{"id":782818,"date":"2026-02-23T03:14:26","date_gmt":"2026-02-23T03:14:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/782818\/"},"modified":"2026-02-23T03:14:26","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T03:14:26","slug":"ukraine-russia-war-live-zelensky-warns-putin-has-started-ww3-and-must-be-stopped-ahead-of-four-year-anniversary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/782818\/","title":{"rendered":"Ukraine-Russia war live: Zelensky warns Putin has started WW3 and must be stopped ahead of four-year anniversary"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a>Ukraine attack seriously damages infrastructure in Russia’s Belgorod<\/p>\n

A massive Ukrainian missile attack inflicted serious damage on energy infrastructure and disrupted supplies of power, heat and water in Russia’s Belgorod region on the border with Ukraine, the region\u2019s governor said.<\/p>\n

“There has been, as a result, serious damage to energy infrastructure,” governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Telegram on Monday.<\/p>\n

“In residences, there are interruptions in supplies of electricity, water and heat.”<\/p>\n

Gladkov said the attack affected both the city of Belgorod, 40km (25 miles) from the border, and the surrouding area. He said the extent of damage would be assessed at first light.<\/p>\n

Belgorod has frequently come under attack from Ukrainian forces in the conflict whose fourth anniversary will be marked this week. <\/p>\n

Arpan Rai23 February 2026 03:11<\/p>\n

<\/a>After 4 years of war by Russia in Ukraine, peace is still elusive despite a US push for a settlement<\/p>\n

When Russia\u2019s full-scale invasion of Ukraine<\/a> surpassed 1,418 days last month, it officially exceeded a historic milestone \u2014 the same span of time it took Moscow<\/a> to defeat Nazi Germany in World War II.<\/p>\n

And unlike the Red Army that pushed all the way to Berlin eight decades ago in what it called the Great Patriotic War, Russia<\/a>‘s 4-year-old, all-out invasion of its neighbor is still struggling to fully capture Ukraine\u2019s eastern industrial heartland.<\/p>\n

After Moscow failed to seize the capital of Kyiv<\/a> and install a puppet government in February 2022, the conflict turned into trench warfare with tremendous cost. By some estimates, nearly 2 million soldiers are dead, wounded or missing on both sides in Europe\u2019s most devastating conflict since World War II.<\/p>\n

Maira Butt23 February 2026 02:00<\/p>\n

<\/a>In case you missed it: Former UK PM Boris Johnson says UK should immediately send non-combat troops to Ukraine<\/p>\n

Speaking ahead of the four-year anniversary <\/a>of the invasion<\/a>, the former politician told BBC\u2019s Laura Kuenssberg that Ukraine\u2019s allies had been \u201ctoo slow\u201d to respond.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe’ve always delayed needlessly,\u201d he said. \u201cWe’ve then ended up giving the Ukrainians what they have been asking for, and actually it’s always served to their advantage and to the disadvantage of Putin. I mean, the one person who suffers from escalation is Putin.\u201d<\/p>\n

Boris Johnson says UK should send non-combat troops to Ukraine now<\/p>\n

Maira Butt23 February 2026 01:00<\/p>\n

<\/a>Hungary threatens to block EU sanctions on Russia over Ukraine pipeline dispute<\/p>\n

Hungary<\/a> has threatened to block a new package of European Union sanctions<\/a> against Russia<\/a> and stall efforts to help Ukraine<\/a>, demanding the immediate resumption of Russian oil deliveries.<\/p>\n

This ultimatum precedes a meeting of EU<\/a> foreign ministers in Brussels<\/a> on Monday to discuss the bloc’s 20th round of sanctions, hoping for approval by the fourth anniversary of Russia<\/a>‘s invasion of Ukraine<\/a> on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Hungarian Foreign Minister P\u00e9ter Szijj\u00e1rt\u00f3 announced his intention to block the sanctions in a social media video on Sunday, accusing Ukraine of deliberately withholding Russian oil shipments via the Druzhba pipeline<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Maira Butt23 February 2026 00:01<\/p>\n

<\/a>Watch: Life growing up in a cold and dark Ukraine under constant Russian attackLife growing up in a cold and dark Ukraine under constant Russian attack<\/p>\n

Maira Butt22 February 2026 23:00<\/p>\n

<\/a>Putin has started WW3, says Zelensky<\/p>\n

President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned that Russian leader Vladimir Putin has already started World War III and must be stopped. <\/p>\n

\u201cI believe that Putin has already started it [WW3],\u201d he told the BBC. <\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThe question is how much territory he will be able to seize and how to stop him… Russia wants to impose on the world a different way of life and change the lives people have chosen for themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

The comments come amid fraught ongoing trilateral discussions to secure a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine. <\/p>\n

As the war approaches its four-year anniversary, Russia insists Ukraine surrender key territory while Zelensky is reluctant to any agreement that does not contain robust security guarantees. <\/p>\n

\"\"(BBC)<\/p>\n

Maira Butt22 February 2026 22:10<\/p>\n

<\/a>Ukrainians discuss having and raising children in wartime despite falling birth rates<\/p>\n

Ukrainians are continuing to have children and raise families in wartime despite a decline in birth rates since the outbreak of war almost four years ago. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s scary. You don\u2019t know their direction. We hide at home between two walls. Veronica recognises the air-raid sirens,\u201d Valeriia Ivashchenko told The Guardian. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the invasion began, I didn\u2019t have a kid. I want to continue to build our life here. War means you can only plan for the short or medium term.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maira Butt22 February 2026 22:00<\/p>\n

<\/a>UN says Ukraine\u2019s women at breaking point after four years of war<\/p>\n

The United Nations has warned that women and girls in Ukraine are reaching a \u201cbreaking point\u201d after four years of conflict.<\/p>\n

One in three women-led organisations in Ukraine warned they may only survive six months or less with the current state of funding. <\/p>\n

Attacks on energy infrastructure are also hitting women and girls hard. <\/p>\n

\u201cThose energy blackouts, they are not just technical disruptions,\u201d chief of Humanitarian Action Sofia Calltorp told reporters in Geneva on Friday. \u201cThey directly undermine women’s safety, protection, and economic security.\u201d<\/p>\n

Families have been left without heating, electricity, and reliable shelter amid brutal winter conditions.<\/p>\n

Calltorp explained that extended darkness, lack of street lighting, and disrupted transport \u201cseverely restrict women\u2019s mobility and increase exposure to harassment and accidents\u201d.<\/p>\n

UN Women reported that 2025 had been the deadliest year for women in Ukraine, with more than 5,000 killed and 14,000 since the war began in 2022.<\/p>\n

\"\"(AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Maira Butt22 February 2026 21:00<\/p>\n

<\/a>Russian Olympics athlete disqualified after accidentally taking competitor’s skis<\/p>\n

Russian athlete Dariya Nepryaeva was disqualified from the women’s 50km classic cross-country race at the Winter Olympics on Sunday. <\/p>\n

The 23-year-old accidentally took a competitor\u2019s skis during a mid-race equipment change. <\/p>\n

Germany’s Katharina Hennig Dotzler finished ninth and said the skis she was left with were slower than those she would have used had her equipment not been taken. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt was not the fastest one. This morning we tested four pairs of skis, and that was maybe the third or fourth. It\u2019s a difference, but such things happen in sport,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Nepryaeva returned the skis and apologised. Russia and Belarus are not allowed to compete in the Olympics following the invasion of Ukraine but some athletes were permitted to compete individually. <\/p>\n

\"\"(REUTERS)<\/p>\n

Maira Butt22 February 2026 20:30<\/p>\n

<\/a>Ukraine foreign minister responds to Pope Leo’s call for a ceasefire<\/p>\n

Ukraine\u2019s foreign minister Andrii Sybiha has responded to Pope Leo\u2019s call for an urgent ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine. <\/p>\n

Speaking on Sunday during his weekly address, Pope Leo said peace in the region \u201ccannot be postponed\u201d and that ending the war<\/a> is an \u201curgent necessity\u201d.<\/p>\n

Sybiha wrote in a post on X on Sunday: \u201cWe are grateful to His Holiness for his compassion and moral leadership. The Pontiff\u2019s call for a ceasefire is very timely. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe entire world wants Russia to finally cease fire and invest in diplomacy instead of new brutal strikes. We value the Holy See\u2019s solidarity with Ukraine.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"(Reuters)<\/p>\n

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