French President Emmanuel Macron said it is crucial that Russia is not "humiliated" so it would be possible to find a diplomatic solution after the fighting in Ukraine stops. "I am convinced that it is France's role to be a mediating power," he said, as quoted by Reuters. Macron has spoken with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin regularly since Russia began a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The messages come a week after Ukraine's defense ministry agreed with Starlink's parent company, SpaceX, to introduce mandatory registration for the internet terminals in Ukraine, a move meant to prevent their use by Russian forces.
Kyiv Independent reporters on the ground reported hearing two explosions around 2:50 p.m. local time.
"We have been discussing the training of Ukrainian soldiers, also on the soil of Ukraine," Kaja Kallas, the EU's high representative for foreign affairs, said in Brussels on Feb. 11 before a meeting of EU defense ministers.
According to the president, the negotiations would be hosted by the U.S. and will take place on Feb. 17 and Feb. 18. The talks, however, depend on Russia's agreement to take part, something that Ukraine and the U.S. have not yet received.
As global attention has shifted to Ukraine’s energy crisis, the fighting on the eastern front has not slowed. The Kyiv Independent’s Francis Farrell speaks with Volodymyr Polevyi, head of public affairs for the 7th Rapid Response Corps of the Air Assault Forces, about the battle for Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad in Donetsk Oblast.
Ukrainian drones targeted Russia's Volgograd oil refinery overnight Feb. 11, setting the site ablaze, local media reported.
"The losses are terrible, and even the Russians will struggle to replace that level of losses," Sir Richard Moore, the former MI6 chief, said.
The European Parliament voted to approve a 90 billion euros ($107 billion) loan to Ukraine, securing a large chunk of the country's budgetary and military needs for the next two years as the war approaches its fourth anniversary.
"Learn from us and don't underestimate the threat coming from Russia," Maksym Timchenko, the head of DTEK, said.
The comments mark the third consecutive day of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's criticism of the U.S. approach.
