Ukrainian war, new Russian attacks. New round of talks

In Kramatorsk, in the eastern region of the country, a Russian raid on a residential area killed two 19-year-old twins and their 8-year-old brother. The Donetsk region prosecutor’s office then specified that the 43-year-old mother and 65-year-old grandmother were injured in the attack, which occurred late yesterday evening. A fourth person, a man, was killed, according to the military governor of Kramatorsk.

In the southern region of Zaporizhzhia, a 48-year-old man was killed late yesterday in a drone strike that hit a residential building, according to rescue services. In the Odessa region on the Black Sea coast, one civilian was killed and six others were injured, three of them seriously, in a drone attack on the port. Yesterday, Russian forces also targeted railway infrastructure in the Dnipropetrovsk region with drones, without causing casualties. “Russia has launched massive attacks against port and railway infrastructure,” Deputy Prime Minister for Reconstruction and Minister for Community and Territorial Development Oleksii Kuleba of Ukraine announced via Facebook.

One of the ports in the region was hit by drones, Ukrinform reports. Damage was reported in a company and in some warehouses. Among the injured, three people are in serious condition.

Kremlin: “New round of talks next week”

A new round of talks on Ukraine is scheduled for next week, confirmed by Moscow, as the conflict triggered by the large-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine now enters its fourth year. “There is an agreement that it will be held next week,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in statements reported by Russian media about the talks with delegations from Washington and Kiev. “We will inform you of the location and dates,” he added.

Peskov’s words come after a source familiar with developments in diplomatic contacts, quoted by Politico, said in recent hours that the USA, Russia and Ukraine are planning a new meeting next week, perhaps in Miami or Abu Dhabi. After the Munich Security Conference, this is where US officials believe progress can be made, we read. In recent days, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had anticipated the possibility of talks on February 17 or 18.

Zelensky: “Important day in Munich, new steps on common security”

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that he had arrived in Munich for the Security Conference. “An important day and there will be new steps towards our common security, that of Ukraine and Europe – he writes on

“We need more joint production, more resilience, more coordination and effectiveness on our shared security architecture in Europe – he continues – The most significant thing we can achieve together is to end the war with a dignified peace and create reliable security guarantees for Ukraine and for all of Europe, so that no one in Europe fears being left without protection.” Zelensky concludes the post with the usual thanks “to those who help”.

“I think there is no greater victory for Trump than stopping the war between Russia and Ukraine,” Zelensky said in an interview with ‘The Atlantic’. “As his legacy, that’s the most important thing,” he added. Furthermore, for the Ukrainian president this is also the path to success for the Republicans in November. “The most advantageous situation for Trump is to do it before the midterm elections,” Zelensky said of the possibility of ending the war. Trump clearly doesn’t want any more deaths, “but if we’re talking as adults, it’s a victory for him, a political victory.”

Rubio: “I hope to see Zelensky in Munich”

Meanwhile, on the diplomatic front, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he hopes to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the sidelines of the Munich security conference which opens today and where he will speak tomorrow. “I think he will be there and there is a chance to meet him, I think he is on my agenda, I’m not 100% certain, but I’m sure” that we will see each other, he told reporters.

The head of Washington’s diplomacy then reiterated his hope that the war will end, with 12 days left until the fourth anniversary of the Russian invasion. “People are suffering, it’s the coldest time of the year,” he said, in a reference to Russia’s continued raids on Ukraine. “It’s unimaginable suffering, that’s the problem with wars, that’s why wars are bad and that’s why we’ve been working so hard for over a year to try to put an end to this.”