Here are the latest updates as of Thursday, February 13:
Fighting
Russia fired a large volley of ballistic missiles and drones at several Ukrainian cities on Thursday evening, officials reported, as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Moscow is “hesitant” to resume US-brokered talks to end the war.
Russian forces launched 219 drones and 24 ballistic missiles on Thursday evening, causing casualties in Kyiv, Odesa, and Dnipro, and damaging energy infrastructure, President Zelenskyy wrote on the Telegram messaging app.
Two people were killed and six wounded in a strike on the Lozova railway hub in the northeastern Kharkiv region, which borders Russia, local prosecutors said.
Nearly 2,600 high-rise apartment buildings lost heating following Russia’s latest attack, particularly in the capital’s Desnyansky, Dniprovskyi, Pecherskyi, and Solomyanskyi districts, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram.
Klitschko said 1,100 high-rise buildings in the Dniprovskyi and Darnytskyi districts had already been “without heating after previous shelling” prior to the attack. Temperatures in Kyiv are forecast to drop to minus 13 degrees Celsius (8.6 degrees Fahrenheit) this week.
A Ukrainian strike caused an accident at a substation in the Belgorod region, leaving over 220,000 people without power, said Vyacheslav Gladkov, the region’s governor.
Russian drones struck a nine-story residential building, an open-air market, and a supermarket in Odesa, sparking multiple fires, the region’s State Emergency Service said. The drone attack also damaged energy infrastructure, the service said in a Facebook post.
Ukrainian forces struck an oil refinery in Ukhta, in Russia’s Komi Republic, approximately 1,750 kilometers (1,087 miles) from the Ukrainian border, sparking a fire, according to preliminary reports from Ukraine’s General Staff.
A Russian strike last month on a Ukrainian branch of the Soviet-era “Druzhba” oil pipeline has halted the flow of Russian oil to eastern Europe, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha said. Despite being at war with Russia, Ukraine continues to pump Russian oil to Slovakia and Hungary, although last year it halted Russian gas flows.
The bodies of two Nigerian soldiers fighting for Russia have been found in eastern Ukraine, Ukraine says. According to a statement from Ukraine’s intelligence services, Hamzat Qazeem Kolawole and Mbacha Stephen Udoka both served in the 423rd Guards Motorized Rifle Regiment of the Russian Armed Forces.
Military Aid
Ukraine’s allies have committed about $35 billion in military aid to Kyiv this year, UK Defense Secretary John Healey said. The figure includes a mix of new commitments from individual countries and previously promised weapons aid from Ukraine’s allies, including Germany’s previously announced 11.5 billion euros ($13.6 billion), a diplomat told Reuters.
Germany is ready to deliver five new PAC-3 interceptors to Ukrainian air defenses if Ukraine’s other allies also provide at least 30, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said.
Norway announced it would purchase a “significant” number of French glide bombs as part of a bilateral agreement to support Ukraine’s military against Russia’s invasion.
The UK announced it would “urgently provide” more than £500 million ($681 million) worth of air defense missiles and systems “to protect Ukraine from President Putin’s brutal attacks on energy infrastructure and homes.”
US military aid to Ukraine dropped by 99% in 2025 compared to 2024, a report from the German Kiel Institute for the World Economy, a think tank, showed. The report also noted that “European military aid to Ukraine increased by 67% in 2025 compared to the 2022-2024 average.”
Peace Talks
A new round of talks on ending the war in Ukraine is expected “soon,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, but he did not provide further details.
Russia’s recent overnight attacks on Ukraine further undermine efforts to end the war through dialogue, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Sybiha said. “Every such attack is a blow to peace efforts aimed at ending the war. Russia must be forced to take diplomacy seriously and de-escalate,” Sybiha wrote on X.
Regional Security
Estonia will purchase 12 Caesar self-propelled howitzers from France to bolster its defense capabilities.
EU leaders on Thursday reached a broad consensus on a plan to restructure the 27-nation bloc’s economy to boost its competitiveness, as it faces a hostile attitude from US President Donald Trump, aggressive tactics from c, and hybrid threats it accuses Russia of.
Ukraine will begin exporting weapons, including drones, in the coming weeks, Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said at a press briefing, according to Ukrinform.
Energy
The power plants in Ukraine struck by Russian missiles and drones are still generating far too little electricity to meet the needs of the country’s citizens, Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal said during testimony to parliament’s energy committee.
Politics & Diplomacy
There is no urgency to resume dialogue with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, French President Emmanuel Macron said, stressing the need for Europeans to align their goals. Macron raised the possibility of restarting dialogue with Putin in an interview published in several newspapers on Tuesday.
Six more Russian and Ukrainian children have been reunited with their families, Washington and Moscow said. One child will return to Russia and five will join their families in Ukraine, Russia’s Presidential Commissioner for Children’s Rights, Maria Lvova-Belova, said in a Telegram post.
Ukraine has accused Russia of kidnapping thousands of children, and the International Criminal Court has called for the arrest of President Putin and Lvova-Belova for the alleged illegal deportation of children.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he will meet with Zelenskyy at this week’s Munich Security Conference.
Sports
Ukrainian athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych has appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) after being barred from the Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics. The skeleton racer was disqualified over a helmet dispute; he wanted to wear a helmet commemorating Ukrainian athletes killed in the war with Russia.
The decision was made “by the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF) referee panel on the grounds that the helmet Vladyslav Zelenskyy planned to wear did not comply with the rules,” the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said in a statement.
Zelenskyy responded to the decision, accusing the IOC of “making excuses for the aggressor.” Ukrainian Sports Minister Matviy Bidnyi said the country would legally challenge the decision.
“We are proud of Vladyslav and everything he does. Courage is worth more than any medal,” Zelenskyy said.