Ukraine strikes 2,000km deep into Russia in 'longest range strike of the war' & Zelensky accuses Olympics of playing into Putin’s hands after Ukrainian athlete disqualified

Day 1,449.

Today, as Ukraine’s security services claim responsibility for the longest-range strike yet on Russian oil and gas infrastructure since the start of the full-scale invasion, we examine reports of a surge in Russian army casualties and what that could mean for Vladimir Putin’s war effort. Then we bring you the latest from the NATO summit in Brussels, where allies are discussing military support for Ukraine and European security, before returning to the escalating controversy at the Winter Olympics, where Ukrainian skeleton athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych has been disqualified over his “Helmet of Memory” tribute to Ukrainian athletes killed in the war.

Contributors

Francis Dearnley (Executive Editor for Audio). @FrancisDearnley on X.

Dominic Nicholls (Associate Editor of Defence). @DomNicholls on X.

Jeremy Wilson (Chief Sports Reporter). @JWTelegraph on X.

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CONTENT REFERENCED:

Zelensky accuses Olympics of ‘playing into Russia’s hands’ after Ukraine athlete disqualified (Jeremy in The Telegraph):

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/winter-olympics/2026/02/12/winter-olympics-2026-ukrainian-skeleton-helmet-ioc/ 

Halyna Klepikovska: participation in the International Cultural Programme of the Milano-Cortina 2026 Olympics:

https://www.halynaklepikovska.com/post/movement-as-a-form-of-thinking

Russian army casualties in Ukraine surge (Financial Times):

https://www.ft.com/content/ce74d2d8-5562-4e6d-9e5f-041b017b5d39

SBU sends text warning Russians are trying to recruit Ukrainians to register Starlink terminals (Kyiv Independent):

https://kyivindependent.com/sbu-sends-messages-to-holders-of-ukrainian-phone-numbers-warning-russians-trying-to-recruit-ukrainians-to-register-block-starlink-terminals

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