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Morning Headlines
Reuters: The Trump administration may seek to strike a simplified minerals deal with Ukraine to get a pact in place quickly and later negotiate detailed terms, such as how much of Ukraine's vast resources the U.S. would own, Reuters reports.
ISW: Putin is reportedly trying to optimize the Russian negotiations delegation to be most effective with the specific individuals whom the United States chooses for its negotiation delegation, likely in an effort to extract maximum concessions from the US.
Reuters: U.S. security ally Australia, which has provided A$1.5 billion in support to Ukraine in its war with Russia, said on Thursday that Moscow was the aggressor in the conflict and it must be resolved on Kyiv's terms.
BBC: Trump says he believes Russia "have the cards" in any peace talks to end the war in Ukraine because they have "taken a lot of territory".
More News
ISW Special Report: The United States can use the enormous challenges Russia will face in 2025 as leverage to secure critical concessions in ongoing negotiations to end the war by continuing and even expanding military support to Ukraine.
European Parliament: Any peace in Ukraine must be just and backed by Ukraine’s people, say MEPs in a joint statement. They also stress that Europe’s security architecture cannot be discussed without the active involvement of the EU and its member states.
Reuters: French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will visit Washington next week, amid other meetings aimed at bringing an end to Russia's war in Ukraine, U.S. national security advisor Mike Waltz said on Wednesday.
BBC: Fourteen people have been arrested in Spain and Portugal in a series of raids targeting a €1tn criminal, money-laundering network working with gangs across Europe. Most of the suspects, detained last month, are Russian nationals, according to EU law enforcement agency Europol.
France 24: As Russia and the US debate Ukraine’s future, countries on the Baltic Sea are ramping up preparations for a military conflict amid fears that Russia is preparing for a future war with NATO.
The Kyiv Independent: Ukraine's General Staff refuted claims by Putin that Russian troops had launched an offensive into Ukraine from Kursk Oblast, spokesperson Dmytro Lykhovyi said on Feb. 19.
Reuters: President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Wednesday rejected U.S. demands for $500 billion in mineral wealth from Ukraine to repay Washington for wartime aid, saying the United States had supplied nowhere near that sum so far and offered no specific security guarantees in the agreement.
BBC News: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has responded to criticism of Kyiv by Donald Trump, by saying his US counterpart is "living in a disinformation space" created by Russia.
Politico: Trump's statement that Kyiv "started" the war Russia launched on Ukraine has left Europeans dumbstruck, with one British government aide simply responding, "Jesus."
The Guardian: Republicans who served under President Ronald Reagan during the cold war have condemned Trump’s move to soften relations with Russia and undermine the 75-year-old transatlantic alliance.
Newsmax: Senate Armed Services Chair Roger Wicker, R-Miss., delivered a scathing assessment of Putin on Tuesday, stating the dictator should face execution rather than negotiations.
The Moscow Times: Trump has made several statements on Ukraine and Russia’s full-scale invasion of the country in recent days that closely resemble Kremlin rhetoric (fact-check).
The Kyiv Independent: North Korean security services are telling their troops stationed in Russia's Kursk Oblast that they are fighting against both the Ukrainian and South Korean militaries, South Korean newspaper Chosun Daily reported, citing captured North Korean soldiers.
Reuters: Syzran oil refinery, operated by Russia's oil giant Rosneft, suspended oil processing on Wednesday due to a fire at the primary unit (CDU-6) following an attack by a Ukrainian drone.
Google: Russian state-linked hacking groups have snuck into some Ukrainian military staffers' Signal messenger accounts to gain access to sensitive communications.
Bloomberg: Kazakhstan is seeking discussions with Ukraine after an attack by its drones on Russian territory affected flows through its important crude export conduit (archive).
RFI: EU envoys agreed on a 16th package of sanctions against Russia on Wednesday, EU diplomats said, including a ban on primary aluminium imports, sales of gaming consoles and the listing of 73 shadow fleet vessels.
The Kyiv Independent: U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio assured European allies that the U.S. would maintain sanctions against Moscow at least until an agreement is reached to end the Russia-Ukraine war, Bloomberg reported on Feb. 19.
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