![](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/6995ea14cd9ae38be3b4eabc.jpg\"\/)
NATO soldiers arrive on Wessek Beach in Putlos, Germany, on February 18, 2026. (\u00a9 Virginia Mayo, AP)<\/p>\n18\/02\/2026 – 21:25Humanitarian situation in Ukraine ‘the worst it’s ever been’, Red Cross says<\/p>\n
The humanitarian situation in Ukraine \u201cis the worst it’s ever been\u201d, Scott Craig, senior communications officer at the IFRC told FRANCE 24, as international support is dwindling leaving organisations working on the ground struggling to drum up funds.\u00a0<\/p>\n
18\/02\/2026 – 21:03Sanctions inhibit development of US-Russian economic ties, Kremlin says<\/p>\n
\u2060Sanctions \u2060on Moscow \u200binhibit the development \u200bof good US-Russian economic and trade ties, Russian \u200bnews \u200cagencies \u2060quoted Kremlin spokesman \u200cDmitry Peskov as saying on \u2060Thursday.<\/p>\n
“Sanctions which we naturally consider \u200billegal inhibit \u200cthe smooth functioning of trade and economic \u200cties between Russia \u200band the US It is in our interest to \u200bdevelop them,” \u200bthe agencies said \u200bPeskov told reporters.<\/p>\n
“A great \u200bmany projects can be placed on the agenda, \u2060but for this we need \u2060to \u200breinvigorate our relations.”<\/p>\n
18\/02\/2026 – 21:02White House says more Ukraine talks expected in near future<\/p>\n
The \u200bUS \u200bhas made meaningful progress in \u200btalks \u200cthis \u2060week \u200cto bring an \u2060end to war \u200bin Ukraine and \u200cmore discussions are \u200cexpected \u200bin the near future, White House \u200bspokeswoman \u200bKaroline Leavitt \u200bsaid \u200bon Wednesday.<\/p>\n
18\/02\/2026 – 21:02Ukraine’s ex-military chief Zaluzhnyi reveals new details of rift with Zelensky<\/p>\n
Ukraine’s popular ex-military chief has \u2060provided new \u200bdetails of a rift with President Volodymyr Zelensky, threatening to deepen a long-simmering conflict between the two \u200bwartime leaders.<\/p>\n
General Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, who served as Kyiv’s top commander until February 2024 and is now its ambassador to London, told the Associated Press in an \u200binterview published \u200con Wednesday that he felt threatened by a 2022 raid by \u2060security agents and blamed Zelensky for a major battlefield failure.<\/p>\n
Zaluzhnyi described how his office was raided in September 2022 by dozens of agents \u200bfrom Ukraine’s SBU security service, which answers to Zelensky. Zaluzhnyi said he then called Zelensky’s \u200bchief of staff with a warning that he would deploy \u200btroops to protect his command centre, having already called in reinforcements to Kyiv.<\/p>\n
Zaluzhnyi also pinned the failure of a much-vaunted 2023 counteroffensive on Zelensky, saying he did not commit the necessary resources to the campaign. Aimed at breaking Russian \u2060defences, it ended mostly in an embarrassing string of defeats for Kyiv. <\/p>\n
Zaluzhnyi said his original plan to focus on \u2060a single axis \u200bhad been overridden by Zelensky’s order to push across much of the front line.<\/p>\n
18\/02\/2026 – 20:56Zelensky says he is dissatisfied with latest Russia talks<\/p>\n
Ukrainian \u2060President Volodymyr Zelensky \u200bhas said he was dissatisfied with the \u200blatest talks \u200cheld \u2060with Russian negotiators, \u200cnoting “sensitive political matters” had not \u2060been addressed properly.<\/p>\n
“As of today, \u200bwe cannot say \u200cthat the result is sufficient,” Zelensky \u200csaid in his \u200bnightly video address.<\/p>\n
“The military discussed certain issues \u200bseriously and substantively. Sensitive \u200bpolitical matters, \u200bpossible compromises and the \u200bnecessary meeting of leaders have not yet been sufficiently \u2060addressed.”<\/p>\n
18\/02\/2026 – 18:13Ukrainian skeleton racer disqualified from Olympics plans fundraiser for fallen athletes<\/p>\n
After being disqualified from the Milan Cortina Olympics, Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych returned to Kyiv\u00a0where he plans to launch a fundraiser for the families of athletes killed by Russia.<\/p>\n
Heraskevych, a likely medal contender, was disqualified roughly 45 minutes before competition on February 12 after refusing a last-minute plea from the International Olympic Committee to not use a helmet honoring more than 20 athletes and coaches killed since Russia invaded his country four years ago. <\/p>\n
The helmet and the fallout surrounding it produced heavy media coverage around the world, and Heraskevych\u2019s plan is to use his newfound spotlight to launch a fundraising effort for the families of the fallen Ukrainians painted on his helmet.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt wasn\u2019t me who drew attention to Ukraine \u2014 it was them,\u201d he said. \u201cIt is their voices that are heard very loudly.\u201d<\/p>\n
18\/02\/2026 – 17:20NATO trains storming Baltic beach to deter Russia<\/p>\n
Thousands of NATO troops including from Spain and Turkey joined an exercise Wednesday on Germany’s Baltic coast that defence officials labelled a show of readiness to deter Russia.<\/p>\n
Naval and special forces practised seizing a beach at the Putlos training ground near the port city of Kiel as part of the wider Steadfast Dart 2026 exercise to test the alliance’s ability to rapidly move troops across NATO territory.<\/p>\n
Around 3,000 forces took part in the drill, which included German Eurofighter jets and 15 naval vessels as well as Spanish combat divers and Turkish units using Zaha amphibious assault vehicles.<\/p>\n
German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius, observing the manoeuvre, said that the drill came in a context where “the security situation has worsened dramatically” in the Baltic Sea.<\/p>\n
NATO soldiers arrive on Wessek Beach in Putlos, Germany, on February 18, 2026. (\u00a9 Virginia Mayo, AP)<\/p>\n
18\/02\/2026 – 17:18Russia\u2019s road back to the Olympics<\/p>\n
When Russia\u2019s paralympic athletes step out at the winter Games in Milan in March it will mark the first time a Russian flag has been flown at the Paralympics since the 2014 games in Sochi, Russia. <\/p>\n
The country’s athletes were initially banned because of a state-sponsored doping program, and the sanctions against Russia have continued since its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.<\/p>\n
Should a Paralympic athlete win gold, it will be the first time the Russian anthem has been played on the stage of any major global sporting event in the past four years.<\/p>\n
In September, the IPC voted to lift partial suspensions of Russia and Belarus but said no athletes from those countries would compete at the Milan Cortina Games because the sports\u2019 governing bodies had maintained their bans.<\/p>\n
The following month, an appeal from Russia saw the Court of Arbitration for Sport overturn a blanket ban imposed by the International Ski and Snowboard Federation \u2013 paving the way for Russians to compete as neutral athletes at the 2026 Olympics, and with their own flag and anthem at the Paralympics.<\/p>\n
18\/02\/2026 – 16:32Four South Africans lured into fighting in Russia-Ukraine war have returned home, SABC reports<\/p>\n
Four \u200bSouth \u200bAfrican men who were lured \u200binto \u200cjoining \u2060mercenary \u200cforces in \u2060the Russia-Ukraine conflict and \u200bgot \u200ctrapped in the \u200cDonbas \u200bregion have landed at Johannesburg’s main \u200bairport, \u200bthe \u200bpublic broadcaster SABC \u200bhas reported.<\/p>\n
18\/02\/2026 – 16:05Analysis: Russia ‘not serious about peace’<\/p>\n
Lack of progress in the latest round of peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv comes as little surprise, with Russia “not serious about peace”, Melinda Haring, senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center, told FRANCE 24.<\/p>\n
18\/02\/2026 – 15:57Hungary to suspend diesel shipments to Ukraine over interruption to Russian oil supply<\/p>\n
Hungary is suspending its shipments of diesel to neighboring Ukraine until interruptions to Russian oil supplies via a pipeline that crosses Ukrainian territory are resolved, Hungary’s foreign minister said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Russian oil shipments to Hungary and Slovakia have been interrupted since January 27 after what Ukrainian officials say were Russian attacks that damaged the Druzhba pipeline, which carries Russian crude into Central Europe.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hungary and Slovakia, which have both received a temporary exemption from a European Union policy prohibiting imports of Russian oil, have accused Ukraine \u2013 without providing evidence \u2013 of deliberately holding up supplies.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In a video posted on social media Wednesday, Hungarian Foreign Minister P\u00e9ter Szijj\u00e1rt\u00f3 said Hungary has enough oil reserves to last more than three months, and that its energy security was assured.\u00a0<\/p>\n
18\/02\/2026 – 15:54Russian negotiator held private Geneva meeting with Ukrainians after formal talks ended, RIA reports<\/p>\n
Russia’s chief \u200bnegotiator Vladimir Medinsky \u200bon Wednesday held a two-hour closed door meeting \u200bwith \u200cthe \u2060Ukrainian side in \u200cGeneva after the end \u2060of formal talks, Russia’s state RIA \u200bnews agency reported.<\/p>\n
The \u200cformal talks, which were mediated by \u200cthe US, ended earlier \u200bon Wednesday after only two hours, with \u200bPresident Volodymyr Zelenskiy describing \u200bthem as “difficult” \u200band accusing Russia of \u200bdeliberately delaying progress toward a deal to end the four-year-old \u2060war.<\/p>\n
18\/02\/2026 – 14:26Ukraine officials to boycott Paralympics over Russia’s participation<\/p>\n
Ukraine officials \u200bwill boycott the \u200bMilano Cortina Paralympics next month over the participation of \u200ba \u200chandful of \u2060Russian and Belarusian athletes, who \u200chave been cleared to compete \u2060under their flag, Ukraine’s Sports Minister Matvii \u200bBidnyi said.<\/p>\n
Ukrainian athletes will still take part in the \u200cMarch 6-15 Paralympic Games \u200b, but Bidnyi said no Ukrainian official would be at the \u200bopening ceremony or \u200bany event of \u200bthe Games.<\/p>\n
Russia and Belarus will \u200bhave a combined 10 para athletes at next month’s Paralympics following Tuesday’s \u2060decision by the International Paralympic \u2060Committee.<\/p>\n
18\/02\/2026 – 13:22EU sports chief to boycott Paralympics opening after Russians allowed to compete under own flag<\/p>\n
The EU’s sport commissioner has said he will skip the opening ceremony of the Paralympics in Milan-Cortina after Russian and Belarusian athletes were allowed to compete under their own national flags.<\/p>\n
“While Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine continues, I cannot support the reinstatement of national symbols, flags, anthems and uniforms, that are inseparable from that conflict,” commissioner Glenn Micallef posted online.\u00a0<\/p>\n
18\/02\/2026 – 13:08’Difficult but businesslike’ talks, Putin’s adviser says<\/p>\n
The head of the Russian delegation, President Vladimir Putin\u2019s advisor Vladimir Medinsky, told reporters that the two days of US-brokered talks between Kyiv and Moscow in Geneva \u201cwere difficult but businesslike\u201d. He said another round of talks will be held “in the near future\u201d, without specifying a date.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Medinsky, an ultraconservative historian and former culture minister, has raised eyebrows in past rounds of negotiations, with Ukrainian representatives accusing him of launching into long lectures expounding his nationalist view on Russian history.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Read more about Medinsky’s rise from PR man to Putin’s presidential aide here:\u00a0<\/p>\n
18\/02\/2026 – 12:00Ukraine’s Zelensky says Geneva talks ‘difficult’, positions ‘differ’<\/p>\n
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has also described the Geneva talks as “difficult”, adding that the two sides agreed further talks would take place.<\/p>\n
“We can see that progress has been made but, for now, positions differ because the negotiations were difficult,” Zelensky told reporters in a WhatsApp chat.<\/p>\n
Zelensky earlier said the United States was putting undue pressure on him to bring an end to the four-year-old war.\u00a0<\/p>\n
FRANCE 24\u2019s international affairs commentator Doug Herbert takes a closer look at how the talks are progressing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
18\/02\/2026 – 11:46Ukraine’s chief negotiator sees ‘progress’ in Russia, US talks<\/p>\n
Ukraine’s lead negotiator Rustem Umerov said there had been progress in talks with the United States and Russia on ending the war, following the conclusion of a Geneva meeting on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
“We are focused on working through the key provisions required to finalise the process. This is complex work that requires alignment among all parties and sufficient time. There is progress but no details can be disclosed at this stage,” he told reporters.<\/p>\n
18\/02\/2026 – 11:26Zelensky says European role at Geneva talks with Russia ‘critical’<\/p>\n
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has described Europe’s participation at the talks in Geneva as vital for any agreements reached on halting the war to hold.<\/p>\n
He also confirmed, following earlier reports, that Ukrainian and US negotiators had met on Tuesday with officials from Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Switzerland.<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/69959396873a7e8043933a76.png\"\/)
<\/p>\n
18\/02\/2026 – 10:58Ukraine peace talks in Geneva end<\/p>\n
US-mediated \u200bpeace \u200btalks between Moscow and Kyiv \u2060ended \u200cin Geneva, according to a Ukrainian official and Russian state media.<\/p>\n
The \u200btalks lasted about two hours, \u200bthe \u200bspokesperson \u200bfor Ukraine’s \u200cchief negotiator \u200csaid. <\/p>\n
TASS, a Russian state \u200cnews agency, \u200bcited Moscow’s chief negotiator Vladimir Medinsky as \u200bsaying \u200bthat \u200bmore talks \u200bwould be held soon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"18\/02\/2026 – 21:25Humanitarian situation in Ukraine ‘the worst it’s ever been’, Red Cross says The humanitarian situation in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":13692,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[7],"tags":[18,197,65,4419,5541,136,4417,17,135,533],"class_list":["post-13691","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-geneva","tag-donald-trump","tag-europe","tag-geneva","tag-jared-kushner","tag-marco-rubio","tag-russia","tag-steve-witkoff","tag-switzerland","tag-ukraine","tag-usa"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13691","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13691"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13691\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13692"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13691"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13691"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13691"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}