WeekDay AM: 10 Things you need to know this morning
Russian demands, army abuse, and an early warning system for climate tipping points

 
today's international story

Russia says it 'won't accept' Nato troops in Ukraine

What happened
Russia has hardened its demands for bringing an end to the war in Ukraine, saying it won't tolerate peacekeeping forces from Nato countries in the nation under any peace deal, following talks with the US in Saudi Arabia.

Who said what
"Any appearance by armed forces under some other flag does not change anything. It is of course completely unacceptable," said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

During the talks the US and Russia agreed to address "irritants" to their relationship and begin working on a path to end the war in Ukraine, said Washington. US and Russian officials also agreed to explore the "economic and investment opportunities" that could arise from an end to hostilities.

The discussions "amounted to a tectonic shift in Washington's approach to Moscow", said The Guardian, and "came amid concerns in Kyiv and across Europe that Donald Trump could push for a peace settlement that favours Vladimir Putin".

What next?
The meeting represented a "head-spinning reset" of Russo-American relations, said The New York Times, and was a "striking display of bonhomie" after three years of American efforts to isolate Moscow for invading Ukraine. Moscow is getting "real, practical results", too, said CNN.

Mutual plans to restore US and Russian embassies to a more functional level of staffing after tit-for-tat expulsions show that, under Trump, Russia is "coming in from the cold".

 
 
today's military story

Army chief condemns abuse after 1,000 women speak out

What happened
The head of the army, General Sir Roly Walker, has written to senior officers denouncing the "appalling and shameful" conduct within the ranks after more than 1,000 women came forward with accounts of abuse following the death of a teenage soldier.

Who said what
"Step up and play your part as a leader, visibly and confidently, to stop this," wrote Walker (pictured above) in a letter seen by The Times.

An inquest into the death of Royal Artillery Gunner Jaysley Beck, 19, has seen more than 1,000 women sharing stories of being raped, abused and harassed while serving. Beck was found hanged in her barracks at Larkhill Camp, Wiltshire in December 2021. One of her friends told the inquest that women in the army are often subjected to "humiliating" comments and "vicious gossip" from male colleagues.

What next?
Walker's admonishment comes "several years after army chiefs pledged to stamp out abuse and harassment", said The Times.

The inquest into Beck's death continues.

 
 
Today's nature story

Scientists want to release wolves in Scotland

What happened
Scientists have proposed reintroducing grey wolves into the Scottish Highlands to help the UK hit its climate targets.

Red deer eat tree saplings, which stops woodlands regenerating naturally, but have no predators. Just 167 wolves would reduce their population and allow the woodland to expand, taking in and storing millions more tonnes of carbon dioxide per year, say researchers at the University of Leeds. That equates to about 5% of the carbon removal target.

Who said what
Each wolf could lead to a carbon uptake capability of 6,080 tonnes, according to the study published in the journal Ecological Solutions and Evidence.

"We need to look at the potential role of natural processes such as the reintroduction of species to recover our degraded ecosystems, and these in turn can deliver co-benefits for climate and nature recovery," said lead author Professor Dominick Spracklen.

What next?
The idea is expected to prove controversial, especially among livestock farmers.

 
 

It's not all bad

The UK's Advanced Research and Invention Agency has awarded £81 million to 27 teams to develop an early warning system for climate tipping points. Using AI, drones and advanced ocean monitoring, the five-year program aims to predict crises like Greenland's ice sheet collapse and the breakdown of Atlantic currents. Scientists hope early detection will help policymakers act before irreversible changes occur, potentially mitigating catastrophic impacts on sea levels, weather patterns and global food supplies.

 
 
under the radar

Ukraine goes all out to woo young people into the army

Ukraine is targeting 18 to 24-year-olds with a military recruitment campaign aimed at addressing a manpower crisis on the front lines.

The scheme dangles lucrative benefits in front of would-be recruits, but this has already "angered" some long-serving troops, said Politico.

The campaign was launched with a promotional video featuring a montage of soldiers leaping into action as cash "rolls off a printer", said the Financial Times. To a soundtrack of rock music, a message encourages viewers to "change your life in a year".

Recruits are offered "general military training to Nato standards, specialised instruction and social benefits", including a package of a million hryvnia (£19,000) paid in instalments. Together with monthly support and additional pay for combat missions, the total income for a year's service could reach £38,000.

Other perks include subsidies for rents and mortgages, state-funded higher education and the right to travel abroad after completion of service. All of these benefits have upset some Ukrainian soldiers who joined the army without any perks on the table. "The state devalues all those who voluntarily joined the army at the beginning of a full-scale war," one long-time serviceman told Politico.

There are "high rates of desertion" amid "falling morale and heavy casualties", added the Financial Times. Franz-Stefan Gady, a senior fellow at the UK-based International Institute for Strategic Studies, said a "corrosive effect" of the Trump administration's push for a peace deal was that Ukrainians were now wondering, "if the war is going to be over in a couple of months", why "sign up now and potentially get killed".

 
 
on this day

19 February 1963

Activist Betty Friedan published "The Feminine Mystique", a landmark work describing dissatisfaction among women. Friedan became an instant celebrity and is widely credited with having sparked the second-wave feminist movement in the US, but she grew increasingly controversial, especially after she condemned lesbians as the "lavender menace".

 
 
Today's newspapers

The Times leads on confirmation from the Vatican that Pope Francis has pneumonia "in both lungs". Keir Starmer is in a "rare public row" with Britain's most senior judge, The Telegraph says. Baroness Carr "publicly attacked" the PM and Kemi Badenoch for their criticisms of an immigration judge who allowed Palestinian refugees to come to the UK from Gaza. Meanwhile, the Daily Express says Starmer and Rachel Reeves have been told to "show compassion" or face "more farmer protests" over their planned farm tax.

See the newspaper front pages

 
 
tall tale

Hot under the cardigan

A male stripper got hearts racing at a Middlesborough care home when he replaced the residents' usual "knit and natter" session with a striptease. Max Hunter was a care home manager before he became a stripper and decided to offer the elderly residents a show, which saw him "stripping off his uniform down to his underwear", said Sky News. "I've never seen a reaction like it," said the care home's manager Caroline Bowstead. "I loved his backside," added resident Betty Hughes.

 
 

Morning Report was written and edited by Arion McNicoll, Sorcha Bradley, Harriet Marsden, Ross Couzens, and Chas Newkey-Burden, with illustrations by Julia Wytrazek.

Image credits, from top: Evelyn Hockstein / Pool / AFP / Getty Images; Max Mumby / Indigo / Getty Images; Thomas Kienzle / AFP / Getty Images; Illustration by Julia Wytrazek / Getty Images.