Ukrainian and Russian officials are meeting in Geneva for another round of talks aimed at ending the war in Ukraine. The talks come just days before the 4-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of its neighbor.
Tuesday’s negotiations in Geneva come to a close
Talks between Ukrainian and Russian negotiators in Geneva have ended for the day.
“After the joint session, we continued working in groups by areas. The discussions focused on practical issues and the mechanisms of possible solutions,” Ukraine’s lead negotiator Rustem Umerov said on social media.
“Both the political and military tracks have completed their work for today.”
A source close to the Russian delegation told the AFP news agency that the negotiations “were very tense.”
“They lasted six hours,” the source said. “They have now concluded. It has been agreed to continue tomorrow.”
Many Ukrainians doubt ceding territory will pacify Russia
Kyiv and Moscow remain far apart on key issues as their envoys meet in Geneva for a third round of US-led peace talks. DW correspondents Nick Connolly and Juri Rescheto gauge the mood within Ukraine and Russia.
IPC: Russians to compete under own flags at 2026 Paralympics
Six Russian and four Belarusian athletes will participate in the Winter Paralympics in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) told the AFP and SID news agencies.
According to SID, Russia received quota places in alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, and snowboarding, all of which are organized by the International Ski Federation (FIS).
The IPC General Assembly’s decision to lift the suspension against Russia and Belarus at the end of September last year came as a surprise.
The partial suspension, which allowed athletes only to compete as neutrals, was put in place in 2023 in place of a complete ban that had been enacted afterRussia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Russians and Belarusians are currently only participating in the Winter Olympics in Italy as neutral athletes.
Military police building collapses near Russia’a Saint Petersburg
A Russian military police building collapsed on the grounds of an army base outside Saint Petersburg, local governor Alexander Drozdenko said.
“I have instructed the security forces to assist the military in clearing the rubble and rescuing victims following the collapse of a military police building,” Drozdenko said.
The local outlet 47news reported that three people died in the incident, citing emergency services. The outlet also reported that the collapse was caused by an explosion.
Other local media reported that three or four people may still be trapped under the rubble.
Drozdenko said the cause of the incident is being investigated.
Macron urges India to back ‘moratorium on strikes’ against Ukrainian civilians
French President Emmanuel Macron urged India to back a call for Russia to stop strikes on civilians and infrastructure after meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Mumbai.
“As the ceasefire remains difficult to achieve, and I regret that, we could join our efforts to secure the establishment of an immediate and lasting moratorium on strikes against civilians and civilian infrastructure,” Macron said, speaking alongside Modi.
Modi said India would continue to advocate for a peaceful resolution to the ongoing conflicts in western Asia and eastern Europe.
New Delhi and Moscow have longstanding ties. India has been buying discounted Russian oil that Moscow cannot easily sell elsewhere due to Western sanctions.
However, this may now be in question. Washington recently rolled back a 25% tariff after India committed to stop buying Russian oil.
Trilateral talks between Russia, Ukraine, US start in Geneva
Trilateral talks between Russian, Ukrainian and US delegations on a possible settlement in Ukraine have started in Geneva, according to Rustem Umerov, head of the Ukrainian delegation, and the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti.
“Security and humanitarian issues are on the agenda,” Umerov wrote on X.
“We are working constructively, focused and without excessive expectations. Our task is to maximally advance those solutions that can bring sustainable peace closer,” he added.
Russia is increasing hybrid threats around Sweden — intelligence
Russia has increased its hybrid threat activities and appears willing to take greater risks near Sweden, according to Swedish military intelligence.
“Russia has, in certain cases, stepped up actions and increased its presence — and perhaps with a greater risk appetite — in our vicinity,” Thomas Nilsson, head of Sweden’s Military Intelligence and Security Service (MUST), told the AFP news agency.
He added that he believes Moscow will “unfortunately” continue to do so, regardless of whether it succeeds in areas such as Ukraine.
On Tuesday, MUST presented its yearly threat review, warning that Sweden’s security situation has continued to deteriorate as it has in previous years, particularly since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The review stated that Russia is the main “military threat to Sweden and NATO” and warned that the threat is likely to grow as Moscow increases resources for its armed forces.
“Alongside resources for the war in Ukraine, Russia is reinforcing its resources in the Baltic Sea region, as it is a strategically very important region for Russia, both economically and militarily,” MUST warned.
Starlink shutdown: Ukraine recaptured 201 square kilometers last week — report
Ukrainian forces recaptured 201 square kilometers (78 square miles) from Russia between Wednesday and Sunday last week, taking advantage of a Starlink shutdown for Russian troops, according to data from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
The recaptured land is concentrated around an area 80 kilometers east of Zaporizhzhia, where Russian troops have made significant progress since the summer of 2025.
“These Ukrainian counterattacks are likely leveraging the recent block on Russian forces’ access to Starlink, which Russian milbloggers (military bloggers) have claimed is causing communications and command and control issues on the battlefield,” the ISW said.
On February 5, military observers noted the disruption of Starlink antennas used by Moscow on the front lines after Elon Musk announced “measures” to end the Kremlin’s use of this technology.
The recaptured area is nearly equal to the amount of land gained by Russian forces in December and is the largest amount of land retaken by Kyiv’s forces since the June 2023 counteroffensive.
Kremlin says not to expect any news from Geneva talks on Tuesday
The Kremlin urged against expecting a breakthrough — or even any news at all — on Tuesday from the Ukraine peace talks in Geneva among Russia, Ukraine, and the United States.
“I don’t think we should expect any news today,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, adding that the talks would continue on Wednesday.
Russia said the talks would take place behind closed doors.
Nigeria warns citizens about foreign army recruitment scams
Nigeria has warned its citizens against being recruited to fight in armed conflicts abroad.
The warning follows reports that some Nigerians, like citizens of other African countries, were deceived into fighting for Russia in Ukraine.
In a statement dated Sunday, the Nigerian Foreign Ministry expressed “grave concern over the rising and alarming cases of Nigerian citizens being illegally recruited to participate in foreign armed conflicts,” though it did not name Russia.
“Several Nigerians who have fallen victim to such unfortunate situations were deployed to combat zones after being misled and coerced into signing military service contracts,” the statement added.
Last week, the investigative collective All Eyes on Wagner published a report stating that at least 36 Nigerians had been recruited by the Russian army to fight in Ukraine, five of whom were killed in combat.
In November, Ukraine announced that it had identified at least 1,436 citizens from 36 African countries who were fighting for Russia.
Zelenskyy: Diplomacy effective with ‘justice and strength’
Efforts to find a diplomatic solution to end Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine would be more effective when Kyiv shows “justice and strength,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
In a post on X, which included photos of firefighters extinguishing blazes at energy facilities, he wrote, “Our diplomacy will be more effective if there is justice and strength.”
“For peace to be real and just, action must target the sole source of this aggression — because it is Moscow that continues the killings, massive attacks, and assaults,” he wrote, adding that rescue and repair efforts were underway in many regions.
Strikes on Ukrainian, Russian enegy facilities continue
Russia’s Defense Ministry said it had carried out a “massive strike” on Ukraine’s military-industrial and energy facilities, Interfax news agency reported Tuesday.
Ukraine’s air force said earlier that Russia had launched 396 drones and 29 missiles overnight, adding that it shot down 25 of the missiles and 367 of the drones. It said four ballistic missiles and 18 drones struck 13 different targets across Ukraine.
Meanwhile, in Russia, a fire broke out at the Ilsky refinery in the Krasnodar region after a drone attack, local authorities said. They added that a reservoir with oil products was damaged.
On Tuesday, an oil product reservoir caught fire in Volna village, the site of the Russian Black Sea port of Taman, the regional governor said on Telegram. Later on Tuesday, officials said the fire had been extinguished.
Ukraine has repeatedly targeted the Ilsky refinery with drone attacks. The facility’s capacity is around 138,000 barrels per day. It was not clear if its operations had been interrupted by the recent attack.
The Russian Defense Ministry told state-owned media that its forces destroyed over 150 Ukrainian drones over Russian regions overnight.
