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Trump and Zelensky speak ahead of fresh Ukraine talks
US President Donald Trump spoke with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky ahead of a fresh round of talks aimed at ending Russia’s invasion, a White House official said.
Zelensky said after the call that Kyiv expected the next session of trilateral talks in March on a war settlement to lead to a meeting of the countries’ leaders.
“We expect this meeting to create an opportunity to move talks to the leaders’ level. President Trump supports this sequence of steps,” he wrote on X. “This is the only way to resolve all the complex and sensitive issues and finally end the war.”
The call came a day before Ukrainian negotiator Rustem Umerov is to meet US envoy Steve Witkoff in Geneva.
Ghana urges Ukraine to release two Ghanaian prisoners of war recruited by Russia
Ghana’s Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa on a rare visit to Ukraine urged President Volodymyr Zelensky to release two Ghanaian prisoners of war captured fighting for Russia.
Vast numbers of mercenaries and foreign fighters from several African nations have been drawn on both sides of the conflict since Russia’s invasion in 2022.
Ukraine says that more than 1,780 citizens from 36 African countries including Ghana had been identified among Russia’s ranks, and that some of them had been captured.
Zelensky confirmed on X that he had “detailed discussions” with the Ghanaian lawmaker “on how Russia is recruiting citizens of Ghana and other African countries to take part in the war against Ukraine, and on how we can counter this”.
Earlier, Ghana’s minister told journalists that he hoped that Zelensky would be “magnanimous and compassionate and on humanitarian grounds release these two Ghanaians to us”.
“They are victims of manipulation, of disinformation, misinformation of criminal trafficking networks,” he said about Ghanaian citizens lured to fight for Russia.
Zelensky did not mention the case of the two individuals in his statement, but indicated that discussions on the issue will continue between the two countries.
More than 1,700 Africans fighting alongside Russians in Ukraine war
More than 1,700 Africans are fighting for Russia in its war in Ukraine, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha says, adding that Moscow was using deception to trick them into fighting.
Speaking alongside his counterpart from Ghana, Sybiha said that discussions were taking place with governments across Africa to prevent their citizens from being drawn into such schemes. Ghana will chair the African Union regional bloc next year.
“We clearly see that Russia is trying to drag African citizens into a deadly war,” Sybiha told a news conference.
“According to our data, there are currently over 1,780 citizens from the African continent fighting in the Russian army.”
Hungary’s leader orders extra security at energy sites, claiming Ukraine plots disruptions
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban ordered extra security at critical energy infrastructure sites after claiming Ukraine was attempting to disrupt Hungary’s energy system.
Budapest has recently accused Kyiv of deliberately holding back Russian oil deliveries through the Druzhba pipeline, which crosses Ukraine’s territory. Ukrainian officials have denied the allegations, saying the pipeline, which feeds refineries in Hungary and Slovakia, was hit in a Russian drone attack.
Orban has in recent weeks launched an aggressive anti-Ukraine campaign ahead of elections in April that will likely be the toughest he’s faced in his 16 years in power. He has cast the neighbouring country as a grave threat to Hungary’s security, and himself as the only guarantor of its safety.
Ukraine’s ambitious plan to protect 4,000 km of frontline roads with anti-drone nets
Ukraine will accelerate the placement of anti-drone nets over roads in frontline areas, aiming to cover 4,000 kilometres of roads by the end of this year, Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said.
Russia has been targeting military supply routes and rear bases deeper and deeper into Ukraine with the remotely piloted aircraft. Its drones have also struck hospitals, infrastructure and civilian traffic.
A growing number of nets have been installed over the past year, but more are needed, Fedorov said, adding that an additional 1.6 billion hryvnias ($37 million) had been allocated from the budget to bolster protection measures and counter Russian drones.
Ukraine ambassador to the UK hails new security partnership after Ukraine military plant opens in Britain
Ukraine’s ambassador to the UK Valerii Zaluzhnyi welcomed the opening of the first Ukrainian military plant in the UK.
Zaluzhnyi said in a post on X that for Ukraine the project meant “stability and the possibility of long-term planning”. He added that the plant would be a boon for the UK, “strengthening its own defense industry, access to technologies proven in modern warfare, and job creation”.
The UK partnership with Ukraine comes as Kyiv accelerates its expansion of arms manufacturing in Europe. A joint German-Ukraine venture was unveiled on February 13 to mark the first Ukrainian drone production line in Germany, the Kyiv Independent reported.
Ukraine is expected to launch several more joint arms production ventures by the end of 2026, though President Volodymyr Zelensky has not yet specified which countries will host the production facilities.
Orban denigrates EU, Zelensky in X post calling out ‘Brusselian leaders’
Hungary PM Viktor Orban took aim at the European Union in a social media post on X claiming its “Brusselian leaders” had negotiated an agreement with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to prolong the Ukraine war.
PM Viktor Orban accuses Ukraine of plans to disrupt Hungary’s energy supplies
Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban accused Ukraine of planning to disrupt the Hungarian energy system, prompting his government to reinforce critical infrastructure by deploying soldiers and equipment.
Death toll in drone attack on Russia’s Smolensk region rises to seven, investigators say
The death toll in a Ukrainian drone strike on a chemical plant in western Russia has risen to seven, according to Russian investigators.
Earlier Wednesday, the local governor in the Smolensk region of western Russia said four employees at the plant were killed in a Ukrainian drone attack.
The state Investigative Committee described the attack, as an act of terrorism by the Ukrainian military and said it would seek to identify those responsible.
There was no immediate comment from Ukraine.
Both sides in the four-year-old war have staged frequent cross-border attacks on energy, industrial and military facilities. Thousands of civilians have been killed, of whom the vast majority have been Ukrainians.
Russia attacks Ukraine’s gas facilities for two days in a row, Naftogaz says
Russia has attacked Ukraine’s gas storage and production facilities in the Kharkiv and Chernihiv regions for two days in a row, said the state energy company Naftogaz.
Naftogaz said in a statement that the attacks caused damage but provided no specific details.
Russian claims that Ukraine trying to obtain nuclear bomb an attempt to pressure talks, says Zelenksy
President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Wednesday that Russian claims that Kyiv was trying to obtain nuclear weapons was an attempt to pressure Ukraine during ongoing peace talks. He told a news conference that Ukraine had no nuclear weapons.
Ukraine was advised to repair Druzhba oil pipeline but ‘it was not so fast’, Zelensky says
President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Wednesday that Ukraine was advised to repair the Druzhba oil pipeline but “it was not so fast”.
Shipments of Russian oil to Hungary and Slovakia have been cut off since January 27, when Kyiv says a Russian strike hit pipeline equipment in Western Ukraine. Slovakia and Hungary say Ukraine is to blame for the prolonged outage.
First Ukrainian military plant in the UK has started operations, Ukraine’s ambassador says
The first Ukrainian drone production plant in Britain has started its operations, said Ukraine’s ambassador Valeriy Zaluzhnyi.
“Ukraine is fighting a war amid constant missile strikes, infrastructure destruction and threats to production facilities. Therefore, the launch of production in the UK has a deep strategic logic,” Zaluzhnyi said on the Telegram app.
“This is not a shift of the centre of gravity away from Ukraine. It is an expansion of our joint capabilities and the creation of a second line of defence that guarantees continuity of production.”
Poland charges six with trying to smuggle sanctioned equipment to Russia
Four Belarusians and two Poles have been detained and charged with attempting to smuggle to Russia devices used to automate the production of integrated circuits, used, among others, in the assembly of combat drones, Polish prosecutors said.
Warsaw has been warning of Russian and Belarusian attempts to destabilise countries backing Ukraine.
Polish prosecutors on Wednesday said the suspects were detained on February 18 and charged with attempting to smuggle through Belarus strategically significant equipment, which is under sanctions and which could be used in the production of military technology.
“Violation of the provisions of the sanctions act is classified as a crime, punishable by imprisonment for a period of no less than three years,” prosecutors said in a statement.
Russia fines Google for distributing VPN services, TASS reports
A Russian court has fined Alphabet’s Google over 22 million roubles ($288,000) for distributing VPN (virtual private network) services on the Google Play app store, state news agency TASS reports.
VPNs provide a means for Russians to access foreign tech platforms and content that Russia has banned or restricted.
Ukrainian negotiator to meet US team on Thursday, Zelensky says
Ukraine’s lead negotiator Rustem Umerov will meet with US envoy Steve Witkoff on Thursday, said President Volodymyr Zelensky, ahead of a fresh round of talks with Russia expected in March.
“Tomorrow he will meet with American negotiators (Steve) Witkoff and (Jared) Kushner,” Zelensky told a group of reporters, adding the meeting was part of “preparations for a trilateral meeting with Russia, which we believe will take place in early March”.
Umerov’s adviser added the meeting on Thursday would be in Geneva.
Four killed in drone attack on Russia’s Smolensk region, governor says
Four employees of a fertiliser factory were killed and 10 wounded in a Ukrainian drone attack in the Smolensk region of western Russia, local governor Vasily Anokhin has said on his Telegram channel.
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the Ukraine war.
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