Published on: 02/12/2026 - 04:41 Modified on: 02/13/2026 - 07:21

Emmanuel Macron said Thursday that there was no urgency to start dialogue with Russian President Vladimir Putin, emphasizing the importance of cooperation between Europeans. “It’s not a question of days, we are preparing things,” he declared after an informal summit in Belgium. According to him, Europeans must "now work on (them), on what (they want) to ask". Here is the thread for February 12, 2026.

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NATO member countries commit to paying hundreds of millions of euros to support Ukraine in its arms effort, according to Mark Rutte

NATO member countries have announced support of several hundred million dollars for the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) initiative, aimed at providing Ukraine with American weapons, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said on Thursday.

Mark Rutte said he expected more pledges soon, although he did not name any specific countries.

Ukraine's allies pledged $35 billion in military aid to kyiv

Ukraine's allies have pledged to provide some $35 billion in military aid to Ukraine this year, British Defense Secretary John Healey assured.

“We are going to intensify military aid to Ukraine. We are going to increase pressure on Russia,” said John Healey after a meeting of the Contact Group between Ukraine and its allies in Brussels.

🎥 Munich Security Conference: we take stock

“What Europeans want today is to have the assurance that if there is peace and the coalition of the willing deploys European troops in Ukraine, they will not be targeted,” explains Richard Werly, France/Europe correspondent for the Swiss daily Blick.

The Ukrainian Heraskevych, disqualified for his memorial helmet, appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport

The Ukrainian Vladislav Heraskevych, disqualified from the Milan-Cortina Olympic Games for wanting to wear a helmet paying tribute to several teammates who died during the war with Russia, contacted the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), announced the CAS in a press release.

“The request challenges the decision of the IBSF jury (the International Skeleton Federation, Editor's note) affirming that Mr. Heraskevych intended to wear in competition a helmet displaying portraits of Ukrainian athletes who lost their lives in the war, which was considered incompatible with the Olympic Charter,” indicated the CAS.

London announces aid of more than 500 million pounds to Ukraine

The United Kingdom is also announcing aid to Ukraine with an envelope of 500 million pounds (575 million euros), British Defense Secretary John Healey announced on Thursday.

“Today I am announcing new aid of more than half a billion pounds” for Ukraine’s air defense,” he declared upon his arrival in Brussels, shortly before a meeting of NATO defense ministers.

London will also send 1,000 small British-made missiles to Ukraine, worth 390 million pounds (448 million euros).

Norway and France to fund more military support for Ukraine

Norway has agreed to contribute 4.2 billion Norwegian crowns (around 371.2 million euros) to military support for Ukraine, while France has guaranteed a loan of around 3 billion crowns, the Norwegian government announced.

Norway has thus announced the purchase of a “large volume” of French glider bombs. “The agreement gives Norway and France the opportunity to cooperate to donate unique and sought-after defense equipment, through acquisitions from French industry or donations from French stocks,” said the Norwegian Ministry of Defense.

There is “no urgency to start dialogue” with Putin, according to Macron

Emmanuel Macron considered that there was no urgency to start dialogue with Russian President Vladimir Putin, emphasizing the importance of cooperation between Europeans.

“It’s not a question of days, we are preparing things,” declared the French president after an informal summit in Belgium. “I think that we must now especially work on ourselves, on what we want to ask,” said the head of state.

“Now we have to prepare it as Europeans to be able, at the right time, to be ready in the discussion with the Russians,” he added.

“The price of dignity”: a Ukrainian athlete disqualified from the Olympics because of his helmet

More than 220,000 people left without power after attack in Russia's Belgorod region

More than 220,000 people were left without electricity after a Ukrainian attack caused an incident at an electricity substation in Russia's Belgorod region, oblast governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said.

"Emergency teams are at work. Recovery will take at least four hours," he wrote on the messaging app Telegram.

Vladimir Putin's Russian children's rights commissioner says six children will be reunited with their families in Russia and Ukraine

Russian Presidential Commissioner for Children's Rights Maria Lvova-Belova said six more children were being reunited with their families in Russia and Ukraine, and attributed the outcome to US First Lady Melania Trump. One child would return to Russia and five others would be reunited with their families in Ukraine, she added.

The American First Lady wrote to Russian President Vladimir Putin last August about the plight of Ukrainian children separated from their families by the war. Ukraine accuses Russia of kidnapping thousands of children, which Moscow denies.

In a message posted on the Telegram application, Maria Lvova-Belova thanked Melania Trump for her "unwavering commitment and active participation in reuniting children with their families."

More Russian, Ukrainian children reunited with families, White House says

Another group of Russian and Ukrainian children was reunited with their families thanks to the intervention of US First Lady Melania Trump, the White House said in a statement, adding that discussions are continuing with the two countries.

The White House did not say how many children were reunited with their families or when, but said it was the third time the first lady had facilitated such a repatriation.

Heraskevych disqualified: Zelensky accuses the IOC of “playing into the hands” of Russia

President Volodymyr Zelensky accused the International Olympic Committee (IOC) of "playing into the hands" of Russia, after the disqualification at the Milan Cortina Olympic Games of Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych for wearing a helmet honoring his colleagues killed during the Russian invasion.

“The Olympic movement must help end wars, not play into the hands of aggressors. Unfortunately, the IOC's decision to disqualify Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych says the opposite,” Volodymyr Zelensky said on social media.

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. This is certainly… pic.twitter.com/gGXizj5C5m— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) February 12, 2026

Disqualification of Heraskevych at the Olympics: a decision which goes "in line with Russian propaganda", denounces the luger

The Kremlin confirms the blocking of Whatsapp in Russia for its “unwillingness” to comply with the law

The Kremlin has confirmed that the American messaging service WhatsApp, very popular in Russia, had been blocked in the country due to its "unwillingness" to respect Russian law, at a time when Moscow is seeking to promote a local application that is easier to control.

“Regarding the blocking of WhatsApp, there had indeed been a statement from the competent authorities affirming that, due to the company's reluctance to respect Russian law, this decision had been taken and implemented,” said the spokesperson for the Russian presidency, Dmitri Peskov, calling on Russians to use the Russian MAX messaging service, launched in 2025.

UN urges Russia to stop strikes on Ukraine's energy infrastructure

The United Nations has called on Russia to end its attacks on Ukrainian energy sites, which have plunged entire cities into darkness during the coldest winter of the four-year war.

“International humanitarian law prohibits the targeting of civilian infrastructure. I call on the Russian Federation to immediately end these attacks,” Volker Turk, the United Nations high commissioner for human rights, said in a statement.

'Don't send your money to Ukraine' if you want to strengthen economy, Orban tells EU leaders

The EU should stop its financial support to Ukraine and spend its money to support its own economy, argued Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban at a summit of the 27 devoted to competitiveness.

“Don't send your money to someone else if you need it for your competitiveness, and therefore don't send your money to Ukraine,” said the leader, the main critic of support for kyiv within the EU.

Disqualification of Heraskevych at the Olympics: “moment of shame” for the IOC, says the head of Ukrainian diplomacy

The disqualification from the Olympic Games of Ukrainian athlete Vladislav Heraskevych for wearing a helmet honoring his colleagues killed during the Russian invasion is a "shame" for the International Olympic Committee, launched the head of Ukrainian diplomacy Andriï Sybiga.

“The IOC not only disqualified the Ukrainian athlete, it disqualified its own reputation. Future generations will remember it as a moment of shame,” Andriï Sybiga said on social media.

Two civilians killed by Russian strikes in eastern Ukraine, local official says

In the town of Lozova (east), attacked by Russian missiles and drones, a man and a woman were killed in their home and six other people were injured, said a local official, Serguiï Zelensky.

Ukrainian drone strike causes fire at refinery in Russia's Komi Arctic region, governor says

With AFP and Reuters

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