Ukraine-Russia war latest: Zelensky optimistic about ‘real opportunities to end war’ as anniversary looms

Volodymyr Zelensky has said Russia is pushing for swift presidential elections in Ukraine because the Kremlin wants to remove him from power.

“Let’s be honest – the Russians just want to replace me,” he told AFP. “No one wants elections during a war. Everyone is afraid of its destructive effect.”

Under martial law, elections are suspended in Ukraine. Zelensky has consistently ruled out holding polls while martial law remains in place, saying that millions of Ukrainians are displaced abroad or living under Russian occupation, and that many towns continue to face bombardment.

As negotiations over territory continue, Kyiv is facing pressure from both US and Russia to consider a ballot as part of a peace deal.

A new Kenyan intelligence report says that 1,000 Kenyans were recruited to fight for Russia in Ukraine after being misled with false promises of jobs in Russia before being sent to the front lines.

The report was presented to parliament on Wednesday by parliamentary leader Kimani Ichung’wah, who accused Russian embassy officials of colluding with work recruitment agencies to dupe Kenyans into believing they would be given skilled jobs in Russia. He said the Russian embassy officials issued them tourist visas.

Russian president Vladimir Putin has signed legislation allowing Russia’s federal security service (FSB) to order telecommunications providers to disconnect specific individuals from mobile and internet services.

The amendments to Russia’s communications law require operators to comply with FSB requests and protect them from liability for carrying them out, state news agency Tass reported.

The powers also apply in territories under Russian control, including occupied areas of Ukraine.

The measure was approved on Tuesday by the State Duma, or the lower house of Russia’s parliament.

Volodymyr Zelensky has urged European partners that any foreign contingent deployed to Ukraine should be stationed closer to the frontline rather than deep within the country.

“We would like to see the contingent closer to the front line. Of course, no one wants to stand on the first line, and of course, Ukrainians would like our partners to stand with us on the front line,” he told AFP.

Hungary will block a €90bn European Union loan for Ukraine until oil transit to Hungary via the Druzhba pipeline resumes, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Friday.

The pipeline carries oil from the eastern part of European Russia to points in Ukraine, Belarus, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Germany.

“By blocking oil transit to Hungary through the Druzhba pipeline, Ukraine violates the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement, breaching its commitments to the European Union. We will not give in to this blackmail,” Szijjarto said on X on Friday.

Volodymyr Zelensky has said Ukraine will not agree to territorial concessions without firm security guarantees, as talks over a possible demilitarised zone in Donbas continue.

Speaking last week, Zelensky said Kyiv wanted guarantees in place before committing to elections or any withdrawal of forces from the region.

“I would very much like us to sign security guarantees first and then sign other documents,” he said. “This is not even a matter of fairness, but a matter of trust.”

He added that Ukrainians must “know, not just believe, but know, that in the future Russian aggression will be impossible”.

The latest round of US-mediated talks on 17-18 February ended without a breakthrough on territorial issues.

Ukrainian competitors will boycott the Milano Cortina Paralympics opening ceremony on March 6 in Verona, their committee said on Friday, due to the authorisation of some Russian and Belarusian athletes with their national flags.

The International Paralympic Committee’s allocation of 10 combined slots to Russian and Belarusian athletes has created a political storm over the upcoming Games given the bitterness over the four-year-old invasion of Ukraine.

The Czech Paralympic Committee said it would also boycott the opening ceremony in solidarity with Ukraine, and some Polish officials will also stay away.

Russia, which has been excluded from much international competition due to the war, says it is wrong to mix sport and politics and that targeting disabled athletes is offensive.

Ukrainian officials have rejected a proposal discussed in recent US-mediated talks to establish a demilitarised zone in eastern Ukraine governed by a joint civilian administration.

According to The New York Times, officials discussed forming a demilitarised zone “controlled by neither army” during the talks in Geneva on 17-18 February.

Russia has demanded that Ukraine hand over the remaining territory it has failed to capture  in Donetsk Oblast – a strip roughly 80 km long, and sits between the frontline and the regional administrative border.

Kyiv has refused unilateral withdrawal, arguing that ceding land would embolden Moscow.

The latest round of talks ended without a breakthrough on territorial issues.

Britain, France, Poland, Germany and Italy have launched a joint programme to develop low-cost air defence systems and autonomous drones using Ukrainian battlefield expertise.

The E5 initiative will fund joint production and procurement under a scheme titled Low-Cost Effectors and Autonomous Platforms (LEAP), according to Poland’s defence minister, Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, reported AP.

“The UK and our E5 partners are stepping up – investing together in the next generation of air defence and autonomous systems to strengthen Nato’s shield,” said Luke Pollard, Britain’s minister for defence readiness and industry, adding that the challenge lay in ensuring “cost of the threats with the cost of defense” were matched.

This follows incidents in which drones entered European airspace, including Poland in September 2025, that prompted costly Nato jet deployments.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Europe’s security was “more uncertain than it has been in decades”.