DW News · Feb 12, 2026 · Collected from RSS
At their meeting in Brussels, NATO ministers will be joined by Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov for the first time since he took office in January. DW has more.
Skip next section Closing summaryFebruary 13, 2026Closing summaryUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv had sought to back US proposals to end the war with Russia. Zelenskyy, in an interview published by The Atlantic on Thursday, said Kyiv was willing to hold both a presidential election and a referendum on a deal, but would not settle for an accord that was detrimental to Ukrainian interests. Plus, Ukrainian skeleton athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych was disqualified from the Olympic skeleton competition for wearing a helmet depicting athletes killed since Russia's invasion despite a last-minute appeal from a tearful IOC president. https://p.dw.com/p/58e6XSkip next section Germany to deliver 5 more interceptor missiles to Ukraine, defence minister saysFebruary 13, 2026Germany to deliver 5 more interceptor missiles to Ukraine, defence minister saysGermany will deliver five additional PAC-3 missile interceptors to Ukraine if other countries donate a total of 30, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said on Thursday. PAC-3, or Patriot Advanced Capability-3, is among the main weapons the West has supplied to Ukraine as it fights Russia's invasion. "We all know it is about saving lives," Pistorius said. "It's a matter of days and not a matter of weeks or months." https://p.dw.com/p/58e65Skip next section First time during war: Ukrainian arms producers given export permits February 12, 2026First time during war: Ukrainian arms producers given export permits In a reversal of nearly four years of policy, Ukrainian arms manufacturers were granted export licenses despite the ongoing war with Russia. Rustem Umerov, the secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, announced the move in a social media post. He did not specify how many enterprises had received a license, but said that Ukraine's annual production capacity in the sector exceeds $55 billion (€46 billion). "All decisions are under state control and with the unconditional priority of the needs of the Defense Forces," he added. Since the war began in 2022, Ukraine's defense sector has grown significantly and now includes over 1,000 companies, most of which are new, private-sector enterprises. "In the areas of UAVs, electronic warfare and reconnaissance, our capabilities already exceed the volume of domestic procurement," Umerov wrote, using a common abbreviation for unmanned aerial vehicles. "Coordinated exports allow us to attract investment, scale up production and launch new technologies for the Ukrainian army." Kyiv recently made the politically sensitive decision to export weapons amid Russia's full-scale invasion. The country is seeking funds to expand its domestic defense industry while also demanding support from its allies on highly sophisticated weapons, including long-range missiles.How drones and ground robots are reshaping war in UkraineTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video https://p.dw.com/p/58cijSkip next section White House says Russian, Ukrainian children reunited with their familiesFebruary 12, 2026White House says Russian, Ukrainian children reunited with their familiesThe White House announced that another group of Russian and Ukrainian children had been reunited with their families thanks to the efforts of US First Lady Melania Trump. Meanwhile, Maria Lvova-Belova, Russia's presidential commissioner for children's rights, announced on Telegram that six children were being reunited with their families in Russia and Ukraine. She added that one child would return to Russia and five children would be reunited with their families in Ukraine. Lvova-Belova thanked Melania Trump for her "unwavering commitment and active participation in reuniting children with their families." Last August, the US First Lady wrote to Russian President Vladimir Putin about the plight of Ukrainian children separated from their families by the war. Ukraine accuses Russia of abducting thousands of children, a claim that Moscow denies. In March 2023, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Lvova-Belova for allegedly illegally deporting hundreds of Ukrainian children. https://p.dw.com/p/58dA8Skip next section Russia's Rosatom insists it can run Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plantFebruary 12, 2026Russia's Rosatom insists it can run Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plantRussia's state-owned nuclear energy company, Rosatom, rejected Ukraine's accusation that Russia lacks the equipment and components necessary to operate the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe's largest nuclear power station, which Moscow forces occupied in 2022. Currently, all six of its Soviet-designed VVER-1000 pressurized water reactors are in a "cold shutdown." The plant is a key issue in talks on ending the war, with both Moscow and Kyiv seeking to operate it. Pavlo Kovtoniuk, the head of the Ukrainian state nuclear firm Energoatom, told the Reuters new agency that Russia lacks the necessary equipment and spare parts to operate the plant. Kovtoniuk said there was a risk of a nuclear accident if Russian officials attempted to restart the reactors. Kovtoniuk argued that the control equipment and monitoring systems at the plant were Ukrainian, that Russia would have to replace the US fuel in the reactors, and that there was insufficient water to cool the reactors if they were restarted. But Rosatom categorically rejected those claims. "Russia operates one of the world's largest nuclear fleets, including VVER-1000 units identical to those installed at Zaporizhzhia NPP, and has full capacity to produce equipment, components and nuclear fuel," the company told Reuters. https://p.dw.com/p/58coESkip next section Zelenskyy says 'Olympic movement should not play into the hands of aggressors'February 12, 2026Zelenskyy says 'Olympic movement should not play into the hands of aggressors'Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy criticized the International Olympic Committee's decision to disqualify Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych from the 2026 Winter Olympics. Heraskevych was disqualified for refusing to wear any helmet other than one honoring Ukrainian athletes killed in the war with Russia. "Sport shouldn't mean amnesia, and the Olympic movement should help stop wars, not play into the hands of aggressors. Unfortunately, the decision of the International Olympic Committee to disqualify Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych says otherwise," Zelenskyy wrote on X. The Ukrainian leader expressed his support for Heraskevych and thanked him for his stance. "We are proud of Vladyslav and of what he did. Having courage is worth more than any medal," Zelenskyy wrote. Russia has repeatedly violated Olympic principles by exploiting the Games as an opportunity to wage war, he noted. Examples include the 2008 invasion of Georgia, the 2014 occupation of Crimea, and the 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine. According to Zelenskyy, 660 Ukrainian athletes and coaches have been killed by Russia since the full-scale invasion began. https://p.dw.com/p/58bdhSkip next section Ukrainian athlete disqualified over his 'helmet of remembrance'February 12, 2026Ukrainian athlete disqualified over his 'helmet of remembrance'The helmet features the portraits of more than 20 Ukrainian athletes and coaches who lost their lives in the war between Russia and Ukraine [FILE: February 9, 2026]Image: Franck Fife/AFP/Getty ImagesUkrainian skeleton athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych was disqualified from the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics for refusing to wear a helmet other than the one that honors athletes killed in the war with Russia. Speaking to DW, Heraskevych said that he still firmly believed that he should have been given the opportunity to compete, he was also considering further pursuing the matter at the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Read more about the IOC's decision and how Heraskevych reacted to it. https://p.dw.com/p/58bKCSkip next section UN calls on Russia to seize attacks on Ukraine energy sitesFebruary 12, 2026UN calls on Russia to seize attacks on Ukraine energy sitesThe United Nations has urged Russia to cease its assaults on Ukraine's energy infrastructure, which have left entire cities in the dark during the harshest winter of the four-year war. "The relentless attacks by the Russian Federation on energy infrastructure across Ukraine are depriving an already long-suffering civilian population of adequate warmth, water, and electricity in an unbearably bitter and dark winter," said Volker Türk, the UN rights chief, in a statement. Türk said millions of households are struggling with only a few hours of electricity per day. Unheated schools have been forced to close, and access to medical care has been hindered. He also noted that as power is painstakingly restored, fresh attacks regularly plunge entire areas back into darkness. "The targeting of civilian infrastructure is prohibited under international humanitarian law. I call upon the Russian Federation to immediately cease these attacks," Türk stressed.Ukraine war: How a Kyiv neighborhood endures the winterTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video https://p.dw.com/p/58b8dSkip next section Russian oil transit via Druzhba pipeline suspended, Ukraine saysFebruary 12, 2026Russian oil transit via Druzhba pipeline suspended, Ukraine saysUkrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha announced Thursday that Russian oil transit to Eastern Europe via the Ukrainian section of the Druzhba oil pipeline has been suspended since January 27 due to a Russian attack. "This is the Druzhba pipeline infrastructure burning after the latest Russian strike on January 27, which stopped oil transit," he wrote on X, adding photographs of firefighters against a backdrop of flames. Sybiha also said Hungary was preparing to file another complaint ab