Issued on: 14/02/2026 - 07:26Modified: 14/02/2026 - 22:48
Russia is suffering "crazy losses" in Ukraine, tallying around 65,000 soldiers over the last two months, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said on Saturday at the Munich Security Conference. He also said NATO's alliance was, for now, strong enough to deter Russia from attacking it.
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Zelensky says Russia's change of negotiator meant to postpone any decisions
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday he was surprised that Russia had decided to change the leadership of its negotiating team for peace talks in Geneva next week, a move he said was designed to postpone any decisions.
Speaking to journalists on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, Zelenskiy said foreign troops would be needed in Ukraine after a peace deal was reached to deter any future aggression by Russia.
He said the US had proposed a security guarantee lasting for 15 years after the war, but Ukraine wanted a deal for 20 years or longer.
German defence minister calls for predictable and reliable US partnership
German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius called for a predictable and reliable partnership between the United States and its European partners, which he said had to build up their hard defence capacity.
Responding to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio's remarks earlier on Saturday, which criticised many aspects of what the international system had become, Pistorius agreed that institutions needed reform but said the answer could not be for a state to try to go it alone.
Watch: Rubio says US wants to 'revitalise' transatlantic alliance
EU food chief sounds warning on food weaponisation
Europe must be alert to the threat of food supply chains being weaponised, the EU's agriculture chief warned Saturday, saying dependency on external food production would leave the European Union vulnerable.
"You cannot build a continent on an empty stomach and you cannot win a war on an empty stomach," Christophe Hansen said at the Munich Security Conference.
"Russia considers grains as its second oil. And it's not me saying that: they say it themselves, and they are using it massively, and I think we need therefore to work on our dependencies, because dependencies are vulnerabilities."
Iran protest rally in Munich grows to 200,000 people
The crowd of demonstrators in Munich denouncing the Iranian government grew to an estimated 200,000 people Saturday, police told AFP, as world leaders gathered nearby at the Munich Security Conference.
The protesters rallied in Munich's Theresienwiese area, condemning the leadership of Iran's Islamic Republic following the deadly repression of nationwide protests in January.
Russians suffering 'crazy losses' in Ukraine, says Rutte
Russia is suffering "crazy losses" in Ukraine, tallying around 65,000 soldiers over the last two months, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said on Saturday at the Munich Security Conference.
Separately, he told a media roundtable that the NATO alliance was strong enough that Russia would not currently try to attack it.
"We will win every fight with Russia if they attack us now, and we have to make sure in two, four, six years that same is still the case," he said.
No one in Europe wants to replace the United States' nuclear umbrella, says NATO chief
NATO chief Mark Rutte said Saturday no one in Europe was pushing to replace the United States' nuclear umbrella, after Germany said it was talking to France about its nuclear deterrence.
"I think every discussion in Europe making sure that collectively the nuclear deterrence is even stronger, fine, but nobody is arguing in Europe to do this as a sort of replacement of the nuclear umbrella of the United States," the NATO secretary general told journalists at the Munich Security Conference.
Trump has 'woken up' NATO, made it stronger, Rutte tells FRANCE 24
In an exclusive interview with FRANCE 24, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte argues that the alliance is stronger today, thanks to US President Donald Trump’s push for higher defence spending.
He highlights Europe’s growing leadership within NATO, while reaffirming the importance of the US anchor.
Rutte also stresses the urgent need for more support for Ukraine, acknowledging that current aid levels are insufficient.
UK to deploy aircraft carrier group to Arctic this year
The UK will deploy its aircraft carrier group to the North Atlantic this year in a "powerful show of force" against Russian threats in the Arctic, Britain's Starmer told the Munich conference earlier today.
"I can announce today that the UK will deploy our carrier strike group to the North Atlantic and the High North this year, led by HMS Prince of Wales, operating alongside the US, Canada and other NATO allies in a powerful show of our commitment to Euro-Atlantic security," he said.
HMS Prince of Wales makes a port call in Tokyo, Japan, on August 28, 2025. Credit: Eugene Hoshiko, AP
The group will include Royal Navy warships, F-35 jets and helicopters in what has been dubbed "Operation Firecrest," the ministry of defence said in a statement.
The HMS Prince of Wales is the Royal Navy's largest warship and US aircraft are also expected to operate from its deck.
Zelensky says US too often asks Ukraine, not Russia, for concessions
Zelensky decries that arms are developing faster than political efforts to end the Russian invasion.
"Weapons evolve faster than political decisions meant to stop them," Zelensky tells the Munich Security Conference.
In a jab at US-led talks, he says "the Americans often return to the topic of concessions, too often discussed in the context of Ukraine, not Russia".
He also says that Europe is "practically not" present at the table, describing this as "a big mistake".
Zelenksy: Russia losing 156 soldiers per kilometre of Ukraine
The Russian army is losing 156 soldiers for every square kilometre of Ukrainian soil it captures, the Ukrainian leader says.
"Putin is not concerned about this now, but there is a level at which he will start to care," Zelenksy adds, describing the Russian leader as a "slave to war".
Ukraine will produce enough interceptors to make Shahed drones 'meaningless', says Zelensky
Zelensky says Ukraine in January alone, Ukraine has had "to defend against 6000 attack drones, most of them Shahid drones".
He says his country will produce enough interceptor drones to make Shaheds "meaningless".
Pointing to the drones' Iranian manufacture, Zelensky says the regime in Tehran "must be stopped".
"The Iranian regime has already done and can still do more harm than many other regimes could do in the century. (…) When they have time, they only kill more. They must be stopped immediately," he says.
Not a single power plant in Ukraine left undamaged, says Zelensky
The Ukrainian leader is now speaking in Munich, and he begins by denouncing the relentless Russian attacks on the country's energy infrastructure that have left Ukrainian civilians to face the bitter winter cold without heating.
"Not a single power plant in Ukraine has been left undamaged by Russian attacks," Zelensky says.
Rubio reaffirms US-Europe ties, under Trump's terms
FRANCE 24's correspondent Nick Holdsworth brings us the latest from Munich.
UK could explore closer ties with EU single market in some sectors
The UK must explore areas where it could move closer to the European Union's single market, Starmer adds in his Munich address.
"We want to work together to lead a generational shift in defence industrial cooperation," the UK leader says. "Now this includes looking again at closer economic alignment," he adds, six years after Britain left the European trading bloc.
"Deeper economic integration is in all of our interests so we must look at where we could move closer to the single market in other sectors as well, where that would work for both sides."
Starmer says Europe must build 'hard power', the 'currency of the age'
Speaking after Von der Leyen, Britain's Keir Starmer stresses the need for Europe to build "hard power" and be ready to fight if necessary.
"We are not at a crossroads today, the road ahead is straight, and it is clear we must build our hard power, because that is the currency of the age," he says.
"We must be able to deter aggression, and yes, if necessary, we must be ready to fight, to do whatever it takes to protect our people, our values and our way of life and, as Europe, we must stand on our own two feet."
Von der Leyen: Europe's future and Britain 'as bound as ever'
Europe and Britain needed to to cooperate more closely on "security, on economy.. on defending our democracies", the EU Commission chief goes on to say.
"Europe and in particular the UK should come closer together .. 10 years on from Brexit our futures are as bound as ever," she adds.
EU must 'bring to life' mutual defence pact, says Von der Leyen
The head of the European Commission is next on the podium in Munich.
She says the time has come to bring a mutual defence clause anchored in the EU's founding treaty "to life".
"Mutual defence is not an optional task for the European Union. It is an obligation within our own treaty," von der Leyen tells the security conference.
"It is our collective commitment to stand by each other in case of aggression, or in simple terms: one for all and all for one. And this is Europe's meaning."
Replay: Watch Rubio's address and Q&A
Main developments from yesterday:
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP, Reuters)
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