Members of the Russian Pussy Riot protest group and other well-known activists held a memorial in the German capital, Berlin, on February 18 for fierce Kremlin critic Aleksei Navalny, who died on February 16 in a remote prison in Russia's Arctic region.
Josep Borrell, the EU's top diplomat, says the bloc has provided a "continuous flow" of aid to Ukraine in its nearly two-year battle against the Russian invasion, but he acknowledged that in war "it is never enough" and that assistance especially artillery shells will continue to be sent.
Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas on February 18 dismissed an arrest warrant issued by Russia, saying it was just an attempt to intimidate her amid speculation she could get a top EU post.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko believes that the death of jailed Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalny represents "Russia's true face." Klitschko was interviewed jointly by Current Time and RFE/RL on the sidelines of the annual Munich Security Conference on February 16 after Russian authorities announced Navalny's death and before his team confirmed it. Klitschko mentioned other slain Kremlin critics journalist Anna Politkovskaya and politician Boris Nemtsov. "Anyone who has a different opinion than Putin, in the better case, ends up in jail or gets killed," he said.
Ukraine issued a nationwide air alert after its military detected several Tu-95MS bombers taking off from a Russian base. The air force reported that missiles were heading towards Kyiv, prompting the city s mayor, Vitali Klitschko, to confirm explosions and the activation of air defense systems. The use of these Soviet-era bombers follows previous instances earlier this month and in January. Russia previously used these planes in December to conduct strikes across Ukrainian cities, resulting in casualties.