Another round of U.S.-brokered talks between envoys from Russia and Ukraine will take place next week in Geneva, days ahead of the fourth anniversary of the all-out Russian invasion of its neighbor, officials in Moscow and Kyiv said on Friday.
The meeting will be held on Tuesday and Wednesday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said in a statement carried by Russian news agencies.
Click to Gallery
Ukrainian servicemen of special police unit take part in training at the training field in Kharkiv region, Ukraine, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrii Marienko)
Ukrainian servicemen of special police unit take part in training at the training field in Kharkiv region, Ukraine, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrii Marienko)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, centre, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius, centre left, attend their visit of drone producing company Quantum Frontline Industries near Munich, Germany, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (Sven Hoppe/dpa via AP)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, left, and German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius talk during their visit of drone producing company Quantum Frontline Industries near Munich, Germany, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (Sven Hoppe/dpa via AP)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s communications adviser, Dmytro Lytvyn, confirmed the new round of negotiations.
The talks take place against a backdrop of continued fighting along the roughly 1,250-kilometer (750-mile) front line, relentless Russian bombardment of civilian areas of Ukraine and the country’s power grid, and Kyiv’s almost daily long-range drone attacks on war-related assets on Russian soil.
Previous U.S.-led efforts to find consensus on ending the war, most recently two rounds of talks in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, have failed to resolve difficult issues, such as the future of Ukraine’s Donbas industrial heartland that is largely occupied by Russian forces.
Zelenskyy said last week that the United States has given Ukraine and Russia a June deadline to reach a deal. Previous deadlines given by U.S. President Donald Trump have passed largely without consequence.
Zelenskyy was in Munich, Germany, on Friday and visited the first joint Ukrainian-German company for the production of drones. Germany has been a major backer of Ukraine in the war.
He was also due to hold bilateral and multilateral meetings at the Munich Security Conference, an annual gathering of top international security figures.
Russia’s bigger army has managed to capture about 20% of Ukraine since hostilities began in 2014 and its full-scale invasion of Feb. 24 2022. Its battlefield progress has been slow and costly in terms of troops and armor.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said that “the Russians are not winning (the war) as some are thinking.”
“This so-called Russian bear is not there,” he told reporters. “It is basically still the speed of a garden snail, what we are seeing in Ukraine — this is how the Russians are moving inside Ukraine, very slow, staggering losses.”
The negotiators heading to Geneva have the tough task of finding compromises that are palatable to both Moscow and Kyiv.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s adviser Vladimir Medinsky, who headed Moscow’s team of negotiators in the first direct peace talks with Ukraine in Istanbul in March 2022, is returning to lead Moscow’s delegation.
The previous two rounds of trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi reportedly focused on military issues, such as a possible buffer zone and ceasefire monitoring. The return of Medinsky, who has pushed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s maximalist conditions for peace, could mark a shift toward political issues in the next round of talks.
Ukraine’s delegation will again be led by Rustem Umerov, Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council chief.
It was not clear which American officials would be in Geneva. In the UAE capital, the Trump administration was represented by envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.
The grim war of attrition is continuing while the two sides negotiate.
Overnight from Thursday to Friday, a Russian strike killed three brothers between 8 and 19 years of age in eastern Ukraine, authorities said. Their mother and grandmother survived but sustained multiple injuries, the Donetsk regional prosecutor’s office said.
In Odesa, one person was killed and six more injured in a Russian strike at the city’s port and energy infrastructure, officials said.
The Russian Defense Ministry said on Friday its air defenses shot down 58 Ukrainian drones over several Russian regions and annexed Crimea during the night.
Of those, 43 were brought down in the Volgograd region of southwestern Russia, where three people, including a 12-year-old boy, were injured by drone debris, according to the local governor. Ukraine has recently targeted the Volgograd oil refinery.
Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
Ukrainian servicemen of special police unit take part in training at the training field in Kharkiv region, Ukraine, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrii Marienko)
Ukrainian servicemen of special police unit take part in training at the training field in Kharkiv region, Ukraine, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrii Marienko)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, centre, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius, centre left, attend their visit of drone producing company Quantum Frontline Industries near Munich, Germany, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (Sven Hoppe/dpa via AP)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, left, and German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius talk during their visit of drone producing company Quantum Frontline Industries near Munich, Germany, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (Sven Hoppe/dpa via AP)
TESERO, Italy (AP) — Friday the 13th will be remembered as a lucky day for Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo. Norway’s cross-country skiing star tied an all‑time Winter Games record by winning his eighth gold medal Friday at the Milan Cortina Olympics. The 29‑year‑old claimed victory in the men’s 10 kilometer interval‑start race, for his third gold at the 2026 games.
With three races still ahead, he now shares the record with three other Norwegian athletes who have all retired: Marit Bjoergen and Bjoern Daehlie in cross-country skiing and Ole Einar Bjoerndalen in the biathlon.
Klaebo said he has tried to flip the script on superstition about the supposedly ill-fated day, having proposed last year to his girlfriend, Pernille Doesvik, on June 13th — also a Friday.
“I think I like Friday the 13th,” he said. “It’s a good day.”
All the days in this Olympics, so far, have been good for Klaebo.
The win was particularly meaningful for Klaebo because he doesn't do as well in a race against the clock when he's not going head-to-head with rivals.
“This is the distance I’ve kind of struggled the most with so being able to do that means a lot,” he said. “And then it’s cool to be up there (in the records) with a lot of great athletes.” Klaebo again gained vital ground in the final hill and clocked 20 minutes, 36.2 seconds, showing rare signs of fatigue as he collapsed at the finish line of the race considered to be his toughest challenge.
He was 4.9 seconds head of Frances’s Mathis Desloges and 14 in front of his main challenger Einar Hedegart also of Norway who lost momentum on the last hill.
“It's a special day,” Klaebo said. “This one means a lot for sure … I'm lost for words.”
The Norwegian said he was happy with his tactics, racing the first half of the course with a controlled pace, saving energy for a burst up the last hill and home stretch — an ability that often sets him apart from others.
“It was really hard out there today so I'm very proud,” he said.
Over at the French camp, athletes and team officials celebrated as if they had won the race, linking arms and dancing on the snow after underdog Desloges won his second silver medal in his Olympics debut. “I trained incredibly hard for these races,” Desloges said. “I told people I was at this level — and now we are delivering.” The 23-year-old Frenchman, like many other top racers in the interval start, was mostly unaware of his position during the race.
“I don’t really pay attention to what’s being shouted from the sidelines,” he said. “Honestly, I don’t listen to them. I just focus on my race. I know what I have to do and I give it everything.” On a blue-sky day in northern Italy, with the race track surrounded by the snow-capped Dolomite mountains, temperatures hovered around 5 degrees Celsius (41 Fahrenheit). A few racers chose to compete wearing only their race bibs.
Organizers had treated the course with salt Thursday to harden the surface but left it untouched Friday — a decision that favored Klaebo, who started early among the seeded skiers. Celebrations were led by Norwegian fans: national flags — red with a blue cross outlined in white — were draped over athletes and the railing on the spectators' area. Klaebo's grandfather, Kare Hoesflot, who helped launch his career traveled to northern Italy to watch the race, while messages of congratulations poured in from back home, where cross-country skiing is a prime time sport.
“Another show of strength from Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo. What a performance in a thriller of a race! Congratulations on gold number three in these Olympics!,” Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere wrote on social media. Finn Dahl, a retired marketing manager from Norway, was dressed in a white suit covered in Norwegian flags and the motto, “The Viking is back” emblazoned on the front pocket as he watched Klaebo win. He credited Klaebo's success to relentless hard work.
“He's so dedicated. He sacrificed everything in terms of training, how he eats, how he sleeps and calms down after races,” he said.
“It's fantastic … he's up to eight now,” Dahl said. “I hope he'll be the biggest winner ever. “ —-
AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo, of Norway, sits on the leader's chair after crossing the finish line in the the cross country skiing men's 10km interval start free at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Tesero, Italy, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo, of Norway, competes in the cross country skiing men's 10km interval start free at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Tesero, Italy, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo, of Norway, poses after winning the gold medal in the cross country skiing men's 10km interval start free at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Tesero, Italy, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
Silver medalist Mathis Desloges, of France, from left, gold medalist Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo, of Norway, and bronze medalist Einar Hedegart, of Norway, pose after the cross country skiing men's 10km interval start free at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Tesero, Italy, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo, of Norway, poses after winning the gold medal in the cross country skiing men's 10km interval start free at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Tesero, Italy, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo, of Norway, stands on the podium after winning the gold medal in the cross country skiing men's 10km interval start free at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Tesero, Italy, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo, of Norway, reacts after crossing the finish line in the cross country skiing men's 10km interval start free at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Tesero, Italy, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo, of Norway, sits on the leader's chair after crossing the finish line in the the cross country skiing men's 10km interval start free at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Tesero, Italy, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo, of Norway, competes in the cross country skiing men's 10km interval start free at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Tesero, Italy, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
