We are closing this blog but will be restarting coverage again tomorrow amid trilateral talks between Ukraine, Russia and the US in Abu Dhabi. A first round last month failed to yield a breakthrough and there are few hopes this week will be any different amid the latest attacks. You can read our report here
Afternoon summary
Here is a round-up of the day’s leading news stories from across the continent:
A Russian overnight attack damaged part of the Motherland monument in Kyiv, an iconic Soviet-era World War II memorial, Ukraine’s culture minister said on Tuesday. The gigantic statue of a woman holding a sword and shield towers over the Ukrainian capital, with a complex at its base housing the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia’s latest attacks involved a “record number” of ballistic missiles and deliberately targeted energy infrastructure. Zelenskyy said there were 32 ballistic missiles, 28 cruise missiles, 11 missiles of “other types” and 450 attack drones used in the assualt that was launched as temperatures dropped to -20C and left many apartments in Kyiv without heating.
Nato secretary-general Mark Rutte visited Kyiv in a show of support. He said that the overnight strikes raise doubts about Moscow’s intentions on the eve of talks, calling them “a really bad signal.” He added that it was clear that the attacks only strengthen Ukrainians’ resolve.
An air alert warning of a possible Russian missile attack blared out across Kyiv on Tuesday during a visit by Nato chief Mark Rutte, AFP reporters heard. The Ukrainian air force warned there was a “threat of a ballistic” missile.
Sweden and Denmark will jointly procure and supply Ukraine with air defence systems worth 2.6 billion Swedish crowns ($290 million) to help it ward off Russian attacks, the countries’ defence ministers said on Tuesday. Sweden will fund 2.1 billion crowns of the purchase of Tridon air defence systems, developed by BAE Systems Bofors, the Swedish arm of the defence material group, while Denmark will contribute about 500 million crowns, Swedish defence minister Pal Jonson said.
Nato has started the military planning for an Arctic Sentry mission, a spokesperson for the alliance’s military headquarters Shape said on Tuesday. “Planning is underway for a Nato enhanced vigilance activity, named Arctic Sentry,” Colonel Martin L O’Donnell, spokesperson for the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, said, confirming a report by German magazine Spiegel.
The European Commission would be “open-minded” to discussing closer trade ties with the UK, including a customs union, a senior EU official has said. The EU economy commissioner, Valdis Dombrovskis, told the BBC that the European bloc was “ready to engage with an open mind” when asked about a customs union.
Europe must keep control over key technologies that underpin the region’s economies, the European Union’s Financial Services Commissioner said on Tuesday, adding to growing calls for the bloc to be less reliant on US-based technology giants. Europe is increasingly focused on “digital sovereignty” - the idea that reliance on companies from an increasingly isolationist United States is a threat to Europe’s economy and security.
France is lacking in warships and accompanying missiles required to face an era that could lead to war, army chief Fabien Mandon said on Tuesday. “Today the number of warships is insufficient and the quantities of missiles on board [of ships] are especially insufficient,” Mandon told a naval conference in Paris.
Kyrgyzstan said on Tuesday the European Union’s sanctions envoy would visit on 26 February after a report that the EU was planning to ban some exports to the Central Asian country for allegedly facilitating Russian sanctions evasion. Bloomberg News reported last week that the EU was considering the first use of its “last resort” anti-sanctions evasion tool by banning exports of certain categories of goods to Kyrgyzstan.
The son of Norway’s crown princess has pleaded not guilty to four counts of rape on the first day of his trial for multiple offences, a legal saga that has embarrassed the royal family and raised questions over domestic abuse in Norway. Appearing in front of a packed courtroom at Oslo district court on Tuesday morning, Marius Borg Høiby also denied charges including abuse in close relationships and filming women’s genitals without their knowledge.
Spain will seek to ban under-16s from using social media platforms, the country’s prime minister Pedro Sánchez announced, following Australia’s ban for under-16s in December and French lawmakers last week passing a bill that would ban social media use by under-15s.
Prosecutors have raided the French headquarters of Elon Musk’s social media platform X and summoned the tech billionaire and the company’s former chief executive for questioning as part of an investigation into alleged cybercrime. “A search is under way by the cybercrime unit of the Paris prosecutor’s office, the national police cyber unit and Europol,” the Paris prosecutors’ office said in a post on X on Tuesday, adding that it would no longer be publishing on the network.
