A Russian general is in hospital after a shooting in Moscow. In Ukraine, three people, including a couple, have been killed in Russian attacks, according to local officials. Follow the latest below – and watch Michael Clarke answering your Ukraine questions.
Friday 6 February 2026 11:45, UK
Ukraine’s air force has given details of another massive Russian attack in recent hours.
Moscow launched 328 drones and seven missiles into Ukraine overnight and throughout this morning, the air force said on Telegram.
It said Kyiv’s air defences shot down or neutralised 297 of the drones.
Three people, including a couple, were killed in the Russian drone and shelling attacks overnight (see 7.45 post).
Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov has accused Volodymyr Zelenskyy of authorising the attempted assassination of a senior military general.
Speaking at a meeting with Switzerland’s foreign minister, Lavrov said the shooting was a deliberate attempt by Ukraine’s president to try to derail peace talks.
The shooting comes the day after Russian and Ukrainian delegations held talks with the US in Abu Dhabi.
No one has so far claimed responsibility for the attack.
We’ve been reporting all morning on the shooting of a senior Russian military general in Moscow.
Images are now coming through of police and investigation teams at the scene.
An unknown assailant fired several shots at Lieutenant General Vladimir Alexeyev in a residential building on the Volokolamskoye Highway, in the northwest of the city.
Russia’s defence ministry has said its forces have taken control of a village in Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region.
Troops captured the settlement of Popivka, which lies on the Russian-Ukraine border.
For context: The Sumy region is one of very few areas along the border where Kyiv’s forces have managed to restrict significant Russian advances since it launched its full-scale invasion in 2022.
Ukraine’s military have even previously made small gains into Russia’s neighbouring Kursk region.
As we’ve been reporting, the New Start Treaty was signed in 2010 between the US and Russia to limit the number of nuclear arms on each side.
Vladimir Putin proposed in September that the treaty could be informally extended for another year, but the US and Donald Trump have so far rejected the offer.
In his weekly Q&A, our military analyst Michael Clarke was asked what comes next for both nations.
He said the expiration probably won’t make much practical difference in the short term, because both sides don’t have any plans to increase their numbers.
New Start maintained a limit of around 1,500 nuclear weapons, and total stockpiles of around 5,000 weapons, on each side, he said.
“That probably won’t change, because that picture is relatively stable and it suits them both.
“In the height of the Cold War between them, they had 70,000 nuclear weapons of all shapes and sizes.”
“10,000 is enough to blow the world up – but it’s a comfort to know they can’t do it seven times over,” Clarke added.
The US has given no indication of renewing the treaty but might make a sudden decision “right up to midnight tonight”, he said.
Clarke added…
“Generally speaking, the Russians are always trying to make gestures to bring themselves back in from the cold, to make themselves acceptable again to the Western world.
“On this one, sheer pragmatism says if they’re offering a rollover of an essential treaty, take it. Then you’ve got a year to sort out what we might be able to do about some of the other things.”
“Conceptually, today is a big day to the end of the best regime for war limitation that the world has seen,” Clarke concluded.
As well as events in Moscow this morning, the Kremlin has given further updates on other geopolitical issues.
It said the trilateral two-day peace talks held in Abu Dhabi that concluded yesterday had been complex but constructive, and that discussions would continue.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy said yesterday that further meetings were planned in the near future and would likely take place in the US (see 7.41 post).
The Kremlin also addressed the New Start Treaty – which limited the nuclear stockpiles held by both Russia and the US – after the agreement expired yesterday.
Both countries need to begin nuclear talks soon, but there is an understanding that both sides will act responsibly going forward, it said.
Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said:
“The provisions can be formally extended, but informal extensions in such a field are hardly imaginable. However, there is an understanding, which was also discussed in Abu Dhabi, that both sides will take responsible positions and both sides realize the need to start negotiations on this topic as soon as possible.”
The Kremlin has responded to the shooting of one its senior military officials this morning.
Vladimir Putin has been informed about the assassination attempt on Lieutenant General Vladimir Alexeyev in Moscow, spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
“The special services are currently doing their job. The Kremlin wishes the general a speedy recovery.”
Peskov said it was clear that military leaders and high-ranking specialists were at risk during wartime, adding: “It’s not the Kremlin’s job to figure out how to ensure their safety.”
No one has so far claimed responsibility for the shooting.
These are the latest maps of the frontlines in Ukraine, showing territorial gains and losses made by Kyiv and Moscow.
Russia wants to claim areas its forces don’t occupy while Ukraine is calling for fighting to stop along the current frontlines, with the key differences discussed during peace talks in Abu Dhabi yesterday.
With that in mind, here’s the latest situation on the battlefield, showing territorial gains and losses made by Moscow and Kyiv.
Sweden will provide $100m (£74m) worth of support for Ukraine’s energy and heating needs, its prime minster has announced.
Ulf Kristersson said yesterday he was “appalled” by Russia’s destruction of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure that was “deliberately causing a humanitarian crisis”.
Ukraine has been enduring its most bitter winter since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022.
Temperatures in parts of the country have fallen below -20C as constant Russian strikes have placed a major strain on services, with many people forced to shelter in emergency tents during power blackouts.
“I spoke with [Volodymyr Zelenskyy] today and informed him that Sweden will provide approx. 95 million euro to meet immediate needs, such as provision of generators and heating equipment,” he said on social media.
In his own post on the funding, Zelesnkyy thanked Sweden for the support and said the pair discussed bolstering air defence during a call yesterday.
We can now bring you a picture of Lieutenant General Vladimir Alexeyev, the subject of the assassination attempt in Moscow this morning.
The 64-year-old is responsible for intelligence and preparation of data for missile and air strikes on Ukraine, and for organizing ‘referendums’ in the Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine, the Suspilne news agency reported.
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