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VLADIMIR Putin is reportedly willing to accept a deal on Ukraine, according to a senior aide to President Zelenskyy.
Ukrainian Chief of Staff Kyrylo Budanov made the surprise claim during an interview on Ukrainian television.
“At the last talks, the Russian side said, for example, that they would accept the security guarantees offered to Ukraine by the United States,” he said.
The Kremlin has not confirmed the remarks.
If accurate, they would represent the most significant shift in negotiations since the conflict began four years ago.
It remains unclear what form those US security guarantees would take.
The crude oil shipment destined for MOL Group is already being loaded at the state-owned Janaf’s Omišalj terminal, the Croatian oil company announced on Wednesday, per a report from HVG. According to the statement, this will not be the only shipment, as seven more tankers will arrive by the beginning of April.
Janaf emphasized in its statement that it is not Russian crude oil that is being supplied to Hungarians, and yet, the company is ready to meet the entire annual demand of refineries in both Slovakia and Hungary.
TRUMP AND ZELENSKY SPEAK: A day after President Donald Trump publicly ignored the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and barely mentioned the war in his State of the Union address, the president resumed his pressure campaign to convince Volodymyr Zelensky he has little choice but to make a quick deal to end the war before things get worse.
“I just spoke with @POTUS Donald Trump,” Zelensky posted on X yesterday after a phone call with Trump, Steve Witkoff, and Jared Kushner. “I thanked them for all their work and for their active involvement in the negotiations and the efforts to end the war.”
In the 30-minute call, Trump told Zelensky he wants to see an end to the war “as soon as possible,” Axios reported, citing “a Ukrainian official and two other sources with knowledge of the call.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a ruthless attack order in the face of peace efforts(Image: POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Russia launched a mass overnight onslaught of almost 500 bombs on Ukraine injuring at least 26 people – as the Kremlin dampened peace talk hopes.
At least 420 deadly drones and dozens of missiles were used in the attack, plus anti-ship , ballistic and cruise weapons , many of which were aimed at Kyiv and seven other regions.
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has announced he will ask the Slovak Electricity Transmission System (SEPS) to stop emergency electricity supplies to Ukraine in retaliation for Kyiv’s refusal to resume Russian crude oil shipments via the Druzhba pipeline.
In a video message posted on social media on Sunday, Fico said he would visit SEPS on Monday to request the suspension of electricity deliveries, further increasing tensions between so-called “dissenting” member states like Slovakia and Hungary, and the European Commission.
“If Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky tells us to buy gas and oil elsewhere than in Russia — even though it is more difficult and expensive, which costs us a lot of money — then we have the right to respond,” Fico told followers.
The European Commission is just giving its daily midday press briefing, and it has confirmed plans to adopt the new, 20th, round of sanctions against Russia by 24 February, the fourth anniversary of the full-scale invasion on Ukraine.
Foreign affairs spokesperson Anouar El Anouni said:
“We keep on working on measures to deprive Russia of the funds, goods and technologies sustaining its war against Ukraine.
This indeed includes the 20th package that you have mentioned, and indeed we aim to adopt it … by 24 February, as the High Representative [Kaja Kallas] mentioned at the last foreign affairs council. Member states are discussing it.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has announced that he met with Democrat senators to discuss plans for ramping up “pressure” on Russia.
Zelensky confirmed that he met with Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI).
The meeting highlights the continued efforts from Democrats to influence Ukrainian leadership as the war with Russia drags on.
In a video included in a post on X, Blumenthal can be heard greeting Zelensky and expressing interest in further cooperation.
WASHINGTON – This month marks four years since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Casualties are on track to exceed two million this year, two-thirds of them from Russia.
Kyiv warns that the fight to regain control isn’t limited to the battlefield. It’s also playing out through Moscow’s ties to a branch of the Orthodox Church, which the Ukrainian government is now moving to sever.
“The activity of (the) Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Moscow Patriarchate is not prohibited in Ukraine,” explained Viktor Yelenskyy, who oversees religious affairs for the government.
“(The) Ukrainian government asked (the) Ukrai
MOSCOW, February 11. /TASS/. No presidential election will be announced in Ukraine on February 24 as an election campaign can only be initiated at least six months after martial law is lifted, said Olga Aivazovskaya from a parliamentary group working toward an election.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Financial Times reported, citing sources, that Ukraine plans to hold a presidential election and a referendum on a peace deal with Russia by May 15. According to the British paper, Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky may make an announcement as early as February 24.
“Team work on drafting laws to hold the first post-war election is ongoing, and it is understood that at least six months must pass after martial law is lifted before an election campaign can begin,” she wrote on Facebook (banned in Russia, owned by Meta, a corporation recognized as extremist in Russia).
“This is important for all of Ukraine’s partners – in the United States and Europe – to understand,” he said.
He said that “security issues are the key priority right now,” as Ukraine faces continuing attacks, including on civilian population and energy infrastructure.
Russia fired around 450 long-range drones and 70 missiles of various types at Ukraine in a major attack overnight, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday.
The barrage came…
from japantoday.com
NATO was forced to scramble fighter jets after Russia unleashed a major missile and drone attack on Ukraine, breaking a promise that Trump said Putin had made
from www.mirror.co.uk
The United States has told Ukraine that it must sign on to a peace deal with Russia in order to get U.S. security guarantees, a source familiar with internal discussions told Reuters on Tuesday.
U.S. security guarantees are considered by Ukraine as the linchpin for any settlement ending Russia’s four-year-old invasion of Ukraine. The United States brokered talks in Abu Dhabi between envoys for Ukraine and Russia last weekend that U.S. officials said made progress toward an agreement.
BUDAPEST, Hungary — Hungary’s pro-Russian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán accused Ukraine on Monday of seeking to meddle in his country’s upcoming elections and ordered Kyiv’s ambassador to be summoned to the foreign ministry.
The step was the latest in Orbán’s long-running anti-Ukraine campaign as he seeks to convince voters that the neighboring country, embroiled in a war with Russia since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022, poses an existential threat to Hungary’s security and sovereignty.
Orbán, who has maintained close ties with Russia, faces what is expected to be the biggest challenge of his 16 years in power during elections scheduled for April 12.
For average wage earners in Russia, it’s a big payday. For criminals seeking to escape the harsh conditions and abuse in prison, it’s a chance at freedom. For immigrants hoping for a better life, it’s a simplified path to citizenship.
All they have to do is sign a contract to fight in Ukraine.
As Russia seeks to replenish its forces in nearly four years of war — and avoid an unpopular nationwide mobilization — it’s pulling out all the stops to find new troops to send into the battlefield.
A senior Russian politician has sparked fresh World War Three fears after claiming Europe is effectively “defenceless” against Moscow’s latest hypersonic weapons. The warning was posted on Telegram by Aleksey Aleksandrovich Zhuravlyov, a hardline nationalist MP and chairman of the Rodina party, who shared a German media report about a recent Russian missile strike in Ukraine.
Zhuravlyov referenced an article published by Berliner Zeitung reporting on the alleged deployment of Russia’s so-called “Oreshnik” hypersonic missile during strikes on Ukraine’s Lviv region. He claimed the attack had sent shockwaves through political and military circles across Europe. In his commentary, the Kremlin ally alleged the strike was a “clear signal” to the EU and NATO, insisting that Russia had demonstrated its ability to hit targets in “Western capitals” and at NATO military bases.
Around 422,000 people signed contracts with the Russian military last year, a 6% drop from 2024, the deputy chair of Russia’s Security Council said Friday.
The exact reasons for the slight decrease are unclear, although some Russian regions are reported to have cut the size of their military sign-up bonuses last year due to economic strain.
“A couple of words about the results from last year. The supreme commander-in-chief’s goal has been met: 422,704 people signed military contracts,” Dmitry Medvedev said in a video posted on his social media account.
The figure he gave for 2024 was around 450,000.
Kyiv, Ukraine – A Russian officer in the Moscow-occupied part of the Donetsk region in southeastern Ukraine has reportedly become unusually lenient towards one new soldier.
As the tale goes, the officer lets him spend several days in the administrative capital, also named Donetsk, and – knowing that the serviceman is single and childless – gives him the phone number of a “nice woman”. Overwhelmed by the war, the serviceman craves intimacy, and within days, the woman persuades him to get married.
Ukraine has accused Vladimir Putin of another ‘war crime’ after Russia fired a devastating new hypersonic weapon during overnight strikes.
At least four people died in a Russian barrage on Kyiv last night, while strikes also rained down on civilian areas in Lviv region, close to the border with Poland.
Today, Ukraine‘s SBU security service released images of the nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile found among the debris in Lviv – and confirmed it was treating the use of the weapon as a war crime.
Among the fragments displayed by Ukrainian investigators are components described as the “brains” of the missile – its so-called stabilisation and guidance block.
Ukraine war latest: UN to hold emergency meeting over Russian Oreshnik missile attack The Independent
from news.google.com
VLADIMIR Putin has lost at least 19 generals since launching Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
This staggering toll has ripped through the upper ranks of his military and laid bare the brutal cost of war at the very top.
The unprecedented losses have hollowed out Russia’s senior command, exposing a leadership crisis rarely seen in any modern conflict.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Monday he had appointed former Liberal cabinet minister Chrystia Freeland as an economic development adviser, citing her experience in attracting investment.
“Right now, Ukraine needs to strengthen its internal resilience — both for the sake of Ukraine’s recovery if diplomacy delivers results as swiftly as possible, and to reinforce our defense if, because of delays by our partners, it takes longer to bring this war to an end,” Zelenskyy wrote on X.
President Donald Trump has stated that he does not believe Ukraine carried out a drone strike targeting Russian President Vladimir Putin’s residence last week, pushing back on claims made by Moscow.
“I don’t believe that strike happened,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One while traveling from Florida to Washington.
“There is something that happened fairly nearby, but had nothing to do with this.”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov claimed on Dec. 29 that Kyiv launched 91 drones toward Putin’s residence in Novgorod, and that all drones were destroyed. Ukraine denied the allegation.
U.S. intelligence officials have concluded that Ukraine did not attack one of President Vladimir Putin’s residences earlier this week, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.
Russia claims that Ukraine launched a large-scale drone operation targeting Putin’s Valdai residence in the northwestern Novgorod region between Sunday night and Monday morning. Kyiv has dismissed the accusations as an attempt to disrupt U.S.-brokered talks to end the war.
An unnamed U.S. official told WSJ that the CIA assessed no attack had taken place against Putin’s residence. According to the official, Ukrainian forces had instead sought to strike a military facility elsewhere in the Novgorod region, far from Valdai.
Russia on Tuesday released video footage of what it said was the deployment of its nuclear-capable hypersonic Oreshnik missile system in close ally Belarus, a move that would expand Moscow’s ability to strike targets across Europe in the event of a war.State news agency TASS said this was the first time the Russian defence ministry had publicly shown the Oreshnik mobile missile systems. President Vladimir Putin has declared that the missiles are “impossible to intercept”, citing missile speeds reportedly more than 10 times the speed of sound.”A solemn ceremony was held in the Republic of Belarus for the unit outfitted with the Oreshnik road-mobile missile system to assume combat duty.
The U.S. has agreed to provide unspecified security guarantees to Ukraine as part of a peace deal to end Russia’s nearly four-year war, and more talks are likely this weekend, U.S. officials said Monday following the latest discussions with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Berlin.
The officials said talks with President Donald Trump’s envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, led to narrowing differences on security guarantees that Kyiv said must be provided, as well as on Moscow’s demand that Ukraine concede land in the Donbas region in the country’s east.
Trump dialed into a dinner Monday evening with negotiators and European leaders, and more talks are expected this weekend in Miami or elsewhere in the United States, according to the U.S. officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly by the White House.
US, Europe vow to secure Ukraine, as Kyiv asks for $60 billion in 2026 Military Times
from news.google.com