Ukraine Front Line Update: Ukrainian forces in Pokrovsk, Ukraine, report gains after enduring a long series of Russian attacks. There's been a shift as Ukrainian troops are now pushing back against Russia’s offensive, which had aimed to advance on key supply routes. Soldiers note that Russia is now moving with smaller attack groups easier to repel. Meanwhile, war conditions remain harsh, with artillery and drone strikes leaving the city devastated.

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As Russian forces continue to advance in eastern Ukraine, a growing number of residents living in the Dnipropetrovsk region are leaving their homes. Mykola from the village of Novopidhorodne told RFE/RL that he's decided to move his family even though an evacuation has yet to be ordered.

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Cuban Frank Dario Jarrosay Manfuga is now a prisoner of war in Ukraine, captured while fighting for the Russian army. He claims he was deceived into going to Russia with the promise of a construction job. His story is part of a larger pattern of how Russia might recruit foreigners, targeting Cubans among others with promises of high salaries.

There are an estimated 5,000 Cuban mercenaries among the foreign fighters in Ukraine, many drawn by economic hardship. The country’s long-standing ties with Russia also play a role. While Havana claims it doesn't support recruitment of foreign mercenaries, the Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel has publicly backed Russia’s actions.

Investigation by @RadioSvoboda's Schemes investigative unit

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On the one-year anniversary of Aleksei Navalny's death in an Arctic prison in Russia, supporters of the Kremlin critic placed flowers at his grave in Moscow, Russia today. Hundreds gathered to pay their respects to the country's late opposition leader. The event took place despite the risk of reprisals by authorities, who labeled Navalny an "extremist" after years of the anti-corruption activist's fight against the Vladimir Putin regime.

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A year after Aleksei Navalny's death in a Russian prison, his friends are marking the anniversary by remembering the Kremlin critic's courage and strength. One of them is Bjorn Leber. The trainer helped Navalny recover in Germany after a near-fatal poisoning in 2020 and recalls his determination to continue his fight against the Putin regime.

German photographer Jens Koch caught poignant pictures of Navalny in the last five months of his freedom before his return to Russia, where he was immediately arrested. Navalny would remain behind bars until his death in an Arctic prison in 2024.

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said at the Munich Security Conference that he will only meet with one Russian, President Vladimir Putin, for peace talks about ending Russia's war on Ukraine.

Meanwhile, U.S. Vice President JD Vance did not mention Ukraine or any imminent peace deal in his speech, saying instead that free speech appears to be “in retreat” across Europe and that "unvetted" immigration represents a dire threat to the continent.

RFE/RL's Ray Furlong reporting from Munich, Germany.

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said no Ukraine war peace deal was discussed today at the Munich Security Conference, and that Ukrainian delegation would not be meeting with Russia in Saudi Arabia next week. Meanwhile, U.S. Vice President JD Vance said that free speech appears to be “in retreat” across Europe and that “unvetted” immigration represents a dire threat to the continent.

RFE/RL's Ray Furlong reporting from Munich, Germany.

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What's going on at Chernobyl? Ukrainian nuclear safety experts have told RFE/RL it will "take time" and "significant funds" to repair the damage from a Russian drone strike today on the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that radiation levels were normal on February 14 after saying Russia hit the power plant. Moscow has denied that it was responsible.

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The overnight attack struck the shelter of the plant’s destroyed fourth power unit, igniting a fire that was later extinguished, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

He added that by Friday morning, radiation levels at the site remained unchanged.

No casualties were reported.

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German police arrested an Afghan asylum seeker after he rammed a car into a crowd in Munich on February 13, injuring 28 people. The incident comes just before the high-profile Munich Security Conference and 10 days before German elections in which migration is a major political issue. One Afghan journalist told RFE/RL that many in his community fear a growing backlash against migrants fueled by this incident and others.

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