Ukraine-Russia war latest: White House hits back at Zelensky after ‘difficult’ peace talks end in two hours

President says military discussed issues seriously but ‘sensitive political matters’ not addressed properly

Trump thinks it's unfair that both Ukrainians and Russians dying, says White House

The White House has hit back at Volodymyr Zelensky after he said the US was piling undue pressure on Kyiv to end the war.

Zelensky said Trump’s insistence that Ukraine should compromise was “not fair” ahead of trilateral talks in Geneva, which ended abruptly on Wednesday after just two hours.

White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said that Trump believes the war has been “very unfair, not just for the Russians and Ukrainians who have lost their lives, but also for the American people and the American taxpayer who were footing the bill for this war effort before President Trump put a stop to it.”

Both sides have said they are willing to continue peace talks in future, though it is not clear when or where this will take place.

Zelensky said he was dissatisfied with the lack of progress in Geneva, insisting that “sensitive political matters” and the need for compromise had not been addressed properly.

“As of today, we cannot say that the result is sufficient,” Zelensky said.

Key Points

• Trump hits back at Zelensky's 'unfair' remarks
• Trump thinks it's unfair that both Ukrainians and Russians dying, says White House - watch
• Ukraine to boycott winter Paralympics over Russian participation
• Ukraine launches 'massive missile strike' in Russia's Belgorod
• Ukraine and Russia close to agreeing terms of monitoring ceasefire – Zelensky

[19 February 2026 09:25 · Alex Croft]

Zelensky blasts Moscow's 'historical s***' in peace talks

Volodymyr Zelensky has now blasted Russia’s “historical s***” during negotiations, which he says is just a delay tactic to prevent a real end to the war.

“I don't need historical s* to end this war and move to diplomacy. Because it's just a delay tactic,” the Ukrainian president wrote on X.

“I read no less history books than [Russian president Vladimir] Putin,” he said, adding: “The only thing that I want to speak about with him is that I think that we need to resolve it in the most successful way. I mean to end this war quickly. That is why I want to speak only about such things.”

[19 February 2026 08:43 · Alex Croft]

Fire at oil refinery put out after two days, say Russian authorities

Russian emergency services said on Thursday that a fire at Ilsky refinery in Russia's Krasnodar region that broke out on Tuesday after a drone attack had been extinguished.

Authorities said on Tuesday that a reservoir with oil products was damaged, in the latest of Ukraine’s attacks on Russian energy infrastructure.

Ilsky refinery, which has a capacity of around 138,000 barrels of oil per day, has been repeatedly targeted by Ukrainian drones.

[19 February 2026 07:46 · James Reynolds]

Recap: Ukraine peace talks end after just two hours

The third round of US-Ukrainian-Russian talks in Geneva concluded without a breakthrough on Wednesday.

Here’s what you need to know:

[19 February 2026 07:01 · Shweta Sharma]

Zelensky says Ukraine will not cede Ukrainian territory as he calls out 'double standards'

Volodymyr Zelensky has reiterated that Ukraine will not cede territory to Russia or withdraw from land it currently controls, as US-brokered peace talks remain deadlocked ahead of the war’s fourth anniversary.

In an interview with British broadcaster Piers Morgan, Zelensky said the defence of the Donbas had come at a devastating human cost.

"Thousands, dozens of thousands of Ukrainians have been killed on this direction, defending this part of Ukraine," Zelensky said.

"We have to understand that Donbas is a part of our independence. It's a part of our values. It's not about the land. It's not only about territories. It's about people."

He said negotiators had made more headway on technical discussions around monitoring a potential ceasefire than on political questions, stressing that any lasting settlement would require firm security guarantees and European involvement.

“When we speak about security guarantees, we mean strong guarantees that the rest of the world – or some countries – will be ready to respond if or when Putin returns with his aggression,” he said, referring to Vladimir Putin.

(AFP/Getty)

Zelensky described Ukrainians as exhausted after nearly four years of full-scale war but said the country remained united, pointing to the nationwide mobilisation of repair crews following winter energy attacks.

In the same interview, Zelensky criticised what he called “double standards” in international sport, citing the disqualification of Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych at the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics and condemning a decision by the International Paralympic Committee to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete under their own flags at next month’s Paralympics.

[19 February 2026 07:00 · Jane Dalton]

Editorial: President Trump is wrong. Ukraine can win this war

[19 February 2026 06:50 · Shweta Sharma]

Ukraine peace talks have been little more than a mafia-style shakedown by the US and Russia

The collapse of the “peace talks” in Geneva between Russia and Ukraine is a moment to be celebrated. But Europe’s politicians may need a stiff drink to fortify them for what is to come, after Volodymyr Zelensky described what US deal-brokers were doing as “unfair”.

The entire process has been a mafia-style shakedown of Ukraine and her allies by the US and Russia, who have weaponised lies about the whole bloody process – from the causes of the war to the prescriptions for ending it.

In Pavlohrad, the big lie for internal refugees from Russia’s “meat grinder” operations in the east is that Vladimir Putin sent forces to rescue them from Ukrainian nationalists... that he sent Russian soldiers to save Russian-speakers from the threat of oblivion meted out by Kyiv.

Nikolai Klymenko, 56, sits wheezing on the edge of a bed in the government-run relief coordination centre in the city, an hour’s drive from the front lines. A former soldier in the Soviet army, he fought in Kandahar, Jalalabad and elsewhere during Moscow’s efforts to prop up a communist regime in Kabul in the 1980s. He says he was decorated for bravery and that he was blown up by a booby trap in Kandahar, and has the scars to prove it.

Read Sam Kiley's detailed ground report.

[19 February 2026 06:40 · Shweta Sharma]

In pictures: Ukrainians battle snowy weather amid cuts power

People stood in freezing temperatures as they waited to receive food aid from World Central Kitchen at a relief distribution point.

Wrapped in heavy coats and scarves, families line up patiently for hot meals and essential supplies, braving the bitter cold as humanitarian groups work to meet growing needs.

Russia attacked the Ukrainian energy system again this week, striking both thermal power plants and electrical substations.

Ukrainians endured record cold in early February, with temperatures in some parts of the country plunging to minus 30°C (–22°F).

People wait in freezing temperatures to receive food aid distributed by the World Central Kitchen at a relief point (Getty Images)

People wait in freezing temperatures to receive food aid distributed by the World Central Kitchen (Getty Images)

A man walks past a building suffering from limited electricity and painted with the mural of a fallen Ukrainian soldier (Getty Images)

As full-scale war approaches its fourth anniversary, Ukrainians have been forced to cope with subzero temperatures with widespread heat and electricity outages caused by Russia's relentless attacks on its energy infrastructure (Getty Images)

[19 February 2026 06:05 · Shweta Sharma]

Ukraine's ex-military chief Zaluzhnyi reveals new details of rift with Zelensky

Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Ukraine’s former military chief, has revealed new details of his rift with Volodymyr Zelensky, fuelling speculation of a future political rivalry.

In an interview with the Associated Press, Zaluzhnyi, who is now Ukraine’s ambassador to London, said he felt threatened by a 2022 raid by Ukraine’s SBU security service and blamed Zelensky for the failure of the 2023 counteroffensive, accusing him of not committing sufficient resources and overriding his strategy.

Polls have consistently shown Zaluzhnyi as Zelensky’s main potential challenger in any post-war election, though he has not declared political ambitions.

Zelensky’s office did not comment directly, but the president stressed the need for national unity, saying “any other politics in Ukraine is absolutely unnecessary at present.”

[19 February 2026 06:00 · Jane Dalton]

Ukraine and Russia close to ceasefire-monitoring deal – Zelensky

Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky says his country and Russia are close to having a document that will establish how any ceasefire will be monitored.

Two days of peace talks in Geneva ended without a breakthrough as President Zelensky said he was dissatisfied with the outcome while Washington reported "meaningful progress".

Mr Zelensky told Piers Morgan Uncensored that progress on political issues had been slow and that the countries’ leaders could try to hammer out a deal among themselves over the most divisive issue of land.

[19 February 2026 05:52 · Shweta Sharma]

South Africans tricked into fighting for Russia in Ukraine return home

Four South African men, reportedly lured into fighting alongside Russian forces in Ukraine's Donbas region, have returned home after being trapped there, the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) reported.

Police met the men at Johannesburg's O.R. Tambo International Airport upon their Wednesday arrival.

They belong to a larger group of 17 who sent distress calls to the South African government in November.