Russia launched 219 drones and 24 ballistic missiles in another massive attack on the energy infrastructure of the Ukrainian cities of Kiev, Dnipro, and Odesa.
According to the Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Andriy Sibiga, this new bombing has left part of the population without electricity, water, and heating and has caused several injuries, "including a baby and a four-year-old child."
"No one can turn a blind eye to Russian terrorism. It is happening right now in the center of Europe. Despite the Olympic truce and the peace efforts led by the U.S.," said Sibiga referring to the ongoing Winter Olympics.
On the other hand, the U.S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, leads a large delegation this week at the Munich Security Conference, where increasingly nervous European leaders hope for at least a brief respite from the often inconsistent policies and threats of Donald Trump that have shaken transatlantic relations and the established international order after World War II.
The formal announcement from the State Department about Rubio's trip did not provide details about his two-day stop in Munich, where he will arrive after visiting Slovakia and Hungary. However, U.S. government officials, speaking on condition of anonymity to provide advance information about the trip, indicated that the U.S. Secretary of State intends to focus on areas of cooperation on shared global and regional issues, including the Middle East and Ukraine, as well as China, an economic power seeking to exploit the uncertainty in U.S.-Europe relations.
The Kremlin does not want escalation with the U.S. over Russian oil supplies to Cuba
The Kremlin stated today that it does not seek escalation with the White House over Russian oil supplies to Cuba amid the U.S. energy embargo on the Caribbean island.
"We would not want any escalation, but, on the other hand, at present, we (Russia and the U.S.) have almost no trade exchange," said Dmitry Peskov, presidential spokesperson, in his daily phone press briefing.
Ukraine attacks a Russian refinery nearly 2,000 kilometers from the border
Ukrainian forces attacked a Russian refinery in the northern republic of Komi on Thursday, nearly 2,000 kilometers from the border between the two countries, as acknowledged by local authorities.
"Today, our region was attacked by Ukrainian drones. A fire broke out at an oil refinery in Ukhta," the regional governor, Rostislav Goldshtein, wrote on Telegram.
Ukrainian athlete Vladislav Heraskevich, who wanted to use a helmet with images of athletes who died during the conflict with Russia, was disqualified on Thursday from the skeleton events of the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, as reported by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
"He has been disqualified," confirmed a spokesperson for the Ukrainian Olympic Committee. In a statement, the international body stated that the competitor "will not be able to participate" in the Winter Olympics "after refusing to comply with the IOC guidelines on athlete expression."
The IOC had suggested on Tuesday that the Ukrainian wear a black armband instead of the helmet, as an exceptional measure in his case. "This morning, upon his arrival at the competition venue, Heraskevich met with IOC President Kirsty Coventry, who explained the IOC's position to him one last time. As in previous meetings, he refused to change his stance," argued the Olympic body in a lengthy explanatory text.
Under these circumstances, "the judges of the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF) made the decision, based on the fact that the helmet he wanted to wear does not comply with the regulations," the statement added.
Ukraine's flagbearer at these Olympic Games participated on Monday and Wednesday in training sessions wearing a gray helmet with serigraphed images of several of his compatriots who died in the war.
Putin decrees new measures to promote "traditional values" and boost Russian birth rate
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a new set of measures to promote "traditional values" and boost childbirth amid the deep demographic crisis facing the country, following a meeting of the State Council on Russian demographic and family policy.
In particular, the decree published by the Kremlin instructs the Presidential Administration to "create a permanent working group to shape a family-oriented social environment, popularize traditional family values in the media, and ensure the functioning of this group at the social level."
This task from the Russian president, like the rest of the proposals, must be implemented by April 1 next.
Additionally, Putin tasked his administration to "present proposals for legislative changes aimed at popularizing traditional family values and the positive image of large families in advertising."
He also instructed the Russian government to "study the possibility of granting families with children additional measures of state support through full or partial payment of mortgages or loans with state funds (up to 450,000 rubles (5,840 dollars) in case of the birth of the fourth child or more)."
WhatsApp accuses Russia of attempting to "completely block" its application
WhatsApp stated on Wednesday that Russia tried to "completely block" its messaging application in the country to force users to migrate to a state-controlled competing service, potentially affecting 100 million people.
Moscow has in recent months been encouraging Russians to use Max, a more strictly controlled national platform.
It has also threatened a number of websites, including the popular platform Telegram, with forced slowdowns or direct bans if they do not comply with Russian laws, including those requiring Russian user data to be stored within the country.
Russia evacuates a town after missile attack on military facility
Russia reported on Thursday that it repelled a missile attack in the Volgograd region, but the debris caused a fire at a military facility and forced the evacuation of a nearby town.
"The air defense units of the Russian Ministry of Defense repelled a missile attack in the Volgograd region," regional governor Andrei Bocharov posted on the Telegram messaging platform.
Although there were no casualties, he said evacuation orders were being carried out in Kotluban "to ensure the safety of civilians due to the threat of detonation during firefighting."
Further north, in the Russian region of Tambov, Governor Evgeni Pervishov stated that university students had to be relocated after a Ukrainian drone attack caused a fire.