Putin spends 50% of state budget on military, says intelligence service & Russia tests turning pigeons into drones

Day 1,442.


Today, as reports suggest Russian troops are in turmoil across
the frontline after being denied access to Starlink satellite
communications, we return to Abu Dhabi for the latest
developments in the ongoing trilateral peace talks between the
United States, Ukraine, and Russia. We then hear live from Kyiv
with firsthand reactions and descriptions of the situation on the
ground, before turning to the Russian press for insight into the
state of Russia’s economy – and an extraordinary story about
Moscow’s efforts to turn pigeons into drones.


Contributors


Francis Dearnley (Executive Editor for Audio). @FrancisDearnley
on X.


Dominic Nicholls (Associate Editor of Defence).
@DomNicholls on X.


Antonia Langford (Journalist in Kyiv). @antonialford on X.


James Kilner (Foreign Correspondent). @jkjourno on X.


SIGN UP TO THE ‘UKRAINE: THE LATEST’ WEEKLY
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Each week, Dom Nicholls and Francis Dearnley answer your
questions, provide recommended reading, and give exclusive
analysis and behind-the-scenes insights – plus maps of the
frontlines and diagrams of weapons to complement our daily
reporting. It’s free for everyone, including non-subscribers.


CONTENT REFERENCED:


Russia spends half its state budget on military (The Telegraph):


https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/02/04/russia-spent-half-its-state-budget-on-military-in-2025/ 


How Russia uses neural chips to turn live pigeons into drones
(The Telegraph):


https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/02/04/russia-implants-chips-spy-pigeons-brains-cyborgs-war/ 


The last foreign correspondent to file from a war zone via
carrier pigeon (Airmail):


https://airmail.news/issues/2024-7-27/the-view-from-here 


Record-breaking Russian strikes during peace negotiations (Centre
for Information Resilience):


https://www.info-res.org/eyes-on-russia/articles/record-breaking-russian-strikes-during-peace-negotiations/ 


Sanctions having ‘significant impact’ on Russian economy, says EU
special envoy (The Guardian):


https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/feb/05/sanctions-significant-impact-russian-economy-interview-eu-special-envoy-david-osullivan 


Keith Kellogg says he left Trump's White House to be 'free to
talk' about Ukraine (Kyiv Independent):


https://kyivindependent.com/keith-kellogg-says-he-left-trumps-white-house-to-be-free-to-talk-about-ukraine/ 


Russia claims US 'ignored' offers to extend nuclear arms control
agreement as key treaty set to expire (Kyiv Independent):


https://kyivindependent.com/russia-claims-us-ignored-offers-to-extend-nuclear-arms-control-agreement-as-treaty-set-to-expire/


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