An area in the city of Kharkiv was hit by fire amid the conflict.
The Kyiv Independent news site on February 2 quoted US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller as saying that establishing a demilitarized zone in Ukraine would not be possible if Russian soldiers continued to operate in Ukraine.
The statement was made after the Institute for the Study of War (ISW-USA) reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin said that creating a demilitarized zone in Ukraine would help put Russian territory and controlled areas in Ukraine out of the range of enemy weapons.
Mr Putin said the city of Kharkiv was within the proposed demilitarized zone.
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Meanwhile, the idea of giving up territory for peace is not popular among Ukrainians, and the prospect of allowing Ukraine’s second-largest city to be included in a potential demilitarized zone designated by Russia is even more unlikely.
Mr. Miller recalled that President Putin “has made clear many times that his goal of subduing Ukraine has not changed.”
“If Russia really wanted to show interest in a demilitarized zone, what they could do is start by demilitarizing the areas of Ukraine where Russian forces are currently stationed,” Miller said.
Canadian Foreign Minister arrives in Kyiv
The Canadian Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement on February 2 saying that Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly had just arrived in Kyiv to meet with Ukrainian leaders.
Canada is one of Ukraine’s biggest supporters in the country’s war. Since January 2022, Canada has pledged more than $9.7 billion in military, financial, humanitarian and other aid to Ukraine.
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On her fourth visit to Ukraine since the outbreak of hostilities, Ms Joly met with her Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba.
After the meeting, Mr. Kuleba said the two sides discussed Ukraine-Canada free trade, the use of frozen Russian assets, military aid, sanctions, the Ukrainian peace formula and other issues.
Ms. Joly plans to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to advance negotiations on a bilateral security agreement between Canada and Ukraine.
Russian President to visit Türkiye
TASS news agency on February 2 quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying that Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan had long arranged for Mr. Putin's visit.
"We will announce the date at the appropriate time," Mr. Peskov told reporters, declining to confirm whether the meeting would take place on February 12 as previously reported by Turkish media.
According to Mr. Peskov, the two leaders "regularly keep in touch and meet face to face several times a year. Each such meeting has a very busy agenda."
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The spokesman said the two leaders planned to discuss a number of issues at the upcoming meeting, including bilateral relations and trade and economic cooperation between the two countries. "Of course, they always discuss regional issues, as well as, of course, Ukraine," Peskov said.
Russia creates 520,000 jobs in defense industry
AFP news agency on February 2 quoted Russian President Vladimir Putin as saying that the country has created more than half a million jobs in the defense sector to meet soaring demand on the battlefield.
"In just the past year and a half, 520,000 new jobs have been created in the defense sector. To succeed on today's battlefield, it is necessary to respond quickly and adequately to what is happening there," the leader said at a political forum with defense workers in the city of Tula.
"So whoever does it faster will win," he added.
NATO underestimated Russia's military machine
After months of fighting that have yielded little territorial gain for either Russia or Ukraine, Moscow is throwing more manpower into the conflict and ramping up weapons production.
Last year, the Russian government announced plans to increase military spending by 68% – more than the combined spending on education, environmental protection and health care.
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