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.

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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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