system over concerns they may be used to hit targets deep inside Russia.

The latest announcement comes as the war in Ukraine approaches the 1-year mark and amid concerns over a spring offensive by Russia.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen addresses a media conference after the EU-Ukraine summit in Kyiv, Ukraine, on February 3.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced that a 10th round of EU sanctions against Russia is “on its way.”

“The perpetrator must pay and must be held accountable,” she added.?

Separately, von der Leyen commended Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on his domestic reform work in its bid for EU membership. “Your determination to forge ahead is impressive. You’re taking important steps with all the reforms forward to meet the recommendations, and we should not forget you are doing this while you are fighting against an aggressor.”

“Rest assured that your progress will be reflected in our important enlargement report that is due in autumn for the member states,” she added.?

European Union sanctions on Russia should be targeted at stopping Moscow from rebuilding its military capability,?Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday.

“We are very interested to ensure that Russia fails to rebuild military production. Sanctions are slowing down this process. We know precisely how many rockets were built there before the full-scale invasion and what happens now as result of sanctions from EU, US, Britain and other partners. Therefore, for us it is very important to make sure they don’t have the capability to bypass sanctions as they often manage with help of some other countries,” Zelensky said at a news conference in Kyiv alongside top European Union officials.?

Zelensky spoke alongside?European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel, who both traveled to Kyiv for a Ukraine-EU summit.

“It is very important not to allow any dilution of the important European sanctions that have already been approved, as well as any relaxation of these sanctions against some individuals, as is speculated in some countries, and even in EU member states,” Zelensky said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks during a joint press conference during an EU-Ukraine summit in Kyiv, Ukraine, on February 3.

Ukraine will fight to hold onto the eastern city of Bakhmut for as long as it can,?Ukrainian?President?Volodymyr?Zelensky said on Friday.?

Zelensky also urged the West to supply long-range weapons to help Kyiv stay on Bakhmut and push Russian troops out of the Donbas region.

The Ukrainian president said that Russia wants revenge for its military failures.

“Russia wants revenge. Revenge in the east where they didn’t succeed. They want to take the east. Our task is not to give them this chance by strengthening our army with necessary weapons. I think we have every chance,” Zelensky said at the news conference.

Ukrainian officials have said in recent weeks they believe Russia is preparing for a spring offensive.?

A German Leopard 2 A7V tank stands on the barracks grounds in Pfreimd, Germany, on February 3.

Norway has decided to order 54 German Leopard 2 tanks to strengthen its defense capabilities, the Norwegian government announced on Friday. The tanks are expected to be delivered in 2026, with an option to purchase an additional 18 units.

“New main battle tanks are of great importance to the Armed Forces, significantly strengthening the Army. In today’s security situation, European defense cooperation is becoming increasingly important,” Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr St?re said at a joint press conference alongside some of his ministers.

“By procuring German tanks, we ensure that Norway has the same type of tanks as our Nordic neighbors and close allies. We are also forging closer security policy ties with Germany,” he added.

The current battle tanks used by Norway were bought in 2001, according to the government.

The number of Russian ships capable of launching missiles on Ukrainian territory from the Black Sea has increased, the Ukrainian military’s Operational Command South said in Facebook post Friday.

“A massive missile attack with the use of aircraft is not excluded. Do not ignore air raid warning signals, be vigilant and attentive,”?Operational Command South warns.?

CNN is unable to independently verify this assessment.?

Members of the Ukrainian National guard?demining?team Battalion Dnipro 1 walk in mine fields in the northern part of the Donetsk region of?Ukraine, on December 12.

The European Union will provide an additional $27 million to support Ukraine’s de-mining of the liberated territories that were temporarily occupied by Russian armed forces, EU top diplomat Josep Borrell announced Friday

“A large spread of mines and other explosive ordnances is being found in territories liberated by Ukrainian Armed Forces. We will provide up to 25 million euros to support de-mining efforts in these endangered areas. Protecting civilians and their livelihood is a priority,” Borrell said on the sidelines of the EU-Ukraine summit taking place in Kyiv.

These funds are on top of the $18 million allocated in 2022 for this purpose, a spokesman of the EU Commission told CNN.

The funding will include essential equipment for Ukrainian state mine action operators and support the capacities of the Ukrainian authorities to effectively manage the national mine action sector, the diplomatic service of the EU said Friday in a?press release.

Air raid sirens rang across Kyiv Friday, as European Union leaders prepared to meet in the Ukrainian capital amid President Volodymyr Zelensky’s bid for accession to the bloc.

Here are the latest developments:

A Polish Air Force F-16 performs during an airshow in Tukums, Latvia, on July 21, 2019.?

Russia’s?mass mobilization,?looming offensive?and missile-borne terror against civilians is triggering fresh calls for even greater Western lethal aid to Ukraine, days after leaders signed off on their latest package that?included the first tanks.

A building public debate over?whether to send F-16 fighter jets?is resurfacing a dilemma underlying the entire NATO response: Is the aim of the United States and its allies simply to allow Ukraine to ensure its survival or is it to help it expel Russia from all its territory and to ensure the defeat of Russian President Vladimir Putin?

The likely escalation in the war, close to its first anniversary, comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warns that Moscow is mustering its forces for a “revenge” attack against the free world. The sense that another turning point is approaching was, meanwhile, underscored Thursday by CIA Director William Burns.

Washington is hearing Ukraine’s calls for even more multi-billion dollar assistance. It is about to announce a new $2.2 billion haul that includes longer-range missiles for the first time, according to multiple US officials.?CNN’s Kevin Liptak and Oren Liebermann reported?that the Ground-Launched Small Diameter Bomb —?a guided missile with a range of 90 miles —?will be included in the package. It could take weeks or months for the weapon to arrive, however, since the US will contract with American arms manufacturers to provide it.

Still, the latest US offering solidifies one of the most important and ironic consequences of the war. One of Putin’s perceived invasion goals was to forever sever the hopes of Ukraine, which was once part of the Soviet Union, of joining NATO. It may not be a member of the alliance, but Ukraine is now waging a stronger-than-expected response against Moscow using some of the West’s most advanced military kit.

Read Collinson’s full analysis here.

A Ukrainian intelligence official said he thinks fighting in eastern Ukraine will intensify over the next few months, as Russian President Vladimir Putin’s goal is “to capture Donbas by March.”

“We expect very active events in February-March. Putin’s task is to capture Donbas by March,” Andriy Yusov, a representative of the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine, said in remarks published Friday on its website.

CNN is not able to independently verify those claims.?

Yusov went on to say that this alleged plan “will not work” and that “these dates have already been postponed many times.”

“The intensity that we are seeing in Donbas now is an attempt to implement these plans. Not counting the losses in manpower and equipment. The enemy is trying to fulfil the dictator’s task,”?Yusov added.?

“So yes, there will be active events in the near future. The Ukrainian Defense Forces are not waiting around.”

Andrii Chernyak,?another?representative of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, said earlier?there are signs that Russia is preparing for a big offensive aimed at seizing eastern parts of the country.

“We observe that the Russian occupation forces are redeploying additional assault groups, units, weapons and military equipment to the east. According to Ukraine’s military intelligence, Putin has ordered to seize the territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions by March,” Cherniak said in commentary published in the Kyiv Post Wednesday.

The comments came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and senior Ukrainian officials warned?Russia is planning a major new offensive in the coming months, repeatedly asking Western allies for more weapons, tanks and fighter jets.?

A Leopard 1 tank of the German Bundeswehr during military exercises in the field.

The German government has authorized manufacturers to send Leopard 1 battle tanks to Ukraine, beginning the process of dispatching offensive armored vehicles to Kyiv and bolstering its military efforts against Russia’s invasion.

”I can confirm that an export license has been issued,” Germany’s government spokesperson, Steffen Hebestreit, announced Friday. However, he declined to comment on the number of these tanks that would be exported.

The Leopard 1 had been in service since the 1960’s until it was phased out in 2003, and it cannot keep up to the same extent as a Leopard 2 tank on the battlefield, according to Germany’s armed forces spokesman Arne Collatz.

Remember: After longstanding pressure from NATO allies,?Germany agreed in January to send 14 Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukraine — a move that Kyiv hopes will be a game-changer on the battlefield. The decision of leaders from the US and Germany to send contingents of tanks to Ukraine marks a major moment of the nearly year-long war.

CNN’s Kevin Liptak,?Stephanie Halasz,?Sophie Tanno?and?Sugam Pokharel contributed reporting.

Two heads of companies working with Ukraine’s Defense Ministry are under investigation for?misappropriating nearly?UAH 120 million (or $3.23 million)?from the?department, as Kyiv makes efforts to bolster anti-corruption measures amid a prospective EU membership bid.

“Under the guise of supplying food to military units, the offenders transferred part of the funds to the bank account of a company they controlled. The total amount of stolen funds is over UAH 120 million,” Ukraine’s National Police said in a statement Friday.?

The heads of the two companies entered into an agreement with the Ministry of Defense to provide food for the personnel and the staff animals of military units, as well as food for military educational institutions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. However, “the criminals transferred part of the proceeds to the bank account of the company previously involved in the criminal activity,” Ukraine’s National Police said.??

The two company officials are charged with committing a crime under Part 5 of Art. 191?of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, which includes?misappropriation, expropriation or seizure of property through abuse of office, committed in a particularly large scale.?

The defendants face imprisonment for a term of 7 to 12 years with confiscation of property, police added.?

The criminal activity was exposed by investigators from the Main Department of the National Police working jointly with the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) under the procedural supervision of the Prosecutor General’s Office, according to the statement.?

The revelations come as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says his government is working on “new reforms” that will make the country “more human, transparent and effective.” Rooting out widespread corruption is an important part of?its EU candidacy.

Zelensky has also fired a number of senior Ukrainian officials linked to corruption investigations related to the?procurement of wartime supplies.

Ukrainian State Emergency Service firefighters attend to a fire at a shopping center in Kherson, Ukraine, on February 3.

Russian shelling caused three large fires in Kherson overnight, after military forces attacked civilian settlements in the liberated southern city.

“Once again, the enemy chaotically shelled all neighborhoods almost all night. Rescuers extinguished fires under enemy fire,” Ukraine’s?Emergency Service said on Telegram Friday.?

One of the fires broke out in the warehouse of a shopping center, it said.

“A shell hit the department with pyrotechnic products, so the fire was accompanied by explosions and fireworks, and the enemy started shelling again,” the Emergency Service added.?

“The fire destroyed 8 pieces of equipment and racks of building materials adjacent to the building with a total area of 600 square meters.”

Another fire was caused by a shell that hit a two-story residential building in one of the city’s districts, while the third fire started after a shell hit a warehouse, according to the Emergency Service.

Kherson has come under an onslaught of Russian shelling in the last 24 hours, killing two people and injuring another nine – including a five-year-old boy who was taken to hospital.

Russian shelling left two people dead and injured another eight in Donetsk over the last 24 hours, as the battle for control of the eastern Ukrainian region escalates.

One of the deaths was reported in Bakhmut,?according to Pavlo Kyrylenko, head of the Donetsk regional military administration. Two other people were wounded in the city.

A multi-story building, a private house and a shop were also damaged in Bakhmut, he said.?

The situation “remains tense” in several villages, including?Paraskoviivka, Razdolivka and Vasyukivka,?near the Russian-controlled town of Soledar,?Kyrylenko added.?

Some context: Moscow has launched relentless attacks on eastern Ukraine in recent days, after a top Kyiv official said Russia is preparing for a “maximum escalation” of the nearly year-long war in Ukraine.

“These will be defining months in the war,” Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, told Sky News in an interview broadcast Tuesday.

“I’m conscious the main fights are yet to come and they will happen this year, within two to three months,” he said.

“Russia is preparing for maximum escalation. It is gathering everything possible, doing drills and training. When it comes to an offensive from different directions, as of now, I can say that we are not excluding any scenario in the next two to three weeks.”

CNN’s Jack Guy,?Yulia Kesaieva,?Mick Krever,?Jonny Hallam?and?Josh Pennington contributed reporting.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, second right, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, right, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, second left, attend EU summit in?Kyiv, Ukraine, on February 2.

EU leaders are in Kyiv for a summit with Ukraine, the first such summit to take place since Vladimir Putin ordered Russian troops to invade the country.

The two parties will talk about multiple things, from European military and humanitarian support to further action against Russia.

Top of the agenda, however, will be talks about Ukraine joining the EU. On this, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is likely to be left disappointed. Yes, the EU has accepted Ukraine as a candidate state. Yes, Europe has broadly rallied to support Ukraine in defending itself against Russian aggression. But joining the EU is a complicated, lengthy process that, no matter how urgent Ukraine’s wishes, cannot be sped up.

Ahead of the summit, Zelensky announced a widespread crackdown on corruption in Ukraine. It’s no secret that the scale of corruption in his country would make joining the EU any time soon difficult, so the move is to be welcomed. But while Ukraine is still at war, it’s going to be very difficult for the EU to properly assess how much this action has achieved.

Perhaps more importantly, the people in Kyiv are representatives from the European institutions rather than the heads of government.

Anything complicated in the EU – and countries joining is about the most complicated – requires the agreement of all 27 members. This can takes over 10 years. They don’t just have to agree on a country joining, they have to agree that the candidate country has met all sorts of criteria through a series of votes that in some cases has to be approved back in domestic parliaments of member states. And with member states almost always disagreeing over some issue or another, these votes can be used as bargaining chips.

So, in a nutshell, the EU can promise Ukraine more support among other things Kyiv might want right now. But on the big question, even the heads of the institutions are at the mercy of domestic European politics.

Air raid sirens sounded in Kyiv on Friday morning as EU leaders are expected to hold a summit with President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Ukrainian capital.?

European leaders plan to discuss additional financial and military support for Ukraine to fight Russia’s invasion.

On Thursday, Zelensky said he had productive talks with the commission leader,?Ursula von der Leyen, and members of the College of the European Commission.?

An aerial view of apartment buildings hit by Russian rockets in Kramatorsk, Ukraine, on February 2.

The death toll from Russian missile strikes on the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk on Thursday has risen to four, with 18 others injured, Ukrainian officials said Friday.

On Thursday, two S-300 missiles were fired at the center of the city in the Donetsk region, landing about a minute apart and less than a hundred meters from a CNN team.

Four others were killed in a Russian missile attack Wednesday in the same area —?an entirely residential zone with shops, a hospital and a clinic.

Rescue and recovery operations have now been completed, Ukraine’s Emergency Service said Friday.

Russia’s response: Moscow’s Defense Ministry said the strikes against Kramatorsk had destroyed a long-range HIMARS artillery system. But it is inconceivable the Ukrainians would keep such a high-value weapon in such a public place given its size; they have gone to great lengths to disguise their locations, even building replicas.

A Ukrainian State Emergency Service firefighter puts out a fire after Russian shelling hit a shopping center in Kherson, Ukraine, on February 3.

Two people were killed and nine others injured in Russian attacks on Ukraine’s southern Kherson region over the past 24 hours, Ukrainian officials said Friday.

The Kherson regional military administration said a 5-year-old boy was wounded in the strikes and taken to hospital.

It did not say where the casualties had occurred but added that Russian forces had attacked civilian settlements in the region some 65 times over the past 24 hours.

Russia?is bringing its war against Ukraine closer to the industrial cities of Donetsk with a series of missile strikes against densely populated areas.

On Thursday, two S-300 missiles were fired at the center of the city of Kramatorsk, landing about a minute apart and less than a hundred meters from a CNN team.

An earlier Iskander missile strike had killed four people and hospitalized several more in the same area — an entirely residential zone with shops, a hospital and a clinic. One of those killed was a well-respected school principal, Hanna Valeriivna, weeks before her 48th birthday.

Rescue crews still at the scene had no warning of Thursday’s attack. CNN witnessed the second missile’s last moments in flight before a large fire erupted and smoke billowed into the air.

There were no further fatalities, though at least five civilians were injured. Some people ran in panic from the scene; others seemed fatalistic. “Of course, we are frightened,” said Natalia, a middle-aged woman cowering in a doorway. “But what option do we have?”

Read the full story:

TOPSHOT - Firefighters work among debris of a destroyed building by a rocket strike in Kramatorsk on February 2, 2023, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. - At least three people were killed on February 2, 2023 and 20 wounded when a Russian rocket struck a residential building in the centre of Kramatorsk, located in Ukraine's eastern industrial region of Donetsk. (Photo by YASUYOSHI CHIBA / AFP) (Photo by YASUYOSHI CHIBA/AFP via Getty Images)

Related article Russia's missiles pummel more Donetsk cities as leaders implore people to leave | CNN

Vladimir Putin greets Chinese leader Xi Jinping during their bilateral meeting in Brasilia, Brazil on November 13, 2019.

When Antony Blinken touches down in Beijing in the coming days for the first visit to?China?by a US secretary of state since 2018, he will be cutting a stark contrast to the scene in the Chinese capital one year earlier.

Then, Chinese leader Xi Jinping welcomed Russian President Vladimir Putin for the opening of the Beijing Olympics —?meeting for talks and dinner in Putin’s honor, and declaring a?“no limits” partnership?between the two neighbors.

Weeks later, as?Russian tanks rolled across the border?into Ukraine starting an invasion that would devastate the country and cause a humanitarian crisis, Chinese leaders did not shrink from that declaration.

Though Beijing claimed impartiality in the conflict and no advance knowledge of Russia’s intent, it also refused to condemn Moscow. Instead, it?parroted Kremlin lines?blaming NATO for?provoking the conflict?—?further fracturing relationships with both Europe and the US.

A year on, the contrast of Blinken’s visit is no coincidence. Economically drained?by its now-abandoned?zero-Covid strategy, Beijing has been softening its tone on foreign affairs and upping its diplomacy with Western governments, analysts say, in a bid to win back lost ground and stabilize its relations.

In meetings with Blinken during his expected early February trip —?as well as European leaders who’ve signaled they may visit in the coming months —?Chinese counterparts are likely to emphasize their long-standing calls for a peaceful resolution and play up what they claim is China’s “objective and impartial position” on the conflict, analysts say.

But while the optics may be different from this time last year, China’s support for Russia — when measured by its annual trade, diplomatic engagements and schedule of joint military exercises —?tells a different story.

Read the full analysis here.

Konstantin Yefremov speaks with CNN's Erin Burnett.

A former senior Russian army officer says he saw his comrades torturing prisoners of war in?Ukraine, in a rare eyewitness account from within Moscow’s ranks to address widespread allegations of Russian war crimes.

Speaking to CNN’s Erin Burnett on Thursday, former Lt. Konstantin Yefremov said he witnessed a deputy commander torturing prisoners of war and threatening them with sexual violence, adding that no one dared to speak out against the officer for fear he would attack them too.

“Besides, he was drunk nonstop, and he was driving around the nearby villages where there were other prisoners of war. As far as I know, there were about 20 others, Ukrainian prisoners of war,” he said.

Yefremov is the most senior Russian officer to speak openly about what he saw in Ukraine.

He is now hoping the United States will grant him asylum after he fled Russia last month following his dismissal from the military for refusing to return to Ukraine.

Read the full story here.

CIA Director Bill Burns listens to testimony during a House committee hearing March 8, 2022, in Washington, DC.

The CIA assesses that the next six months will be “absolutely crucial” in determining the final outcome of the war in Ukraine, agency Director Bill Burns said Thursday.?

The Russian leader, Burns said, is “betting that he can make time work for him.” Putin believes that he can “grind down” Ukraine, while political fatigue will grip Europe and the United States will become distracted, Burns said.

But Burns said he told one of his Russian counterparts, Sergey Naryshkin,?in November?that “that Russian calculation is as deeply flawed as the original decision to go to war last Feb. 24 was.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks during a joint press conference with the president of the European Commission during her visit to Kyiv on February 2.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he reached “important mutual understandings” with the president of the European Commission regarding?Ukraine’s bid for accession?into the European Union.

Zelensky said he had productive talks with the commission leader,?Ursula von der Leyen, and members of the College of the European Commission Thursday.?

The talks showed that all parties understood “the fact that Ukraine needs constant and full support in defense against Russia,” the Ukrainian president said in his evening address Thursday.

Zelensky thanked von der Leyen and her colleagues in the EU for the military, financial and social support of Ukraine “on the path of integration.”

Kyiv will host the 24th EU-Ukraine summit Friday. European leaders plan to discuss financial and military support for the Ukrainian resistance against Russian aggression.

More background:?The European Commission is the?EU’s executive arm, made up of one leader from each member state, which is responsible for proposing and enforcing legislation.

Leaders of the 27 EU member states?have given?Ukraine candidate status, starting the process for formally considering granting the country membership.

It is still likely to be years before Ukraine is able to join the EU. The process is lengthy and requires agreement from all the member states at almost every stage. This means that there are multiple opportunities for member states to use their veto as a political bargaining chip. The average time it takes to join the EU is just under five years, according to the think tank?UK in a Changing Europe. However, some member states in eastern Europe have had to wait as long as 10 years.?

Zelensky has said his government is?working on new reforms?that will make Ukraine “more human, transparent and effective” as he prepares for further talks on the country’s possible addition to the bloc. That includes a push to tackle corruption.

A spokesperson for the commission said last month that anti-corruption measures are “an important dimension of the EU accession process.”

CNN’s Luke McGee contributed reporting to this post.

The US is expected to include longer-range missiles in a new Ukraine security package?worth approximately $2.2 billion,?according to a senior administration official and multiple US officials.

The package will?include?a?commitment to provide Ukraine with the Ground-launched Small Diameter Bomb, a guided missile with a range of 90 miles (145 kilometers), two officials said.

Though the missiles will effectively double the range of Ukrainian weaponry, the package?won’t include the long sought-after ATACMS missile with a range in excess of 200 miles.?The?US has constantly rebuffed?Ukraine’s requests for that system over concerns they may be used to hit targets deep inside Russia.

This is the first security package since the US committed to providing Ukraine with advanced M-1 Abrams tanks in January — a decision made in concert with European countries providing German-made Leopard 2 tanks.???

The package, which could be announced as early as Friday, will be split between $500 million in weapons and equipment pulled directly from US inventories and approximately $1.7 billion in supplies purchased from military contractors, known as the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI).

Details of the package were?first reported?by Reuters.

On Tuesday, White House spokesperson Olivia Dalton said there would be another announcement of security assistance to Ukraine “soon” without providing further details.

Some background:?The?Ground-launched?Small Diameter?Bomb, which is fired from a HIMARS rocket launcher, has an effective range of some 90 miles, according to Saab, the company that developed the weapon in conjunction with Boeing.

That’s more than twice the range of the GMLRS munitions that Ukraine currently launches from the HIMARS rocket launchers. The long-range missile then unfolds small wings and uses a rocket engine to fly toward its target.?

But the new weapon will not arrive in Ukraine immediately, since it will not come directly out of US inventories. Instead, the US will contract with the weapons manufacturers to provide the long-range missile to Ukraine, a process which could take weeks or months.

The package also includes ammunition for artillery and HIMARS, as well as support systems and equipment for the Patriot missile system, one official said. Ukrainian forces have not completed training on the Patriot system?at Fort Sill, Oklahoma?—?but the US is making sure the logistics and maintenance are in place well before the first Patriot battery is operational in Ukraine, the official said.

Within the last month, the US has announced three of the largest aid packages to Ukraine in a sign of ongoing support as the war nears its one-year mark.?

Russian forces are preparing for a “covert mobilization” in the eastern Donetsk region, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said Thursday on its?official Facebook page.?

Russian forces?continue “active reconnaissance and preparation for an offensive in several directions,” it said, adding that “offensive operations” continue toward Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiiv and Novopavliv.

For context: Ukrainian officials have repeatedly warned that Russia planned on using its claimed annexations as?a pretext to draft Ukrainians?in occupied areas. In October, the military said Russian forces were carrying out “door-to-door” checks in occupied areas, looking for young men of conscription age.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov speaks during a press conference in Paris on January 31.

Ukraine’s defense minister said the country will provide guarantees that it would not strike Russia should it receive the long-range missiles it has been asking its allies for.

“As Ukraine needs long-range missiles that will not allow the enemy to maintain defenses and force them to lose, it is ready to coordinate targets with partners,” Ukrainian Minister of Defense Oleksii Reznikov said at a meeting with the European Commission Thursday, state media Ukriniform reports.?

Reznikov called on other countries to help Ukraine establish anti-missile defense capabilities. He emphasized the need to get Patriot and SAMP/T systems at the first opportunity, along with more IRIS-T and NASAMS, which are?both air defense systems.

Ukraine also needs to increase the amount of artillery, shells and weapons capable of surpassing and destroying Russian e-warfare and air defense systems, he added. Ukraine will receive Western battle tanks after a long negotiation and is seeking fighter jets to push back against Russian and pro-Moscow forces.

The site of a missile strike in Kramatorsk, Ukraine, on February 2.

A fresh barrage of missiles ripped through the?city of Kramatorsk?in eastern Ukraine Thursday, sending flames and thick plumes into the air as screaming civilians scrambled to find shelter.

A CNN team had just arrived at the scene and heard the first incoming strike on Kramatorsk. CNN saw the second attack, with two impacts about one minute apart. Two women jumped from their car and ran yelling while other civilians took shelter wherever they could. Shrapnel bounced off the blastproof glass of one CNN vehicle.

Paramedics rushed to the scene to treat at least one wounded civilian. Kramatorsk Mayor Oleksandr Honcharenko also confirmed that there had been a strike on the city, and urged residents to stay in bomb shelters.

At least five people were wounded in Thursday’s attack, according to Pavlo Kyrylenko, the head of the Donetsk region military administration.

Read more here.