Ukraine War - Intel News

Russia has formed a new secret intelligence unit for sabotage in Europe and beyond - Wall Street Journal. According to the publication, it includes experienced agents involved in a number of high-profile operations. The group is led by Colonel General Andriy Averyanovy, who has a reputation as a veteran of the Chechen wars and is wanted by Czech police for his involvement in a munitions detonation in 2014.

Russia reports conversation between Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State. According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, the discussion “outlined a mutual willingness to engage on key international issues, including the resolution of the situation around Ukraine, developments in Palestine, and broader Middle East and regional matters.”

Zelensky: Putin wants negotiations not to end the war, but to secure a ceasefire deal. In an interview with NBC News, the Ukrainian president warned that such agreements would ease international sanctions on Moscow and allow the Russian army to regroup.

“This is exactly what he wants. He wants a pause to prepare, train, and lift some sanctions through a ceasefire” Zelensky stated.

He also emphasized that Ukraine would find it “very difficult to survive” without U.S. military aid in the war against Russia.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk wrote in X:

"Europe urgently needs its own action plan for Ukraine, otherwise others will decide".

Europe will be consulted but will not sit at the table in Ukraine peace talks, Donald Trump's special envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg has revealed. Asked whether Europe would be present at the planned talks, Kellogg said he was of the "school of realism and that will not happen," the Guardian reported. "It might be chalk on a blackboard, it might irritate a little bit, but I am very honest" he told the Munich conference.

"To my European friends, I say: enter the debate, not by complaining that you may or may not be at the table, but by offering ideas, by increasing spending".

A FOX correspondent reports that Ukraine has not been informed or invited to the upcoming Russia-U.S. talks in Saudi Arabia. However, both Politico and Bloomberg have reported that Ukraine will be present at the discussions. Earlier today, Zelensky stated that he had not been informed about the talks, and later this evening, his advisor Mykhailo Podolyak also confirmed that Ukraine has not been invited to attend.

Drone strike yesterday causes explosion at Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant In Ukraine. While the IAEA did not explicitly place blame for the attack on Russia, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of the attack, calling it a terrorist threat.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said it was possible to declare a state of emergency in Germany to finance military support for Kiev.

The Trump administration has offered Ukraine to hand over 50 percent of the rights to rare earth minerals mined in the country to the United States and deploy U.S. troops to guard them in the event of a peace deal with Russia - NBC News. Zelensky refused to sign off on the proposal during a meeting with Trump's spokesman Bessent, citing the need for further study and consultation. He told the Munich Security Conference that his lawyers would make changes to the document, which he described as a memorandum of understanding between the US and Ukraine rather than a security agreement. Officials said many of the minerals were in areas controlled by Russian forces. Ukrainian officials noted that Zelensky has long supported the idea of exchanging 'critical resources' for continued US support as part of his Victory Plan.

A group of European countries is 'secretly working on a plan to send troops into Ukraine', the Associated Press reports. They intend to 'help enforce any future peace deal with Russia'. Britain and France are spearheading the effort, although details remain scarce" because these countries do not want to show their cards to Putin, writes AP. According to the agency, the issue began to be worked out about a year ago. However, it is still not at all clear how it will be done. The final plan is likely to differ from what the post-war line of contact will look like.

Risk of radiation leak at Chernobyl NPP after a Russian drone hit the structure — situation remains under control. The original sarcophagus, built nearly 40 years ago after the disaster, was later covered by a new structure designed to contain radiation.

“After the Russian drone strike, the shelter has ceased to perform its function. There is now a risk of radioactive substances escaping due to potential damage to the old shelter structure” said Chornobyl NPP chief engineer Oleksandr Tytarchuk.

No radiation level increase has been detected so far. Experts will develop a restoration plan, which, according to Tytarchuk, will take more than a few months.

In the summer, Ukraine shot down its own F-16 due to US actions — WSJ citing sources. A Ukrainian F-16 was shot down by friendly fire from a Patriot air defense system due to the lack of Link 16, a tactical network that allows its aircraft to be identified. The US hid this technology, and on the Patriot it was turned off altogether, not expecting the F-16 to appear in Ukraine soon.

Trump's plan will link Ukraine's economy with the US economy — Bessent. The United States intends to join the post-war economy, particularly in the areas of strategic minerals, energy, and state-owned enterprises. The Finance Minister also stated that the States would offer their "best practices" in privatization.

Berlin rejects Trump's idea of bringing Russia back into the G7, German Foreign Minister Annalena Berbock said. She added that there could be no normal cooperation with Russia after the start of the Ukrainian conflict.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky declares that he will create his own NATO after being denied membership.

A US Air Force plane landed in Moscow tonight.

Reuters reports that U.S. President Donald Trump said on thursday he would welcome Russia’s return to the Group of Seven, calling Moscow’s expulsion a mistake.

Ukraine has finalized the draft agreement on rare earth metals and submitted it to the US — RBC-Ukraine was informed by the Ukrainian delegation in Munich. Thus, during a telephone conversation on Wednesday, Presidents Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump agreed that Ukraine would finalize a draft memorandum on partnership and hand it over to the Americans. Ukraine handed over the document and the American side asked for time until 5:00 p.m. to work on it.

Norway provides Ukraine with air defense assistance worth 1.2 billion Norwegian kroner. The Norwegian government decided to allocate an additional NOK 1.2 billion for air defense measures for Ukraine. Norwegian Minister of Defense Tore Sandvik said:

"Europe must do more for Ukraine, and Norway is helping. Air defense remains a priority military need for Ukraine, critical for the protection of both military and civilian facilities".