Russia-Ukraine talks updates: ‘Difficult’ negotiations end, more planned

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We’ll be closing this page shortly. Here are some of today’s major developments:

• US-mediated talks between Russian and Ukrainian officials in Geneva ended.
• Zelenskyy said “progress” on military issues was made during the talks.
• Russia’s top negotiator, Vladimir Medinsky, told reporters that the talks were “difficult but businesslike”.
• Ukrainian forces shot down 25 of 29 missiles launched by Russia on the first day of the talks, said Zelenskyy.
• Russia is demanding that European countries ⁠that accused ⁠Moscow of poisoning Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny with a dart frog toxin ⁠provide concrete data to support their allegation.
• Ukrainian officials ⁠will ⁠boycott the Milano Cortina Paralympics next month over ⁠the participation of several ⁠Russian and Belarusian athletes.

Trump has been putting more pressure on Ukraine, and this is something that we can expect him to continue to do.

The US president has said twice in the last couple of days that if these talks that have taken place were not successful, that it would be because of Ukraine, and he has also repeatedly said that Ukraine needs to come to the table fast.

So the US president is clearly putting that pressure on Ukraine. And we know from public statements Ukraine is pushing back on that, saying that there isn’t the same level of pressure that’s being put on both sides, namely Russia.

Now what we know is that behind closed doors, however, Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, the president’s envoys, have been more cordial, have been more respectful.

So it appears that the June deadline is still looming.

It depends on whose yardstick you use. If you use the American yardstick, bringing the two sides together, getting them at the table for the third time, that is progress.

If you look at the Ukrainian side, not breaking down and not giving in to them, that is progress.

For the Russian side, not ceding any of their demands and staying exactly where they were when they went into these talks, that’s progress. That is the buzzword that you keep hearing from all these sides.

None of the sides wants to blink. They don’t want to give Donald Trump’s administration a reason to say these talks have failed, but really, none of them has moved from the positions where they stood ahead of the talks.

The death toll from a Russian attack on the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia has risen to seven, with a six-year-old girl hospitalised with a head trauma, Ukrinform has reported, quoting the head of the Regional Military Administration, Ivan Fedorov.

“There are already seven wounded; the number of victims of the enemy attack on Zaporizhzhia is increasing. A six-year-old girl with a head injury needed medical assistance. She has been hospitalized,” Fedorov said in a post on Telegram.

He stated that a one-and-a-half-year-old child remains in severe condition under the supervision of doctors.

According to Ukrinform, Russian troops launched a drone attack on Zaporizhzhia last night, killing one woman and damaging several houses.

Ukraine officials ⁠will ⁠boycott the Milano Cortina Paralympics next month over ⁠the participation of a handful of ⁠Russian and Belarusian athletes, who have been cleared to compete under their ‌flag.

“The decision by the Paralympics organisers to allow killers and their accomplices to compete at the Paralympic Games under national flags is both disappointing and outrageous,” Ukraine’s Sports Minister Matvii Bidnyi wrote on social media.

Ukrainian athletes will still take part in the March 6-15 ⁠Paralympic Games, but Bidnyi ⁠said no Ukrainian official would be at the opening ⁠ceremony or any event of ⁠the games.

Russia ⁠and Belarus will have a combined 10 para athletes at ‌next month’s Paralympics, following Tuesday’s decision by the ‌International ‌Paralympic Committee.

Russia is demanding that European countries ⁠that accused ⁠Moscow of poisoning Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny with a dart frog toxin ⁠provide concrete data to support their allegation.

The United Kingdom, France, Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands said on Saturday that analyses of samples from Navalny’s body had confirmed the presence ‌of epibatidine, a toxin found in poison dart frogs in South America and not found naturally in Russia.

They said Moscow had the “means, motive and opportunity” to administer the poison to him.

“All the ⁠accusations against Russia were ⁠of the ‘highly likely’ variety. There were no specific details,” Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said.

“It was purely a proclamation to become the opening ⁠act of the Munich conference and to overshadow the Epstein ⁠files. We demand they hand over concrete data on this issue.”

More than a third of Ukrainian children, or 2,589,900, remain displaced as the war is about to enter its fifth year, the UN agency says.

That figure consists of more than 791,000 children inside Ukraine and nearly 1,798,900 child refugees living outside the country, UNICEF said.

“Millions of children and families have fled their homes in search of safety, with 1 in 3 children remaining displaced four years into this relentless war,” Regina De Dominicis, UNICEF’s regional director for Europe and Central Asia, said in a statement.

“For children in Ukraine, safety is increasingly hard to come by as attacks on civilian areas continue across the country. In many ways, the war is following these children,” De Dominicis added.

The agency said, of those displaced, one in three teenagers between the ages of 15 and 19 reported having to move at least twice, according to a recent survey.

Nigeria has warned its nationals against scams aimed at duping them into fighting abroad after reports that dozens have ended up fighting in the Russian army.

The Nigerian Foreign Ministry, in a statement, expressed “grave concern over the rising and alarming cases of Nigerian citizens being illegally recruited to participate in foreign armed conflicts”.

“Several Nigerians who have fallen victim to such unfortunate situations were deployed to combat zones after being misled and coerced into signing military service contracts,” it said.

Nigeria did not name Russia, but a report published last week by the investigative collective All Eyes on Wagner said at least 36 Nigerians have so far been recruited by the Russian army to fight in Ukraine, five of whom have been killed.

Individuals from other countries, including Kenya, Uganda and South Africa, say they were promised well-paid jobs in Russia, but were later forced to sign contracts in Cyrillic and sent to the front.

Ukraine said in November it had identified at least 1,436 citizens from 36 African countries fighting for Russia.

Zelenskyy says “the substance of the negotiations” has “two tracks – military and political”.

“On the military track, all three sides were constructive. That is my assessment based on the briefing.

“The military understands how to monitor a ceasefire and the end of hostilities, if there is political will. Monitoring will definitely involve the American side. I consider this a constructive signal.

“Regarding the political component, these are sensitive issues – the East, the nuclear power plant, and other delicate matters. For now, the positions remain different, as the negotiations were not easy.

“On the political track, there was agreement to continue discussions and move forward, but I did not hear about the same level of progress there.”

Six Russians and four Belarusians will be allowed to compete under their own flags, and not as neutral athletes, at the 2026 Winter Paralympic Games, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has confirmed to AFP.

“The decision by the @Paralympics organisers to allow killers and their accomplices to compete at the Paralympic Games under national flags is both disappointing and outrageous,” Ukraine’s sports minister Matvii Bidnyi wrote on social media.

Russian and Belarusian flags “have no place at international sporting events that stand for fairness, integrity, and respect. These are the flags of regimes that have turned sport into a tool of war, lies, and contempt,” Bidnyi added.

Russia was awarded two slots in alpine skiing, two in cross-country skiing and two in snowboarding. The four Belarusian slots are all in cross-country skiing.

The IPC unexpectedly lifted its suspension on Russian and Belarusian athletes at the organisation’s general assembly in September.

The partial suspension – introduced in 2023 to replace the full ban imposed after Russia’s invasion in 2022 – allowed athletes to compete only as neutrals.

Iran and Russia will conduct naval manoeuvres in the Sea of Oman tomorrow, Iranian media is reporting.

“The joint naval exercise of the Islamic Republic of Iran and Russia will take place tomorrow in the Sea of Oman and in the northern Indian Ocean,” the ISNA agency reported, quoting drill spokesman, Rear Admiral Hassan Maghsoudloo.

“The aim is to strengthen maritime security and to deepen relations between the navies of the two countries.”

On Monday, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps also launched exercises in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, in a challenge to US naval forces deployed in the region.

Here are some of the latest developments:

• The US-mediated talks between Russian and Ukrainian officials in Geneva have ended.
• Rustem Umerov, head of the Ukrainian delegation, says there was “progress” at the talks “but no details can be disclosed at this stage”.
• Russia’s top negotiator, Vladimir Medinsky, has told reporters that the two days of talks were “difficult but businesslike”.
• Ukrainian forces have shot down 25 of 29 missiles launched by Russia on the first day of the talks, says President Zelenskyy.
• One ⁠woman in the Russian border village ⁠of Aleynikovo has been killed ⁠in a Ukrainian drone strike, according to the governor of Russia’s Bryansk region.

Kyiv’s announcement that it is placing sanctions on Belarus comes amid a recent lifting of sanctions by the US.

In recent months, this has included a lifting of sanctions on the national airline Belavia, including restrictions on its operations and aircraft, allowing services and parts transactions that had previously been barred, according to Chatham House.

Restrictions on transactions related to Lukashenko’s presidential aircraft were also lifted.

The US lifted sanctions on potash exports and related potash companies, including previously barred trade in Belarusian potash fertiliser – one of the country’s main export sectors.

These measures were eased in exchange for the release of political prisoners by the Belarusian authorities.

Many other broader sanctions remain in place, including those targeting Lukashenko himself and other Belarusian officials, as well as other sectors of the economy.

Rustem Umerov, head of the Ukrainian delegation, has delivered a short statement, saying:

• We thank our US partners for ensuring that the process continues.
• Within the delegation, both political and military tracks were engaged, and security parameters and mechanisms for implementing possible decisions were discussed.
• A number of issues were clarified, while others remained under additional coordination.
• We’re focused on working through the key provisions required to finalise the process.
• This is complex work that requires alignment among all parties in sufficient time.
• There is progress, but no details can be disclosed at this stage.
• The next step is to achieve the necessary level of consensus to submit the developed decisions for consideration by the presidents.
• Our task is to prepare a practical, not merely formal, foundation for this.
• Ukraine remains constructive; the ultimate objective is unchanged: a just and sustainable peace.