Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky in a meeting with Donald Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, February 15, 2026

Sunday’s Coverage: Zelensky Calls for 20-Year Security Guarantee

UPDATE 0907 GMT:

“Western intelligence officials” warn that recruiters and propagandists, formerly with Russia’s paramilitary Wagner Group, are a leading channel for Kremlin-organised sabotage attacks in Europe.

Wagner, led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, failed in a rebellion against Russian leaders in June 2023. Prigozhin died in a helicopter explosion, likely organized by the Kremlin, two months later.

But Wagner recruiters who sent young men from Russia’s hinterland to the Ukraine frontline are now encouraging economically vulnerable Europeans to carry out violence in NATO coutnries.

Russia’s military intelligence agency GRU “is using the talent it has got available to it”, said a Western intelligence official.

Agents have been tasked by Wagner operatives with arson attacks against politicians’ cars and warehouses containing aid for Ukraine. They have posed as “Nazi propagandists” to push disinformation smearing Kyiv.

UPDATE 0900 GMT:

Ukraine Presidential Chief of Staff Kyrylo Budanov posts en route to the third set of Ukraine-Russia-US talks, scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday in Geneva, Switzerland:

UPDATE 0851 GMT:

Murders of Ukrainian civilians by Russian bombing rose by 26% last year, according to the global monitor Action on Armed Violence.

At least 2,248 civilians were killed and 12,493 injured by Russia’s explosives, with casualties per incident rising significantly.

An average of 4.8 civilians were killed or injured in each strike, 33% more than in 2024. The deadliest incident was in Dnipro city on June 24: Russian missiles killed 21 civilians and injured 314, including 38 children, on a passenger train.

UPDATE 0738 GMT:

At least four civilians have been injured amid overnight Russian strikes damaging medical infrastructure in the Sumy region in northeast Ukraine.

The attack was Russia’s second on health care facilities this week.

UPDATE 0730 GMT:

Ukrainian drones have set firesat Russia’s Black Sea port of Taman, damaging an oil storage tank, warehouse, and terminals.

Governor Veniamin Kondratyev and other officials acknowledged the attacks and disruption of power and water supplies in the Krasnodar region in southwest Russia.

Attacks on the Bryansk region in western Russia on Saturday cut heat and electrity to five municipalities and parts of the city of Bryansk. Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said preliminary information indicated significant damage to energy infrastructure.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Praising the resiilence of Ukrainians amid intense Russian drone and missile strikes on energy infrastructure, President Volodymyr Zelensky has told them to “please take care of yourselves” while waiting for warmer weather.

Zelensky returned on Sunday from the Munich Security Conference, where he discussed air defense and other matters with leaders. He called for security guarantees of at least 20 years with an end of Russia’s invasion, and pressed the leaders.

Ask yourselves: are you ready not only for the challenges that Russian aggression brings, the challenges of modern war, but also for the constant effort to convince the world to fight for support to defend your country’s interests every single day as Ukraine must do?

In his nightly address to the nation, Zelensky hailed “new support packages” with “the key priority” of air defense missiles.

He noted, “Thanks to Germany, we now have a strike-drone production line, and we will continue expanding those efforts with joint production, pan-European programs and financial instruments.”

The President said of the third set of Ukraine-Russia-US talks, scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday in Geneva, “The Ukrainian delegation has the necessary framework for the discussions.”

He referred to his meeting with Donald Trump’s envoy, real estate developer Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, on Saturday in Munich: “Ukraine will always be constructive. The American side knows this. But Ukrainians need to see real progress on security so there’s real trust — trust both in diplomacy and in possible results.”

He reiterated, “The security issue…holds the key to ending the war.”