Ukraine-Russia war latest: US Secretary of State could meet Zelensky as European leaders gather in Munich

Russia has moved to “fully block” Meta-owned WhatsApp, according to a company spokesperson, as Moscow intensifies its efforts to promote domestic platforms and tighten its grip on the nation’s internet.

This action comes amid a deepening dispute with foreign technology providers, which escalated following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Authorities in Moscow are actively promoting a state-backed alternative messaging service named ‘MAX’. Critics have voiced concerns that this app could be utilised for user tracking, although these allegations have been dismissed as false by state media.

“Due to Meta’s unwillingness to comply with Russian law, such a decision was indeed made and implemented,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, proposing that Russians switch to MAX, Russia’s state-owned messenger.

“MAX is an accessible alternative, a developing messenger, a national messenger, and it is available on the market for citizens as an alternative,” said Peskov.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said Kyiv would not put a “bad deal” to a referendum and would only hold a vote once firm security guarantees and a ceasefire were in place.

In an interview published by The Atlantic, Zelensky said Ukraine was ready for both presidential elections and a referendum on any peace agreement, but set clear conditions for when that could happen.

“The tactic we chose is for the Americans not to think that we want to continue the war,” Zelensky said. “That’s why we started supporting their proposals in any format that speeds things along.”

He added that Ukraine was “not afraid of anything”.

“Are we ready for elections? We’re ready. Are we ready for a referendum? We’re ready,” he said.

Zelensky said he had rejected a proposal, reported this week by the Financial Times, to announce elections and a referendum on February 24 – the fourth anniversary of Russia’s invasion.

He said a ceasefire and proposed US security guarantees against a future invasion had not yet been finalised.

“No one is clinging to power,” Zelensky was quoted as saying. “I am ready for elections. But for that we need security, guarantees of security, a ceasefire.”

He added: “I don’t think we should put a bad deal up for a referendum.”

Zelensky has said in recent weeks that a document outlining security guarantees for Ukraine is almost ready to be signed.

But in his latest remarks, he acknowledged that key details remain unresolved, including whether the United States would be willing to shoot down incoming missiles over Ukraine if Russia were to violate any peace agreement.

“This hasn’t been fixed yet,” Zelensky said. “We have raised it, and we will continue to raise these questions. We need all of this to be written out.”

US secretary of state Marco ⁠Rubio said on Thursday ⁠he ​would ⁠have a chance ⁠to ​meet Ukrainian president ⁠Volodymyr ‌Zelensky at this week’s ‌Munich Security Conference. Rubio ‌made the comment ⁠to reporters before his departure from Washington to the conference.

The Kremlin said on Thursday that it expected the next round of peace talks on Ukraine to happen soon and that there was already an understanding about their timing and location.

Three sources familiar with the matter have told Reuters that US officials have proposed a trilateral meeting on Monday and Tuesday in Miami.

“We have a certain understanding (of the details), and we will keep you informed,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

“We expect the next (third) round of talks to take place soon.”

Ukraine’s major private energy company DTEK said on Thursday that Russia attacked its thermal power plant overnight, causing significant damage to the plant’s equipment.

“This is the eleventh massive attack on the company’s thermal power plants since October 2025,” DTEK said on the Telegram messenger, giving no more details.

Ukrainian short track speed skater Oleh Handei has revealed he was instructed to cover an inspirational message on his helmet at the Olympics, after officials deemed it linked to the ongoing war with Russia.

Handei’s disclosure follows the ejection of his compatriot, skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych, from competition over his “helmet of remembrance” which depicted athletes killed since Russia’s invasion, despite a personal appeal from the head of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) not to wear it.

President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner led the US delegation while Ukraine was represented by Rustem Umerov and Russia by military intelligence chief Igor Kostyukov.

Europeans need to wean themselves off the US security system, and in Munich, Trump’s team will give them good reason to, writes world affairs editor Sam Kiley:

Europe and the liberal democracies of the West face a reckoning this week in Munich: will they be willing, or able, to pull away from a hostile US and forge the capacity to see off Russia’s war against Europe?