Exclusives
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TotalEnergies reclaims Dutch refinery sold to Russia's Lukoil in 2009 (INFOGRAPHIC). Sanctions unwind a Medvedev-era deal that expanded Moscow's grip on European energy. |
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Why a Ukrainian newsroom is asking the EU not to go easy on Ukraine. We are joining Ukrainian civil society groups in urging the EU to tie financial support to the rule of law. Here is what the letter asks for, and why it matters. |
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"There are no good hands anymore": Training gaps erode Ukraine's air defenses. Lack of training time prevents mobilized personnel from mastering air defense systems |
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37 million tons instead of 80 million—Russia's Arctic shipping dream hits reverse (MAP+INFOGRAPHICS). Analysts see no growth drivers for 2026. |
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What held Ukraine's central bank back from a bigger rate cut?. First cut in over a year splits the committee three ways. |
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Ukraine counterattacks as Musk's Starlink crackdown grounds Russian drones. Russia just lost Starlink access. Now Ukraine has an opportunity to retake lost territory. |
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EU Parliament to vote on €90 billion Ukraine loan Wednesday—two weeks early (INFOGRAPHIC). Belgium blocked the release of frozen assets, Hungary vetoed the reparations loan, and Trump lobbied against both. The money is almost there anyway. |
Military
Russia likely invented a Ukrainian "counteroffensive" near Zaporizhzhia to cover up its own fake advance reports, ISW says. The think tank assessed that Russian forces overstated their gains near Oleksandrivka and Huliaipole and are now using claims of Ukrainian counterattacks to walk back positions they never actually held.
Second Mi-24 helicopter crew killed in two months, Ukrainian brigade reports. The crew of a Mi-24 helicopter did not return from a combat mission, the 11th Separate Army Aviation Brigade "Kherson" said. All crew members were officers, the brigade stated in a post.
Intelligence and technology
US long withheld this €37 million radar. Spain just delivered it to Ukraine. Spain delivers NATO-tested, eastern flank-deployed radar to Ukraine.
For first time, NATO ally built its entire military exercises around Ukrainian Azov Brigade lessons. Latvia changed its exercise format for the first time. The reason: Ukraine's combat experience can't be simulated.
Russia can launch up to 30 ballistic missiles against Ukraine in single salvo. Here's why that changes everything for 2026. 91 ballistic missiles in January was the record.
Estonian intelligence: Russia won't attack NATO this year but fears European rearmament. Moscow has no intention of attacking NATO countries in the near term as European defense measures force Russia to "carefully calculate its actions," Estonia's intelligence chief Kauppo Rosin told journalists while presenting the agency's annual assessment.
International
Russia's goals go far beyond Donetsk Oblast. Ukrainian defense committee official explains what's actually planned. Russia deliberately sets unrealistic conditions. The reason isn't about negotiating but about prolonging the war.
Slovakia's government distances from Ukraine—but its citizens send warmth in €1 million donations instead. In under two weeks, nearly 19,000 Slovaks fund generators and charging stations for Ukraine's hardest-hit regions.
Greece and Malta stall EU's 20th Russia sanctions package over shipping concerns. The EU's latest attempt to tighten restrictions on Russian oil revenues has stalled after two maritine nations demanded clarifications on how a proposed services ban would affect their shipping industries
Tokyo joins NATO's PURL initiative with non-lethal military equipment funding for Kyiv. Japan is set to become the first Asian nation contributing to NATO's Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List, a mechanism coordinating US-made military supplies to Kyiv, with funding limited to non-lethal defense equipment such as radar systems and bulletproof vests, NATO officials told NHK.
Two-thirds of Germans now see US as threat to global peace, up from 24% in 2024. German perceptions of the United States have deteriorated sharply, with 65% now viewing America as a serious threat to world peace in the coming years, according to an Allensbach Institute survey conducted in January.
"Now it's official": Munich Security Conference 2026 honors Ukrainian people with its highest award. People of Ukraine receive Munich conference prize, as chairman says Russia "terrorizes civilians while pretending to negotiate."
Humanitarian and social impact
Ukrainian air defenses intercept 110 of 125 Shaheds while attacks disable power in Odesa, damage trains in Sumy. A one-year-old boy in Zaporizhzhia and a child under two in Vilniansk were among at least seven people injured as Russian forces deployed 125 strike UAVs against Ukraine overnight
Pope Leo XIV sends 80 generators to Ukraine as temperatures hit minus 15°C. Three lorries carrying 80 electricity generators and medical supplies arrived in Fastiv and Kyiv this week as night-time temperatures in Ukraine plunge to minus 15 degrees Celsius, Vatican News reports. Pope Leo XIV organized the shipment through the Dicastery for the Service of Charity following appeals from Ukrainian bishops.
Ukraine's Olympic flag bearer told to remove helmet honoring 591 athletes killed in war. kraine's skeleton team flag bearer faces a ban on his memorial helmet commemorating 591 athletes and coaches killed by Russia, even as an Italian snowboarder competed with Russian flag imagery the previous day without IOC intervention, Vladyslav Heraskevych said on social media.
Political and legal developments
Ukraine's anti-corruption agency and France set precedent: €4 million recovered from Polygraph Plant "Ukraine" to state budget. EU initiative delivers equipment procurement, training programs, and technical support to NABU.
Transformer explosion blacks out 48,000 homes in Russia's Far East port city. A bright flash and loud explosion at a Vladivostok power station cut electricity to 48,000 people and left several buildings without water as temperatures hovered below freezing, according to the city administration and local media reports.
"Former convicts and drug addicts": Security chief reveals Russia's recruitment method for sabotage in Latvia. The criminal underworld becomes Russian tool of pressure in European cities.
HUR: German streets to rally ahead of Munich Security Conference —yet events will be secretly run by Russian spies. Messages: "Supporting Ukraine provokes WWIII," "NATO is aggressor," "Russia poses no threat."
New developments
Support for Ukraine isn't only missiles: Lithuania opens driving exams in Ukrainian for refugees. Lithuania's decision shows how administrative policy can translate solidarity into real-world resilience for Ukrainians who fled the war.
Read our earlier daily review here.
