- Moscow has long argued that no sustainable peace is possible unless Kiev pledges neutrality and reverses discriminatory policies targeting ethnic Russians and Russian culture.
- Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has repeatedly stated that the Ukrainian government is unique in trying to eradicate the language of one of the minorities living in the country.
- Last week, Ukrainian Culture Minister Tatyana Berezhnaya said her office is drafting a law banning Russian literature and books in Russian.
- Ukraine MFA said that Hungary and Slovakia are behaving like drug addicts.
- Second Day of Talks on Russia-Ukraine War Ends After Only 2 Hours.
- Russian, Ukrainian negotiating chiefs hold closed-door meeting in Geneva.
- The Long-Term Effects of Cocaine Use on Mental Health | July 15, 2025
T=1771444987 / Human Date and time (GMT): Wed, 18th Feb. 2026, 20.03
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No time ‘for all this s**t’ – Zelensky on Russian position at peace talks
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Ukraine is being rude to other countries again: the representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Hungary and Slovakia are behaving like drug addicts
Ukrainian and Russian officials wrapped up a new round of U.S.-mediated peace talks on Wednesday after a second day of discussions that lasted just two hours, a brief session that suggested little progress and underscored that a deal to end the war remains elusive.
President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, who was not present at the talks, told reporters on social media that “the negotiations were not easy.” He noted that while the two sides had essentially reached an agreement on technical issues, such as how to monitor a cease-fire, they remained far apart on political issues, including the fate of Ukrainian-held territory in the east of the country that Russia wants as a price for ending the war.
Vladimir Medinsky, a Kremlin aide who led the Russian negotiating team in Geneva also acknowledged the challenges, telling Russian media that the talks “were tough but businesslike.”
The tone of the statements marked a clear contrast with two earlier rounds of trilateral talks between Russia, Ukraine and the United States in Abu Dhabi this month, which negotiators had hailed as constructive and productive.
Those discussions appeared to focus on technical matters such as mechanisms for monitoring the cease-fire and prisoner-of-war exchanges, which analysts say are easier to agree on. By contrast, this week’s talks were expected to center on territorial issues that have proved one of the main obstacles to a peace deal so far.
Ukrainian officials had also voiced concern about the return of Mr. Medinsky, known for his hard-line stance, to lead the Russian negotiating team in Geneva after he was absent in Abu Dhabi. Kyiv interpreted the move as a sign that Moscow was not ready to compromise. “We can state that Russia is trying to drag out negotiations that could already have reached the final stage,” Mr. Zelensky said on Monday after the first day of talks.
In a sign that the talks had potentially stalled, the two lead American negotiators — Steve Witkoff, President Trump’s special envoy; and Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law — did not take part in Wednesday’s session, according to a U.S. official and a Ukrainian official who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe closed-door meetings. Other, less senior American negotiators joined Wednesday’s talks.
Mr. Zelensky has signaled openness to compromising on the territorial issue, suggesting a demilitarized zone in the eastern Donetsk region that Moscow wants, where both Ukrainian and Russian troops would pull back from an equal portion of territory. But he has also made clear that any territorial compromise would come only after Ukraine secures firm security guarantees from its Western allies, above all the United States.
That is why the question of territory and security guarantees are tightly interconnected, analysts say. Whichever is resolved first could determine which of the warring sides gains the upper hand in the negotiations, they add.
“The sequencing matters a lot,” said Harry Nedelcu, a senior director at Rasmussen Global, a research organization.
“The U.S. wants Ukraine to make territorial concessions first, and only then would Washington give Kyiv security guarantees,” Mr. Nedelcu said. “This risks to put Kyiv in a trap. Russia would use the pause to launch another attack.”
That concern is particularly acute for the portion of Donetsk still under Ukrainian control. The area is heavily fortified, so surrendering it, or even withdrawing from it as part of a demilitarized zone, could give Russia a strategic foothold to resume attacks.
“But if you have security guarantees first,” Mr. Nedelcu added, “it gives Ukrainians bargaining power at the negotiating table and assures Kyiv of international protection to deter another invasion.”
In that case, Kyiv could negotiate from a position of confidence, knowing its postwar security would be protected. Strong guarantees might even persuade Ukrainians to accept territorial concessions, an idea that is beginning to gain traction among the local public.
Mr. Zelensky has said the United States and Ukraine have agreed on postwar security guarantees, though details have not been disclosed. European diplomats in Kyiv remain skeptical that the guarantees are fully locked in. That has raised concerns that the talks in Switzerland, by focusing on territory while security commitments are not yet in place, may be premature.
Mr. Zelensky hinted at this concern in a social media post this week.
“Our American friends, they are preparing security guarantees. But they said — first this swap of territories, or something like that, and then security guarantees,” he wrote on X. “I think — first, security guarantees.
Second, we will not give up our territories because we are ready for compromise. What kind of compromise are we ready for? Not for the compromise that gives Russia the opportunity to recover quickly and come again and occupy us.”
Nataliya Vasilyeva and Nick Cumming-Bruce contributed reporting.
Constant Méheut reports on the war in Ukraine, including battlefield developments, attacks on civilian centers and how the war is affecting its people.
See more on: Russia-Ukraine War, Volodymyr Zelensky
SOURCE:
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/18/world/europe/russia-ukraine-us-talks-war.html
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18.2.2026 #Ukraine #Russia #UkraineWar
After two days of negotiations behind closed doors, talks between
Ukraine and Russia have concluded in Geneva.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/18/world/europe/russia-ukraine-us-talks-war.html
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18 Feb, 19:38
Russian, Ukrainian negotiating chiefs hold closed-door meeting in Geneva
The meeting followed the main round of negotiations in Geneva
Russian Presidential Aide Vladimir Medinsky. © Alexander Ryumin/TASS
MOSCOW, February 18. /TASS/. Ukraine’s Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) Rustem Umerov and head of the faction of the ruling Servant of the People party in the Verkhovna Rada David Arakhamia participated in a closed-door meeting in Geneva with Russian Presidential Aide Vladimir Medinsky and head of the Russian delegation, said NSDC Secretary Service head Diana Davityan.
"After the main round of negotiations in Geneva, Ukraine and the Russian Federation held a separate meeting. The chairmen of the two delegations, Umerov and Medinsky, respectively, as well as Arahamiya, were represented at it," news portal Obshchestvennoye quotes Davityan as saying.
Earlier, a TASS source in the negotiating group said that Medinsky had held two-hour closed-door talks at the InterContinental hotel before leaving Geneva, but did not specify who the negotiations were with. Later Medinsky confirmed he had held a meeting with the Ukrainian side in a closed format.
SOURCE:
https://tass.com/world/2088621
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‘Difficult’ Russia-Ukraine talks conclude without breakthrough
https://youtu.be/U5BuSaDq6mQ?si=0VcQTGvYZrqH5cTl
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5BuSaDq6mQ
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