Ukraine war live: Over 1,000 Kenyans to fight in Putin’s war

Key Points

• Russia recruits over 1,000 Kenyans to fight in Putin’s war, intelligence report says
• Zelensky tears into Putin over Ukraine-Russia peace talks: ‘I don’t need historical s**t’
• EU says Russia showing ‘no tangible signs’ of serious engagement and ‘not ready for peace’
• Ukraine officials to boycott Paralympic games in protest over Russia’s participation
• Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant operating on sole remaining main power line, says IAEA

Zelensky tears into Putin over Ukraine-Russia peace talks: ‘I don’t need historical s**t’

Volodymyr Zelensky has torn into Vladimir Putin after the latest round of negotiations in Geneva failed to achieve a breakthrough.

The increasingly frustrated Ukrainian president lashed out at the Russia leader in a post on X and an interview with British journalist Piers Morgan.

“I don't need historical shit to end this war and move to diplomacy. Because it's just a delay tactic. I read no less history books than Putin,” the Ukrainian president said in a furious post on X.

The remarks came hours after hopes of a Ukraine peace deal looked further than ever Wednesday, when critical talks with Moscow and Washington ended in less than two hours.

Zelensky tears into Putin over Ukraine peace talks: ‘I don’t need historical s**t’

Russia recruits over 1,000 Kenyans to fight in Putin’s war in Ukraine, intelligence report says

A new Kenyan intelligence report says that 1,000 Kenyans were recruited to fight for Russia in Ukraine after being misled with false promises of jobs in Russia before being sent to the front lines.

The report was presented to parliament on Wednesday by parliamentary leader Kimani Ichung’wah, who accused Russian embassy officials of colluding with work recruitment agencies to dupe Kenyans into believing they would be given skilled jobs in Russia. He said the Russian embassy officials issued them tourist visas.

The Russian Embassy in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, denied the allegations, saying in a statement Thursday that it never issued visas to anyone intending to travel to Russia to fight in Ukraine. It added: “the Russian Federation does not preclude citizens of foreign countries from voluntarily enlisting in the armed forces.”

Russia recruits over 1,000 Kenyans to fight in Putin’s war in Ukraine

Russia demands proof Navalny was poisoned

Russia’s foreign ministry spokesperson has demanded that European nations accusing Russia of poisoning Alexei Navalany provide evidence.

“All the accusations against Russia were of the 'highly likely' variety. There were no specific details,” said Maria Zakharova.

“It was purely a proclamation to become the opening act of the Munich (security) conference and to overshadow the Epstein files.”

Britain, France, Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands said on Saturday that analyses of samples from Navalny's body had confirmed the presence of epibatidine, a toxin found in poison dart frogs in South America and not found naturally in Russia.

We're close to ceasefire-monitoring document, says Zelensky

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky says Russia and Ukraine are close to having a document establishing how any ceasefire to end the war would be monitored, following peace talks in Geneva.

Speaking on Piers Morgan Uncensored, Zelensky said that progress on political issues had been slower and that the country's leaders could try to hammer out a deal among themselves over the most divisive issue of land.

Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant operating on sole remaining main power line, says IAEA

The Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southeastern Ukraine is operating on its sole remaining outside power line after losing a backup line more than a week ago, the UN's nuclear watchdog said.

In a statement, Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said the Ferrosplavna-1 electric line went down on 10 February "reportedly as a result of military activity".

The plant, Europe's largest with six reactors, was now operating with outside power only from the Dniprovska power line, he said.

The plant, captured by Russian forces in the first weeks of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, generates no electricity but needs power to keep nuclear material cool and prevent a meltdown.

Grossi said IAEA monitors permanently assigned to Zaporizhzhia were trying to obtain information on the damage, but security restrictions prevented them from gaining access to the plant's switchyard.

"The IAEA stands ready to accurately report on the nature of the damage and any impact on nuclear safety and security," Grossi said.

Control of the plant is a key point in negotiations between Ukraine and Russia over a settlement to the nearly four-year-old conflict.

One dead in Ukrainian attack on Sevastopol in Crimea

Ukrainian drones attacked the port of Sevastopol in Russian-annexed Crimea, killing one person, the regional governor said in the early hours today.

Mikhail Razvozhayev said air defence units had intercepted 16 Ukrainian drones.

He said several high-rise apartments and private homes had been damaged in the attack.

Zelensky says further steps on peace talks will be determined in meeting today

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has said he is set to hold a peace talks discussion with the members of his negotiating team after talks in Switzerland.

"Today all members of our negotiating group will already be in Ukraine, and for tomorrow I have scheduled a special meeting with them regarding our next steps and decisions. There will be a report here in Kyiv on those aspects of the negotiations that should not be discussed over the phone. We will also define the further framework of talks with our partners – the American side, the Europeans – and with the Russian side," he said.

Russian attacks on Ukraine's fuel and energy company tripled in 2025

Russian forces attacked Ukraine’s leading state-owned fuel and energy company Naftogaz Group three times more than its previous years’ strikes, the company said in a statement.

“The scale of attacks in 2025 was unprecedented in terms of the scale of attacks on our infrastructure,” Serhiy Koretskyi, CEO of Naftogaz Ukraine, said in a statement.

Russia attacked the energy company at least 229 times last year.

“Despite this, we are providing the country with gas and maintaining the stability of the energy system,” he said.

Poland ends special refugee support system for Ukrainians

Polish president Karol Nawrocki has approved a legislation calling for an end to support measures for Ukrainian refugees entering Poland and moved help into the country’s general law for protection of foreigners seeking refuge.

The earlier legal framework was created when Russia launched a full-scale invasion on Ukraine in February 2022 and offered simplified residence, employment, access to social benefits, and education for Ukrainians fleeing the war.

“I sign this law with the conviction that it protects our state finances, streamlines the system, and restores a sense of basic justice," Karol Nawrocki said.

These provisions will now incorporate Ukrainians into a broader foreigner protection legislation and will create a unified temporary protection system that apply to all foreigners.

However, Poland will continue to extend the legal stay of Ukrainian nationals on their territory till 4 March, 2027.

The law also offers residency rights for Ukrainians already granted protection or whose documents were extended due to the war.

Ukraine officials to boycott games in protest over Russia’s participation

Ukrainian officials are poised to boycott the upcoming Milano Cortina Paralympics next month, protesting the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes competing under their national flags.

Ukraine's sports minister Matvii Bidnyi confirmed on Wednesday that while Ukrainian athletes will still take part in the 6-15 March games, no official representatives from Ukraine will attend the opening ceremony or any other event.

It comes after the International Paralympic Committee's (IPC) decision on Tuesday, which cleared a combined total of 10 para-athletes from Russia and Belarus to compete.

Six slots have been handed to Russia and four to Belarus.

Ukraine officials to boycott Winter Paralympics over Russia’s participation

EU eager to start Kyiv membership talks 'as soon as possible'

The European Union is eager to begin Ukraine’s EU membership talks “as soon as possible”, European Council president António Costa said.

“I cannot say if it’s in 2027 or even in 2026 or later, but what is important is we cannot lose the momentum,” Costa said, speaking to reporters during a visit to Oslo.

The top official did not mention a specific date of Ukraine joining the bloc.

The US plan for an end to the war in Ukraine calls for Kyiv’s EU accession by January 2027, though experts generally consider that date highly unrealistic.

Ukraine strikes Russian oil depot in western Pskov

Ukrainian drones hit a Russian oil depot in the western region of Pskov, causing explosions and a fire, an official from Ukraine's SBU security service said on Thursday.

"The destruction of oil depots directly affects the enemy's ability to conduct combat operations, advance and move staff reserves. Such operations are part of a systematic weakening of Russia's military potential," the official told the Reuters news agency.

EU says Russia showing ‘no tangible signs’ of serious engagement and ‘not ready for peace’

The European Union has said it is not seeing any tangible signs from Russia of serious engagement to end the war in Ukraine after the latest round of peace talks in Geneva.

“We see that Russia continues its relentless attacks on Ukraine. This does reflect that Russia is not ready for peace. We still do not see tangible signs that Russia is engaging seriously in peace,” said European Commission spokesperson Anouar El Anouni.

“Even this week, ahead of the peace talks, Ukraine experienced another massive missile and drone strike, according to Ukrainian authorities. As long as the bloodshed continues, we will continue to put pressure on Russia,” he said.

The EU spokesperson added that “nothing can be decided about Ukraine without Europe at the negotiating table”.

Hungary considering halting power and gas exports to Ukraine unless Druzhba pipeline reopened

Hungary is considering a halt in its power and gas exports to Ukraine and will take steps unless Ukraine resumes crude shipments via the Druzhba pipeline, prime minister Viktor Orban's chief of staff told a briefing on Thursday.

The Ukrainian foreign ministry suspended Russian oil transit to eastern Europe via the Ukrainian part of the Druzhba oil pipeline on 27 January as a result of a Russian attack.

The move drew criticism from the Slovak and Hungarian governments, who said it was an attempt by Kyiv to pressure Hungary to drop its opposition to Kyiv's future membership of the European Union

Chief of staff Gergely Gulyas also said the government had freed up strategic oil reserves, after oil group MOL asked for it on Monday.

Russia says it has 'no reason' to believe that India will stop buying its oil

Russia’s foreign ministry has said they have "no reason" to believe that India has changed its position on buying Russian oil.

The US president Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed that India has agreed to stop its crude oil imports from Russia.

“We have no reason to believe that India has changed its position on buying Russian hydrocarbons. India’s purchase of Russian hydrocarbons benefits both countries and helps maintain stability in the international energy market,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said in her weekly briefing.

“There is nothing new in the claims of US president Donald Trump, as well as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who have grabbed the right to dictate to independent nations,” Ms Zakharova said.

However, Russian crude accounted for its smallest share of India’s oil imports since late 2022 in January, industry data showed.

India – the world’s third-largest oil importer and consumer – had sharply increased purchases of discounted Russian oil after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, with volumes exceeding 2 million barrels a day in some months.

But western sanctions and pressure to secure a trade deal with the United States have led New Delhi to scale back imports.

Since November, China has overtaken India as the largest buyer of Russia’s seaborne crude.

European intelligence chiefs do not see Ukraine peace deal as likely

European intelligence chiefs do not believe a deal to end Russia’s war in Ukraine will be reached in 2026, Reuters is reporting citing the heads of five intelligence services.

Trilateral talks this year have failed to see any significant progress, despite positive sounds from both sides following earlier meetings.

Four of the five senior intelligence officials said Moscow is using negotiations with the US to seek sanctions being lifted and to help business deals be concluded. They have described the talks in Geneva as “negotiation theatre”, one said.

It marks a striking difference in views between Europe and the White House, which says talks have been constructive.

"Russia is not seeking a peace agreement. They are seeking their strategic goals, and those have not changed," one European intelligence chief said.

Zelensky dissatisfied with Russia talks, says 'sensitive political matters' left unresolved

Zelensky: I know more about Russia than Putin knows about Ukraine

Volodymyr Zelensky has said he knows “more about Russia” than Vladimir Putin knows about Ukraine, because the Russian president has only been to “big cities” in Ukraine.

The comments came in a post in which he hit out at Russia for its “historical s***”, in which he was referring to lectures about history from Moscow amid negotiations over peace in Ukraine.

“I know more about his country than he knows about Ukraine. Simply because I have been to Russia – to many cities. And I knew a lot of people there. He has never been to Ukraine this many times,” Mr Zelensky said.

“He was only in big cities. I went to small cities. From the northern part to the southern part. Everywhere. I know their mentality.”

Next round of peace talks to take place in Switzerland - Zelensky

The next round of Russia-Ukraine peace talks will again be held in Switzerland, Volodymyr Zelensky has said in an interview on Piers Morgan Uncensored.

"I just wanted to underline that the next meeting will be also in Switzerland. That's what I have information for today. Of course, our group will come back, and I will have more open briefs than I had by phone,@ he said.

The Ukrainian president said it is positive that a meeting was held in Switzerland.

“This is very important. I always raise this, with all respect to the Middle East and other countries, but I think, if the war is in Europe, then we need to find a place and people, Europeans, they have to feel that this is aggression against us and against Europe."

Merz: Negotiations will not end war, this is the bitter truth

German chancellor Friedrich Merz has offered a grim outlook for ongoing peace negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv.

He warns that the “bitter truth” is that “rational and humanitarian arguments will not convince Putin” to end Russia’s four-year war in Ukraine.

"In my view, this war will only end when one of the two sides is exhausted, either militarily or economically," he told newspapers Neue Berliner Redaktionsgesellschaft (NBR) and Rheinpfalz.

The goal of European efforts must now be focussed on ensuring “that the Russian state cannot continue to wage war militarily or finance it economically".

He said it will be “virtually impossible” for Europe to ever restore normal relations with Putin, adding: "When I look at this regime and its furious terror, I have little hope."

Fire at oil refinery put out after two days, say Russian authorities

Russian emergency services said on Thursday that a fire at Ilsky refinery in Russia's Krasnodar region that broke out on Tuesday after a drone attack had been extinguished.

Authorities said on Tuesday that a reservoir with oil products was damaged, in the latest of Ukraine’s attacks on Russian energy infrastructure.

Ilsky refinery, which has a capacity of around 138,000 barrels of oil per day, has been repeatedly targeted by Ukrainian drones.

Zelensky says Ukraine will not cede Ukrainian territory as he calls out 'double standards'

Volodymyr Zelensky has reiterated that Ukraine will not cede territory to Russia or withdraw from land it currently controls, as US-brokered peace talks remain deadlocked ahead of the war’s fourth anniversary.

In an interview with British broadcaster Piers Morgan, Zelensky said the defence of the Donbas had come at a devastating human cost.

"Thousands, dozens of thousands of Ukrainians have been killed on this direction, defending this part of Ukraine," Zelensky said.

"We have to understand that Donbas is a part of our independence. It's a part of our values. It's not about the land. It's not only about territories. It's about people."

He said negotiators had made more headway on technical discussions around monitoring a potential ceasefire than on political questions, stressing that any lasting settlement would require firm security guarantees and European involvement.

“When we speak about security guarantees, we mean strong guarantees that the rest of the world – or some countries – will be ready to respond if or when Putin returns with his aggression,” he said, referring to Vladimir Putin.

Zelensky says Ukraine and Russia close to ceasefire-monitoring deal – ICYMI

Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky says his country and Russia are close to having a document that will establish how any ceasefire will be monitored.

Two days of peace talks in Geneva ended without a breakthrough as President Zelensky said he was dissatisfied with the outcome while Washington reported "meaningful progress".

Mr Zelensky told Piers Morgan Uncensored that progress on political issues had been slow and that the countries’ leaders could try to hammer out a deal among themselves over the most divisive issue of land.

Ukraine's ex-military chief Zaluzhnyi reveals new details of rift with Zelensky

Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Ukraine’s former military chief, has revealed new details of his rift with Volodymyr Zelensky, fuelling speculation of a future political rivalry.

In an interview with the Associated Press, Zaluzhnyi, who is now Ukraine’s ambassador to London, said he felt threatened by a 2022 raid by Ukraine’s SBU security service and blamed Zelensky for the failure of the 2023 counteroffensive, accusing him of not committing sufficient resources and overriding his strategy.

Polls have consistently shown Zaluzhnyi as Zelensky’s main potential challenger in any post-war election, though he has not declared political ambitions.

Zelensky’s office did not comment directly, but the president stressed the need for national unity, saying “any other politics in Ukraine is absolutely unnecessary at present.”

Ukraine peace talks have been little more than a mafia-style shakedown by the US and Russia

The collapse of the “peace talks” in Geneva between Russia and Ukraine is a moment to be celebrated. But Europe’s politicians may need a stiff drink to fortify them for what is to come, after Volodymyr Zelensky described what US deal-brokers were doing as “unfair”.

The entire process has been a mafia-style shakedown of Ukraine and her allies by the US and Russia, who have weaponised lies about the whole bloody process – from the causes of the war to the prescriptions for ending it.

In Pavlohrad, the big lie for internal refugees from Russia’s “meat grinder” operations in the east is that Vladimir Putin sent forces to rescue them from Ukrainian nationalists... that he sent Russian soldiers to save Russian-speakers from the threat of oblivion meted out by Kyiv.

Our world affairs editor Sam Kiley writes:

Ukraine peace talks little more than a mafia-style shakedown by the US and Russia

Russia launches 37 drones at Ukraine

In a relatively small Russian drone attack on Ukraine last night, Vladimir Putin’s forces launched 37 drones overnight into Thursday, Kyiv’s Air Force said.

"As of 08:30, air defence had shot down or jammed 29 Shahed, Gerbera and Italmas loitering munitions as well as drones of other types over the north, south and east of the country,” it said in a statement.

“Hits by attack UAVs had been recorded at four locations."

Drones were launched from the Russian cities of Bryansk and Kursk, along with occupied Donetsk.

The attack was ongoing as of Thursday morning

Sweden announces £1bn military package for Ukraine

Sweden announced a new military aid package to Ukraine on Thursday.

The package totals 12.9 billion crowns (£1.05 billion) and responds to Ukraine's requests for air defence and ammunition, defence minister Pal Jonson told a press conference.

Zelensky blasts Putin's 'historical s**t' in Ukraine negotiations

Russia says it has 'no reason' to believe that India will stop buying its oil

Russia’s foreign ministry has said they have "no reason" to believe that India has changed its position on buying Russian oil.

The US president Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed that India has agreed to stop its crude oil imports from Russia.

“We have no reason to believe that India has changed its position on buying Russian hydrocarbons. India’s purchase of Russian hydrocarbons benefits both countries and helps maintain stability in the international energy market,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said in her weekly briefing.

“There is nothing new in the claims of US president Donald Trump, as well as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who have grabbed the right to dictate to independent nations,” Ms Zakharova said.

However, Russian crude accounted for its smallest share of India’s oil imports since late 2022 in January, industry data showed.

India – the world’s third-largest oil importer and consumer – had sharply increased purchases of discounted Russian oil after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, with volumes exceeding 2 million barrels a day in some months.

But western sanctions and pressure to secure a trade deal with the United States have led New Delhi to scale back imports.

Since November, China has overtaken India as the largest buyer of Russia’s seaborne crude.