WAR IN UKRAINE: February 5, 2023
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS: Day 347
A "serious" accident at a high-voltage substation has left a half-million households without power in the southern Ukrainian port city of Odesa, regional Governor Maksym Marchenko said on February 4, confirming earlier reports about an accident at a facility that was previously targeted in Russian strikes. “A serious accident occurred at one of the energy facilities, which caused a fire," he said, adding that emergency measures were being taken. “A number of generators will be delivered to the region of Odesa within the next 24 hours," he said. "We expect the first generators to arrive tonight…The damage is complex and very heavy, so it is too early to make any predictions regarding the completion of repairs," he added - RFE/RL
In the previous 48 hours, Kherson had endured more than 130 strikes by rockets, artillery, mortars and even direct tank fire across the Dnieper River from Russian forces. Four people were killed in the same period, another dozen or more wounded. Several warehouses were also set ablaze. One of them stored fireworks – bizarre goods to store amid shelling. But also a symbol of hope, in the face of bloody experience, that there may be something more to celebrate, sometime - CNN
On Saturday, an air-raid alert for the whole of Ukraine was canceled without any reports of Russian shelling as Ukrainian defenders faced renewed attacks by Moscow's troops in the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk over the past 24 hours. The alert, which lasted for about two hours in the morning, was the third in two days. No massive Russian strikes on civilian and infrastructure targets were reported on February 3 either - RFE/RL
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 new U.S. military air package to Ukraine. However, it could take weeks or months for the weapon to arrive, since the US will contract with American arms manufacturers to provide it.
The bodies of two British volunteers killed in eastern Ukraine in January have been recovered as part of a prisoner swap with Russia. President Volodymyr Zelensky's chief of staff said the bodies of Chris Parry, 28, and Andrew Bagshaw, 47, had now been returned to Ukraine. No indication has been given as to when they will be handed to British embassy staff to be flown home. The families of the men said they were killed during a humanitarian rescue - BBC
Separately, 116 Ukrainian soldiers had been released on Saturday. A Ukrainian official said released prisoners included defenders of Mariupol, partisans from Kherson and snipers from Bakhmut, as well as two personnel from special operations. Russia's defence ministry said 63 servicemen had been returned as part of a "complex mediation process". It said it included people of a "sensitive category" thanks to the mediation of the United Arab Emirates, though it did not specify what those people did - BBC