CloseVolodymyr Zelensky denounced Vladimir Putin as a “slave to war” while seeking security guarantees for Ukraine.
“He may see himself as a tsar but in reality he is a slave to war,” the Ukrainian president told the Munich Security Conference, referring to the Russian leader.
Zelensky acknowledged he was feeling "a little bit" of pressure from Donald Trump after the US president told Ukraine’s leader not to miss the opportunity to make peace and urged him "to get moving".
He complained that the US too often asked Kyiv rather than Russia for concessions while renewing his call for 20-year security guarantees.
“The Americans often return to the topic of concessions and too often those concessions are discussed only in the context of Ukraine, not Russia," Zelensky said.
He confirmed the US had proposed 15-year security guarantees, although Ukraine wanted at least 20 years.
Earlier at the conference, Britain accused Russia of killing opposition leader Alexei Navalny with a poison developed from a dart frog toxin.
Moscow, however, denounced the allegation as a Western “disinformation campaign” against it.
Recommended
Starmer to deploy UK warships to Arctic following Trump’s Greenland threats
Navalny died after being poisoned with dart frog toxin by Russia, UK says
Drone strikes claim lives in Ukraine and Russia ahead of fresh peace talks
UK and Europe depend on each other for security, Starmer says at Munich summit
Starmer has grasped what his predecessors would not – that Britain is better off in Europe than with the US
Cooper: UK 'strengthening defence in partnership with Europe'
Asked by Sky News’ Trevor Phillips about transatlantic security ties and Sir Keir Starmer’s comments in Munich about the UK’s relationship with Europe, Yvette Cooper said the UK “had to do more”.
The foreign secretary said: “That transatlantic partnership remains very important but we have to do more ourselves as well.
“One of the things for example, the UK is doing with Norway is developing a new fleet of joint frigates that can strengthen our maritime security – that means recognising the threats from the Russian northern fleet that is to the north of Norway and through the arctic as well.
“We’re doing that direct with Norway and we’re going to need to go further – strengthening our defence in partnership with European countries because that is where some of the threats, particularly from Russia, are most felt.”
Dan Haygarth15 February 2026 09:01
Odesa hit with further drone strikes
On Saturday, drone strikes killed one person in Ukraine and another in Russia, Ukrainian officials said, ahead of fresh talks next week in Geneva aimed at ending the war.
An elderly woman died when a Russian drone hit a residential building in the Black Sea port city of Odesa, Ukraine's State Emergency Service said.
In Russia, a civilian was killed in a Ukrainian drone strike on a car in the border region of Bryansk, regional Gov. Alexander Bogomaz said.
Russia-installed authorities said a Ukrainian airstrike on a village Saturday wounded 15 people in Ukraine's partially occupied Luhansk region.
The attacks came a day after a Ukrainian missile strike on the Russian border city of Belgorod killed two people and wounded five, according to regional Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov.
On Sunday, Reuters also reported that firefighters were working to extinguish a huge fire at the site of a railway infrastructure facility hit during overnight Russian drone strikes in Odesa
Dan Haygarth15 February 2026 08:57
Zelensky says it is “crucial” Geneva talks are productive
Volodymyr Zelensky has said it is “crucial” that upcoming talks in Geneva deliver results, as diplomatic efforts to end the war intensify.
In a post on X after meeting US secretary of state Marco Rubio, the Ukrainian president said: “It is crucial that the talks planned in Geneva be productive, and I thank the United States for their constructive approach.”
Zelensky said he briefed Rubio on the situation at the front, ongoing Russian strikes and the impact of attacks on Ukraine’s energy system. The two also discussed “how to help Ukraine protect lives during the winter cold and strengthen our resilience”.
He added that they had held a “detailed discussion about the diplomatic process and trilateral meetings”, including the sequencing of steps in negotiations. “It is important to make progress on the issues of security guarantees and economic recovery,” Zelensky said.
Fresh US-brokered talks between Ukraine and Russia are expected in Geneva next week.
Stuti Mishra15 February 2026 08:45
Yvette Cooper rejects Russian attack over Navalny
Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper is facing questions from broadcasters after Britain blamed the Kremlin for killing Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
The Kremlin has rejected the claims.
Whitehall editor Kate Devlin reports:
The foreign secretary told Sky: “We have worked with our European partners on pursuing the evidence and pursuing the truth, and that's why we have together found the evidence of this lethal toxin that was found in Alexei Navalny's body at the time he died.
“And only the Russian regime had the motive, the means and the opportunity to administer this lethal poison, while he was in prison in Russia.”
Dan Haygarth15 February 2026 08:40
Rubio and Zelensky met in Munich
Dan Haygarth15 February 2026 08:30
Video: Zelensky calls Putin 'slave to war' as he urges unity in Munich
Stuti Mishra15 February 2026 08:15
Russia's Taman port damaged by Ukrainian drone strike
Russia's Black Sea port of Taman, which handles oil products, grain, coal and commodities, has been damaged by a Ukrainian drone attack, the governor of Russia's Krasnodar region said on Sunday.
Two people were injured as an oil storage tank, warehouse and terminals took damage in Volna village, the site of Taman port, governor Veniamin Kondratyev said in a post on Telegram.
Kondratyev said that more than 100 people were working to put out several fires at the port.
Separate strikes on the resort city of Sochi and the village of Yurovka, close to the seaside town of Anapa, had caused less significant damage, he added.
Ukraine has resumed attacks on Russian energy infrastructure in recent days after a US-brokered moratorium on such strikes expired.
Russia has repeatedly targeted energy and utility infrastructure in Ukraine, cutting off heating and electricity to hundreds of thousands of people in the midst of an unusually cold winter.
Dan Haygarth15 February 2026 08:13
US ‘squandered’ claim to world leadership, German chancellor says
Germany’s chancellor Friedrich Merz has declared the international order is being destroyed, in a swipe at US president Donald Trump and his disruptive foreign policy.
Read more:
US has ‘squandered’ its claim to world leadership, German chancellor Merz suggests
Friedrich Merz was speaking on the first day of the Munich Security Conference, being held in the shadow of Donald Trump’s global influenceStuti Mishra15 February 2026 07:45
Rubio begins European trip, to meet Hungary’s Orban amid ties with Moscow
US secretary of state Marco Rubio has begun a two-day visit to central Europe, aimed at bolstering ties with Slovakia and Hungary, including a planned meeting with Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban.
Rubio’s trip comes after his participation in the Munich Security Conference, and the State Department says he will discuss energy cooperation, NATO commitments and bilateral relations. In Bratislava on Sunday he is due to meet Slovak prime minister Robert Fico, who visited Donald Trump in Florida last month.
Tomorrow, Rubio is expected to meet Orban, a close ally of Trump who is currently trailing in polls ahead of Hungary’s April election.
"These are countries that are very strong with us, very cooperative with the United States, work very closely with us, and it's a good opportunity to go see them and two countries I've never been in," Rubio told reporters before departing for Europe on Thursday.
Both Fico and Orban have frequently clashed with EU institutions over democratic standards and have maintained ties with Moscow. They have criticised or delayed EU sanctions on Russia and opposed sending military aid to Ukraine. Slovakia and Hungary have also continued to buy Russian gas and oil, even as other EU countries secure alternative supplies.
Rubio did not outline specific energy discussions but said cooperation with European partners was a priority. His visit highlights ongoing US efforts to keep EU allies aligned amid diverging approaches to Russia, defence spending and broader transatlantic relations.
Stuti Mishra15 February 2026 07:15
Russian official says Ukrainian drones damaged Taman port
Russia’s Taman port was damaged in a Ukrainian drone attack, the governor of the Krasnodar region said on Sunday.
Veniamin Kondratyev said the strike sparked a fire at the port. He did not provide details on the extent of the damage.
There was no immediate comment from Ukraine.
Taman port lies in southern Russia near the Kerch Strait, a key route for shipping and energy exports.
