The Russians reduced the number of assaults on the front after Starlink was disabled; Umerov summed up the negotiations with the Russian Federation on February 4 and 5; during the exchange on February 5, a fighter who had been considered dead for a long time returned from captivity; the January losses of the Russian army exceeded the volume of its replenishment; the government approved new deputies to Defense Minister Mikhail Fedorov — Suspilne collected the main news on the morning of February 6.
The Russian army faced a Starlink outage
The Russian military has reduced the number of assaults on the front after SpaceX blocked unregistered Starlink satellite communication terminals, a source in the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine told Sospilno.
The interlocutor reported that in some areas the Russians have stopped storming altogether. Earlier, the head of the communications department of the 118th Motorized Rifle Brigade, Dmytro Pelykh, reported that due to the fact that unverified Starlinks were turned off on the contact line, the intensity of shelling had decreased.
“According to our intercepts, the Russians are actually panicking, although they were warned beforehand that all black or gray Starlinks would be disconnected. That is, there is a certain problem with their communication. According to information from other sources and other brigades, the intensity of the actions of the Russian military has even decreased,” said Pelykh.
Starlink terminals are being tested in Ukraine. The Ministry of Defense explained how to add terminals to the “white list” to avoid communication outages and ensure stable operation of systems at the front.
Context: Ukrainian intelligence previously confirmed the use of Starlink by Russian troops. SpaceX owner Elon Musk said that the company did not sell Starlink to Russia directly or indirectly. On September 25, 2024, the Ukrainian Defense Forces shot down a Russian drone equipped with Starlink satellite communications. On January 27, 2026, Defense Minister Mikhail Fedorov confirmed that the Russians had Starlink, and on January 29 it became known that the Ministry of Defense, together with SpaceX, was already solving this problem.
Umerov summed up the talks with Russia on February 4 and 5
Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Rustem Umerov reported that during two days of talks in Abu Dhabi, the delegations of Ukraine, the United States, and the Russian Federation discussed, in particular, methods for implementing a ceasefire and monitoring the cessation of hostilities. Umerov reported this in a communiqué following the results of the trilateral talks.
According to him, the discussions were “constructive in nature” and “focused on creating conditions for achieving lasting peace.”
“Over two days, the delegations held extensive discussions on the remaining unresolved issues, including methods for implementing a ceasefire and monitoring the cessation of hostilities,” Umerov said.
He commented on the February 5 exchange, which was agreed upon during negotiations between representatives of Ukraine and Russia. Ukraine returned 157 prisoners of war and civilians.
“The delegations will inform their capitals and plan to continue the trilateral meetings in the near future. They expressed gratitude to the UAE for organizing the talks. Ukraine separately thanks US President Donald Trump for his leadership in promoting peace efforts,” Umerov said.
Context: On February 4 and 5, negotiations involving the Ukrainian, American, and Russian sides took place in the capital of the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi. The discussions lasted approximately five hours.
Nazar Daletsky's return from captivity
On February 5, a soldier from the Lviv region, Nazar Daletsky, who was considered dead for a long time, returned from captivity. This was announced by the head of the Lviv OVA, Maksym Kozytsky.
“Our compatriot, who was considered dead for a long time, is returning from captivity. This is Nazar Daletsky, a resident of the village of Velykyi Doroshiv, Kulykiv community,” Kozytsky wrote.
Nazar Daletskyi participated in the ATO and went to defend Ukraine after the start of a full-scale war. He served in the 24th Separate Mechanized Brigade named after King Danylo.
“In May 2022, Nazar stopped contacting. At first, the soldier was listed as missing. Later, the family reported that he died in the Kupyansky district, Kharkiv region, on September 25, 2022 – on his birthday,” Kozytskyi said.
In July 2025, another soldier who had returned from captivity reported that Nazar was alive. In August, another soldier confirmed this information. In October, a third soldier.
On February 5, during the exchange, Nazar Daletsky returned from captivity.
Context: On February 5, 157 people, including military personnel and civilians, returned from Russian captivity. The same number of people were sent to Russia, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported. Among those released are soldiers, sergeants, officers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, National Guardsmen, and border guards. Most had been in captivity since 2022.
Syrsky: January losses of the Russian army exceeded its replenishment volume
Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrsky reported that in January the total losses of the Russian army amounted to 31.7 thousand people, which exceeds its replenishment figures for the same period. Syrsky wrote about this on Facebook.
According to Syrsky, such losses “significantly reduced the offensive capabilities” of Russian troops. He called this “a result that is being tempered in Ukrainian training centers.” The Commander-in-Chief stated that the Armed Forces of Ukraine need to raise the bar and achieve better indicators in terms of the level of instructors and their attitude to their work, as well as in the equipment, security, and living conditions of training grounds and training centers.
Syrsky wrote that he has set a task to strengthen control over the condition of training centers and the quality of training both in them and in combat brigades. The Armed Forces of Ukraine are also continuing a “quality audit” of basic combined-arms training.
The Commander-in-Chief stated that the Armed Forces of Ukraine have introduced a comprehensive exam for servicemen who have recently arrived from training centers, automated collection and analysis of feedback about them, and are also testing feedback via the Delta ICS. The Delta Integration and Communication System is a Ukrainian military situational awareness system used by the Security and Defense Forces of Ukraine .
The government approved Fedorov's new deputies
On Thursday, February 5, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the updated composition of Deputy Defense Minister Mikhail Fedorov at its meeting. He announced this on Telegram.
“We continue to transform the Ministry of Defense into an effective structure capable of achieving the set goals. Today, at a government meeting, a new composition of deputies in the Ministry of Defense was appointed,” Fedorov wrote.
According to him, the position of First Deputy was taken by Oleksiy Vyskub. Since 2019, he has worked as First Deputy Head of the Ministry of Digital Transformation, where he was responsible for the development of Action and state services, as well as for the simplification of bureaucracy. Since the beginning of the full-scale war, he has been actively involved in the technological war and the development of all military projects of the Ministry of Digital Transformation.
Lieutenant General Ivan Havrylyuk was appointed as his deputy. According to Fedorov, he has extensive practical experience in military management, logistics, and planning. Previously, he held the position of First Deputy Minister of Defense, worked as an advisor to the Commander of the Logistics Forces, and headed the Main Logistics Directorate.
The position of Deputy for European Integration was taken by Serhiy Boev, who has international experience in economics, strategy, and partnership development. He worked in leading consulting companies and was involved in attracting partners to the Ukrainian defense-industrial complex.
Context: On January 22, Fedorov appointed volunteer and activist Serhiy Sternenko as his advisor on improving the effectiveness of drone use, and on January 25, he announced the appointment of drone and electronic warfare expert Serhiy Beskrestnov (call sign “Flash”) as his advisor on defense technology.