DW Live Conflicts Ukraine updates: 'Ukraine's fate is our fate' says Merz Ukraine Jenipher Camino Gonzalez | Mark Hallam | Jon Shelton | Kieran Burke | Alex Berry with AP, AFP, dpa, Reuters

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Ukraine updates: 'Ukraine's fate is our fate' says Merz  Ukraine

Jenipher Camino Gonzalez | Mark Hallam | Jon Shelton | Kieran Burke | Alex Berry with AP, AFP, dpa, Reuters

Published 20 hours ago  Published 20 hours ago  last updated 38 minutes ago  last updated 38 minutes ago

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz was amongst the European leaders marking the fourth anniversary of Russia's invasion. Ukraine's President Zelenskyy said Putin is still far from achieving his goals. DW has the latest.

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A woman place flowers at the memorial to the fallen Ukrainian soldiers on Independence Square to mark the fourth anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion in Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026

An estimated 140,000 Ukrainian soldiers have died fighting against the Russian invasion since February 2022

Image: Efrem Lukatsky/AP Photo/picture alliance

Skip next section What you need to know

What you need to know

Tuesday marks four years since the beginning of the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine

EU leaders travel to Ukraine to commemorate the fourth anniversary of the war

Russian authorities say an explosive device detonated near a train station in Moscow

Below are the latest headlines, background and analysis from Russia's war in Ukraine on Tuesday, February 24.

Skip next section Slovakia says Russian oil to flow back this week

38 minutes ago38 minutes ago

Slovakia says Russian oil to flow back this week

Slovakia said that shipments of Russian oil via the Druzhba pipeline that passes through Ukraine were expected to resume on Thursday, a statement by the Slovak government said.

It all comes after Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said his country would halt emergency electricity supplies to Ukraine until Kyiv reopened the Druzhba pipeline that brings Russian oil to Slovakia and Hungary. 

"The latest date announced for the resumption of shipments was delayed to February 26," the ministry said in a statement.

The Slovak government said that it had not received an explanation from Ukraine explaining the delay in resuming shipments.

Ukraine previously said the pipeline was damaged January 27 by Russian strikes. 

The EU imposed a ban on most oil imports from Russia in 2022 due to Moscow's attack on Kyiv, but the Druzhba pipeline was exempted to give landlocked Central European countries time to find alternative oil supplies.

Since then, Slovakia and Hungary continue to depend on Russian energy and they have both sharply criticized the cut in oil deliveries.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban had also blocked both a 90-billion-euro ($106-billion) EU loan to Ukraine as well as a fresh round of sanctions on Russia until Kyiv re-opens the oil pipeline.

Orban: Europeans not unified on war in Ukraine

01:43

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Skip next section WATCH: Russia enjoyed impunity for decades, Ukrainian activist tells DW

1 hour ago1 hour ago

WATCH: Russia enjoyed impunity for decades, Ukrainian activist tells DW

Nicole Frölich

Four years ago, Russia started its invasion of Ukraine.

Oleksandra Matviichuk, founder of the Ukrainian "Center for Civil Liberties" and 2022 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, speaks to DW about the human toll of the war.  

Ukrainian activist: Russia enjoyed impunity for decades

08:03

https://p.dw.com/p/59JGe

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 Ukraine denies Russian claims on nuclear weapons

2 hours ago2 hours ago

Ukraine denies Russian claims on nuclear weapons

Ukraine called Russian claims that Kyiv was trying to obtain nuclear weapons "absurd."

Russia's Foreign Intelligence ​Service (SVR) accused the UK and France of seeking to ​secretly supply ⁠Ukraine with nuclear weapon parts and technology. ⁠The SVR did not provide evidence for the claim.

"Russian officials, known for ​their impressive record of lies, are once ​again trying to fabricate the ‌old 'dirty bomb' nonsense," Heorhii Tykhyi, spokesperson for the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, ‌told Reuters news agency.

"For the record: Ukraine ‌has ​already denied such absurd Russian claims many times before, and we officially ​deny them again now. We urge the international community to ⁠reject ​and condemn Russia’s dirty ​information bombs," Kyiv said.

https://p.dw.com/p/59LJZ

UN adopts motion saying Ukraine must not be divided; US, Hungary abstain

1 hour ago1 hour ago

UN adopts motion saying Ukraine must not be divided; US, Hungary abstain

The UN General Assembly has adopted a motion put forward by Ukraine supporting the country's international borders and voicing concern over intensifying Russian attacks on civilians and critical energy infrastructure, but without support from the United States. 

The motion is in no way binding but does carry political weight and was seen as a gauge for international support for Ukraine. 

It passed with 107 votes in favor, 12 against and 51 abstentions, as well as just over 20 countries that didn't participate.

Predictably, Russia led the minority voting against, joined by its close allies Belarus and North Korea, as well as by Iran, Niger, Sudan and others. 

Two NATO members, Donald Trump's US and Viktor Orban's Hungary, abstained, while the rest of the military alliance and the European Union voted in favor.

Another Security Council veto holder, China, abstained in the vote, as did India and Pakistan, the Gulf states, Brazil, South Africa, Serbia, and multiple post-Soviet Central Asian and Caucasian states, among others.

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Skip next section G7 leaders pledge 'unwavering support for Ukraine'

3 hours ago3 hours ago

G7 leaders pledge 'unwavering support for Ukraine'

Leaders of the G7 group of advanced economies said they reaffirmed their "unwavering support for Ukraine" in a statement on the fourth anniversary of Russia's invasion. 

US President Donald Trump was included in the declaration.

"We express our continued support for President Trump's efforts to achieve these objectives by initiating a peace process and bringing the parties to direct discussions. Europe has a leading role to play in this process, joined by other partners," the leaders of the US, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Canada and Japan said. 

"We acknowledge that ​only Ukraine ‌and Russia, working together in good faith negotiations, ​can ⁠reach a peace agreement," the statement read.

As Ukraine finds itself in the midst of a brutal winter of fighting, the G7 said it has provided financial support along with "critical equipment" in recent weeks such as generators and turbines to aid the country's energy supplies.

The group said that since January, "more than half a billion euros of new pledges were made to the Ukraine Energy Support Fund to purchase equipment to repair and protect the Ukrainian energy system.