Published on: 02/10/2026 - 08:02 Modified on: 02/11/2026 - 04:36

Emmanuel Macron declared on Tuesday that he wanted the resumption of dialogue with Vladimir Putin to be "well organized" with the Europeans, but without "too many interlocutors", while stressing that the first "technical" contacts above all confirmed that, for the moment, "Russia does not want peace". Here is the thread for February 10, 2026.

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Four dead including three young children in Russian strike in Ukraine

A Russian strike on the Kharkiv region killed three young children and an adult, the head of the local military administration, Oleg Synegubov, announced early Wednesday. “Two one-year-old boys and a two-year-old girl died” in this strike, which hit a residential building in the town of Bogodukhiv, near the Russian border, this source said.

Ukraine: at least eight civilians killed in Russian and Ukrainian strikes

A woman and her 11-year-old daughter were killed in Russian shelling on Sloviansk, a town in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, Ukrainian authorities said.

Meanwhile, in the Russian-occupied part of the southern Zaporizhia region, Ukrainian strikes left five people dead and nine injured, said Natalia Romanitchenko, an official in the Vasylivka district.

A funeral gathering in a house in the village of Skelky was notably hit and a priest, Sergiï Kliakhine, was killed while seven other people were injured, according to Natalia Romanitchenko and the diocese.

Furthermore, in the Russian region of Belgorod, a man driving a van lost his life following a Ukrainian drone attack in a district bordering Ukraine, that of Chebekino, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Telegram.

In the Russian strikes on Sloviansk carried out with "six hovering bombs" dropped by planes, sixteen people were also injured, the Ukrainian regional prosecutor's office reported on Telegram in an updated report.

The fate of South Africans conscripted by Russian forces discussed between Putin and Ramaphosa

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said he had discussed with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, during a telephone call, the "repatriation of South Africans fighting alongside Russian forces in Ukraine".

Pretoria announced in November that it had received calls for help from 17 South Africans who say they had been duped and sent to the Ukrainian front, like at least hundreds of men from the continent.

The two heads of state “promised to support the process of repatriation of South Africans fighting alongside Russian forces in Ukraine,” said a statement from the South African presidency. “Teams from both parties will continue their efforts to finalize this process.”

These recruitments are far from being limited to South Africa. Four Kenyans who returned from Russia told an AFP investigation on Monday of the deception that led them to fight against Ukraine against their will.

Kenyan foreign minister announces visit to Moscow after death of Kenyans recruited by Russian army

The head of Kenyan diplomacy, Musalia Mudavadi, announced a visit to Moscow in March after the death of Kenyans forcibly recruited by the Russian army, victims of recruitment networks.

Several media outlets, including AFP, recently showed how hundreds of Kenyan men, often without any military background, found themselves, once arriving in Russia, forced to sign a contract with the Russian army to be sent to the front in Ukraine.

“We have deplored the loss of human lives, and I plan to travel to Moscow to emphasize that it is imperative to stop this phenomenon,” Musalia Mudavadi said in a statement.

Kenya considers it "unacceptable" that its nationals become "cannon fodder" for Russia

Kenya considers it "unacceptable" that its nationals are deceived by promises of well-paid civilian jobs in Russia to then be used as "cannon fodder" by the Russian army, the number 2 in Kenyan diplomacy denounced to AFP.

Several media outlets, including AFP, recently showed how hundreds of Kenyan men, often without any military background, found themselves, once arriving in Russia, forced to sign a contract with the Russian army to very quickly be sent to the front in Ukraine, where many of them perished.

Abraham Korir Sing'Oei, number two at the Kenyan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, spoke of an "intentional program aimed at illegally recruiting people of African descent, of which Kenyans are a part, and making them, as it were, fighters in a world of which they are not a part."

Ukraine: at least four civilians killed in Russian and Ukrainian strikes

A woman and her 11-year-old daughter were killed in Russian shelling on the town of Sloviansk in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk region, Ukrainian authorities said.

In occupied Ukraine, a priest died in a Ukrainian strike during a funeral, while a man lost his life after a Ukrainian drone strike in Russia's Belgorod region, local authorities said.

Sixteen people were also injured in Russian strikes on Sloviansk carried out with “six gliding bombs” launched by planes, the Ukrainian regional prosecutor's office said on Telegram in an updated report.

Mother and daughter killed in Russian strikes in Donetsk region

A woman and her 11-year-old daughter were killed Tuesday in Russian shelling on the town of Sloviansk in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, local authorities said.

Seven people were also injured in these airstrikes on the city, towards which Russian troops are slowly advancing, Vadym Filashkin, the governor of the region, wrote on Telegram.

“Among the injured is a 7-year-old girl (...) We are determining the exact number of victims and the extent of the material damage,” he added, publishing photos of several buildings on fire, with blown out windows and rooms littered with debris.

“Every day in the Donetsk region, Russians commit new war crimes,” he denounced.

Olympic Games 2026: the IOC authorizes a Ukrainian athlete to wear a black armband in reference to the war

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Tuesday authorized the Ukrainian flag bearer at the Milan Cortina Olympics to wear a black armband, after refusing him to wear a helmet decorated with photos of athletes killed during the conflict with Russia.

“We think it’s a good compromise,” Mark Adams, the spokesperson for the Olympic body, explained to the press, recalling that the organization banned any political expression during competitions or ceremonies.

Vladislav Heraskevych, flag bearer of the Ukrainian team competing in skeleton, took part in training on Monday in Cortina with a gray helmet on his head bearing the screen-printed images of several of his compatriots who died in the war, before according to him being banned from wearing it.

Macron for a “well-organized” resumption of dialogue with Vladimir Putin with the Europeans

Emmanuel Macron said he wanted the resumption of dialogue with Vladimir Putin to be "well organized" with the Europeans, but without "too many interlocutors", while stressing that the first "technical" contacts above all confirmed that, for the moment, "Russia does not want peace".

The French president announced in December that he wanted to resume direct exchanges with his Russian counterpart, largely broken off due to the war in Ukraine, and sent his diplomatic advisor to Moscow at the beginning of February to prepare them.

"What did I get? Confirmation that Russia does not want peace now. But, above all, we have rebuilt these discussion channels at a technical level," he explained in an interview published Tuesday by several European newspapers, including El Pais and Süddeutsche Zeitung.

“My wish is to share it with my European partners and to have a well-organized European approach,” he added.

Russian drones injure four people, including a child, in Zaporizhia Oblast, region governor says

The city of Vilnyansk, in the Zaporizhia oblast, was attacked by Russian forces using drones, injuring four people, including a child, announced Ivan Fedorov, governor of the region.

Among the injured are two women, a man and a boy under two years old. Ivan Fedorov added that houses and outbuildings were damaged during the attack.

Macron warns that US trade threats and “intimidation” are “not over”

Emmanuel Macron warns Europeans that the commercial "threats" and "intimidations" of the United States are not "finished" and that they "will be swept away" if they do not establish a "European preference" in strategic sectors in the face of American and Chinese competition, in an interview published Tuesday by several European newspapers.

The French president warns against "a form of cowardly relief" from the leaders of the European Union countries "at the end of the peak of the crisis" with Donald Trump.

"There are threats and intimidation. And then, all of a sudden, Washington backs down. And we think it's over. But don't believe it for a single second. Every day, threats to pharmaceuticals, digital technology...", he says.

NATO: the United States gives up two commands but gains another

The United States will abandon two commands within NATO, but gain another, at a time when Donald Trump calls on Europe to take more responsibility for its own security, we learned from diplomatic sources on Monday.

The United States will leave to Italy the Allied Joint Force Command (JFC), based in Naples (southern Italy) and focused on operations in the south of the Euro-Atlantic zone.

They will also relinquish command of the JFC based in Norfolk (eastern United States), centered on the North, in favor of the United Kingdom, according to these sources.

The third JFC, focused on the Alliance's eastern zone, is based in Brunssum, the Netherlands. His command is currently ensured by a German officer.

The JFCs are the operational commands, responsible for planning and conducting possible NATO operations.

On the other hand, American forces will recover the Allied Maritime Command (Marcom), based in Northwood, in the United Kingdom.

The road to peace is still long, says Sergei Lavrov

There is no reason to celebrate US President Donald Trump's pressure on Europe and Ukraine, as there is still a long way to go in peace negotiations, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday.

Hello and welcome to this live broadcast dedicated to the war in Ukraine.

With AFP, Reuters and AP

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