This week, one of the most high-profile events was the disqualification of Ukrainian skeletonist Vladyslav Heraskevych from the 2026 Olympic Games. The 33rd meeting in the “Ramstein” format and the 62nd Munich Security Conference were also held, the main award of which was received by the Ukrainian people.
Babel has compiled the main events of the week so that you can stay up to date with the news.
Skeleton athlete from Ukraine disqualified from the Olympics for “memory helmet”
Ukrainian skeleton athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych planned to start the first race of this yearʼs Olympics wearing a helmet depicting Ukrainian athletes who died during Russiaʼs full-scale invasion.
However, the International Olympic Committee did not allow it, saying it violated the ban on political, racial or religious propaganda.
Getty Images / «Babel'»
Heraskevych stated that he would continue to skate in his helmet because he did not consider it a violation of the IOC rules. The Olympic Committee offered him an alternative — a black headband, but the athlete refused. In the end, he was disqualified before the first race.
Ukrainian and foreign athletes, media people, politicians, and businesses offered financial assistance to Heraskevych. President Volodymyr Zelensky also supported the Ukrainian, he awarded Heraskevych the Order of Freedom.
After that, the athleteʼs lawyers filed an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport, but it rejected the claim. The Ukrainian skeleton athlete will still not be able to participate in the competition, but he was allowed to be at the Olympics and his accreditation was returned.
The European Parliament supported a €90 billion loan for Ukraine in 2026-2027
Of this amount, €60 billion will go to strengthen Ukraineʼs defense, and €30 billion to macro-financial assistance and budget support. The loan will be financed through joint EU borrowing. Ukraine will repay it after receiving war reparations from Russia.
The decision still needs to be supported by the European Council, only after that the European Commission will be able to pay the first payment. This is expected to happen at the beginning of the second quarter of 2026.
Former Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko detained
This happened on February 15, when Halushchenko tried to cross the border. NABU says that the former minister was detained as part of the "Midas" case, a large-scale investigation into corruption in the energy sector.
He is expected to be charged with a crime and placed under preventive detention soon.
Ukrainian military attacked Russian arsenal with Flamingo missiles
This is one of the largest arsenals in Russia, located in Kotluban (Volgograd region). It stored missiles, ammunition, and explosives.
It was hit by Ukrainian long-range weapons "Flamingo".
A meeting in the "Ramstein" format took place — the first with the participation of the new Minister of Defense Mykhailo Fedorov
The 33rd meeting of the Contact Group on Defense of Ukraine in the “Ramstein” format took place on February 12. Partner countries announced military assistance worth almost €32 billion, one of the largest budgets of support for Ukraine.
Over €5 billion has already been formalized in the form of specific packages, including over €2.11 billion for Ukrainian drones, over €421 million for the PURL initiative, and almost €1.7 billion for air defense.
The United Kingdom has allocated Ukraine the largest support package in history — €574 million for air defense, €172 million for PURL, and has announced a total of almost €4 billion in military assistance to Ukraine in 2026.
The Ukrainian people received the main prize of the Munich Security Conference
On February 13-15, the 62nd Munich Security Conference, the leading global forum for discussing the main challenges of international security, was held in the capital of German Bavaria.
It was attended by over 60 heads of state and government, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (which he spoke about during his speech — read here ). There were also heads of over 40 international organizations and over 30 heads of defense agencies.
The 2026 Ewald von Kleist Prize — the main one at the Munich Security Conference — was awarded to the Ukrainian people "as a sign of deep gratitude for the courage, self-sacrifice, and unwavering determination to defend their freedom and the freedom of all of Europe, and in honor of the many who died or were wounded".
The award was received on behalf of Ukrainians by President Volodymyr Zelensky. The eulogy was delivered by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
Офіс Президента України / YouTube
Ukraine returns five more children from temporarily occupied territories and Russia
These are boys and girls aged 4 to 15. Three of them were abducted by Russians in 2022 from the Kherson Childrenʼs Home.
The US First Lady Melania Trump has helped bring Ukrainian children home for the third time.
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