The Munich Security Conference ended on February 15, 2026, with Ukraine’s president warning that the burden of compromise was falling unfairly on Kyiv.
“Too often”
Speaking at the conference on Saturday, February 14, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the Americans “often return to the topic of concessions,” adding that “too often those concessions are discussed only in the context of Ukraine, not Russia.”
He called Vladimir Putin a “slave to war” and accused Moscow of dragging out talks, including by changing its negotiating team. “Peace can only be built on clear security guarantees,” he said, noting that the US had proposed a 15-year guarantee while Ukraine wanted 20 years or more. He also said Europe was “practically not present at the table.”
Donetsk
Ukraine rejected a US idea that Russia would end the war quickly if Ukrainian forces withdrew from the rest of Donetsk region, offering a free trade zone instead.
Russian losses
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said Russia was suffering “crazy losses,” about 65,000 soldiers over two months, while US Secretary of State Marco Rubio put Russian losses at 7,000 to 8,000 soldiers a week.
Geneva and the IMF
Trilateral talks between Ukraine, Russia and the US were scheduled in Geneva on Tuesday and Wednesday. Ukraine and the IMF also agreed to ease some conditions of a new $8.2 billion lending programme.
Sources
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