Ukraine-Russia war latest: Rubio warns ‘old order is gone’ ahead of possible Zelensky meeting at Munich summit

World leaders gathering in Munich for the annual security conference are being greeted by a report from their hosts that takes an axe to the policies of Donald Trump and warns that global security structures risk being turned to rubble.

The Munich Security Report 2026, titled Under Destruction, says that: “The world has entered a period” of “wrecking-ball politics”.

“Sweeping destruction – rather than careful reforms and policy corrections – is the order of the day. The most prominent of those who promise to free their country from the existing order’s constraints and rebuild a stronger, more prosperous nation is the current US administration. As a result, more than 80 years after construction began, the US-led post-1945 international order is now under destruction.”

The Independent’s world affairs editor Sam Kiley writes:

Ukraine hopes for "serious and responsible" talks with Russia backed by the US in Geneva on February 17-18, the head of Kyiv's delegation said on Friday.

The Ukrainian team remains the same and was "formed taking into account the military, political, and security components of the process", Rustem Umerov said on Telegram.

Moscow announced earlier on Friday that the Kremlin aide Vladimir Medinsky will head the Russian delegation instead of Igor Kostyukov, its head of military intelligence.

German chancellor Friedrich Merz was speaking earlier at the Munich Security Conference, where he discussed international cooperation in an age of heightened tensions, even between once close western alliances.

The West is stronger together, Mr Merz said, arguing that even the US cannot go it alone.

A gap has opened between Europe and the US, he said, calling on the US and Europe to repair and rebuild transatlantic trust.

“For years we have had an atmosphere marked by increasing tensions and conflicts around the world,” said German chancellor Friedrich Merz at the Munich Security Conference on Friday.

“And at the latest with the beginning of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine four years ago, we have entered a new phase of open conflicts and wars that make us hold our breath and that change our world more comprehensively than we would have thought possible many years ago.”

Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen has called for a stronger “sense of emergency” in Europe, calling on the content to be “strong enough” to weather a turbulent period.

Speaking to the Financial Times on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, Ms Frederiksen said: “Unfortunately, strength is one of the weapons that is useful in this new world disorder and therefore Europe has to be strong enough.

“I will never suggest something that would separate the US from Europe, but if the US does something that separates us, or partly separates us, then of course my strongest advice for the rest of Europe is to fill in those gaps.”

Ms Frederiksen said there were “changes going on in the US” and that Europe therefore has “to act”.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has said that he visited a joint Ukrainian-German drone production facility and received the first jointly made attack drone.

"Ukraine has long worked to open coproduction lines in Europe. And today — this line is operational,” he said on X.

“First in Germany. This is a real result. Overall, by the end of the year we will open 10 joint ventures producing Ukrainian drones.”

We’ve heard more from Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, who earlier provided his daily update to reporters.

He declined to comment on a Ukrainian accusation that Russia had struck the Ukrainian branch of the Soviet-built Druzhba oil pipeline and halted flows to Eastern Europe.

"We do not have precise information," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, referring a question on the matter to Russia's energy ministry.

The president of the International Olympic Committee has defended the decision to ban Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych from competing at the 2026 Winter Games.

During practice runs at Milan-Cortina, Heraskevych wore a helmet bearing the images of Ukrainians killed as a result of Russia’s invasion of the country, and insisted he would wear the helmet when the competition began on Thursday morning.

The IOC spent the past two days desperately trying to persuade Heraskevych not to wear the helmet, which is in contravention of rule 50.2 of the Olympic Charter, which states: “No kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites, venues or other areas”.

The Independent’s deputy sports editor Lawrence Ostlere writes: