16.02.2025

Reuters: U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday said Ukraine and Europe would be part of any "real negotiations" to end Moscow's war, signaling that U.S. talks with Russia this week were a chance to see how serious Putin is about peace.

The Kyiv Independent: Finnish President Alexander Stubb has emphasized that Ukraine’s membership in the European Union and NATO is non-negotiable, adding that these alliances are essential for ensuring the country’s sovereignty and security.

Reuters: The United States has asked its European allies what they would need from Washington to participate in Ukraine security arrangements.

AFP: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky believes Russia is preparing to "wage war" against a weakened NATO should Trump dilute US support for the alliance.

Reuters: Russian troops have sharply stepped up their attacks in eastern Ukraine, Kyiv's military said on Sunday, as a NATO official predicted Moscow would increase the pace and intensity of its assaults with talks to end the war approaching.

Reuters: French President Emmanuel Macron will host European leaders, including Britain's prime minister on Monday for an emergency summit on the Ukraine war after U.S. officials suggested Europe would have no role in any talks on ending the conflict.

Reuters: Europe needs a special envoy for Ukraine to ensure it gets a meaningful role in any peace process, two European leaders said on Sunday after the continent was ruled out as a partner in talks by Trump's administration.

ISW: The Kremlin has routinely attempted to portray the US as the only relevant actor in Ukraine besides Russia to deny Ukraine's agency in future negotiations and set conditions to convince the US to ignore Ukraine's interests, all likely to demand significant concessions in Russia's favor.

15.02.2025

The Guardian: Google has cooperated with autocratic regimes around the world, including the Kremlin in Russia and the Chinese Communist party, to facilitate censorship requests, an Observer investigation can reveal.

AP News: Human rights advocates and politicians in Central African Republic claim soldiers who disappeared after being detained last month were kidnapped by mercenaries backed by Russia.

Reuters: Europe won't have a seat at the table for Ukraine peace talks, Donald Trump's Ukraine envoy said on Saturday, after Washington sent a questionnaire to European capitals to ask what they could contribute to security guarantees for Kyiv.

AP News: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he directed his ministers not to sign off on a proposed agreement to give the United States access to Ukraine’s rare earth minerals because the document was too focused on U.S. interests. The proposal did not offer any specific security guarantees in return.

CNBC: U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Ukraine and Russia Keith Kellogg said Saturday that a peace plan for the two warring nations could come within days or weeks.

Reuters: G7 foreign ministers agreed on Saturday to continuing working together to get a strong peace deal for Ukraine with robust security guarantees and linked future sanctions on Russia to good faith negotiations by Moscow.

AFP: Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk on Saturday pressed Europe to urgently establish its own stances on Ukraine and security as the United States sows doubts about its commitment to Europe.

Ukrainska Pravda: Journalists of a Polish media outlet have learned that Hungary has blocked the opening of the first cluster of negotiations on Ukraine's membership in the European Union.

BBC: Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has called for the creation of an "army of Europe" amid rising concern the US may no longer come to the continent's aid.

WSJ: Russia’s spy services have a shadowy new unit taking aim at the West with covert attacks across Europe and elsewhere, Western intelligence officials say. The operations of Moscow’s Department of Special Tasks have included attempted killings, sabotage and a plot to put incendiary devices on planes (archive).

14.02.2025

The UK and allies have deepened industry ties with Ukraine by leading a first-of-its-kind international defence trade mission to Kyiv this week.

Reuters: A Russian drone attack badly damaged the confinement structure around the disused Chornobyl nuclear power plant intended to prevent the release of nuclear substances, a senior nuclear industry official said on Friday.

RFE/RL: A supply chain to Russia for sanctioned chemicals, including compounds that could be used to make chemical weapons and nerve-agent poisons, has been uncovered by Spanish authorities.

Reuters: Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni accused Russia of "offending the entire Italian nation" on Friday as she stood by comments by the Italian president that compared modern-day Russia to Nazi Germany.

AFP: Russian customs officers have arrested a US citizen for "drug smuggling" after allegedly finding gummy sweets laced with cannabis derivatives in his luggage, Russian news agencies reported Friday.

The Moscow Times: Almost half of sanctioned Russian billionaires, chief executives and their relatives have successfully overturned Western sanctions, the RTVI broadcaster reported Friday, citing court cases and publicly available data.

AP News: Increasingly alarmed that U.S. security priorities lie elsewhere, a group of European countries has been quietly working on a plan to send troops into Ukraine to help enforce any future peace settlement with Russia.

UK: New British sanctions target high profile figures working in the Russian Government and supporters of Russian state-owned business.

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