**Russia Seeks Saudi Arabia and UAE for Trump-Putin Meeting**
Moscow is considering Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as possible venues for a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump, according to Reuters.
The report comes after Trump said that talks about Ukraine are progressing, but he didn’t provide details. Trump has promised to end the war in Ukraine since his election campaign.
Senior Russian officials have visited Saudi Arabia and the UAE recently. However, some Russian diplomats and intelligence officers oppose the idea because both countries have close military ties with the US.
Russian officials deny any direct contact with the US about a phone call between Putin and Trump. This meeting is expected to happen before an in-person meeting later this year.
Trump has previously said that Putin is “destroying Russia” by not making peace with Ukraine. He believes Moscow would be better off ending the war.
**Ukraine Uses New Technology**
Ukraine is using new technologies, such as laser systems, to attack Russian targets. Colonel Vadym Sukharevskyi, commander of the Unmanned Systems Forces, said this in an interview on February 3.
**Russia Attacks Ukraine**
Russian forces launched 71 Shahed-type drones overnight, targeting Ukrainian military installations. Ukrainian drones attacked energy facilities in Russia’s Astrakhan and Volgograd oblasts, causing a fire.
The number of Russian casualties over the past day is around 1,300.