Peace talks end in ‘acrimony’ after just two hours & Ukraine recaptures ‘most land since summer 2023’
Ukraine: The Latest
Louisa Wells / Francis Dearnley
4.8 • 2.7K Ratings
🗓️ 18 February 2026
⏱️ 43 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Day 1,455.
Today, as the latest round of Ukraine-US-Russia peace talks in Geneva collapse after just two hours, we speak to our correspondent in Switzerland to understand what went wrong between Kyiv, Moscow and Washington. We examine why the International Paralympic Committee has decided to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete at the Winter Olympics under their national flags, and what that means for sporting sanctions linked to Putin’s war in Ukraine. Plus, our resident Russia-watcher breaks down the latest political manoeuvring inside the Kremlin.
Contributors
Dominic Nicholls (Associate Editor of Defence). @DomNicholls on X.
Francis Dearnley (Executive Editor for Audio). @FrancisDearnley on X.
Joe Barnes (Brussels Correspondant). @barnes_joe on X.
James Kilner (Foreign Analyst). @jkjourno on X.
SIGN UP TO THE ‘UKRAINE: THE LATEST’ WEEKLY NEWSLETTER:
http://telegraph.co.uk/ukrainenewsletter
Each week, Dom Nicholls and Francis Dearnley answer your questions, provide recommended reading, and give exclusive analysis and behind-the-scenes insights – plus maps of the frontlines and diagrams of weapons to complement our daily reporting. It’s free for everyone, including non-subscribers.
CONTENT REFERENCED:
Ukraine peace talks end in acrimony after two hours (The Telegraph):
Ukraine recaptures ‘most land since summer 2023’ (The Telegraph):
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/02/17/ukraine-recaptures-most-land-since-summer-2023/
Zelensky: Trump being unfair in ‘very tense’ talks (The Telegraph):
Russian, Belarusian athletes to compete under national flags at 2026 Winter Paralympics (Kyiv Independent):
Mick Ryan Substack post: Starlink Surprise
https://mickryan.substack.com/p/starlink-surprise
Learn more about Convoy4Ukraine:
https://www.justgiving.com/page/ian-wilson-young
LISTEN TO THIS PODCAST IN NEW LANGUAGES:
The Telegraph has launched translated versions of Ukraine: The Latest in Ukrainian and Russian, making its reporting accessible to audiences on both sides of the battle lines and across the wider region, including Central Asia and the Caucasus. Just search Україна: Останні Новини (Ukr) and Украина: Последние Новости (Ru) on your on your preferred podcast app to find them. Listen here: https://linktr.ee/ukrainethelatest
Subscribe: telegraph.co.uk/ukrainethelatest
Email: ukrainepod@telegraph.co.uk
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | The Telegraph. I'm Domnichols and this is Ukraine the latest. Today, as the latest round of |
| 0:13.9 | so-called peace talks breaks down after just two hours, we speak to our correspondent in Geneva |
| 0:18.9 | to find out what happened, and we asked why the |
| 0:21.5 | International Paralympic Committee has decided to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete |
| 0:26.7 | at the Winter Olympics under their national flags. Plus, we speak to our resident Russia watcher |
| 0:32.1 | and ask him to interpret the latest machinations from the Kremlin over Geneva, Navalny, Telegram and cucumbers. |
| 0:40.3 | bravery takes you through the most unimaginable hardships to finally reward you with victory. |
| 0:49.3 | The Russia does not want peace. |
| 0:51.3 | First, we're in our help for the Ukraine |
| 0:54.9 | also our |
| 0:56.3 | freedom and |
| 0:57.6 | our European |
| 0:59.2 | Wences. |
| 1:00.5 | If I'm president, |
| 1:01.3 | I will have that war |
| 1:02.2 | settled in one day, |
| 1:03.5 | 24 hours. |
| 1:04.4 | We are with you, |
| 1:05.5 | not just today |
| 1:06.6 | or tomorrow, |
| 1:07.8 | but for a hundred years. |
| 1:09.4 | We can not |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Louisa Wells / Francis Dearnley, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Louisa Wells / Francis Dearnley and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.