Latest news on Russia and the war in Ukraine

Microsoft on Friday said that Russian group Nobelium, which the company refers to as Midnight Blizzard, has been trying to access its internal systems and source code repositories.

“In recent weeks, we have seen evidence that Midnight Blizzard is using information initially exfiltrated from our corporate email systems to gain, or attempt to gain, unauthorized access. This has included access to some of the company’s source code repositories and internal systems,” Microsoft said in a blog post.

Microsoft said Midnight Blizzard was trying to access secrets, including those shared between Microsoft and its customers, but that it was reaching out and helping affected customers.

“Midnight Blizzard has increased the volume of some aspects of the attack, such as password sprays, by as much as 10-fold in February, compared to the already large volume we saw in January 2024,” it said.

Microsoft first said in January that it had detected a cyberattack from Nobelium, which saw the Russian group hack emails from top executives.

— Sophie Kiderlin

There have been at least 86 combat clashes in the past day between Russian and Ukrainian forces, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine wrote in a post on its Facebook page.

“In total, the enemy launched four missile strikes and 74 airstrikes, as well as 101 rocket salvos,” the post read, according to a Google translation from Ukrainian. The post added that residential blocks and other civilian infrastructure were damaged.

“At night, the Russian invaders once again attacked Ukraine, launching 37 unmanned aerial vehicles of the Shahed type. Thirty-three of these attack UAVs were destroyed,” the update said.

— Natasha Turak

An initiative by the Czech Republic to raise funds for Ukrainian ammunition supplies has accrued enough for 300,000 artillery shells, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said.

“Many thanks to all the countries that have joined the Czech initiative to purchase ammunition for Ukraine so far,” Fiala wrote in a post on the X social media platform.

“We have managed to raise enough money to buy the first batch of 300,000 artillery shells. However, our goal is to deliver much more!”

“Our work and our help to Ukraine do not end here. We keep seeking partners so that we can continue to support Ukraine in its brave fight against the Russian aggressor,” he wrote.

— Natasha Turak

The board of governors of the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, approved a draft resolution by Ukraine’s Ministry of Energy demanding the urgent return of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant to the country.

The news was detailed in a statement on the Ukrainian Energy Ministry’s website.

“The Russian Federation openly demonstrates hostility towards the Agency and deliberately undermines confidence in the non-proliferation system,” the Ukrainian Energy Minister Herman Galushchenko said in the statement. “By supporting the resolution developed by Ukraine today, the countries will send a clear signal to Russia to stop its illegal activities. The vote for this resolution demonstrates the commitment of the IAEA and the need to return safety to Europe’s largest nuclear power plant.”

The plant, in Ukraine’s southeastern Zaporizhzhia region, was taken over by Russian forces in March of 2022, shortly after Russia launched its full-scale invasion. In October of that year, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared the region as annexed by Russia in a move widely seen as illegal under international law.  

“The future development of atomic energy in the world can be stopped even by any minor accident at the Zaporizhzhia NPP,” Galushchenko warned.

— Natasha Turak

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is scheduled to travel to Turkey for talks with his Turkish counterpart President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Reuters reported.

The news outlet cited a Turkish government source saying that Turkey will emphasize its support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity and “it is planned to convey that Turkey is continuing its efforts to end the war as soon as possible on the basis of negotiations.”

Turkey led the brokering of a grain deal between Russia and Ukraine in the first 18 months of the war. It enabled Ukrainian grain to reach export markets, though the deal was suspended by Russia in July of 2023. Erdogan has managed to maintain positive relations with both Zelenskyy and Russian leader Vladimir Putin, while also seeing Turkey’s trade with Russia boom.

— Natasha Turak

The head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Andriy Yermak, met with a Chinese delegation in Kyiv led by Li Hui, China’s representative for Eurasian affairs. The visit was Li’s second to Kyiv within a year.

“Held a briefing on the security situation [in Ukraine] in and other topical issues for the delegation of [China] headed by Li Hui, Special Representative of the [Chinese] Government for Eurasian Affairs,” Yermak wrote in a post on X with an accompanying photo of the delegation seated at a long table.

China says it remains neutral in the Russia-Ukraine war, but has shown support for and friendship with Russia, while its national press largely blames the U.S. for the conflict.

— Natasha Turak

President Joe Biden is “determined” not to deploy U.S. troops to Ukraine, he said in his State of the Union speech on Thursday evening.

“They are not asking for American soldiers. In fact, there are no American soldiers at war in Ukraine. And I am determined to keep it that way,” Biden said.

He also maintained that Kyiv could prevail against Moscow if the U.S. stands with Ukraine “and provide the weapons it needs to defend itself.”

The president again called on Congress to support a new aid package to Ukraine.

“If anybody in this room thinks Putin will stop at Ukraine, I assure you, he will not,” he said.

— Natasha Turak

Sweden officially joined NATO on Thursday, almost two years after first applying.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson was in Washington, D.C., on Thursday to hand over documents finalizing Sweden’s membership after all NATO members ratified he country’s accession to the military alliance, a government statement said.

Meanwhile, the Swedish government on Thursday voted in favor of becoming the 32nd member of NATO, whose key principle is that an attack on one member is an attack on all members.

Sweden first bid to join the military alliance soon after the war in Ukraine began, in May 2022. However, the country’s accession to NATO was held up as Hungary only last month voted in favor of the country joining the alliance.

Images show a destroyed shopping center in the southern Ukrainian city of Nikopol, which was set on fire after Russian shelling in the area.