Ukraine updates: Geneva peace talks end abruptly

DW News · Feb 18, 2026 · Collected from RSS

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Skip next section Russia demands proof of Navalny frog toxin claimsFebruary 18, 2026Russia demands proof of Navalny frog toxin claimsThe Russian Foreign Ministry has demanded that European countries provide proof to support claims last week that the late Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny was poisoned with a dart frog toxin. 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 the Kremlin ‌had ​the "means, motive and opportunity" to administer the poison to him, which Moscow flatly denies. "All the accusations against Russia were of ​the 'highly likely' variety, there were no specific details," said Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova. "It was purely a proclamation to ⁠become ​the opening act of ​the Munich [Security] Conference and to overshadow the Epstein files," ​she claimed. "We demand they hand over concrete data on ​this ⁠issue." Yulia ⁠Navalnaya, Navalny’s widow, said she welcomed the disclosure of the "truth" about her husband's death. https://p.dw.com/p/58yj6Skip next section What are the sticking points in Russia-Ukraine talks?February 18, 2026What are the sticking points in Russia-Ukraine talks?Ukrainian and Russian officials met for two days of negotiations but were unable to reach an agreement. Zelenskyy said there was some progress in talks but that Russia was trying to drag out negotiations. What's dividing the two sides? The main point of contention is a Russian demand that Ukraine give up territory that its forces control in the eastern Donetsk region. Kyiv has rejected the demand. Russian forces control about 20% of Ukrainian territory — including the Crimean peninsula that it illegally annexed in 2014 and areas that Moscow-backed separatists had taken prior to the 2022 full-scale invasion. Ukraine has called on its Western partners, particularly the United States, to provide security guarantees to deter a future Russian invasion. Moscow, however, has insisted that any security guarantees exclude Western troops in Ukraine. The future of the Zaporizhzhia region is also a major sticking point. The region is home to Europe's largest nuclear power plant, which, before the war, generated about 20% of Ukraine's electricity. Though it has been damaged in fighting and is not currently in operation, control of the power plant would cover some of its owner's energy needs. https://p.dw.com/p/58yaRSkip next section No agreement on key issues after Geneva talks, Zelenskyy saysFebruary 18, 2026No agreement on key issues after Geneva talks, Zelenskyy saysRustem Umerov (center right) led the Ukrainian delegation in GenevaImage: Yekaterina Chesnokova/TASS/IMAGOA third round of talks between Ukrainian and Russian negotiators in Geneva over the past two days have produced no agreement on key issues, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. "Negotiations were not easy," Zelenskyy said in a message to journalists after a second day of talks ended abruptly after just a couple of hours on Wednesday. "We can see that some groundwork has been done but, for now, the positions differ." According to Zelenskyy, "sensitive issues" which remain unresolved include the fate of occupied territory in Ukraine's east and the future status of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, which is currently occupied and controlled by Russian forces. Leaving the Intercontinental Hotel in Geneva, the head of the Ukrainian delegation Rustem ‌Umerov said discussions were "intensive and substantive," adding: "There is progress but no details can be disclosed at this stage." He said the next step was to try to reach a level of consensus with the aim of "submitting the developed decisions for consideration by the presidents," adding that this would need not just a formal foundation but a practical one. "Ukraine remains constructive," Umerov said. "The ultimate objective is unchanged: a just and sustainable peace." https://p.dw.com/p/58yJYSkip next section Ukrainian and Russian delegation say meeting has endedFebruary 18, 2026Ukrainian and Russian delegation say meeting has endedA second day of peace talks between Ukrainian and Russian negotiators in Geneva has ended after just two hours. Russian state news agencies RIA and TASS cited Moscow's chief negotiator Vladimir Medinsky as saying the talks were "difficult but business-like" and that the next meeting would "take place in the near future." A spokesperson for Ukraine's chief negotiator also confirmed to Reuters that talks had concluded. Prior to the end of the talks, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had said that the meetings were "difficult," accusing the Russian delegation of "trying to drag out negotiations that could already have reached the final stage." https://p.dw.com/p/58xt9Skip next section Zelenskyy says Russia trying to 'drag out' talksFebruary 18, 2026Zelenskyy says Russia trying to 'drag out' talksUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday that talks with Russia and the US were "difficult" and accused Russia of delaying the process. "Yesterday's meetings were indeed difficult, and we can state that Russia is trying to drag out negotiations that could already have reached the final stage," Zelenskyy said on social media after being briefed by his team ahead of a second day of talks in Geneva. https://p.dw.com/p/58xwDSkip next section Starmer condemns Putin's 'barbaric attacks' during phone call with TrumpFebruary 18, 2026Starmer condemns Putin's 'barbaric attacks' during phone call with Trump​British Prime Minister Keir Starmer spoke to US President Donald Trump on Tuesday night after peace talks wrapped up in Geneva on the first day. Starmer "reiterated his condemnation of Putin's barbaric attacks on innocent civilians in Ukraine," a spokesperson said. Russia has launched repreated waves of missiles and drone strikes again Kyiv's power grid, as the Ukrainian capital faces its harshest winter of the war. https://p.dw.com/p/58x2nSkip next section Belarus: Ukraine sanctions Lukashenko for supporting Russian invasionFebruary 18, 2026Belarus: Ukraine sanctions Lukashenko for supporting Russian invasionUkraine announced sanctions against the leader of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, for providing material assistance to the Russian war effort. Long-time dictator Lukashenko, one of Russian President Vladimir Putin's closest allies, allowed the Russian army to launch its full-scale invasion of Ukraine from Belarus in February 2022, and has continued to tolerate the deployment of Russian military hardware in the country ever since. "Today Ukraine applied a package of sanctions against Alexander Lukashenko, and we will significantly intensify countermeasures against all forms of his assistance in the killing of Ukrainians," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a statement, also accusing Lukashenko of helping Russia avoid Western sanctions. While the measures will have little practical effect, sanctioning a foreign head of state is a highly symbolic move. Lukashenko has on occasion tried to present himself as a potential intermediary between Kyiv and Moscow, but Ukraine and its Western allies see him as little more than a Kremlin mouthpiece.Belarus: Life for opposition in exile 5 years after protestsTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video https://p.dw.com/p/58xi6Skip next section Second day of talks begin in GenevaFebruary 18, 2026Second day of talks begin in GenevaA second day of trilateral talks between Ukraine and Russia, mediated by the United States, has begun in Geneva, sources from both sides confirmed on Wednesday morning. "Closed-door meetings have begun," a Russian source told reporters, while Kyiv’s chief negotiator also told the Reuters news agency that talks have started. https://p.dw.com/p/58xd4Skip next section Trump putting Ukraine under unfair pressure, Zelenskyy tells AxiosFebruary 18, 2026Trump putting Ukraine under unfair pressure, Zelenskyy tells AxiosUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that US President Donald Trump is exerting undue pressure on him in his attempts to end the full-scale Russian invasionof Ukraine that began four years ago. As Ukrainian and Russian delegations met for a third round of peace talks in Geneva, Zelenskyy told US news website Axios that it was "not fair" that Trump kept publicly calling on Ukraine to make concessions for peace, but was not exerting similar pressure onRussia. "I hope it is just his tactics and not the decision," Zelenskyy said, after Trump said twice in recent days that the onus was on Kyiv to compromise – notably by surrendering the part of the eastern Donbas region which Ukrainian troops still hold. "Emotionally, people will never forgive this; they won’t forgive me, they won't forgive [the United States]," said Zelenskyy, adding that Ukrainians "cannot understand why" they should give up land. "This is part of our country, all these citizens, the flag, the land," he said. Zelenskyy has said that any potential deal agreed with Russia would have to be put to Ukrainians in a referendum – and suggested that a freezing of the conflict along the current frontlines may be acceptable to voters. "I think that if we put in the document that we stay where we are on the contact line, I think that people will support this [in a] referendum," he said. "That is my opinion." https://p.dw.com/p/58xYCSkip next section Ukraine and Russia peace talks enter second day of discussionsFebruary 18, 2026Ukraine and Russia peace talks enter second day of discussionsRussian and Ukrainian officials resumed a second day of peace talks in Geneva. Washington's envoy Steve Witkoff signaled optimism and progress towards ending the deadliest conflict since World War II. But the head of the Russian delegation play