Key developments on Feb. 11
- Russian losses in Ukraine 'astonishing,' former MI6 chief says;
- Russian strike on Kharkiv Oblast killed 3 toddlers and their father, pregnant mother injured;
- Ukraine confirms drone strike on Russia's Volgograd oil refinery, Rubicon barracks in occupied Zaporizhzhia Oblast;
- Europe has identified sites to train Ukrainian troops inside Ukraine, EU top diplomat says;
- SBU sends text warning Russians are trying to recruit Ukrainians to register Starlink terminals.
Russia may have lost about twice as many soldiers in Ukraine in December 2025 as the Soviet Union lost during the Soviet-Afghan War, a former British intelligence chief said on Feb. 10.
Sir Richard Moore, the former MI6 chief, gave an interview on Sky News' on the World podcast with journalist Yalda Hakim on Feb. 10, where he said that about 30,000 Russians were killed in Ukraine in December, describing the number as "astonishing."
Moore compared this monthly death toll for Russian soldiers to the casualties in the Soviet-Afghan war, which lasted for 10 years (1979-1989) and resulted in the death of approximately 15,000 Soviet soldiers.
"The losses are terrible, and even the Russians will struggle to replace that level of losses. So, they continue to do appallingly badly on the battlefield," Moore said.
Russian strike on Kharkiv Oblast killed 3 toddlers and their father, pregnant mother injured
A Russian strike on Bohodukhiv, Kharkiv Oblast, killed four people, including three children and their father, and injured two others, Governor Oleh Syniehubov reported overnight on Feb. 11.
Syniehubov said a Russian strike on Bohodukhiv killed two 2-year-old boys and a 1-year-old girl.
A 34-year-old man, father of the children, was also killed in the attack. Their mother, a 35-year-old pregnant woman, and a 74-year-old woman were injured in the attack.
According to an investigation by Kharkiv Oblast Prosecutor's Office, at around 11:30 p.m. on Feb. 10, Russian Geran-2 drones struck a residential building in the city of Bohodukhiv, where the family of five lived.
The office added that rescuers saved the children's mother, who was 35 weeks pregnant. The woman suffered blast injuries, traumatic brain injury, acoustic trauma, and thermal burns.
A pre-trial investigation was launched into the commission of a war crime that resulted in the death of people (Part 2 of Article 438 of Ukraine's Criminal Code).
Ukraine confirms drone strike on Russia's Volgograd oil refinery, Rubicon barracks in occupied Zaporizhzhia Oblast
Ukrainian drones struck Russia's Volgograd oil refinery overnight Feb. 11, Ukraine's General Staff reported.
After the strike, a fire was reported on the facility, and the extent of the damage is being assessed, the General Staff said.
Russia's Defense Ministry earlier claimed that it had shot down 48 Ukrainian drones in several regions, not including over Volgograd Oblast itself.
Volgograd Oblast Governor Andrey Bocharov said damage was reported in a facility in the South Volgograd, referring to the oil refinery. Bocharov also claimed that an apartment building and a kindergarten were damaged, with no casualties.
"Emergency services and municipal authorities are conducting search and rescue operations to locate and dispose of possible drone debris," he added.
Europe has identified sites to train Ukrainian troops inside Ukraine, EU top diplomat says
The EU's top diplomat said that the EU has identified two sites in Ukraine where Europe could train Ukrainian troops, as part of the bloc's contribution to security guarantees for the country under a future peace deal.
"We have been discussing the training of Ukrainian soldiers, also on the soil of Ukraine," Kaja Kallas, the EU's high representative for foreign affairs, said in Brussels on Feb. 11 before a meeting of EU defense ministers.
"We have identified two training centers that could be used for that purpose," she added.
The EU has previously aired the idea of training Ukrainian troops as part of a peace settlement, but today's comments mark some of the first concrete details.
SBU sends text warning Russians are trying to recruit Ukrainians to register Starlink terminals
Holders of Ukrainian phone numbers received an SBU message on Feb. 11 warning that Russians are trying to recruit Ukrainians to register Starlink terminals for use by Russian troops and that doing so is a criminal offense in Ukraine.
The messages come a week after Ukraine's defense ministry agreed with Starlink's parent company, SpaceX, to introduce mandatory registration for the internet terminals in Ukraine, a move meant to prevent their use by Russian forces.
The Kyiv Independent requested details from the SBU but had not received a response by the time of publication.
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