MSC: Zelenskyy says Ukraine 'holding European front'

DW News · Feb 14, 2026 · Collected from RSS

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Skip next section 'Give us a ceasefire and we will hold elections,' Zelenskyy saysFebruary 14, 2026'Give us a ceasefire and we will hold elections,' Zelenskyy saysVolodymyr Zelenskyy has said Ukraine is prepared to hold elections once a ceasefire in effect. The Ukrainian president was responding to demands from US President Donald Trump, who has accused Zelenskyy of being a "dictator" due to his refusal to hold elections while his country is at war. On Friday, Trump again applied more pressure on Kyiv, saying, "Russia wants to make a deal, so Zelenskyy has to get moving." In response, Ukraine's president said, "Give us two months of ceasefire, and we can go to elections." He said he would not put Ukrainians at risk by asking them to head to polling stations when his country is still coming under "ballistic attacks." "Give us the possibility for our soldiers to vote. How can they defend our lives, our country, and at the same time go to vote?" Zelenskyy said.Zelenskyy says elections must wait until it has security guarantees and a ceasefire with RussiaImage: Michael Probst/AP Photo/picture alliance He urged Trump to "push [Russian President Vladimir] Putin to make a ceasefire, and our parliament will change the law and we will hold elections," Zelenskyy said. Ukraine's leader then added — tongue firmly in cheek — that Ukraine would happily agree to a ceasefire for the Russians "if they hold elections in Russia." The other members of the panel — European Parliament President Roberta Metsola, NATO chief Mark Rutte and US Senator Roger Wicker — echoed Zelenskyy's sentiments. Rutte said it was now up to "the Russians and Putin to play ball," while Metsola dismissed any demands that Ukraine hold elections as a precondition for peace as a "cynical plot." Wicker, for his part, said "Putin has never negotiated in good faith and he will only begin to do so when he is hurting enough." That pain, the US senator added, can only be delivered through "meaningful" sanctions that target Russia's oil-producing capabilities. https://p.dw.com/p/58lWXSkip next section Son of last shah calls on Trump to take military action on IranFebruary 14, 2026Son of last shah calls on Trump to take military action on IranPahlavi spoke at a press conference at the Munich Security ConferenceImage: Marijan Murat/dpa/picture allianceReza Pahlavi, the son of Iran's last shah, who was overthrown in 1979, has called for a "rapid intervention" from US President Donald Trump to save lives in his country. "To President Trump ... The Iranian people heard you say help is on the way, and they have faith in you. Help them," Pahlavi said. "It is time to end the Islamic republic. This is the demand echoing from the bloodshed of my compatriots who are not asking us to fix the regime but to help them bury it," he added. Trump could immortalize himself as one of "the world's greatest heroes" if he took decisive military action,he said. He also called for demonstrations in Munich, Los Angeles and Toronto on what he described as a “global day of action." In Munich, demonstrators have rallied against the Iranian regime on both Friday and Saturday, some holding banners with Pahlavi's image. Some 80,000 people joined the protest in Munich's Theresienwiese area on Saturady, police said. Pahlavi, 65, who has lived in US exile since his father was deposed in Iran's Islamic Revolution, has sought to position himself as a leading opposition figure to the regime in Tehran, though some observers say he lacks a wide base of support within the Middle Eastern country.Could Reza Pahlavi play a role in Iran's future? To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video https://p.dw.com/p/58lToSkip next section Trump 'told us that we need to get our act together,' says Poland's SikorskiFebruary 14, 2026Trump 'told us that we need to get our act together,' says Poland's SikorskiSikorski speaks to DW's Nina Haase during the MSCImage: Ronka Oberhammer/DWDW's Nina Haase spoke to the Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski at the Munich Security Conference, asking him about the shift in the relationship between the US and its European allies. "I think we all got an awakening and the US was right on some issues," Poland's top diplomat told DW. "Western Europe was consuming the peace dividend for too long and credit where credit is due: President Trump — in his inimitable style — told us that we need to get our act together. And we have, as Europeans, we are now spending double what we were spending before he became president." Sikorski also highlighted how Germany has sought to increase defense spending as proof that Trump's style "partially works." But Sikorski warned the Trump administration against going too far in asserting its demands. "When you’re that much more powerful, I think it’s better to be polite and then you can have a conversation and you can prepare for a new era in which Europeans will take responsibility for territorial defense in Europe. We are rich enough to do it with some American help," Sikorski said. The Polish minister added that "the proportions" of that support were being negotiated. https://p.dw.com/p/58lMzSkip next section US 'too often' asks Ukraine for concessions instead of Russia, Zelenskyy saysFebruary 14, 2026US 'too often' asks Ukraine for concessions instead of Russia, Zelenskyy saysUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked once again the US and Europe for support for his country but pointed out that Washington often asks concessions from Ukraine when it comes to negotiating a resolution, rather than asking Moscow. "We truly hope that the trilateral meetings ‌next week will be serious, ‌substantive, ​helpful for all us but honestly sometimes it feels like ​the sides are talking about completely different things," Zelenskyy ⁠told the Munich Security ​Conference, looking ahead to the upcoming talks in Geneva. "The Americans ‌often return to the topic of ​concessions ⁠and too often those concessions are ⁠discussed ​only in the context of Ukraine, not Russia." https://p.dw.com/p/58lKpSkip next section What did Zelenskyy focus on in his MSC speech?February 14, 2026What did Zelenskyy focus on in his MSC speech?Here are the key points Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy touched on in his speech to the MSC delegates: Zelenskyy criticized Kyiv allies for placating Vladimir Putin in 2021 instead of putting real pressure on the Kremlin He pointed out that Ukrainian soldiers were also protecting free European nations from Russian aggression Zelenskyy called on allies, particularly the US, to give his troops the equipment they desperately needed He decried being told to 'dig trenches' The Ukrainian president said Putin wanted to repeat 1938 and compared sacrificing Ukraine to taking territory from what was then Czechoslovakia ahead of WWII He slammed a Ukrainian skeleton racer being disqualified at the current Winter Olympics in Italy because he wore the name of a fallen Ukrainian athlete on his helmet Zelenskyy finished his speech with a call for 'real security and real peace' https://p.dw.com/p/58lCxSkip next section Putin may see himself as a 'tsar' but is actually 'a slave to war,' Zelenskyy saysFebruary 14, 2026Putin may see himself as a 'tsar' but is actually 'a slave to war,' Zelenskyy saysUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described Russian President Vladimir Putin as a "slave to war" in his address to the Munich Security Conference on Saturday. "No one in Ukraine believes [Putin] will ever let our people go, but he will not let other European nations go either, because he cannot let go of the very idea of war. He may see himself as a tsar, but in reality he is a slave to war," Zelenskyy said. https://p.dw.com/p/58lGISkip next section 'It's Ukrainians that are holding the European front,' Zelenskyy saysFebruary 14, 2026'It's Ukrainians that are holding the European front,' Zelenskyy saysUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the Munich Security Council that it would be wrong to assume that "others can stay safe behind Ukraine" permanently as Russia's invasion continues. "It's Ukrainians that are holding the European front," Zelenskyy said from Munich. "Today Ukraine has more experience than anyone in the world in defending against drones," Zelenskyy said. He added that Russia was losing 156 soldiers per square kilometer it takes. "Putin is not concerned about that now but there's a level at which he will start to care, I am sure." Zelenskyy said Russia was losing 156 soldiers for every square kilometer it takes from UkraineImage: Thomas Kienzle/AFP Zelenskyy also called for Russian oil tankers to be seized, praising US efforts in fighting "shadow fleets" used by some governments for smuggling and bypassing sanctions. "Russian oil tankers still move freely among European shores in the Baltic Sea, in the North Sea and in the Mediterranean," Zelenskyy warned. https://p.dw.com/p/58lFGSkip next section Zelenskyy says all Ukraine's power plant damaged by Russian strikesFebruary 14, 2026Zelenskyy says all Ukraine's power plant damaged by Russian strikesUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said there is "not a single power plant in Ukraine left undamaged by Russian attacks." Addressing the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, Zelenskyy pointed to the role of other "accomplices" in what he said was enabling Russian aggression, naming those from North Korea as well as China, whose top diplomat Wang Yi had earlier addressed the same conference. The Ukrainian president said that weapons were developing faster than political decisions to end the war, noting that in January alone, over 6,000 Russian drones attacked Ukraine. https://p.dw.com/p/58l9mSkip next section Germany's Wadephul praises Marco Rubio's speech in DW interviewFebruary 14, 2026Germany's Wadephul praises Marco Rubio's speech in DW interviewGerman Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul told DW's Nina Haase he saw Rubio's