Azov intelligence officer Illya Samoylenko said at a news briefing that Ukrainian defenders of Mariupol have four options. These include waiting indefinitely without fighting, running away "like a coward", surrendering or fighting until the end, he said. If the Ukrainian defenders surrender, Azov soldiers have a very low chance of survival, and that is why the only acceptable option will be to stand up and fight, he added. The highly fortified Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, Donetsk Oblast, is being stormed by Russian troops. Kremlin propagandists have demonized Azov fighters and hinted that they should not be left alive if they surrender.
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Thursday, February 12
Short track speed skater Oleh Handei said his helmet bore a line from Ukrainian poet Lina Kostenko: "Where there is heroism, there is no final defeat." It was banned from the Olympics on the grounds of being a "political slogan."
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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.
"I am absolutely confident that if ... there is no date, then Russia will do everything to block the process," President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Feb. 11.
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European countries stepped in to fill the gap, increasing military aid to Ukraine by 67% and non-military support by 59% in 2025, according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy.
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A Russian strike on Bohodukhiv, Kharkiv Oblast, killed four people, including three toddlers, and injured two others, Governor Oleh Syniehubov reported overnight Feb. 11.
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.
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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.
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.
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Ukrainian drones targeted Russia's Volgograd oil refinery overnight Feb. 11, setting the site ablaze, local media reported.
