The United Nations’ highest court will rule on Friday if Ukraine’s case accusing Russia of violating international law can move forward. Kyiv says Russia violated the 1948 Genocide Convention by saying an invasion was needed to stop an alleged genocide of Russian speakers in eastern Ukraine. It brought the case to the international court of justice (ICJ) days after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022. In hearings in September last year, lawyers for Moscow urged judges to throw out the case, saying Kyiv’s legal arguments were flawed and the court had no jurisdiction. The court has already issued emergency measures in March 2022 in this case ordering Russia to immediately halt its military operations in Ukraine.
EU leaders have convinced Hungary’s Viktor Orbán to sign off on a €50bn aid package for Kyiv – which he had vetoed at a summit in December – allowing for a unanimous agreement. Amid anger from European leaders, Finnish prime minister, Petteri Orpo, said: “Nobody can blackmail 26 countries of the EU. Our values were not for sale.” Donald Tusk, the Polish prime minister, who said he had “nothing nice” to say to the Hungarian prime minister, warned there would be no reward for Orbán or anyone who had tried to solicit “rotten compromises”.
Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the Ukrainian president, said he was grateful to EU leaders for their deal on long-term financial assistance but also urged them to step up on military aid. “It is very important that the decision was made by all 27 leaders, which once again proves strong EU unity,” he added.
Ukrainian forces are believed to have sunk a Russian warship near occupied Crimea in a sophisticated overnight attack by multiple sea drones, demonstrating Kyiv’s expanding power in the Black Sea. Ukraine’s military intelligence published a grainy video showing several sea drones attacking the Russian corvette Ivanovets, ending with three dramatic images showing it listing, exploding and sinking into the water. Ukraine said the boat had been sunk, as did leading Russian military bloggers. Hours later, western officials said they believed the warship had been destroyed in an attack that used long range uncrewed drones. Russia did not immediately comment on the incident.
Ukraine army chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi laid out a set of priorities for Ukraine and named challenges blighting the country’s war effort in an opinion piece published on Thursday after reports that he could be dismissed from his post. Zaluzhnyi said: “We must contend with a reduction in military support from key allies, grappling with their own political tensions” but made no mention of a rift with Zelenskiy or the possibility of him leaving his post in the piece published by CNN. He also said Ukraine needed to find new ways and capabilities to gain an advantage over Russia as the full-scale war nears its third year. The US outlet said Zaluzhnyi wrote the piece before “an expected announcement of his dismissal”. CNN cited a source earlier saying that Zelenskiy was set to announce Zaluzhnyi’s dismissal within a matter of days in what would represent the biggest shake-up of Ukraine’s military during Russia’s full-scale invasion. A senior presidential official said earlier that there was no decision on Zaluzhnyi’s dismissal “as of today” and called on people not to politicise the issue.
The US Senate will hold a crucial test vote next week on legislation that would pair new policies at the southern border with wartime aid for Ukraine and other American allies. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he will set in motion a test vote on the national security package for Wednesday. However, with some Republicans resisting the timeline and many remaining uncommitted to supporting the border policy changes, the bill’s future remained uncertain. Senate negotiators are expected in the coming days to release the text of a bill that would overhaul the US asylum system with tougher and quicker enforcement as well as send tens of billions of dollars in military assistance to Ukraine, Israel and other allies in Asia.
The Russian national guard, a force also known as Rosgvardia, is incorporating three former Wagner assault detachments into its first volunteer corps formation, according to the UK’s Ministry of Defence (MoD). The MoD said that Russian president Vladimir Putin had signed a law on the 25 December last year, authorising the Russian national guard to form its own volunteer formations. Rosgvardia is often referred to as Putin’s “private army”.
Putin will visit Nato member Turkey to meet its president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, on 12 February, a Turkish official has said. Because of an international criminal court (ICC) warrant for war crimes, Putin can’t travel to many places abroad, but Turkey does not recognise the ICC.
A North Korean delegation will visit the lower house of Russia’s parliament on 13 February, state news agency RIA quoted a deputy from the opposition Communist party as saying on Thursday. According to Reuters, lawmaker Kazbek Taysaev also said that a Russian parliamentary delegation planned to travel to North Korea in March.
