A Russian missile strike on Kyiv killed one person and injured four others. Zelenskyi says he is ready to meet Trump in Washington. Stable weapons supplies, foreign defense investment are a centerpiece of a Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting, Umerov says.
Russian missile strike on Kyiv kills one, injures four others
A Russian missile strike on Kyiv in the early hours of Wednesday killed one person and injured four others, including a nine-year-old child, local officials said.
Ukraine’s Air Force reported shooting down six out of seven ballistic missiles fired at Kyiv and the city of Kryvyi Rih in the region of Dnipro. “The enemy fired Iskander-M (or S-400 guided anti-aircraft missiles) at Kyiv and Kryvyi Rih overnight on February 12, 2025. They launched six missiles from the Bryansk region and one from Crimea,” it said in a morning report.
Russia also launched 123 Shahed drones and decoy drones at Ukraine overnight on Wednesday. Ukraine’s Air Force said it had shot down 71 drones, and 40 more disappeared off radar after likely being disabled by electronic warfare systems.
The intercepts took place over the regions of Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Dnipro, Kharkiv, Kherson, Kropyvnytskyi, Kyiv, Mykolaiv, Poltava, Sumy and Zhytomyr. The attack caused damaged in the city of Kryvyi Rih and in the regions of Chernihiv, Kyiv, Poltava, and Sumy, it added.
Reacting to Russia’s attack on Ukraine, President Zelenskyi said Russian leader Vladimir Putin was “not preparing for peace.” “This Russian terror against Ukraine will not stop on its own. Putin is not preparing for peace — he continues to kill Ukrainians and destroy cities,” Zelenskyi said on X.
Zelenskyi says ready to meet Trump in Washington
In an interview with the Guardian published on Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi said he was ready to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington once their teams agree on a date and agenda.
“Trump said he is waiting to meet me in Washington. And we are waiting for our teams to fix a date and a plan of meetings in the U.S. As soon as it is agreed, we are ready, I am ready to meet,” Zelenskyi said.
He added that the coming weeks, possibly the entire month, will be very intense in diplomacy. “We have a lot of meetings and our work with the U.S. partners has intensified further,” Zelenskyi said.
“We will also have meetings with President Trump’s team. I will meet [U.S.] Vice President [JD] Vance and the entire team in Munich in the coming days. I also have a series of meetings planned with two dozen important senators and representatives. These will be separate meetings. [There will also be] a lot of meetings with European leaders. We expect that my team will be able to engage with [Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, Keith] Kellogg as well as with other members of Trump’s team,” Zelenskyi said.
He added that White House representatives will visit Ukraine before and after the Munich Security Conference.
U.S. President Donald Trump said he would “probably be meeting with President Zelenskyi next week” while taking questions from reporters on Friday.
Asked for a location for such a meeting with Zelenskyi, Trump noted “I’m here” in Washington and said he would not be going to Ukraine.
Zelenskyi will chair Ukraine’s delegation to the Munich Security Conference that will run from Friday, February 14 through Sunday, February 16.
Stable weapons supplies, foreign defense investment a centerpiece of Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting, Umerov says
Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said the timely delivery of weapons and foreign investments in Ukraine’s defense industry were among the issues on the agenda of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group that meets in Brussels on Wednesday. The meeting will be chaired by the UK.
“This is an important step in strengthening Ukraine’s defense capabilities and coordinating the allies’ further actions. Today, for the first time, the meeting is chaired by my colleague and friend John Healey, the UK Secretary of State for Defense. The new U.S. Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, is also participating,” Umerov said in a post to Facebook ahead of the meeting.
As well as discussing the need to accelerate air defense, aviation and ammunition shipments, Umerov said he planned to raise the issues of stable and timely delivery of military aid in 2025, investments in Ukraine’s defense industry and joint projects with European partners.
He added that the group will also discuss “long-term solutions” aimed at “expanding defense production in Ukraine, financing Ukraine’s defense industry and creating new enterprises, and increasing arms supplies through the capabilities of the European defense sector.”
Later this week the NATO-Ukraine Council will meet at the level of defense ministers, and world leaders will gather in Munich for the annual security conference.
Umerov said he will hold a series of bilateral meetings with allied defense ministers.
“The main goal is to strengthen military cooperation and establish effective mechanisms to support Ukraine. Ukraine is ready for negotiations to end the war. But a just and lasting peace is possible only when Ukraine is strong on the battlefield,” he said.
