What happened
Ukrainian forces regained 201 square kilometres of territory between Wednesday and Sunday last week, capitalising on a reported shutdown of Starlink access used by Russian troops. According to AFP analysis of data from the Institute for the Study of War, the gains are roughly comparable to Russia’s advances during the whole of December and represent Kyiv’s most rapid progress since its June 2023 counter-offensive.

Who said what
“These Ukrainian counter-attacks are likely leveraging the recent block on Russian forces’ access to Starlink, which Russian milbloggers (military bloggers) have claimed is causing communications and command and control issues on the battlefield”, said the Institute for the Study of War.

The recaptured land is “concentrated mainly around 80 kilometres east of the city of Zaporizhzhia”, said France 24, “an area where Russian troops have made significant progress since the summer of 2025”.

What next?
Russia still controls about 19.5% of Ukraine, up from 18.6% a year ago. Crimea and parts of the Donbas remain under long-standing Russian occupation.

What happened
Consumer confidence in the UK is at its lowest level in two years, according to new research by S&P Global. Households are accumulating debt at the fastest rate since last July, with 18 to 24-year-olds recording the steepest rate of increase, while all regions of the UK recorded drops in the level of savings.

Who said what
Like the weather so far this year, the mood about finances is “dismal”, said S&P. Households are “increasingly worried about debt” and there is a “rising need for credit” that’s meeting a steep decline in the availability of loans, said S&P economist Maryam Baluch.

The UK Consumer Sentiment Index survey posted a reading of 44.8 in February – up slightly from January, but still “among the weakest figures over the past two years”, said The Guardian. Anything below 50 “suggests a deterioration” in confidence.

What next?
The UK’s latest official figures on employment and wages, for the final three months of last year, will be released today. Unemployment is expected to remain at 5.1%, while the annual growth in average earnings is expected to have slowed to 4.2%.

It may be time to hit the road in pursuit of scientific research. Millions of animals are struck and killed by vehicles every year. These accidents have even pushed some species towards extinction. While roadkill is never pleasant, such loss of animal life could provide an opportunity to conduct scientific research more ethically.

Roadkill could be a “valuable source of animals for study that does not require and could even replace the use of live wildlife”, said a study published in the journal Biology Letters. Researchers identified approximately 117 different uses for roadkill across various scientific projects. “We found examples of successfully using roadkill to map species distributions, monitor disease and environmental pollution, study diets, track invasive species, supply museum collections and even discover species previously unknown to science,” said Dr Christa Beckmann of RMIT University in Melbourne, the lead author of the study.

A big advantage of using roadkill for research is that it is “highly ethical”, according to the study, and could be used as an alternative to invasive sampling methods. “If you want to take a genetic sample, you don’t need to trap live animals or handle them, both of which can cause stress,” said Beckmann.

In a car-centric society, roadkill is an unfortunate side-effect. Some species are even being “driven towards extinction because of traffic”, according to Scientific American. “Vehicles continue to be overlooked environmental forces that are likely to decimate more and more animal populations.” Despite this, said Beckmann, “using these losses wisely could help drive scientific discovery and conservation forward, rather than letting valuable information decompose by the roadside”.