🔊 Orban–Zelensky clash reveals deep EU and NATO divisions – analyst

The dispute between Zelensky and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban goes beyond personal tensions and reflects a clash of strategic visions, Saudi political analyst Saad al-Hamid told Sputnik.

Zelensky ties Ukraine’s future to full integration into the EU and Western institutions, while Orban takes a pragmatic approach toward Russia and opposes fast-tracking Ukraine’s EU and NATO membership.

Domestic political considerations and minority issues are also widening the gap between the two leaders.

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🚨Ukraine’s ex-energy minister detained in corruption case

Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) has detained the country’s former Energy Minister German Galushchenko as part of a case concerning corruption in the Ukrainian energy sector.

💬 "Today, while crossing the state border, NABU detectives detained the former energy minister within the framework of the 'Midas' case. Initial investigative actions are ongoing in accordance with legal requirements and a court order," NABU said on Telegram.

In November 2025, NABU announced it was conducting a large-scale operation in the energy sector and published photos of bags filled with foreign currency found during the operation.

NABU carried out searches at the home of Galushchenko, as well as at the state nuclear energy agency, Energoatom.

The agency also searched the residence of Zelensky's close associate, Timur Mindich, who had already fled Ukraine by that time.

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💸 Germany’s proposal to use $106B from frozen Russian assets to buy US arms for Ukraine collapses

French President Emmanuel Macron rejected the proposal at a meeting on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, German media reports.

He insisted that frozen Russian assets should primarily be used for deliveries of weapons systems manufactured in Europe, according to the report.

The European Commission earlier sought EU members’ consent to use frozen Russian sovereign assets for Ukraine aid as they discussed a sum of between $219 billion and $249 billion in the form of a loan.

The Russian Foreign Ministry stressed that the EU's idea of Russia paying reparations to Ukraine is unrealistic, and that Brussels has long been engaged in the theft of Russian assets.

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🗣 Why Zelensky's war of words with Orban won’t boost Ukraine's EU ambitions

💬 “There are actually no supporters of Ukraine’s rapid EU membership both in Hungary and other members of the bloc,” Polish political analyst Mateusz Piskorski tells Sputnik, commenting on Zelensky’s apparent tactic to pave Ukraine’s way into the EU by making insulting remarks related to Hungarian PM Viktor Orban.

In Hungary, “even Peter Magyar, leader of the opposition Tisza party, underscored that the issue of Ukraine's accession to the EU should be resolved through a referendum, of which Magyar is a supporter,” Piskorski points out.

A war of words between Zelensky and Orban means that the former is “directly involved in the election campaign in Hungary.”

Zelensky is, however, mistaken in counting on a Hungarian change of attitude toward Ukraine even if Tisza wins, the analyst says.

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🇮🇷🇺🇸 Iran to US: want a nuclear deal? Stop the sanctions war

💬 “The ball is in America’s court. I mean they have to prove that they want to have a deal with us, and if we see a sincerity on their part, I’m sure that we will be on a road to have an agreement,” Iranian deputy foreign minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi told European media on Sunday.

Iran is “ready” to discuss the nuclear issue, “provided that they [the US side, ed.] are ready also to talk the sanctions. Because those sanctions also have to be on the table,” the senior diplomat stressed.

💬 “One cannot accept that Iran has to do certain things without the other side committing itself to do their share,” Takht-Ravanchi noted.

Asked if a deal could actually be reached, Takht-Ravanchi said it’s “too early to say…After one round one cannot say for sure. Bear in mind that we experienced a war in the middle of negotiations” in June 2025."

As for the question of whether a new war would be “existential” for Iran, the diplomat said it would be “traumatic” and “bad for everybody.”

💬 “It is not as if Iran will suffer only. Everybody will suffer, particularly those who have initiated this aggression. If we feel that this is an existential threat, we will respond accordingly,” he summed up.

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🚨🇮🇷🇺🇸 Iran-US indirect talks to take place in Geneva on Feb 17

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is heading to Geneva for the second round of nuclear negotiations with the US, Iran's foreign ministry announced.

Araghchi is expected to meet Swiss, Omani foreign ministers, as well as the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), it added.

The negotiations in Geneva will be held with Omani mediation, a statement by the ministry says.

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🔊 Zelensky’s attack on Orban is cheap ploy that won’t bring Ukraine any closer to EU membership - expert

“Zelensky thinks he’s just winning easy points because the elite of the EU will be happy to see him taking swipes at Orban,” prolific commentator Dr. George Szamuely told Sputnik, commenting on Zelensky’s personal attack against Hungary’s PM at the Munich Security Conference, and Orban’s blistering response.

👉 Zelensky’s jabs aren’t “going to solve his problem,” Szamuely stressed, pointing out that even if his dreams of vocal Ukraine-skeptic Orban losing power after April’s elections come true, it won’t mean an automatic invitation to the EU

👉 “I think a lot of Europeans would have great hesitation about allowing Ukraine to join the EU,” the observer said, noting that for one thing, if Ukraine joins, “it brings the war right into the heart of Europe, which is a problem”

👉 “In addition, Ukraine is going to need hundreds of billions of dollars in reconstruction aid. That loan will have to come out of the pocketbooks of Europeans” if Ukraine is a member, Szamuely said, recalling that Europeans have already had a taste of what integrating Ukraine would look like after the dumping of cheap Ukrainian produce onto the market, devastating local farmers

👉 As for Trump’s defense of Orban, his “longstanding” political ally, the EU may “detest” the US president, “but there’s nothing much they can do about it”

👉 “And of course, Secretary of State Marco Rubio will now be visiting Hungary and Slovakia. It’s a very interesting move by the Trump administration, essentially to circumvent EU leadership opinion. The two countries Rubio will visit are the two countries the EU is continuously criticizing,” Szamuely summed up

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🇸🇰 Fico offers Slovakia as mediator in Ukraine peace talks

During a joint press conference with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Bratislava, Slovak PM also emphasized US President Trump’s pragmatic approach to the resolution of the Ukrainian conflict.

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🇭🇺🇸🇰🇭🇷 Hungary, Slovakia request Croatia to allow transit of Russian oil - Szijjarto

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🟠 Iran-US indirect talks to take place in Geneva on Feb 17

🟠 Iran to US: want a nuclear deal? Stop the sanctions war

🟠 Russia liberates 12 settlements in just two weeks of February

🟠 Zelensky’s attack on Orban is cheap ploy that won’t bring Ukraine any closer to EU membership – expert

🟠 Fico offers Slovakia as mediator in Ukraine peace talks

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🇺🇸🌍 Trump to host Board of Peace meeting on Feb. 19

US President Donald Trump said he will convene members of the Board of Peace on February 19, 2026, at the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace in Washington, D.C.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said member states have pledged more than $5 billion toward Gaza humanitarian and reconstruction efforts, along with personnel commitments for an international stabilization force and local policing.

He also reiterated that Hamas must commit to “Full and Immediate Demilitarization,” describing the Board of Peace as a new international body focused on long-term stability.

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