LATEST: Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky told reporters in Munich that he will shortly be off to the UAE to discuss, among other things, the exchange of prisoners with Russia. After that he will travel to Saudi Arabia and then onto Turkey for talks with President President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
The UAE had previously told the United States that it wants to host talks aimed at ending the war in Ukraine that could eventually include a peace summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, several people familiar with the matter told news agency Reuters. The UAE has eagerly pitched itself to play a key role in trying to broker peace between Russia and Ukraine, said five sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Three of those sources - in the US and UAE - said UAE officials had proposed to Washington that the Gulf country host a “peace summit.” Two of those people said such a summit could eventually include a meeting between Putin and Zelensky - New Arab
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US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said in Poland that the US stands by statements that Ukraine’s path to NATO membership isnt on. He said that it “remains to be seen” what the eventual borders of Ukraine look like after negotiations. Contradicts statements by UK PM @Keir_Starmer that Ukraine is on an “irreversible path” towards NATO (1100 GMT)
U.S. Vice-President JD Vance told the Wall Street Journal that Moscow could be hit with sanctions and potential military action if Putin fails to agree a peace deal that guarantee’s Kyiv’s long-term independence. Ahead of the Munich Security Conference’s start today, Vance says sending troops to Ukraine is “still on the table” should Russia fail to negotiate a peace deal in good faith. “I think there is a deal that is going to come out of this that’s going to shock a lot of people…The president is not going in this with blinders on,” he adds. “He’s going to say, “Everything is on the table, let’s make a deal.” He reiterates the US wants Ukraine to get out of peace talks with its independence– but notes it’s still unclear how much of its territory would remain under Russian control. “There are any number of formulations, of configurations, but we do care about Ukraine having sovereign independence.” Vance will be attending the conference. He has been a vocal critic of US aid to Ukraine and told last year’s conference that Europe needs to wake up to the US pivoting its focus to East Asia - BBC
Who Is The Dictator? Americans Say Trump Is
Overnight, an explosion caused by a Russian drone was heard at the sarcophagus built to protect the remains of the former Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine, causing a fire. A team from the IAEA said it was informed that the flying object had struck the roof. The IAEA said: “Fire safety personnel and vehicles responded within minutes. At this moment, there is no indication of a breach in the NSC’s inner containment. Radiation levels inside and outside remain normal and stable. No casualties reported. IAEA continues monitoring the situation.” Unit 4 at Chernobyl – near Ukraine’s border with Belarus – exploded in 1986, sending extensive clouds of radioactivity across parts of the Soviet Union and Europe. It was later encased in a concrete and steel sarcophagus. The sarcophagus was the work of an international coalition and took decades to build. It was finally finished in 2017 and weighs 35,000 tonnes. Altogether, on Thursday night, the Ukrainian military reported that Russia launched 133 drones at Ukraine, 73 of which were shot down and 58 of which did not reach their target, CNN reported.
The head of the Ukrainian presidents office, Andriy Yermak, says “everyone” at the Munich Security Conference is “angry” after the Russian strike on Chernobyl. “Everyone here at Munich is angry at the news. Not concerned, as they often are, but truly angry,” Yermak writes on Telegram. “Because back in the 80s the whole world helped the Kremlin clean up after the tragedy.” He adds: “The whole world invested in the shelter, and now these Russian idiots fired a drone at it.” - BBC
Russia has reportedly denied targeting the Chernobyl NPP, saying it doesnt target nuclear power plants.
My analysis: The strike on the Chernobyl NPP, which Moscow denies, is incredibly reckless. While the reaction of the IAEA, a UN body, was predictably restrained, this incident should trigger alarm bells in western capitals around the world. Of course, it comes as little surprise given that Russian forces spread contamination from the plant when it dug up soil in the area at the start of its full scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Russia has also been accused of reckless actions at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, Europe’s largest, which it occupies. A dam constructed to cool the six reactors at Zaporizhzhia was damaged, triggering panic globally. Let us remember that it was the incredibly careless actions of the then Soviet regime that triggered the explosions at the Chernobyl plant in 1986.
Privately, European officials are absolutely furious that Donald Trump appears to be planning to hold talks with Russia without any sign of involvement of European countries, but mostly importantly of all, without Ukraine. US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth is in Warsaw for talks with the Polish defence minister and the Polish president as part of his first overseas tour - but it happens as he is leaving a trail of incendiary comments in his wake. Speaking at meetings in Brussels, he said returning Ukraine to its internationally-recognised borders was “unrealistic”. He cast doubt on Nato’s Article Five on collective defence, and he played down any prospect of Ukraine joining the alliance. Those comments, together with Donald Trump’s proposals to hold direct talks with Vladimir Putin, led to a cacophony of criticism - that Hegseth and his boss had given Putin what he wanted before peace talks had even begun. Hegseth yesterday rejected that accusation, saying Donald Trump wouldn’t let anyone turn “Uncle Sam” into “Uncle Sucker”. - BBC
“It’s a dangerous time when Russian President Vladimir Putin is given a free hand to prod for soft tissue on NATO’s eastern flank…”— Michael Bociurkiw
Two Russian drones exploded in Moldova and at least one violated the airspace of NATO member country, Romania. The incidents occurred after an attack on a Ukrainian port across the border from Moldova. Moldovan President Maia Sandu said that the Iranian-designed Shahed drones that violated her country’s airspace Wednesday night “put Moldovan lives at risk”. The drones crashed into a rural area in the south of the country following an overnight Russian aerial assault on Ukraine’s Reni port in the Odesa region, just 9 kilometres from the Moldovan town of Gurgulesti, according to the Moldovan border police. “Russia’s war on Ukraine crossed into Moldova again,” Sandu said in a post on the social media platform X. “Russia respects no borders, attacks civilians, spreads terror. Its war on Ukraine is criminal.” In response to the incident, Moldova’s Foreign Ministry has summoned the head of the Russian diplomatic mission in the capital, Chisinau, and condemned the “unacceptable violations” which “represent a serious threat to national security and the citizens” of Moldova. The ministry said it has presented the Russian diplomat with fragments of the drones “as concrete evidence” of the violations. Similar airspace violations occurred overnight in Romania, where the Ministry of National Defence scrambled two F-16 fighter jets after the country’s airspace was violated. The ministry said today that there was a “possible impact area” but that no “material damage” was reported. The ministry described the Russian attacks as “unjustified and in serious contradiction with the norms of international law.” - Euronews
My analysis: Just as I predicted on BBC World News, the Russian side will exploit the security vacuum created by Donald Trump’s actions to test defenses in Moldova and possibly even a nearby NATO country. It’s a dangerous time when Russian President Vladimir Putin is given a free hand to prod for soft tissue on NATO’s eastern flank…
Russian-American ballerina Ksenia Karelina, who was sentenced to 12 years in Russian prison after donating just over $50 to a Ukrainian charity in early 2024, is “in transit,” her boyfriend tells Fox News, a day after American Marc Fogel was released in a prisoner swap. Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) informed Karelina’s family about the update, the ballerina’s boyfriend, Christopher Van Heerden told Fox News on Thursday. While “in transit” is not a confirmation that Karelina is being released, it could mean Russia is moving her to a prison closer to Moscow, which is normally a precursor to release. Karelina was visiting family in Yekaterinberg in February 2024 when she was detained over allegations of treason after donating $51 to a Ukrainian organization that passed the money onto the country’s military - Fox News
Spanish authorities uncovered 13 tons of chemicals destined for Russia’s war machine. The authorities did not release details about the specific chemicals in the 13 tons they seized in the fall of 2024, or the types of chemical weapons they could help produce. But an RFE/RL investigation found that the haul included a compound that plays a key role in Russia’s war machine. RFE/RL’s Russian Service analyzed a video of the bust released by Spanish police and found that the listed contents of barrels they seized has wide application in Russia’s military industry, including the production of drones, intercontinental ballistic missiles, and batteries for nuclear submarines. The compound in question is a strong chemical solvent called N-Methyl-2-pyrrolidone, whose abbreviation, NMP, is visible on the labels on some barrels shown in the Spanish police video.
Australia has confronted China over what it says were “unsafe and unprofessional” actions by a Chinese fighter jet towards an Australian maritime patrol in the South China Sea, an account disputed by Beijing. A Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft was conducting a routine surveillance patrol in international waters in the South China Sea on Tuesday when a Chinese PLA J-16 fighter jet released flares within 30 metres (100 feet) of the RAAF aircraft, Australia’s Defence Minister Richard Marles said. “That is an action that we’ve declared as being unsafe. We have made representations about our concerns to the Chinese government both yesterday and today here in Canberra, but also in Beijing,” Marles said in a television interview with Sky News Australia. The Chinese foreign ministry, in turn, accused the Australian aircraft of “deliberately intruding” into its airspace and “jeopardising” its national security. - Reuters
In the wake of bombshell comments made this week by Donald Trump — promising peace talks with Vladimir Putin — and Pete Hegseth, signaling a U.S. retreat from Europe’s security and no NATO membership for Ukraine, behind the scenes, a new reality was dawning on lawmakers and diplomats in London, Politico reports. “We knew something was coming,” said one Ministry of Defense official, granted anonymity to discuss sensitive matters, “but not that.” A Labour member of parliament with a background in national security watched in horror as Hegseth made his remarks. “We need to start speaking about this. We need to wake the public up,” they said. But with severe spending pressures at home and relations with Washington barely established, London now has a narrow set of options when it comes to demonstrating what “iron-clad” support for Ukraine really means.
Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei was deported from Switzerland early Tuesday morning after border authorities refused to recognize his Portuguese-issued visa. The incident underscores the wider immigration backlog in Portugal, where Ai has been living, which has left thousands of visa holders in legal limbo. Ai criticized the Swiss authorities’ handling of the situation as “unreasonable and dehumanizing.”
Tens of thousands of anti-government demonstrators filled the streets of Brussels on Thursday during a nationwide strike to protest proposed cuts to public services, halting air traffic and causing other travel delays. Brussels Airport said there would be no departing or arriving flights because of the strike, which included air traffic controllers, external security service workers and baggage handlers. More than 400 flights and 60,000 passengers were affected, the airport said, warning that it was likely to be very busy on Friday as travelers rebooked later flights. The Brussels police said that about 60,000 protesters took to the streets on Thursday. The strike also disrupted public transit.
The Kremlin will be hailing Wednesday’s confirmation of Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard with a hearty toast, former Trump National Security Adviser John Bolton said. Gabbard, a former Hawaii Democratic congresswoman turned Republican surrogate, was confirmed by the Senate despite her history of taking positions seen as friendly to Russian President Vladimir Putin. “I think Putin couldn’t be happier,” Bolton told CNN’s The Source. “They’re drinking vodka straight out of the bottle in the Kremlin tonight.” Former staffers who worked for Gabbard when she was a congresswoman told ABC News last year that she regularly consumed and shared news from Kremlin propaganda outlet RT, including after she was advised it was not a credible source of information. Gabbard also bemoaned America’s “hostility” toward the authoritarian Putin in a campaign memo, condemned sanctions on Russia, and once secretly met with Bashar al-Assad, the Kremlin-aligned former Syrian dictator who, like Putin, is accused of war crimes. “I think many allies are now going to think twice before they share intelligence with us,” added Bolton. “It was one of [Trump’s] worst nominations, beyond a doubt.” Bolton, who was Trump’s national security adviser from 2018 to 2019 and held roles at the State Department and in former President George W. Bush’s administration, was accused by former State Department colleagues of skewing and suppressing intelligence in order to support his own frequently wrong views - Daily Beast
A record number of journalists were killed worldwide in 2024, found a new report published by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). Israel is responsible for nearly 70 percent of that total. At least 124 journalists across 18 countries were killed last year, making it the deadliest year for reporters and media workers since CPJ started keeping records more than three decades ago. “Today is the most dangerous time to be a journalist in CPJ’s history,” said CPJ CEO Jodie Ginsberg. “The war in Gaza is unprecedented in its impact on journalists and demonstrates a major deterioration in global norms on protecting journalists in conflict zones, but it is far from the only place journalists are in danger. Our figures show journalists under attack worldwide. The global upswing in killings—a 22 percent increase from 2023—was largely driven by the Israel-Gaza war, which accounted for 85 journalist deaths, all at the hands of the Israeli military. Most of those killed, 82, were Palestinians. Sudan and Pakistan had the second-highest number of journalists and media workers killed in 2024, with six each. At least 24 journalists worldwide were deliberately killed because of their work in 2024, CPJ found. In Gaza and Lebanon, CPJ documented 10 cases where journalists were murdered by the Israeli military. The remaining 14 journalist murders in 2024 took place in Haiti, Mexico, Pakistan, Myanmar, Mozambique, India, Iraq, and Sudan.
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