Ukraine updates: Child killed in Russian drone strike

These updates have been closed for the day.

Here is a recap of the main news related to Russia's war in Ukraine on Monday:

• Russian attacks across Ukraine overnight killed at least four people
• Moscow says the shooter who gunned down a top Russian general last week was sent by Ukraine
• A Ukrainian national has been indicted in Germany over a Russia-linked plot to detonate postal parcels
• The IOC has barred a Winter Olympian from wearing a helmet that honors fallen Ukrainian athletes

Ukrainian skeleton competitor Vladyslav Heraskevych has said he is banned from wearing a helmet that displays portraits of Ukrainians killed in the war.  

Heraskevych said he has been told by an ⁠Olympics ‍representative that he couldn't wear the helmet ⁠at the Milano Cortina Games "because of rule 50." 

Rule 50.2 of the Olympic Charter states: "No kind of demonstration or political, ⁠religious or racial propaganda is permitted in ‌any ‌Olympic sites, venues or other areas."

The 26 year old raced on Monday wearing the helmet. 

The athlete, who was Ukraine's flag bearer at the opening ceremony, had previously said the gesture aimed to keep global attention on Russia's war in UKraine.

Some of those shown on the people on the helmet "were my friends," Heraskevych ‍told the Reuters news agency.

Many of them were athletes, he said. 

During the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, Heraskevych held up a "No War in Ukraine" sign just days before Russia's full-scale invasion of the country.

This year's Ewald von Kleist Award, in memory of the German army officer who was part of a failed plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler and who later founded the predecessor to the Munich Security Conference, will go to the Ukrainian people. 

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will accept the award in Munich in honor of the people's courage and sacrifice in the face of almost four years of Russian attacks, organizers said on Monday. 

Speaking to DW, the event's chairman Wolfgang Ischinger said he believed Germany needed to reimagine its concept of European defense as Russia's full-scale of invasion is about to enter its fifth year. 

He said he welcomed the deployment of a brigade to Lithuania, and asked if the Bundeswehr or other European NATO militaries might have similar roles to play in other countries bordering Russia. 

"Can we contribute to strengthening the frontline countries in just the same way that in the Cold War my own country was strengthened by American, British, French, Belgian and other efforts and presence of their soldiers and huge amounts of tanks and airplanes from these countries that helped defend Germany during the Cold War?" Ischinger asked. "That's got to be the spirit. We need to understand that our own business is not just to defend the German border, but our own business is to defend the European Union in its entirety."

Ukraine and France have agreed to start joint weapons production, marking a shift from simple arms deliveries to long‑term industrial cooperation.

Ukraine's Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov announced the deal after meeting his French counterpart, Catherine Vautrin, in Kyiv. 

Neither side has specified which weapons will be produced or when manufacturing will begin.

The ministers also discussed new French military shipments to Kyiv, including Aster missiles, Mirage 2000 fighter jets and SAMP‑T air defense systems.

Paris has been one of Ukraine's key supporters, committing €2 billion (almost $2.4 billion) in military aid last year.

And in November, Presidents Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Emmanuel Macron signed a separate agreement opening the door to a possible delivery of up to 100 Rafale fighter jets.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that while he is hopeful for economic cooperation with the US, he is not hopeful about the future of the ties between the countries.

"We also don't ‌see ⁠any bright future in the economic sphere," he said.

This comes despite Washington's efforts to end Russia's war in Ukraine, with Lavrov citing the US' aim of "economic dominance."

"We are simply forced to see additional, protected ways to develop our financial, economic, logistical and other projects with the BRICScountries," Lavros said, referring to the alliance between Brazil, Russia, India, China and other countries.

A shooter who shot a top Russian military intelligence officer in Moscow was acting on Kyiv's orders, Russia alleged.

The officer, Vladimir Alekseyev, survived the shooting, with Moscow saying that the gunman fled to Dubai after carrying it out.

Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) claimed that Lyubomir Korba, a Russian citizen born in 1960, shot Alekseyev "on the orders of Ukraine's Security Service (SBU)" after being recruited and trained in Ukraine. The FSB also alleged that Korba's son, who lives in Poland, was involved in the recruitment process.

Over the weekend, Moscow announced the arrest of a Russian man in his 60s in Dubai, who was then extradited to Russia for attempted murder.

Ukraine has denied being behind the attempted assassination of Alekseyev.

The Russian city of Belgorod, located about 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the border with Ukraine, has limited water supply because of attacks by Ukraine's military, the city's administration announced.

Mayor Valentin Demidov said the water shortage affected about 100,000 people in the city of 300,000 inhabitants.

The Russian army is using the Belgorod region to shell Ukraine. Consequently, it is one of the most heavily destroyed areas in Russia since the war began.

A Ukrainian national has been indicted in connection with a plot to detonate parcel packages in Europe, with Russian intelligence linked to the plan, German prosecutors said.

The suspect, named as Yehven B. in accordance with Germany's privacy laws, had been arrested in Switzerland in May and extradited to Germany in December.

Yehven B. and two other suspects, Daniil B. and Vladyslav T., carried out an order by Russia intelligence intermediaries in Mariupol to send packages with GPS trackers from the German city of Cologne, with their destination being Ukraine.

Russia has previously denied any involvement in the plan.

Accusations of sabotage attacks by Russia have repeatedly been made by many European countries.

A series of Russianovernight attacks across Ukraine killed at least four people, including a mother and her 10-year-old son, according to Ukrainian officials.

The two were killed in the in the town of Bohodukhiv in the eastern Kharkiv region.

The attack also caused tens of thousands of people to be left without electricity.

Ukraine's army said Russia had launched 11 ballistic missiles and 149 drones at Ukraine, with 116 drones and some of the missiles being intercepted.

Russia has continued its attacks on Ukraine despite ongoing peace talks brokered by the US.

According to Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, US President Donald Trump wants the two countries to find a solution and end the war before the summer.

We're covering the latest developments in Russia's war with Ukraine, including the recent attack by the Russian army that killed a mother and child in the Kharkiv region of eastern Ukraine.

Elsewhere, in Germany, a court indicted a Ukrainian man for a his plan to detonate parcel bombs across Europe, with the plot having links to Russian intelligence.

Please, stay tuned for more news and analysis.