Key developments on Feb. 3:
- Trump seeks Ukrainian rare earths in exchange for aid, Kyiv keen to agree
- Kursk operation, long-range strikes in Russia — Syrskyi outlines Ukraine's priorities
- Ukraine's laser technologies 'already hit certain objects,' commander says
- Biden admin's escalation fears, 'chaotic' organization delayed aid to Ukraine, Reuters reports
- UN monitors see 'alarming rise' in executions of Ukrainian POWs by Russia
Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi on Feb. 3 named Ukraine's operation in Russia's Kursk Oblast and strikes against military facilities deep inside Russian territory as Kyiv's key battlefield priorities.
"We continue effectively destroying Russia's military facilities to reduce its strike potential. We are destroying Russian forces both in Ukraine and Russia," Syrskyi wrote on social media.
The commander outlined Ukraine's key priorities, including holding defensive lines, preventing Russian advances, and enhancing the use of unmanned systems.
"On the ground, first of all, we saturate units holding the defenses at the front line with personnel and equipment," Syrskyi said. He stressed the need to improve recruitment and psychological support for soldiers and better integrate newcomers from training centers before they undertake combat missions.
Ukraine has intensified its long-range drone strikes on Russian oil facilities in the past weeks, aiming to disrupt fuel supplies to the Russian military and weaken Moscow's energy export revenues. Oil profits remain a key source of funding for Russia's war effort.
In Kursk Oblast, Ukrainian forces have been holding positions since the start of the cross-border incursion in August 2024, reportedly seizing around 1,300 square kilometers (500 square miles) of Russian territory.
While Ukraine has since then lost roughly half of the captured area, fighting continues as Kyiv seeks to leverage its presence in Kursk Oblast in potential negotiations.
Asami Terajima
Trump seeks Ukrainian rare earths in exchange for aid, Kyiv keen to agree
U.S. President Donald Trump is seeking to have Ukraine supply the U.S. with rare earths as a condition for aid for the war-torn country.
"We're looking to do a deal with Ukraine, where they're going to secure what we're giving them with their rare earths and other things," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Feb. 3.
"I want to have security of rare earths. We're putting in hundreds of billions of dollars. They have great rare earths. And I want security of the rare earths, and they're willing to do it," he added.
Trump did not specify what kind of materials Washington is seeking from Kyiv.
A source in the President's Office familiar with the matter told the Kyiv Independent that sharing Ukrainian resources with allies was part of President Volodymyr Zelensky's "victory plan" shown to foreign leaders, including Trump.
"But for this, (Ukrainian) security must be guaranteed so that the Russians do not occupy this Ukrainian land with minerals," the source told the Kyiv Independent.
Trump's remarks come amid uncertainty over the future of the U.S. aid to Ukraine.
Chris York
Ukraine's laser technologies 'already hit certain objects,' commander says
Ukraine is already using laser technologies to hit Russian targets, Colonel Vadym Sukharevskyi, commander of the Unmanned Systems Forces, said in an interview with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty published on Feb. 3.
"Laser technologies are already hitting certain objects at a certain altitude," Sukharevskyi said.
The commander first said in mid-December 2024 that Ukraine is among the few nations with laser weapon capabilities. According to Sukharevskyi, Ukraine’s laser system, called Tryzub, can down aircraft at altitudes exceeding 2 kilometers.
The Unmanned Systems Forces, established less than a year ago, already include combat and research units operating across air, land, and sea.
When asked how successful the development of these technologies has been, Sukharevskyi said that the Ukrainian military's R&D (Research and Development) "involves a number of areas."
The new system was the result of efforts to find an effective countermeasure against Russian aircraft and drones, specifically Shahed-type attack drones, he added.
The Kyiv Independent could not immediately verify these claims.
Ukraine's defense industry has gained momentum since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022.
In late January, the Unmanned Systems Forces said that Ukraine deployed a long-range drone capable of traveling up to 2,000 kilometers (1,242 miles) and carrying a 250-kilogram air bomb.
Asami Terajima
Biden admin's escalation fears, 'chaotic' organization delayed aid to Ukraine, Reuters reports
U.S. military aid to Ukraine was delayed not only by opposition from congressional Republicans but also by concerns within President Joe Biden's administration about escalating the conflict with Russia, Reuters said in its analysis published on Feb. 3.
Further complicating deliveries was a chaotic weapons-tracking system in which different branches of the U.S. military reportedly used varying definitions of "delivered," creating confusion over how much aid reached Ukraine.
The most significant delays nevertheless stemmed from months of congressional gridlock in later 2023 and early 2024 over approving $60 billion in additional military assistance, mainly due to Republican resistance, the news agency wrote.
Democratic and Republican lawmakers had urged House Speaker Mike Johnson for months to bring the aid package to a vote. Hard-line Republicans aligned with President Donald Trump reportedly pressured Johnson to block further assistance to Kyiv.
Even after Congress approved the funding, U.S. military aid to Ukraine remained inconsistent, Reuters reported, citing sources in Washington and Kyiv.
By November 2024, Ukraine had received only half of the military aid the U.S. had promised for that year from existing Pentagon stockpiles. According to the analysis, only 30% of the pledged armored vehicles had been delivered by early December.
Arvydas Anušauskas
UN monitors see 'alarming rise' in executions of Ukrainian POWs by Russia
The U.N. Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine is alarmed over a sharp rise in executions of Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) by Russian forces, according to a press release obtained by the Kyiv Independent on Feb. 3.
A total of 79 such executions in 24 separate incidents have been recorded by the mission since the end of August 2024. Presumably, some of these incidents concern group executions.
Ukrainian authorities have documented widespread violations of the Geneva Conventions by Russia during the war. Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said in an interview with Ukrainska Pravda that as of mid-December 2024, Kyiv had recorded the execution of 177 captured Ukrainian soldiers, with 109 of them last year.
The U.N. mission interviewed witnesses and analyzed videos and photos published by Ukrainian and Russian sources showing killings or dead bodies of Ukrainian POWs.
The mission also said it had documented the execution of an injured and incapacitated — but not yet captured — Russian soldier by the Ukrainian army in 2024. Kyiv has not commented on this report.
Many Ukrainian soldiers who surrendered or were in the custody of the Russian forces were shot dead on the spot, according to the statement. Unarmed and wounded Ukrainian soldiers were also killed, witnesses said.
The reported executions took place in areas where Russian offensive operations were ongoing.
According to Danielle Bell, the head of the mission, Russian public figures have explicitly called for the inhumane treatment and execution of captured Ukrainian soldiers, with at least three such appeals recorded by the mission along with social media posts made by Russian military-linked groups.
"These incidents did not occur in a vacuum," Bell said.
"All allegations of execution of captured Ukrainian military personnel and public statements calling for, or condoning, such actions must be investigated."
The statement that "no quarter" will be given is a serious violation of international humanitarian law and a war crime, according to the statement.
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