Saturday, February 15
Russia’s war against Ukraine
A Ukrainian serviceman watches an inspection of the damage to the radiation containment shield of Reactor 4 at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant following a Russian drone strike, Ukraine, on Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (Andrew Kravchenko / Bloomberg via Getty Images)
‘We’re ready to move to real and guaranteed peace as quickly as possible’ — Zelensky on meeting with Vance. The draft memorandum is part of broader discussions on a potential minerals agreement, which Trump has suggested could involve access to Ukraine’s mineral reserves in exchange for continued military and financial support.
Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant sarcophagus hit by Russian drone. “Russia continues to expand its army and shows no change in its deranged, anti-human state rhetoric,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
Putin assembling veteran negotiators for talks on ending Ukraine war, Bloomberg reports. Putin’s team will reportedly include Sergey Naryshkin, director of the Foreign Intelligence Service.
‘Peace deal can’t be signed in Munich’ — Zelensky sets out condition for talks with Putin. “Today, we are not talking about any peace agreement… A peace deal cannot be signed in Munich because it is Munich. We remember what things were signed here. I do not repeat such things,” Volodymyr Zelensky said.
‘We need a 1.5 million army if we are not going to be in NATO’ — Zelensky on Ukraine’s membership in alliance. “It doesn’t matter what country these forces are from. In any case, we need 1.5 million troops if we are not in NATO,” Volodymyr Zelensky said.
Over 150 Ukrainian war prisoners may be held in Chechnya, Kyiv says. Some 36 Ukrainian POWs are being sought and may be in the city of Grozny, Chechnya, according to Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of POWs.
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‘It doesn’t advance American interests’ — JD Vance walks back WSJ comments on US troops in Ukraine. Even though Vance refused to say that deploying U.S. troops in Ukraine was off the table, he later accused the outlet of “twisting (his) words.”
Ukraine’s survival hinges on US military support, Zelensky tells NBC News. Volodymyr Zelensky said on Feb. 14 that it would be “very, very, very difficult” for Ukraine to sustain its fight against Russia and remain secure in the long term without American support.
Ukraine secures return of 8 children from Russian-occupied territories. “All the children were separated from their families due to the war and occupation, and some lost their parents,” Dmytro Lubinets, Ukrainian Parliament’s Commissioner for Human Rights, said on Feb. 14.
Over 6,000 cases of Russian use of chemicals recorded over 2 years. Two laboratories of Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons confirmed that Russian munitions contained riot control agent known as CS.
Russia abandons modernization of power plants due to lack of money, equipment, media reports. The Russian government has allowed several companies to abandon the modernization of over a dozen power plants across the country, the Russian news agency Interfax reported.
Read our exclusives
Ukraine war latest: Chornobyl sarcophagus hit by Russian drone; Zelensky outlines terms for talks
A Russian attack drone struck the protective shelter of the destroyed 4th reactor at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant, President Volodymyr Zelensky reported on Feb. 14. The strike damaged the sarcophagus, but the fire was quickly extinguished.
Photo: Andrii Kovalenko, head of Ukraine’s Center for Countering Disinformation / Telegram
‘Nuclear blackmail:’ Russia strikes Chornobyl as world leaders gather for Munich Security Conference
Videos shared by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky show a drone breaking through Chornobyl’s “sarcophagus,” an international project to cover reactor number four that exploded in 1986 in the most devastating nuclear disaster in history.
Photo: International Atomic Energy Agency / X
10 Ukrainian drone makers to watch
In the three years since Russia launched its full-scale invasion, Ukraine has almost certainly become the largest producer of drones in the Western-aligned world. Early workshop tinkering on mainly commercial Chinese drones evolved into steadily more professional and massive production of domestic UAVs.
Photo: Lisa Litvinenko/The Kyiv Independent
JD Vance’s Munich speech met with shock, bewilderment
U.S. Vice President JD Vance admonished Europe for not paying enough attention to “uncontrolled migration” and for what he described as the “retreat” of free speech. He argued that Europe should not “just talk about democratic values” but “live them.”
Photo: Olena Zashko/The Kyiv Independent
Human cost of war
Ukraine repatriates 757 bodies of fallen soldiers. The bodies were recovered from the Pokrovsk, Bakhmut, Vuhledar, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia sectors of the front.
4,000 North Korean casualties in Russia’s Kursk Oblast, 2/3 killed, Zelensky says. Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, Zelensky said the morale of Pyongyang’s troops had been “broken” by the losses.
Opinions and insights
America is folding. Europe, will you step up?
“The U.S. administration is ready to hand Russia a win in its brutal war against Ukraine. That’s the only conclusion we can make after following the news this week. If anyone held onto hopes that U.S. President Donald Trump would be tough on Russia’s Vladimir Putin, sorry to disappoint you,” reads the Kyiv Independent’s latest editorial.
Photo: Ludovic Marin/AFP via Getty Images
3 lessons from Minsk II for the US in a future Russia-Ukraine peace deal
“Some peace deals lead to peace; others lead to more war. The Minsk II deal, aimed at ending Russia’s initial invasion of Ukraine in 2014, instead laid the groundwork for Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022. The U.S. must learn from the Minsk deal,” writes Nataliya Bugayova, non-resident Russia fellow at the Institute for the Study of War.
Photo: Sean Gallup / Getty Images
NATO member turning pro-Russia? Inside Slovakia’s political turmoil
International response
Senior Republican senator calls Hegseth’s Ukraine remarks ‘rookie mistake,’ Politico reports. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth faced criticism from Senate Armed Services Chair Roger Wicker after suggesting that Ukraine’s return to its pre-war borders was unrealistic. “He made a rookie mistake in Brussels, and he’s walked back some of what he said but not that line,” Wicker said.
Saudi Arabia ready to host proposed Trump-Putin summit. “The Kingdom (of Saudi Arabia) expresses its welcome to hosting the summit in Saudi Arabia, and reaffirms its ongoing efforts to achieve lasting peace between Russia and Ukraine,” the country’s foreign ministry said.
German drone manufacturer Quantum Systems plans to double production in Ukraine. Quantum Systems, a German drone manufacturer operating two plants in Ukraine, plans to double its drone production in the country, Ukraine’s Strategic Industries Ministry announced on Feb. 14.
Orban sees Russia’s ’reintegration’ into world economy, Europe’s energy after Ukraine deal. “If the U.S. president comes and creates peace, there is a deal, I think Russia will be reintegrated into the world economy.” Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said.
Sudan to allow Russia to build its first naval base in Africa. The naval base — which has been under discussion since 2017 — would give Moscow access to the Red Sea, one of the world’s most strategically important waterways.
In other news
Director of popular Ukrainian online casino detained over company ties to Russia. Ukraine’s State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) has detained the director of popular online casino Pin-Up over its alleged Russian ownership and business in Russia, the agency announced in a press release on Feb. 14.
Ukraine opens criminal cases against ex-President Poroshenko, sanctioned oligarchs, businessmen. “Each of these five individuals is being held criminally liable for committing serious and especially serious crimes,” the Prosecutor General’s Office said in a post on Telegram.
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