Russia
At the opening of the inquiry into the murder (in 2006) of former FSB Officer 'Sasha' Litvinenko Mr Ben Emmerson QC, representing Mr Litvinenko's widow said the following: Alexander Litvinenko was murdered for trying to "expose the corruption" at the heart of Vladimir Putin's "mafia state"; he was "eliminated" because he had made an enemy of the "close knit group of criminals who surrounded and still surround Vladimir Putin and keep his corrupt regime in power".
From 24 January to 5 February 1,529 children were evacuated from the conflict zone in Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts, the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine reports.
Terrorists brought 7 mobile crematoria from Russia to the Donetsk region to burn the bodies of their associates
Equipped with a compass and basic knowledge about rockets entry point at shelling, Mariupol local resident proves the city was shelled by Russian-backed terrorists
On 24 January Russian-backed militants shelled Eastern parts of Mariupol with Grad multiple rocket launchers. 30 civilians got killed, over 100 wounded
After annexing Crimea, Russia continued its onslaught on Ukraine in Donbas. The so-called Peoples' Republics of Donetsk and Luhansk became the center of a unified front represented by Russian proxies, professional Russian soldiers, and subversive groups whose members are soldiers mostly from the Caucasus but incorporate local pro-Russian activists as well, liga.net reports.
22 January, at least 8 persons were killed and 7 injured as a result of mortar shelling of a trolleybus in Donetsk, Donetsk Regional Administration reports.
Russian army equipment moves to Ukraine in Rostov oblast of Russia.
In its daily morning news piece the ATO news center reports that “the Donetsk airport remains the spot of highest tension” in the conflict zone.
Volunteer Tetiana Rychkova currently on the spot gives brief updates on the situation at the Donetsk airport on her Facebook page:
Militants shell Ukrainian checkpoint near Volnovakha: 12 civilians killed