"U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has abruptly skipped a meeting on Ukraine on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference “at the last minute,” according to the Financial Times.
The so-called Berlin Format gathering on Friday was attended by Kiev’s European backers – including French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, as well as the heads of the European Commission, the European Council, and NATO – who are seeking to insert their vision of a “just peace deal” into the US-led negotiations process.
An unnamed European official described the last-minute cancellation, officially blamed on alleged “scheduling conflicts,” as “insane,” while another told FT that without Rubio the entire meeting “lacked substance.”
RT
"Oil supplies via the vital Druzhba pipeline to Slovakia have reportedly been halted, and it's
flows have been suspended since initially being damaged.
Ukrainian oil and gas company Naftogaz, as well as Ukraine officials, have alleged that Russia attacked its own facility in eastern Ukraine.
However, city officials in Brody, where Druzhba meets the Brody-Odesa oil pipeline, warned the population about pollution from burning oil products and Mr Sybiha posted on X a picture of firefighters against a backdrop of flames.
“This is the Druzhba pipeline infrastructure burning after the latest targeted Russian strike on January 27th, which stopped oil transit.” ZH
"Air defense forces neutralized 111 out of the 154 drones that Russian troops used to attackUkraine. Russian forces attacked with an Iskander-M ballistic missile from the Kursk region, as well as 154 strike UAVs of the Shahed, Gerbera, Italmas types and other types of drones launched from the directions of Oryol, Bryansk, Primorsko-Akhtarsk (Russia), as well as temporarily occupied Donetsk and Hvardiiske, Chauda (Crimea). About 100 of the drones were Shahed-type.
The air assault was repelled by aviation, anti-aircraft missile troops, electronic warfare units and unmanned systems units, as well as mobile fire groups of the Defense Forces of Ukraine." Ukrin
"A very strong magnitude 6.2 earthquake hit 338 km (210 mi) in the morning at 10.34 am local time (America/Santiago GMT -3). The quake had a shallow depth of 37 km (23 mi) and was felt over a large region. The shallow depth of the quake caused it to be felt more strongly near the epicenter than a deeper quake of similar magnitude would." VD
"An earthquake of magnitude 5.5 occurred only 9 minutes ago 75 km northwest of Usta Muhammad, Pakistan, the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) reported.
The quake hit at a moderately shallow depth of 35. km beneath the epicenter near Usta Muhammad, Jafarabad District, Balochistan, Pakistan, in the morning at 11:30 am local time." VD
"Ukrainian forces engaged in 142 combat clashes with Russian invaders.
Enemy airstrikes targeted areas near Havrylivka, Novoukrainka, Malynivka, Velykomykhailivka, Staromlynivka, Shevchenkivske, Huliaipilske, Charivne, Kopani, Holubkove, Danylivka, Zelena Dolyna, Kamianka, Vozdvyzhivka, Barvinivka, Verkhnia Tersa, Velyka Novosilka, Solodkovodne, and Mykolaivka.Over the past day, the missile and artillery units of the Ukrainian Defense Forces struck one enemy personnel concentration and one ammunition depot.
On the Northern Slobozhanshchyna and Kursk axes, the enemy carried out 64 shelling attacks, including two with MLRS, and one airstrike dropping three guided aerial bombs. One combat engagement was recorded.
On the Southern Slobozhanshchyna axis, the enemy attempted to break through defensive lines 13 times in the areas of Okhrimivka, Kolodiazne, Hrafske, Prylipka, Vovchanski Khutory, Rybalkyne, and Vovchansk.
On the Kupiansk axis, one combat engagement occurred near Pishchane.
On the Lyman axis, the enemy attacked four times, attempting to penetrate Ukrainian defenses near Stavky, Serednie, and Lyman.
On the Sloviansk axis, Ukrainian defenders repelled six enemy advances toward Sviato-Pokrovske, Yampil, Platonivka, and Zakitne.
On the Kostiantynivka axis, the enemy carried out 12 attacks near Kostiantynivka, Pleshchiivka, Shcherbynivka, Illinivka, Rusyn Yar, and Sofiivka.
On the Pokrovsk axis, Ukrainian forces repelled 37 enemy assault actions near Udachne, Rodynske, Novooleksandrivka, Shevchenko, Kotlyne, Pokrovsk, Molodetske, Novopavlivka, Bilytske, Novopidhorodne, Dachne, and Ivanivka.
On the Huliaipole axis, 24 enemy attacks were recorded in the Huliaipole area and toward Zlahoda, Dobropillia, Zaliznychne, Zelene, and Rybne." Ukrin
"Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his Tanzanian counterpart Mahmoud Thabit Kombo held talks in Moscow focusing on trade and broader economic relations between the two countries.
According to the Russian Foreign Ministry’s press release, “the ministers discussed a wide range of issues related to the further strengthening of the traditionally friendly relations between Russia and Tanzania, with a special focus on expanding cooperation in trade, economic, and investment spheres.”
Both sides confirmed their intention to strengthen “constructive cooperation and coordinate efforts” on key global and regional matters through the UN and other multilateral platforms." RT
"Satellite observations show that Heard Island’s Big Ben volcano remains active, with lava flows detected through late January and February 2026. The Darwin VAAC reported that the ash plume from a brief eruption around 14:00 UTC on February 11 reached 7.3 km (24 000 feet) above sea level and fully dissipated by the following day." W
"The European Union is finalizing a new package of sanctions aimed at closing loopholes that officials say have allowed Russia to use cryptocurrency to circumvent existing restrictions.
The EU is seeking to ban all cryptocurrency transactions with Russia” as part of the upcoming 20th sanctions package.
Among the foreign lenders, the EU has proposed sanctioning two Kyrgyz banks, Keremet and OJSC Capital Bank of Central Asia, along with banks in Laos and Tajikistan." ZH
"Last month was likely Ukraine’s coldest January since 2010, according to an analysis of preliminary Copernicus Climate Service weather data provided by Europe's EUMETSATsatellite agency.
Temperatures in Ukraine last month reached reported lows of -20 degrees Celsius (-4 degrees Fahrenheit), rarely climbing above zero. Russian attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure that cut power, heating, and water across the country made people's homes dangerously cold. Pavements turned to ice-rinks, and trees froze solid.
The coldest spell came between Jan. 11-21, when average daily temperatures dropped to between -8.3 degrees Celsius (17 degrees Fahrenheit) and -12.6 degrees Celsius (9 degrees Fahrenheit), causing aid organizations to warn that the freezing conditions were worsening the humanitarian toll of the war." KI
"A documentary by The Kyiv Independent about Ukrainian military medics working on the front lines of Russia’s war will be screened in three European capitals in February, marking the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
“Can You Hear Me? The Invisible Battles of Ukrainian Military Medics” will be shown in Prague (Feb. 20), Vienna (Feb. 23), and Bratislava (Feb. 24)." KI
"A strong magnitude 5.3 earthquake occurred in the South China Sea 171 km (106 mi) from Taiwan in the early morning at 6.27 am local time (GMT +8). The quake had a very shallow depth of 15.1 km (9 mi) and was not felt (or at least not reported so)." VD
"124 combat clashes between the Ukrainian Defense Forces and Russian invaders were recorded.
The Russian army carried out air strikes on the areas of Havrylivka, Novoselivka, Velykomykhailivka, Orly, Dobropasivka in the Dnipropetrovsk region, Verkhnia Tersa, Huliaipilske, Liubytske, Lisne, Vozdvyzhivka, Charivne, Hirke, Barvinivka, Novooleksandrivka, Veselianka, Yurivka, and Tavriiske in the Zaporizhzhia region.
The Air Force, Rocket Forces, and Artillery of the Defense Forces struck four areas where personnel were concentrated, two UAV control points, three artillery systems, a control point, and two other important targets of the Russian invaders.
In the Northern Slobozhanshchyna and Kursk sectors, the enemy carried out 99 shellings.
In the Southern Slobozhanshchyna sector, the Russians made nine attempts to break through the defensive lines in the areas of Vovchansk, Vovchanski Khutory, and toward Hrafske and Okhrimivka.
One enemy attack took place in the Kupiansk sector. The Defense Forces repelled the assault toward Novoosynove.
In the Lyman sector, the enemy carried out 10 attacks, attempting to break through the defenses in the areas of Drobysheve, Tverdokhlibove, and toward Lyman and Stavky.
In the Sloviansk sector, Ukrainian defenders stopped 12 attempts by the invaders to advance toward Zakitne, Rai-Oleksandrivka, Platonivka, and in the Dronivka area.
In the Kostiantynivka sector, the Russian army carried out nine attacks near Pleshchiivka, Shcherbynivka, and toward Kostiantynivka, Berestok, Novopavlivka, and Sofiivka.
In the Pokrovsk sector, the Defense Forces repelled 22 Russian assaults in the areas of Rodynske, Pokrovsk, Hryshyne, Kotlyne, Molodetske, Filiia, and toward Novopavlivka and Nove Shakhove.
In the Oleksandrivka sector, the enemy carried out five attacks in the Zlahoda area and toward Ivanivka." Ukrin
"Ukrainian drones targeted Russia's Volgograd oil refinery overnight setting the site ablaze,
local media reported.
Russia's Defense Ministry earlier claimed that it had shot down 48 Ukrainian drones in several regions, not including over Volgograd Oblast itself." KI
"A strong magnitude 5.6 earthquake occurred in the South Pacific Ocean 137 km (85 mi) from Samoa in the morning at 10.14 am local time (GMT +13). The depth of the quake could not be determined, but is assumed to be shallow.
The quake was not felt (or at least not reported so)." VD
