London will unveil a significant package of sanctions against Russia on February 24, the anniversary of the start of Moscow's full-scale war with Ukraine, British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said on February 23.

The sanction will be the largest package against Russia since the early days of the war, he said. They will be aimed at "eroding their military machine and reducing revenues fueling the fires of destruction in Ukraine," Lammy said in a statement.

"This is also the time to turn the screws on [President Vladimir] Putin's Russia," Lammy said.

Lammy reiterated Britain's military backing for Kyiv, which includes a pledge to provide £3 billion ($3.78 billion) annually and its readiness to provide British troops as part of peacekeeping forces if necessary.

"Off the battlefield, we will work with the U.S. and European partners to achieve a sustainable, just peace, and in doing so, remaining clear that there can be nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine," Lammy added.

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British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on February 22 held separate phone calls with EU chief Ursula von der Leyen and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, repeating a similar message to Lammy's.

EU countries last week agreed a new round of sanctions that are set to be formally adopted on February 24. They include a ban on imports of Russian aluminum.

Starmer is scheduled to travel to Washington to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump on February 27, hoping to act as a "bridge" between the United States and Europe to ensure territorial and security guarantees for Kyiv in the event of a deal to end the war.

Lammy's announcement comes after the United States alarmed Kyiv and its European backers by starting talks with Russia on the future of the conflict without the participation Ukraine or the European Union.

"This is a critical moment in the history of Ukraine, Britain, and all of Europe.... Now is the time for Europe to double down on our support for Ukraine," said Lammy.

London already has imposed sanctions on 1,900 people and organizations with links to Putin's government since the start of the war.

With reporting by AFP

U.S. President Donald Trump on February 22 said he wants Ukraine to pay back the billions of dollars the United States sent to the country to help it defend against Russia’s full-scale invasion.

"I want them to give us something for all of the money that we put up. We're asking for rare earth and oil -- anything we can get,” Trump said at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) near Washington. "I'm trying to get the money back or secured.”

Trump made the comments amid negotiations between Washington and Kyiv on a deal that would involve the rights to Ukraine’s mineral resources, including those used to make batteries for electric vehicles and other technology.

Trump's special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, Keith Kellogg, traveled to Kyiv earlier this week and met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, saying afterward that the Ukrainian president understood signing a deal with the U.S. was "critical." Kellogg also praised Zelenskyy as "courageous" after the visit.

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Trump told supporters at the annual CPAC gathering that he thinks a deal can be reached.

"We're going to get our money back because it's just not fair,” he said. “And we will see, but I think we're pretty close to a deal, and we better be close to a deal," Trump said.

A proposed deal reportedly would grant the United States rights to Ukraine’s rare earth minerals to make up for U.S. aid given to Kyiv. Zelenskyy reportedly balked at signing the initial deal, but reports on February 22 quoting unidentified Ukrainian officials said he is now seriously considering a revised version of the deal.

Some of the terms appear even tougher than those of the earlier draft, The New York Times reported on February 22. The latest proposal, which the newspaper said it had reviewed, calls for Ukraine to contribute revenue from its resources to a U.S.-held fund until the amount contributed reaches $500 billion, The New York Times said.

Ruslan Stefanchuk, speaker of Ukraine’s parliament, told Ukrainian media that a group would begin working on the agreement on February 24 and that Ukraine wanted to receive specific security guarantees in exchange for access to its resources, the newspaper said.

Trump’s diplomatic overtures toward Russia, including the possibility of a summit between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, have alarmed Ukraine and Europe over the possibility that the United States would sign a deal unfavorable to them.

The conflict has reached a critical stage just ahead of its third anniversary on February 24 and with Kyiv's forces slowly ceding ground on the front line.

The Russian Defense Ministry earlier on February 22 claimed the capture of Novolyubivka in the Luhansk region.

Russian troops also fired missiles at Kryviy Rih, according to Serhiy Lysak, governor of the Dnipropetrovsk region. A man injured in the missile strike died in the hospital, and at least two other people were injured, including a 30-year-old woman, who was hospitalized in serious condition, Lysak said.

At least two people were killed and four injured in the city of Konstantinovka in Ukraine's Donetsk region. A search was under way for people who might be buried under the the rubble, said Donetsk regional Governor Vadim Filashkin. At least seven bombs were dropped on the city, according to local authorities.

The Ukrainian military's the Air Force Command said earlier that air alerthad been sounded in several regions of Ukraine due to the threat of Russian drones. In particular, the military recorded the movement of attack drones in the direction of Cherkasy and Kyiv.

With reporting by Reuters, AFP, and The New York Times

The U.S.- and EU-designated Palestinian terrorist group Hamas has released six Israeli hostages -- the last living hostages from a group of 33 that were expected to be freed in the first phase of the Gaza cease-fire.

Hamas had held two of those released for around a decade since they entered Gaza on their own.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog in a statement on X celebrated their release "from the depths of hell to begin the process of healing and recovery alongside their loving families."

In return, Israel is set to free 602 Palestinian prisoners, including convicted felons and Gazans detained following the start of the war, to complete the final hostage-prisoner swap of the first phase of the truce. Those handed the longest sentences are not allowed back in Gaza and will be sent to a third country.

The multiphase ceasefire went into effect on January 19, but negotiations have not yet started to move to the crucial second phase, which involves a permanent end to the Gaza war.

"The completion of a hostage deal is a humanitarian, moral, and Jewish imperative," Herzog wrote on X.

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The conflict broke out on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants attacked settlements in southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 hostages to Gaza.

Israel retaliated by launching a devastating war in the Palestinian enclave that has killed tens of thousands of people, according to local authorities, and displaced most of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents.

Hamas has been strongly criticized for its stage-managed release of Israeli hostages, which have included public ceremonies during which hostages are taken on stage.

The United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross slammed Hamas this week for parading the bodies of dead Israeli hostages in Gaza.

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The militant Palestinian group on February 20 handed over the bodies of four hostages to the Red Cross, after presenting their coffins on a stage surrounded by armed militants.

The bodies included two children and their mother Shiri Bibas, but Israeli authorities said the body in the coffin was not hers. This threatened the tenuous cease-fire as Israel accused Hamas of being in “serious violation” of the truce.

However, Hamas delivered another body late on February 21, which Bibas’s family confirmed to be hers.

The Palestinian group insists the family was killed in an Israeli airstrike, but Israel says forensics show the mother and her young children were “deliberately” killed by their captors.

The final four sets of remains, completing the hostage release of the first phase, will be released next week.

Mediators say both sides plan to begin a second round of negotiations focused on securing the release of about 60 remaining hostages -- fewer than half of whom are believed to be alive --and the withdrawal of Israeli forces.

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However, prospects for an agreement have been complicated by disputes over Gaza’s future, further inflamed by regional outrage over U.S. President Donald Trump's proposal to remove Palestinians from the enclave and transform it into a U.S.-controlled resort.

President Donald Trump on February 21 fired the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and dismissed five other admirals and generals in a major shake-up of the top leadership of the U.S. military.

Air Force General CQ Brown, who had served as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff since 2023 after being appointed by former President Joe Biden, was ousted in the move, which Trump announced on his social media platform Truth Social.

Brown, the second black officer to hold the job of chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, had been expected to complete his four-year term in September 2027.

A Pentagon statement said Trump would nominate retired Lieutenant General Dan "Razin" Caine to succeed Brown. A former F-16 fighter pilot, Caine is a former associate director of military affairs at the CIA.

The Pentagon announced separately that Trump will replace the head of the U.S. Navy, a position held by Admiral Lisa Franchetti, the first woman to lead a military service, and Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force General Jim Slife. The judge advocates general for the army, navy, and air force were also fired.

Slife led Air Force Special Operations Command prior to becoming the service's vice chief of staff and had deployed to the Middle East and Afghanistan.

The moves were part of a campaign led by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to rid the military of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs. Hegseth said that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) would have "broad access" to root out such programs from the Pentagon.

DOGE will work to "find the redundancies and identify the last vestiges of Biden priorities" such as DEI programs. These are "not core to our mission, and we're going to get rid of it all,” Hegseth said.

SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk -- the world's richest person -- has been tasked by Trump to lead DOGE. Musk’s efforts to achieve efficiencies thus far have resulted in the firing of tens of thousands of federal workers, which in turn has sparked legal challenges.

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The Pentagon is already bracing for mass firings of civilian staff in a dramatic overhaul of its budget announced by Hegseth earlier this week.

Trump did not explain his decision to replace Brown but thanked him for “over 40 years of service to our country, including his time as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

“He is a fine gentleman and an outstanding leader, and I wish a great future for him and his family," Trump wrote.

Brown’s public support of Black Lives Matter after the police killing of George Floyd in 2020 had made him a target for the administration's wars against “wokeism” in the military.

Hegseth had been skeptical of Brown before taking the helm of the Pentagon, questioning in a book he published last year whether Brown would have gotten the job if he were not black.

Representative Adam Smith (Democrat-Washington) said Trump's "Friday night massacre" unleashed even more chaos at the Pentagon. He defended Brown as intelligent, accomplished, and a true patriot.

"That wasn’t good enough for the president, who has chosen -- yet again --fealty over proven ability to do the job and loyalty to the Constitution," said Smith, ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, in a statement.

“All of this continues to play into the hands of [Russian President] Vladimir Putin and others working to exploit the weakness Trump continues to broadcast and undermine the military, our government, our national security interests, and democracy worldwide,” Smith said.

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The cut to the Pentagon’s civilian workforce will begin next week. Darin Selnick, who is performing the duties of undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, said in a statement that at least 5 percent of the workforce will be cut. The layoffs will focus on recently hired employees in a workforce of about 900,000.

"We anticipate reducing the department's civilian workforce by 5-8 percent to produce efficiencies and refocus the department on the president's priorities and restoring readiness in the force," said Selnick.

The dismissal of approximately 5,400 probationary workers will be followed by a hiring freeze "while we conduct a further analysis of our personnel needs," Selnick said.

A day before the announcement, Hegseth said in a video message that "it is simply not in the public interest to retain individuals whose contributions are not mission critical."

With reporting by Reuters, AFP, and AP

The United States has proposed a draft UN resolution that uses less critical language of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine than a draft resolution put forward by the European Union and Ukraine.

The two drafts were proposed to mark the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, when the UN General Assembly is scheduled to vote on the resolutions.

The U.S. draft, proposed on February 21, mourns “the tragic loss of life throughout the Russia-Ukraine conflict,” calls for a swift end, and urges a lasting peace. But it fails to mention territory occupied by Russia and doesn't single out Moscow as the source of the conflict.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the resolution "simple and historic," and urged UN members to support it "in order to chart a path to peace."

"This resolution is consistent with President Trump’s view that the UN must return to its founding purpose, as enshrined in the UN Charter, to maintain international peace and security, including through the peaceful settlement of disputes," Rubio said in a statement.

By contrast, the draft resolution from the European Union and Ukraine refers to “the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation” and demands an immediate and unconditional withdrawal of all of Moscow’s forces.

The Ukrainian-European text stresses the need to redouble diplomatic efforts to end the war this year, while blaming Russia for the invasion and committing to Kyiv's "territorial integrity." It also recalls the need to implement all previous assembly resolutions “adopted in response to the aggression against Ukraine.”

The draft resolutions were circulated at the UN headquarters in New York amid a rift between the United States and Europe on how to negotiate an end to the war. The long-standing transatlantic alliance has been shaken over the Trump administration's decision to open negotiations with Russia this week in Saudi Arabia without representatives of Ukraine and the European Union at the table.

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Trump Calls Zelenskyy 'Dictator Without Elections,' Urges Him To 'Move Fast'

After Volodymyr Zelenskyy was not invited to take part in the talks in Riyadh on February 18, the Ukrainian president said President Donald Trump was living in a Russian-made “disinformation space.”

Trump responded by falsely blaming Zelenskyy for allowing the war to start and describing him as a “dictator without elections.” The country has been unable to hold a presidential election while under martial law.

“It’s a good move,” Russian Ambassador to the UN Vasily Nebenzya told UN reporters in reference to the U.S. resolution.

Russia has also suggested an amendment to the U.S. resolution to add the phrase “including by addressing its root causes.” This would change the final line to read “implores a swift end to the conflict, including by addressing its root causes, and further urges a lasting peace between Ukraine and Russia.”

The General Assembly has become the most important UN body dealing with Ukraine. Unlike the UN Security Council, where permanent members Britain, China, France, Russia, and the United States have veto power, no member state has a veto in the General Assembly.

Resolutions passed by the 193-member body are not legally binding but are closely watched around the world.

The General Assembly adopted six resolutions on the conflict in 2022, denouncing Moscow and demanding Russia withdraw all its troops. One of the other early resolutions condemned Russia's "attempted illegal annexation" of four regions of Ukraine. It won the greatest support with 143 states voting yes.

With reporting by AP, Reuters, AFP

U.S. President Donald Trump said on February 21 that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin will have to "get together" to end the nearly three-year-old war in Ukraine.

"I think that President Putin and President Zelenskyy are going to have to get together. Because you know what? We want to stop killing millions of people," Trump told reporters at the White House after swearing in Howard Lutnick as commerce secretary.

“I think we have a chance to get the deal done. I had to make sure that Russia wanted to do it,” referring to a meeting on the war in Ukraine this week between the top U.S. and Russian diplomats in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Trump also said he would not go to Moscow for the May 9 Victory Day events marking the anniversary of the end of World War II and said the United States was close to signing a minerals deal with Ukraine.

“I think we are pretty close I think they want it,” Trump said. “It’s significant. It’s a big deal,” he added.

Three anonymous sources familiar with the matter told Reuters that while pursuing an agreement on critical minerals, Washington has also raised the possibility of cutting Ukraine's access to Elon Musk's Starlink satellite Internet system.

Darya Kalenyuk, an executive director of Kyiv's Anti-Corruption Action Center, told RFE/RL that the system is vital for Ukraine's defense.

"It provides an Internet connection at the frontline [...] it is very hard to fight without having access to Starlink," Kalenyuk said.

Ukraine has deposits of 117 of the 120 most widely used minerals and metals in the world. Access to these resources could be worth trillions in total.

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Ukraine Needs U.S. Weapons. Trump Wants Its Rare Earth Minerals In Return.

Trump has been pushing for a deal to end the war in Ukraine soon and held separate calls this week with both leaders.

Zelenskyy referred to the minerals deal in his evening address, saying he hoped for a fair result.

"This is an agreement that can add value to our relationship, and the main thing is to work out the details so that it can work," he said two days after Trump sharply criticized Zelenskyy, calling him a "dictator" who risks losing his country if he does not "move fast."

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In his evening address, Zelenskyy said he spoke by phone on February 21 with the leaders of several European countries.

"Europe must and can do much more to ensure that peace is actually achieved,” he said after calls with the leaders of Germany, Poland, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Luxembourg, Slovenia, and Croatia.

He said it would be possible to achieve an end to the war with Russia since Ukraine and its partners in Europe have "clear proposals."

"On this basis we can ensure the implementation of a European strategy, and it is important that this is done together with America," he said.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine says he held "extensive and positive" discussions with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as the White House continues to explore a peace deal and also strike an agreement with Kyiv on accessing the country’s valuable minerals in exchange for U.S. assistance.

"A long and intense day with the senior leadership of Ukraine,” Keith Kellogg wrote in a February 21 post on X in his first comments about his meeting with Zelenskyy since reporters gathered for a February 20 press conference only for it to be canceled at the last minute.

Kellogg called the Ukrainian president an “embattled and courageous leader” while Zelenskyy said that the meeting “restores hope” following a public rift between Kyiv and Washington, with Trump calling the Ukrainian president a “dictator without elections” and Zelenskyy accusing him of echoing Russian propaganda.

The conciliatory comments came on the final day of a multiday visit to Ukraine by Kellogg and a few days after U.S.-Russia talks in Saudi Arabia about ending three years of war in Ukraine.

Since those talks, Trump and Zelenskyy have traded public criticism amid growing tensions between Kyiv and Washington.

Trump continued his critique on February 21, saying there is "no need to include Zelenskyy in peace talks" because the Ukrainian leader has so far failed to end the war.

"I've been watching him negotiate with no cards. He has no cards and you get sick of it...I've had it," Trump told Fox News radio.

In addition to exploring the path for a peace deal, Kellogg's visit came amid discussions on reaching a possible agreement that would grant the United States access to lucrative Ukrainian critical minerals and rare earth deposits as compensation for past U.S. aid following Russia’s full-scale invasion while also potentially securing future American assistance.

The exact terms of the U.S. offer are not known and it remains unclear if progress was made during Kellogg’s trip.

Both Reuters and Axios reported that U.S. officials during Kellogg’s visit presented a new streamlined minerals pact to Kyiv after Zelenskyy rejected an initial offer presented by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, which would have given the United States a 50 percent stake in Ukraine’s natural resources, including minerals, metals, oil, and gas.

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Ukraine Needs U.S. Weapons. Trump Wants Its Rare Earth Minerals In Return.

The new U.S. offer reportedly aims to quickly reach a new simplified agreement with Kyiv and then later negotiate detailed terms. Zelenskyy raised concerns when he rejected the offer last week about some provisions, including a lack of security guarantees for Ukraine. The new U.S. offer is said to have made “improved” modifications to the previous one, according to Reuters and Axios.

U.S. national-security adviser Mike Waltz said on February 21 while on a panel at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington that he expects Kyiv to sign the deal, adding that it would "recoup the hundreds of billions of dollars that have been invested in this war" for U.S. taxpayers.

"President Zelenskyy is going to sign that deal," he said. "And you will see that in the very short term."

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also accused Zelenskyy of backtracking in discussions on a minerals deal during a February 21 interview. He said that an agreement was reached in principle with Zelenskyy that the United States would take a portion of Ukraine's desposits in exchange for previous and future aid.

"[Zelensky] said: "Sure, we want to do this deal, it makes all the sense in the world, the only thing is I need to run it through my legislative process -- they have to approve it," Rubio said. "I read two days later that Zelensky is out there saying: "I rejected the deal, I told them no way, we're not doing that", but that's not what happened in that meeting. So, you start to get upset."

Trump has repeatedly said that he wants some form of reimbursement for the assistance that Washington has invested in Ukraine’s defense and said that he wants a resource pact in place before authorizing more U.S. military support.

Access to Ukrainian resources, in particular the country’s rare earth deposits, could be worth trillions in total.

Ukraine has deposits of 117 of the 120 most widely used minerals and metals in the world -- with up to 50 percent of all Ukraine’s rare earth supplies in the eastern part of the country.

Rare earths are a valuable class of 17 minerals that make up a critical part of items like smartphones and laptops, but also advanced weaponry like missiles, fighter jets, tanks, and drones. China currently produces about 60 percent of the world's rare earths and refines more than 90 percent of them. This has left many countries, the United States in particular, looking to reduce their dependency on China and tap into other mineral reserves.

Washington said it wanted $500 billion worth of Ukraine's critical minerals, which Zelenskiy said during a February 19 press conference was “not serious.”

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That disagreement over resources helped spark a wider crisis in relations between Kyiv and Washington amid an exchange of public criticism and fears in Kyiv and European capitals that the U.S.-Russia talks in Riyadh could sideline Ukraine and bring about a peace deal that favors Russia.

During his interview with Fox News radio, Trump said he stands by not inviting Zelenskyy to the meeting in Saudi Arabia because Russia "found it impossible to make a deal with [him]," but added that he would still take a call from Zelenskyy despite their recent exchange of words.

Amid Kellogg’s visit and the quickening pace of diplomacy to reach a peace settlement for the war, fighting continues in Ukraine.

Ukrainian officials said that 12 civilians were killed and six more were injured over the past day in Russian attacks.

Local officials said the strikes -- which Ukrainian Air Force says involved 160 Russian drones -- hit dozens of homes and damaged infrastructure across the Donetsk, Kherson, Nikopol, and Zaporizhzhya regions.

The Kremlin has denied reports that Russian officials requested that the United States seek the withdrawal of NATO troops from countries near or bordering Russia.

"No, this is not true, this does not correspond to reality,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on February 21. “Our position is that the advancement of military infrastructure toward our borders is of concern to us. This position of ours is known to everyone; it is no secret to anyone.”

Those comments were in response to remarks by a top Romanian presidential adviser, who appeared to say that Russian officials had lodged the request during high-level talks in Riyadh between delegations from Moscow and Washington.

The Romanian official, Cristian Diaconescu, who spoke to a Romanian TV channel, later walked back his comments, clarifying that such a request had been made in the past -- in 2021, prior to the launch of the February 2022 all-out invasion of Ukraine.

Russia has fumed for years, publicly and privately, about the presence of NATO troops in countries like the three Baltic states and Poland. It’s also complained loudly about NATO missile defense sites in Poland and Romania. And NATO’s expansion eastward -- first in 1997, and then in two rounds in the 2000s -- is seen by many Kremlin hawks as a fundamentally hostile act -- and a partial pretext for the Ukraine invasion.

With U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration signaling a radical new approach to European relations –- he has repeatedly complained that NATO members aren’t spending enough money on the alliance – there is rising alarm in Europe that the Trump White House could accede to Russian demands.

Earlier this month, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth roiled the 32-member alliance when he pointedly ruled out NATO membership for Ukraine and ruled out U.S. troops joining any potential peacekeeping effort in Ukraine. He also said NATO would not come to the rescue of any European nation if it were involved in that effort, and it were attacked by Russia.

Speaking in an interview with Antena 3 CNN on February 19, one day after U.S and Russian delegations met in Riyadh, Diaconescu appeared to suggest that Moscow had lodged a new request for NATO withdrawal.

"Their [Russian] expectations are that, at some point, the U.S. would cause the European partners within NATO to withdraw NATO's security guarantees on the 1997 alignment,” he said.

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In subsequent comments to other Romanian TV channels, Diaconescu walked back that statement saying he was referring to previous requests. The Americans and the Europeans do not accept Russian requests, he said, "not then, not now."

Poland’s president, whose country has been the most vocal supporter of Ukraine and bolstered NATO troop deployment along NATO’s eastern flank, said on February 18 that he had received U.S. assurances that there will be no reduction in U.S. troops.

“There are no concerns that the U.S. would reduce the level of its presence in our country, that the U.S. would in any way withdraw from its responsibility or co-responsibility for the security of this part of Europe,” Andrzej Duda told reporters in Warsaw after a meeting with Trump’s special envoy, Keith Kellogg.

The Kremlin pushed similar demands about a NATO pullback in discussions with the United States in late 2021 before it launched its full-scale invasion.

Back then, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov issued demands in talks with the United States that called for a ban on Ukraine joining NATO and withdrawing deployments of NATO troops and weapons to where they were stationed in 1997 before the alliance’s eastward expansion.

Beyond taking on new members in Eastern Europe, NATO bolstered its eastern forces following Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea and in the wake of Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 to reassure members -- particularly those who fell under Soviet control during the Cold War.

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In total, there are eight NATO battlegroups -- an “enhanced forward presence” -- deployed in eastern Europe and the three Baltic states, totaling nearly 30,000 troops, as of the most recent alliance data.

"Putin’s objectives remain the same: to subjugate Ukraine and also to divide Europe and also to divide Europe and the United States," Oana Lungescu, a former NATO spokeswoman, said in an interview with RFE/RL's Romanian Service. "So, precisely for that reason, there is less reason to speculate or to panic, but to look at what the interests of Europe are and, obviously, what the interests of Romania are."

A possible meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin will depend on whether progress is made on ending the war in Ukraine, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on February 20.

Rubio said in an interview that he told Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov during their meeting on February 18 in Saudi Arabia that there won’t be a meeting “until we know what the meeting is going to be about.”

Such meetings usually are not held “until you know some outcome or some progress has been made,” he added.

At the talks in Riyadh, Russia and the United States agreed to establish teams to negotiate a path to ending the war that began when Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Both Putin and Trump have said they want to hold a summit.

"So I think when that meeting happens will largely depend on whether we can make any progress on ending the war in Ukraine, and if we can, and that meeting is what seals the deal, I think everybody should celebrate that President Trump is a peacemaker," he said.

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Rubio spoke with American journalist Catherine Herridge in an interview broadcast on X.

Trump has been pushing for a quick deal to end the war, but his tactics have alarmed Ukraine and European governments because they fear that Russia and the U.S. might cut a deal that ignores their security interests.

Trump on February 19 shocked Ukraine and its European allies by calling President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a "dictator" and falsely blaming Ukraine for the full-scale invasion by Russia.

Lavrov on February 20 attended a meeting of the Group of 20 nations in South Africa and met on the sidelines with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

Lavrov said Russia's relations with China "have become and remain an increasingly significant factor in stabilizing the international situation and preventing it from sliding into total confrontation,” according to a statement released by the Russian Foreign Ministry.

Wang told other G20 foreign ministers that a "window for peace" is opening for Ukraine, and China supports “all efforts conducive to peace," according to a Chinese Foreign Ministry statement.

The G20 is made up of 19 of the world's major economies, the European Union, and the African Union. South Africa currently holds the rotating presidency of the organization, whose goal is to bring developed and developing countries together to create a foundation for global economic stability and foster cooperation.

Rubio decided not to attend the two-day G20 meeting amid tensions with South Africa over some of its policies that the Trump administration has characterized as anti-American. The U.S. was represented by Dana Brown, its acting ambassador to South Africa.

With reporting by Reuters and AFP

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy cast his talks with U.S. envoy Keith Kellogg in a positive light on February 20 despite a further sign of tension when a planned joint news conference was canceled.

Zelenskyy said in his evening address that the meeting with Kellogg “restores hope” and reiterated that Ukraine needs strong agreements with the United States.

“I gave instructions to work swiftly and very sensibly. Economy and security must always go hand in hand, and the details of the agreements matter -- the better they are structured, the greater the results,” Zelenskyy said.

He and Kellogg discussed the situation along the front line, the need to release all Ukrainian prisoners held in Russia, and the need for a reliable and clear system of security guarantees that ensure the war “will never return and that Russians will never again destroy lives.”

The meeting, which ended without the planned joint press conference and no comment from Kellogg, came as U.S. President Donald Trump pushes for a quick deal to end the war. Trump alarmed European allies and Ukraine by leaving them out of initial talks with Russia that took place in Saudi Arabia on February 18.

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He lashed out a day later against the Ukrainian president, suggesting he started the war and calling him a “dictator.”

White House national-security adviser Mike Waltz on February 20 tried to shift the narrative back to a potential deal involving Ukraine's rare mineral deposits.

"He needs to come back to the table," Waltz said at a press conference at the White House, urging Zelenskyy to reach an agreement soon granting the United States access to the minerals, which are critical in the manufacture of high-tech equipment and batteries for electric cars.

Zelenskyy previously rejected a proposal that would reportedly hand the United States $500 billion in mineral wealth, including rare-earth elements, as a form of payment for U.S. military and financial support for Kyiv's defense against the full-scale invasion that Russia launched in February 2022.

Zelenskyy has pointed out that the value of U.S. wartime aid so far is far less and that the U.S. proposal did not offer concrete security guarantees.

Zelenskyy also spoke by phone on February 20 with French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to discuss the latest diplomatic efforts to end the war.

Macron said on X that he used the call to advise Zelenskyy about all the contacts he had made with European partners and allies that are “keen to work toward a lasting and solid peace for Ukraine and to strengthen Europe's security."

It was his fourth call with Zelenskyy this week. Macron is due to meet Trump in Washington on February 24.

Macron said he will urge Trump to stand up to Russian President Vladimir Putin and try to convince him that the interests of the United States and Europe are in line with one another.

"I will tell him: deep down you cannot be weak in the face of [Putin]," Macron said.

Macron hosted a summit of European heads of state and prime ministers on February 17 to discuss the question of European peacekeeping forces to secure a possible cease-fire.

Trump is also expecting a visit from British Prime Minister Keir Starmer next week. the White House said that meeting has been set for February 27.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stressed in his call with Zelenskyy that any deal to end the war must include Kyiv at the negotiating table, his office said.

Trudeau reiterated Canada's support for Ukraine and "emphasized that there can be no sustainable peace in Europe without security for Ukraine," according to the statement.

British Foreign Secretary David Lammy warned on February 20 that he saw no indication that Russia wants peace in Ukraine after listening to a speech by Russia's top diplomat at a Group of 20 meeting in South Africa.

Lammy was speaking to reporters after Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov addressed other senior diplomats in a closed-door session at the G20 foreign ministers meeting. No details of Lavrov's speech were released. Lammy referred to it as “the Russian gentleman’s tired fabrications.”

Lammy said he was hoping to hear some sympathy for the innocent victims of the aggression or some readiness to seek a durable peace.

“What I heard was the logic of imperialism dressed up as a realpolitik,” he said. “I say to you all, we should not be surprised, but neither should we be fooled.”

Lammy said that Lavrov left his seat in the meeting room when it was Lammy's turn to speak.

Tensions at the meeting were underlined when a photo opportunity for the foreign ministers to pose together for pictures was canceled with no reason given.

With reporting by Reuters and AP

Three Tajik migrants have been killed in a Russian security forces raid, relatives and friends said, after local authorities claimed they had uncovered a terrorist plot in Russia's western Pskov region.

Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said on February 13 that it had “neutralized” three members of an unnamed “international terrorist organization” who had been preparing an attack to “blow up the main railway station” in the provincial capital, Pskov, with makeshift bombs.

Footage released by the FSB shows heavily armed law enforcement agents raiding a house where the suspects had allegedly been making explosive devices. The video also depicts knives, nails, several bottles of a flammable chemical, acetone, and other items that the suspects had purportedly gathered to use as components for homemade bombs.

The recording also shows the body of a man on the floor, with what appears to be a gunshot wound to his stomach and a rifle beside his right hand.

Describing the men as “citizens of one of the Central Asian countries,” the FSB said in a statement that they had been acting “on the instructions of a foreign-based emissary” of a terrorist organization and had planned to flee to “a Near East county” after carrying out the attack.

The statement did not name the suspects, but several days later relatives and acquaintances of the men identified them as Tajik migrant workers Azizjon Azamqulzoda, Jovid Jumaev, and Parviz Rustamov.

They disputed Russian authorities’ claim that the migrants were members of a foreign terrorist group.

Fear Of Backlash

“I knew these young men very well, they had so many plans and dreams for the future,” said a Pskov-based Tajik migrant worker, who gave only his first name, Behzod.

“No one [among those who knew them] believes that they would be engaged in [terrorist] activity. Also, they were not the kind of people who would do something like this for money,” Behzod said, adding that he believes the Tajik workers “were made scapegoats” by Russian authorities.

Bozorboi Azamqulzoda, the father of one of the suspects, told RFE/RL's Central Asian Migrants Unit on February 17 that his son, Azizjon Azamqulzoda wasn’t religious and "did not pray."

The three men used to work together as waiters at the Chaikhona restaurant in Pskov, but Rustamov quit to become a taxi driver, while Azamqulzoda found a job at a shopping center.

Behzod and several other Tajik workers in Pskov told RFE/RL that the migrant community is concerned about a potential backlash following the FSB announcement.

Behzod said many Tajiks are too afraid to leave their homes.

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Tajik Regime Alarmed As Moscow Terror Attack Fallout Has Migrants Streaming Home

Tajik and other Central Asian migrants reported a spike in xenophobic attacks after a terrorist attack on the Crocus City Hall concert venue in the Moscow region killed 145 people in March 2024.

Russian authorities said the massacre was carried out by four Tajik nationals.

Tens of thousands of Central Asians have been deported or denied entry to Russia following the attack.

The White House national security adviser said that U.S. President Donald Trump is "obviously very frustrated" with Volodymyr Zelenskyy and urged the Ukrainian president to reach an agreement soon granting the United States access to Ukraine's critical minerals.

The remarks from Michael Waltz came after Zelenskyy and Trump traded sharp criticism in recent days, with Trump calling Zelenskyy a "dictator" and suggesting he started the war with Russia -- comments that caused concern in Ukraine and Europe and prompted pushback from some senior U.S. Republican lawmakers.

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Ukraine Needs U.S. Weapons. Trump Wants Its Rare Earth Minerals In Return.

A day earlier, Zelenskyy rejected a proposal that would reportedly hand the United States $500 billion in mineral wealth, including rare-earth elements, as a form of payment for U.S. military and financial support for Kyiv's defense against Russia's full-scale invasion, which enters its fourth year next week.

"He needs to come back to the table," Waltz said at a press conference at the White House on February 20.

Zelenskyy has pointed out that U.S. wartime aid so far was far less than that amount and that the U.S. proposal did not offer concrete security guarantees.

Trump's harshest criticism to date of Zelenskyy came after Zelenskyy charged that Trump was pushing “a lot of information that is coming from Russia” and that the United States was helping Russia "break out of years of isolation" by holding high-level talks in Riyadh on February 18 and moving toward normalizing relations.

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Can The U.S. And Russia Impose A Peace Deal On Ukraine?

The bilateral U.S.-Russia talks, on the war in Ukraine and other issues, stoked worried in Ukraine and among some of its backers that Kyiv could be sidelined from negotiations and pressured to accept a cease-fire or peace deal that would favor Russia.

French President Emmanuel Macron said he will travel to Washington, where he will urge Trump to stand up to Russian President Vladimir Putin and try to convince him that the interests of the United States and Europe are in line with one another.

"I will tell him: deep down you cannot be weak in the face of [Putin]," Macron said. The White House said that Trump will host Macron on February 24 and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on February 27.

Zelenskyy struck a conciliatory tone following what he called a "productive meeting" on February 20 with Trump's special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, Keith Kellogg, who is on his first visit to Ukraine.

The pair had "a good discussion, [covering] many important details," Zelenskyy wrote in a post on X. "I am grateful to the United States for all the assistance and bipartisan support for Ukraine and the Ukrainian people."

"Ukraine is ready for a strong, effective investment and security agreement with the President of the United States," he wrote, adding, "Strong Ukraine-U.S. relations benefit the entire world."

However, a joint press conference by Zelenskyy and Kellogg was canceled, and there was no immediate comment from Kellogg after the meeting.

Meanwhile, several senior U.S. Republican lawmakers have been pushing back against Trump's recent criticism of Zelenskyy. They worry that signaling a willingness to cut off support for Kyiv could embolden Putin.

SEE ALSO:

Trump Repeats Harsh Criticism Of Zelenskyy, Says He Could Have Attended Riyadh Talks

Trump's framing of Zelenskyy in negative terms stands in stark contrast to those Senate Republicans who view Ukraine as a victim of Russian aggression.

They voiced strong support for Ukraine on February 19 and warned against appeasing Moscow.

Senator John Kennedy (Republican-Louisiana) did not mince words when addressing the threat posed by Putin, describing him as "a gangster with a black heart...who makes Jeffrey Dahmer (a notorious serial killer) look like Mother Teresa."

"It is Vladimir Putin who started the war." Kennedy said. "I also believe through bitter experience that Vladimir Putin is a gangster…. He has Stalin's taste for blood."

Senator Roger Wicker (Republican-Mississippi) echoed Kennedy's concerns, saying that talks to end Russia's invasion of Ukraine must be held with Ukrainians being involved while also taking account of European interests.

"Putin is a war criminal and should be in jail for the rest of his life, if not executed," he said.

At least seven people were killed and 30 injured over the past 24 hours due to Russian attacks, regional military officials said on February 20.

Targets included residential areas, social infrastructure, and essential services. Children were among the injured.

After Trump called Zelenskyy a "dictator without elections," the head of the Ukrainian Central Election Commission, Oleh Didenko, said in an interview with RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service, that talk of elections in Ukraine only benefits Russia.

“This issue is being raised in order to undermine the legitimacy of the government in Ukraine, to weaken confidence in the government, to weaken support for Ukraine from international partners,” he said.

Trump also wrote that "we are successfully negotiating an end to the War with Russia." He added that Zelenskyy “better move fast or he is not going to have a Country left.”

Trump’s remarks came after Zelenskyy accused Trump of living in a Russian “disinformation bubble” and said he would like Trump’s team to be “more truthful.”

Senator Thom Tillis (Republican-North Carolina) disagreed with Trump's characterization of Zelenskyy as a "dictator," although he avoided directly criticizing Trump.

"It's not a word I would use," he said, adding that there is "no moral equivalency between Vladimir Putin and President Zelenskyy."

"Clearly, Vladimir Putin is responsible for this war," Tillis told reporters in Washington on February 19. "His decision has resulted in the murder, rape, torture and kidnapping of untold numbers of Ukrainians. He owns responsibility for this war."

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (Republican-North Dakota) also declined to criticize Trump for his remarks.

"The president speaks for himself," he told reporters. "I think what I'm in support of is a peaceful outcome and result in Ukraine… And I think right now, the administration, the president and his team are working to achieve that."

Although Zelenskyy's presidential mandate was due to expire in May 2024, the constitution bars elections under martial law, which was imposed when Russia launched its full-scale invasion and has repeatedly extended.

With reporting by VoA, ABC, and Forbes

The Kremlin's war on Ukraine has dented the vehicle stocks of the Russian military, which has increasingly relied on civilian trucks since its full-scale invasion three years ago this month -- including for the transport of equipment and personnel.

U.S. and EU sanctions imposed not long after the February 2022 invasion aimed to choke off the supply of Western automotive parts that could help keep Russian President Vladimir Putin’s military humming.

But a leading Norwegian automotive supplier has exported millions of dollars in truck parts that ended up feeding Russia’s war machine via a Turkish intermediary, which resold them in circumvention of EU sanctions, an investigation by Schemes, the investigative unit of RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service, and Norwegian public broadcaster NRK has found.

Kongsberg Automotive, based in Kongsberg in southern Norway, is a major supplier of parts to leading car brands like Volvo, Ford, Scania, and Jaguar Land Rover. It says it halted all direct exports to Russia in 2022 on its own initiative, calling sales to an “aggressor” state “immoral and reprehensible.”

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But leaked Russian customs records obtained by Schemes show that at least 126 shipments of Kongsberg Automotive parts were made to Russia from July 2022 to April 2024 by Hidirusta Otomotiv, one of the Norwegian company’s customers in Turkey, which has not joined the Western sanctions coalition targeting Moscow.

The total listed value of these shipments was around $2.8 million, the leaked records show.

The roundabout route of the Norwegian company’s vehicle parts highlights the difficulties Western governments have faced in using sanctions to stem the flow of equipment and electronics critical to the Russian military.

Prior to Russia’s February 2022 invasion, Istanbul-based Hidirusta Otomotiv had no recorded shipments to Russia, according to records from the commercial customs-data aggregator ImportGenius. That changed seemingly overnight: By 2023, Russia had become the Turkish firm’s largest market -- and remains so today, ImportGenius records show.

Most of Hidirusta Otomotiv’s shipments to Russia consisted of Kongsberg Automotive parts it bought from other resellers, while it imported the rest directly from the Norwegian company.

Hidirusta Otomotiv did not respond to a request for comment. Kongsberg Automotive called the resale of its parts into Russia “unacceptable and contrary to our values.”

Norwegian Parts, Russian War Machine

While most Hidirusta Otomotiv shipments of Kongsberg Automotive parts were sent to Russian companies involved in truck repairs or transportation services, two -- A.P.R. and Gruzavtozapchast-36 -- have documented commercial ties to Russian defense firms.

A.P.R. supplied car parts to Orenburgagrosnabtekhservis, a partner of one of Russia’s oldest and largest machine-building and metallurgical enterprises, Kirovsky Zavod, which has been under U.S. sanctions since 2023.

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One of Kirovsky Zavod’s subsidiaries, St. Petersburg-based Universalmash, provides parts for Russian military hardware the Kremlin has deployed in Ukraine.

Gruzavtozapchast-36, meanwhile, has ties to Baltic Leasing, a Russian company that last year supplied bulldozers to one of Russia’s largest military training facilities, which has been under Ukrainian sanctions since 2023.

Neither A.P.R. nor Gruzavtozapchast-36 responded to requests for comment in time for publication.

Launching Attack Drones

Civilian vans and trucks have become increasingly vital to Russia's war effort due to the toll taken on its military vehicles during the all-out invasion, according to Aage Borchgrevink, a senior adviser at the Norwegian Helsinki Committee for Human Rights and a sanctions project coordinator.

“The war in Ukraine is very much about logistics. The entire Russian economy is geared toward producing the goods and services that will make this war possible. One of the most important things here are trucks and car parts,” Borchgrevink said.

Moreover, civilian trucks can be used not only for transportation but also for launching attack drones like Iranian-made Shahed-136, which Russia actively uses in its strikes on Ukraine. In March 2022, the Iranian military-focused outlet IMA Media published a video detailing how this works.

“To keep the wheels turning -- literally -- Russia needed an entirely new fleet of trucks, which then required spare parts,” Borchgrevink said.

Research by the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights and the Norwegian risk-analysis firm Corisk shows that Russia’s truck imports surged in the winter of 2023. Since then, Moscow has increased its truck imports tenfold, according to a Corisk report, a move aimed at sustaining battlefield logistics despite severe Western sanctions.

Corisk researcher Erlend Bollman Bjortvedt said Russia increasingly relies on civilian vehicles to transport “everything from food to ammunition and grenades to the front lines.”

Russian media reports echoed this trend, urging citizens to donate civilian vehicles to the war effort, citing a severe shortage caused by Ukraine’s extensive use of drones.

“Just one small part can cause a truck to malfunction. So when you're a Western company and you produce perhaps small parts that look innocent, a rubber ring for a few dollars or a ball bearing, it can be that small part that actually makes a defective truck start working again,” Bjortvedt said.

Negligence Or Sanctions Evasion?

Confronted with these findings, Kongsberg Automotive distanced itself from the transactions, stating that it ceased direct sales to Russia in 2022.

In a written response, the Norwegian company said: “We believe that it is unacceptable and sad if our products end up in places where sanctions apply. The alleged resale by our customers is unacceptable and contrary to our values.”

Kongsberg Automotive, however, argued that tracking products after sale is difficult.

“Once we sell our goods, we lose ownership and control over the supply chain if they are resold multiple times, as seems to be the case here,” the company said.

Kongsberg also expressed shock that Hidirusta Otomotiv had resold such a high volume of its parts to Russia, saying it failed to properly vet its Turkish customer and claimed it did not know Hidirusta’s largest export market is Russia.

“We could have had better routines in place during the onboarding process,” Kongsberg said.

Following Schemes and NRK’s inquiries, the Norwegian manufacturer said it had terminated the relationship with Hidirusta Otomotiv and instructed all its customers to stop dealing with the Turkish firm. Moreover, the company said it now requires aftermarket customers to sign contractual commitments to uphold sanctions.

Legal experts say Kongsberg Automotive could face consequences if authorities determine it failed to conduct proper due diligence.

The obligation to check sanctions compliance falls on the authorities of the respective EU member states. In Norway, it is the Police Security Service (PST).

PST deputy head Inga Bejer Engh said a company can be punished -- including criminally -- if it fails to do enough to learn that its customer is violating sanctions.

Engh said she is unfamiliar with the Kongsberg Automotive case and that it would depend on whether the necessary degree of culpability has been demonstrated.

“To decide what constitutes prudent conduct, you have to ask yourself how an ordinarily reasonable and conscientious person would have acted in the same situation. To be punished for negligent breach of the sanctions rules, the company must therefore have acted differently from what can be expected of an ordinarily reasonable and conscientious company,” Stian Oby Johansen, an associate professor at the University of Oslo’s Department of Public Law, said.

Experts say Turkey is widely recognized as a sanctions loophole, meaning companies exporting goods there should exercise heightened scrutiny over potential resales to Russia.

Borchgrevink of the Norwegian Helsinki Committee for Human Rights said it was “disheartening” that Kongsberg Automotive appeared to “put in significantly less effort to track their goods and prevent these situations from occurring.”

After reviewing the findings of the Schemes and NRK, Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy's sanctions policy commissioner, Vladyslav Vlasiuk, said the case “casts a shadow over the entire sanctions policy and its effectiveness in the EU.”

“Spare parts for trucks in particular are what help Russia to be strong on the battlefield. That's why this is a problem,” Vlasiuk said.

Oleh Symoroz, a 28-year-old veteran soldier who became an anti-corruption activist after a severe battlefield injury, said he wonders if the EU and its member states do enough to enforce sanctions.

“Western countries, including Norway, can make sanctions effective. And if they had used that power, these sales to Russia would not have happened,” he said.

U.S. President Donald Trump doubled down on his criticism of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, saying again that he has done a terrible job and asserting that he could have attended talks with Russia this week in Saudi Arabia if he had wanted to.

Trump’s comments on February 19 at a meeting in Miami of business executives hosted by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund followed similar harsh criticism of Zelenskyy earlier in the day.

Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform that Zelenskyy was “A Dictator without Elections” and warned that he “better move fast or he is not going to have a Country left."

In his speech in Miami, he asserted that Zelenskyy was misusing American aid intended for the war effort and had taken advantage of President Joe Biden's administration.

Earlier on Truth Social he said: "Zelenskyy probably wants to keep the 'gravy train' going," apparently referring to Western aid.

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Excluded From Talks, Bruised By Trump, Zelenskyy Calls For ‘More Truth’

Those comments appeared to be a response to Zelenskyy's charge that Trump "lives in this disinformation space” fostered by Moscow. “We have seen this disinformation," Zelenskyy said early on February 19. "We understand that it is coming from Russia.”

Zelenskyy made those comments after Trump seemed to blame him for Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, saying he was “disappointed” that Zelenskyy had complained about being frozen out of the U.S.-Russia talks on ending the war.

Zelenskyy reiterated his concerns over U.S.-Russian talks held in Saudi Arabia on ending Moscow's ongoing invasion of Ukraine launched almost three years ago.

He said that the previous day's high-level talks in Riyadh involving U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, were aimed at "taking [Russian President Vladimir] Putin out of isolation," and could potentially lead to a shift in the geopolitical dynamics, with implications for Ukraine's security.

"The United States helped Putin to get out of a multiyear isolation.... Putin and Russians are very happy about it," Zelenskyy said, adding that "yesterday there was a hint that Russia is a victim, which is something new."

Zelenskyy said when the talks were announced that Ukraine was not invited to take part.

Returning from Miami late on February 19, Trump told reporters on Air Force One that the Russians have "taken a lot of territory, so they have the cards" in negotiations on ending the war in Ukraine.

Trump, who pushed for the Riyadh talks as part of an effort bring the fighting to a close, responded to Zelenskyy's comments with the extensive social media post in which he again raised the lack of elections in Ukraine, echoing Putin.

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U.S. Call For Elections In Ukraine: A Step Toward Peace Or A Gift To Putin?  

Ukraine has not been able to hold elections because it remains under martial law, which was imposed when Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022 and which has been repeatedly extended.

Zelenskyy's five-year term was due to end in May 2024 after elections in March, and Putin has said he would not negotiate with the Ukrainian president because he would not have the authority to sign a peace deal.

Some members of Congress said Trump’s comments were insulting to the thousands of Ukrainians who have died in the war.

Senator Richard Blumenthal (Democrat-Connecticut) said Trump had “disregarded the truth and the sacrifice of brave men and women who are upholding their freedom and ours. Their fight is our fight, and the president’s surrender is pathetic and weak.”

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Senator Chris Coons (Democrat-Delaware) said other Republicans in the Senate know that Putin is not our partner. Trump risks becoming known as “the biggest loser of the 21^st century” if he doesn’t demand Putin stop the war by threatening increased sanctions and even more weapons to Ukraine, Coons said on U.S. broadcaster MSNBC.

John Bolton, who served as Trump's national security-adviser during his first term in office, said Trump’s characterizations of Zelenskyy and Ukraine "are some of the most shameful remarks ever made by a US President." He added on X: "Our support of Ukraine has never been about charity, our way of life at home depends on our strength abroad."

Trump's remarks also drew condemnation from European leaders, including German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock. Scholz called the dictator accusation "wrong and dangerous," and Baerbock said the people in Europe who live "in the conditions of a dictatorship" are in Russia and Belarus.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance warned in an interview on February 19 with the Daily Mail that Zelenskyy's criticism of Trump would backfire.

"The idea that Zelenskyy is going to change the president's mind by badmouthing him in public media -- everyone who knows the president will tell you that is an atrocious way to deal with this administration," Vance said.

U.S. President Donald Trump has sharply criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, calling him a "dictator" who risks losing his country if he does not "move fast."

In his harshest public criticism of the Ukrainian leader to date, Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on February 19, "A Dictator without Elections, Zelenskyy better move fast or he is not going to have a Country left."

Ukraine’s constitution bars it from holding elections under martial law, which was imposed when Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022 and continues to this day after repeated extensions.

Zelenskyy's five-year term was due to end in May 2024 after elections in March, and Putin has said he would not negotiate with the Ukrainian president because he would not have the authority to sign a peace deal.

Trump wrote that "Zelenskyy probably wants to keep the 'gravy train' going," apparently referring to Western aid. "I love Ukraine, but Zelenskyy has done a terrible job, his Country is shattered, and MILLIONS have unnecessarily died."

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Trump's statement comes hours after Zelenskyy reiterated concerns over U.S.-Russian talks held in Saudi Arabia on ending Moscow's ongoing invasion of Ukraine launched almost three years ago.

At a press conference in Kyiv earlier in the day, Zelenskyy said that the previous day's high-level talks in Riyadh, involving U.S. Secretary of State Marc Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, were aimed at "taking [Russian President Vladimir] Putin out of isolation," and could potentially lead to a shift in the geopolitical dynamics, with implications for Ukraine's security.

"The United States helped Putin to get out of a multiyear isolation....Putin and Russians are very happy about it," Zelenskyy said, adding that "yesterday there was a hint that Russia is a victim, which is something new."

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer expressed support for Zelenskyy as the democratically elected leader of Ukraine. The British government's press service said Starmer spoke with Zelenskyy by phone, saying that it was "quite sensible to suspend elections during wartime" as Britain did during World War II.

The British prime minister reiterated his support for US-led efforts to establish a lasting peace in Ukraine that would deter Russia from any future aggression.

Zelenskyy said later on Telegram that Britain's role in strengthening Europe's defense and security is very important to Ukraine.

"We discussed future prospects and opportunities. The support of Great Britain is extremely important, and we will never forget the respect of the British people for Ukraine and our citizens," Zelenskyy said.

A day earlier, Trump seemed to blame him for Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, saying he was “disappointed” that Zelenskyy had complained about being frozen out of the U.S.-Russia talks on ending the war.

"Today I heard, oh, well, we weren't invited. Well, you've been there for three years," Trump said, referring to Ukraine. "You should have never started it. You could have made a deal."

Zelenskyy, however, said on February 19 that he would like "to have more truth" from the Trump administration.

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Trump Appears To Blame Ukraine For War But 'Confident' Of Reaching Peace Deal

Trump's remarks on February 19 drew condemnation from German leaders, with Chancellor Olaf Scholz calling the dictator accusation "wrong and dangerous" and Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock saying it was "absurd."

"If you look at the real world...then you know who in Europe has to live in the conditions of a dictatorship: people in Russia, people in Belarus," Baerbock said in an interview with broadcaster ZDF.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance, in an interview with the Daily Mail, warned that Zelenskyy's criticism of Trump would backfire.

"The idea that Zelenskyy is going to change the president's mind by badmouthing him in public media, everyone who knows the president will tell you that is an atrocious way to deal with this administration," Vance said.

At a press conference in Florida after the Riyadh discussions on February 18, Trump did not clarify what he meant when he made his remarks but he has often blamed the war on Ukraine's desire to join NATO, and has said the full-scale invasion could have been avoided or ended quickly through negotiations.

Experts say Russia's full-scale invasion was driven by Putin's imperial ambitions rather than Ukraine's NATO ambition, which had little support from the West at the time.

Zelenskyy brought up the Western alliance at his press conference on February 19, pointing out that there were limited avenues available for securing security guarantees for his country's sovereignty.

"I have insisted [on Ukraine's membership in] NATO, but you know what the answers have been," he said, suggesting that the path to joining the Western military alliance remains obstructed.

"The safety guarantees fully depend on our partners," he added, reiterating that Ukraine's security relies heavily on Western support.

Despite the geopolitical challenges, Zelenskyy signaled his readiness to engage in discussions, but emphasized Ukraine's need for robust defense assistance, saying his country was "ready for talks, for a dialogue. What we need is a defense which can be provided by the West."

"Our army is different than it used to be at the beginning of Russia's aggression," he added. "Now, our army is the strongest in Europe. We can talk confidently with our partners and foes." He again emphasized the need for Kyiv to be involved in any negotiations concerning the war, saying that "no deal is possible without us."

Responding to a question from a journalist about Trump's desire to have compensation in exchange for hundreds of billions of dollars in assistance it has received from the United States, Zelenskyy indicated that he was open to discussions regarding access to Ukraine's mineral resources, but stressed the need for meaningful negotiations as well tangible security guarantees.

"It is not a serious talk when the figure of $500 billion appears as a volume of assistance Ukraine received. I am representing Ukraine, and I cannot sell Ukraine," he said.

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Ukraine Needs U.S. Weapons. Trump Wants Its Rare Earth Minerals In Return.

Zelenskyy also called on the U.S. special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, Keith Kellogg, who is visiting Kyiv on February 19, to personally meet with Ukrainian people, "especially our military personnel fighting to stop Russia's invasion" to find out what they think about the situation, Ukraine's current leadership, Trump's statements, and the talks in Saudi Arabia.

Kellogg's visit to the Ukrainian capital comes after Trump said that he now feels "much more confident" of reaching a deal to end the conflict in Ukraine following the Riyadh discussions on February 18, which saw Moscow and Washington agreeing to establish teams to negotiate a path to ending the war.

"I think I have the power to end this war,” Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida.

Trump also said he might meet Putin this month and that he would not oppose a European move to send peacekeeping troops to Ukraine, an idea discussed during a European summit in Paris on February 17.

“If they want to do that I’m all for it,” said Trump, before adding that the United States has no plans to contribute troops to any contingent sent to Ukraine to provide security guarantees.

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How Realistic Is A European Peace-Keeping Force In Ukraine?

Trump also said that Ukraine should hold elections, saying: "That's not a Russia thing, that's something coming from me and coming from many other countries also."

Other U.S. officials have suggested that Ukraine could hold elections following a cease-fire deal and this would be “good for democracy."

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Ukraine Preparing For Elections, Claims Zelenskyy's Predecessor Poroshenko

Zelenskiy stated on February 19 that he has significant public support which underscores his leadership's legitimacy, citing a 57 percent approval rating in recent polls. "If somebody wants to replace me now, it's not going to work," he said.

Meanwhile, Russia continued its aggression against Ukraine overnight using multiple drones to attack the Black Sea port of Odesa, leaving more than 500 buildings without power amid subzero temperatures.

Russian Drones Hit A Residential Building In Odesa

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According to Mayor Hennadiy Trukhanov, more than a quarter of a million of residents as well as 14 schools and 13 kindergartens are now without heating, power, and water supplies in freezing winter weather. Four people are known to have been hurt.

U.S. President Donald Trump seems to have blamed Volodymyr Zelenskyy for Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, saying he was “disappointed” that the Ukrainian president complained about being frozen out of U.S.-Russia talks in Saudi Arabia on ending the war.

"Today I heard, oh, well, we weren't invited. Well, you've been there for three years," Trump said, referring to Ukraine. "You should have never started it. You could have made a deal."

Trump did not clarify what he meant, but he has often blamed the war on Ukraine's desire to join NATO. Experts say Russia's full-scale invasion was driven by Russian President Vladimir Putin's imperial ambitions rather than Ukraine's NATO ambition, which had little support from the West at the time.

Speaking from his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida on February 18, Trump also said he now feels "much more confident" of reaching a deal to end the conflict in Ukraine.

"I think I have the power to end this war,” he said at a news conference after the high-level talks in Riyadh attended by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

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Trump also said he might meet Putin this month and that he would not oppose a European move to send peacekeeping troops to Ukraine, an idea discussed during a European summit in Paris on February 17.

“If they want to do that I’m all for it,” said Trump, before adding that the United States has no plans to contribute troops to any contingent sent to Ukraine to provide security guarantees.

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How Realistic Is A European Peace-Keeping Force In Ukraine?

Trump also said that Ukraine should hold elections, saying: "That's not a Russia thing, that's something coming from me and coming from many other countries also."

Other U.S. officials have suggested that Ukraine could hold elections following a cease-fire deal and this would be “good for democracy."

But Ukraine’s constitution bars it from holding elections under martial law, which was imposed when Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022 and continues to this day after repeated extensions.

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's five-year term was due to end in May 2024 after elections in March, and Putin has said he would not negotiate with Zelenskyy because he would not have the authority to sign a peace deal.

Earlier on February 18, after the talks in Riyadh, the first senior-level Washington-Moscow discussions since the 2022 invasion, Russia and the United States agreed to establish teams to negotiate a path to ending the war “as soon as possible,” Rubio said

The U.S. secretary of state also said the European Union “is going to have to be at the table at some point” because of the sanctions the bloc has imposed.

Sanctions were imposed as a result of the conflict, he said, speaking in an interview with the Associated Press and CNN. “In order to bring an end to any conflict there has to be concessions made by all sides.”

Rubio noted the need for improvements in how the U.S. and Russian embassies "are able to work" in order to create missions to support peace talks, bilateral relations, and cooperation more broadly.

“If our diplomatic channels are broken, it’s going to be very difficult to consistently engage on a host of topics, including some unrelated irritants that could derail the broader talks on Ukraine,” Rubio said.

He called for quick action on restoring "normalcy" at the embassies, adding that it would be “important to set the table for the other two things that we want to do.”

Some European leaders, alarmed by the radical shift in U.S. policy toward relations with Russia, fear Washington will make serious concessions and rewrite the continent's security arrangement.

U.S. national-security adviser Michael Waltz said any postwar peace guarantee would have to be "European-led," echoing calls by U.S. officials for European allies to increase defense spending and praising Britain and France for "talking about contributing more forcefully to Ukraine's security."

During the February 17 summit in Paris, European leaders expressed a willingness to offer security guarantees to Ukraine, but they warned that the level of such assurances would have to be based on Washington's participation in the event of a comprehensive peace agreement, something the U.S. president now seems to have poured cold water on.

France is to host a second meeting on February 19 to discuss the war in Ukraine and European security. This time, Canada and other European countries not present at the earlier emergency summit will attend.

U.S. President Donald Trump defended his decision to give billionaire businessman Elon Musk a major role in his administration as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) amid backlash over the freezing of funding for USAID, which affected foreign assistance programs around the world.

Trump curtailed the U.S. Agency for International Development work when he ordered a 90-day spending freeze on January 24. The decision affected numerous businesses and nonprofit groups in Ukraine, which are now struggling to cope. It also affected aid programs for people in Afghanistan.

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Trump and Musk touched on the move during their first joint TV interview, which aired on February 18 on Fox News, a conservative U.S. news outlet. Trump said he took the step to freeze USAID's funding because his predecessor, President Joe Biden, overspent, including on foreign aid that he said did not serve U.S. interests, and widened the deficit.

Since 2022, USAID has provided Ukraine with billions of dollars in humanitarian aid, development assistance, and direct budget support. Musk and Trump were not asked about the suspension of aid to the programs in Ukraine during the interview or Trump's diplomatic efforts to end the war in Ukraine.

The interview focused more on Trump's relationship with Musk, the world’s richest man, and why he chose him to head DOGE.

“I know a lot of businessmen and they are not necessarily good people,” Trump said. Musk is a great person who “wants to see the country do well,” Trump told Fox News interviewer Sean Hannity, who is a friend of the president.

DOGE has been rooting out government waste, fraud, and abuse, Trump said, and has already saved American taxpayers millions of dollars.

Since Trump returned to office on January 20, DOGE has gone from department to department, laying off or firing thousands of government employees in a major shakeup of the federal government designed to cut costs and shrink its size. A list of programs that have been identified, some costing hundreds of millions of dollars, scrolled on the screen during the joint interview.

Musk said he took the role to reduce the bureaucracy and prevent the United States from going bankrupt.

“The goal is to try to get a trillion dollars out of the deficit,” Musk said, claiming that Trump “was handed a two-trillion deficit when he came to office.”

Musk said the average American taxpayer should be “mad as hell” over the way their tax dollars have been spent.

He said some of the people on his DOGE team, which has come under withering criticism from Democrats for taking what they say is illegal actions as it slashes programs, are federal employees. Others are software engineers who could be earning million-dollar salaries but have instead opted to work for him.

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Trump's USAID Reform Causes Alarm As Musk Weighs In On Foreign Aid

The president said Musk has only been implementing his executive orders, and vowed that traditional programs such as Social Security and the government-funded health insurance programs Medicare and Medicaid “won’t be touched” by the cuts.

However, the arrival of DOGE employees this week at the Social Security Administration prompted the abrupt resignation of its chief over an apparent clash with Musk's cost-cutting team. Other senior federal officials have resigned when confronted with DOGE’s scorched-earth approach to federal spending.

Trump also said that Musk has not asked him for any favors for his companies -- namely SpaceX, which holds multiple contracts with the U.S. government, and Tesla, which has benefited from U.S. subsidies to promote electric vehicles.

Musk said he would recuse himself if he’s ever confronted with a situation involving his businesses, and Trump said, “If there’s ever a conflict, he won’t be involved.”

Musk told Hannity he has paid a price for his support for Trump but intends to continue.

“I’m a technologist and I try to make technologies that help people and improve the world,” said Musk, who wore a sport coat over a T-shirt with the words Tech Support across the front.

Trump said he has always respected Musk, but his admiration for him grew when he opened the use of Starlink communications satellites to people in North Carolina whose communities had been devastated by a hurricane last year.

His admiration only grew when SpaceX was able to return a rocket to Earth and be grasped out of the air “like a beautiful little baby,” and he decided he wanted him on his team.

Top U.S. and Russian officials have finished their first talks on ending the war in Ukraine, with the Kremlin voicing new demands as Washington and Moscow agreed to move quickly to normalize their ties and begin negotiations around the nearly three-year conflict.

The more than four-hour meeting in Riyadh -- which was attended by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov -- is part of a major diplomatic push by the United States to bring the war to an end. The discussions were framed by U.S. officials as exploratory talks that could pave the way for a potential in-person meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Rubio told reporters after the February 18 meeting in the Saudi capital that the talks were "the first step of a long and difficult journey" over ending the war in Ukraine and that the U.S. and Russian delegations agreed on four principles during their discussions.

These comprise fully restoring their diplomatic missions in Washington and Moscow after years of sanctions and expulsions, appointing a high-level team to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine, exploring further "geopolitical and economic cooperation that could result from an end to the conflict in Ukraine," and ensuring that the U.S. and Russian delegations present in Riyadh will remain engaged in discussions moving forward.

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Lavrov called the meeting "very useful" and said Moscow would aim to appoint a special envoy as soon as possible.

"I have every reason to believe that the American side understands our position," Lavrov said.

Russia's chief foreign policy adviser, Yury Ushakov, who was part of the country's delegation, added that the two sides briefly discussed the conditions needed for a Putin-Trump summit. However, he added that the decision to begin deeper talks with the United States about Ukraine would ultimately rest with Putin himself.

"It's useful for the Trump administration's senior national-security team to hear these Russian positions and they can take them back to the president," John Deni, a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, told RFE/RL. "It's still too early to know what the Russians might be willing to give up or hold onto."

What Came From The Meetings?

The meeting appears to have laid the foundation for future talks between Moscow and Washington, with both Rubio and Lavrov saying each side will restore staffing at their respective embassies in Washington and Moscow to create missions to support Ukraine peace talks, bilateral relations, and cooperation more broadly.

In a statement, the U.S. State Department said delegations from both countries have agreed to "address irritants" in their ties with the goal of normalizing diplomatic relations after years of tensions.

Spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said both countries will explore "future cooperation" but cautioned an exact timeline still remains unclear, noting, "One phone call followed by one meeting is not sufficient to establish enduring peace."

She added the Riyadh talks are an early step in a longer process.

Lavrov said the two sides "practically agreed" that they need to resolve issues concerning the functioning of diplomatic missions.

On Ukraine, he said there was "a mutual desire" to find solutions and Russia will wait for the United States to appoint its representatives.

"After that, relevant consultations will begin and will be regular," he said.

The Russian foreign minister added the potential of any deployment of NATO troops to Ukraine -- which has been floated by some Western governments -- would be a "completely unacceptable" proposal for the Kremlin.

Separately, Russian officials said a long-term peace deal in Ukraine will not be possible without addressing a wider range of security concerns across Europe.

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"A comprehensive long-term settlement is impossible without a comprehensive consideration of security issues on the continent," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on February 18.

Peskov also said Putin would be open to talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy "if necessary."

Putin had previously said he was unwilling to negotiate with Zelenskyy because his rule is "illegitimate," in part because Ukraine has not held elections since Russia launched its full-scale invasion nearly three years ago.

Speaking in Moscow, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Moscow wants NATO to disavow its 2008 promise to one day give Ukraine membership of the military alliance, and for Kyiv to agree to neutrality.

What Happens Next?

Both sides all agreed to appoint envoys and continue talks moving forward. Rubio also hinted at a role for the EU further down the line, saying that "there are other parties that have sanctions, the European Union is going to have to be at the table at some point, because they have sanctions as well that have been imposed."

Jana Puglierin, a senior fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, said both Kyiv and its European allies have watched anxiously from the sidelines as U.S. and Russian officials met in Riyadh and worries are high in Ukraine and European capitals that Trump could cut a hasty deal with Moscow that ignores their security interests.

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Why Is Saudi Arabia Hosting U.S.-Russia Talks? And Why Now?

She says European leaders are currently grappling with multiple "turning points" set off by Russia launching its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 as well as recent comments by top U.S. officials suggesting Europe will need to play a larger part in security issues.

"February 2022 destroyed our faith in a collective security order with Russia and showed us the dark side of our fundamental dependence on Russia and China in critical areas," she said. "February 2025 shows us that the Americans no longer feel responsible for European security -- and that their interests are fundamentally different from ours."

European leaders held emergency talks in Paris on February 17 to discuss the war in Ukraine and European security matters but were unable to reach any agreement.

Following the meeting in Saudi Arabia, U.S. national-security adviser Michael Waltz said any postwar peace guarantee would have to be "European-led," echoing calls by U.S. officials for European allies to increase defense spending and praising Britain and France for "talking about contributing more forcefully to Ukraine's security."

Zeleneskyy has criticized the talks due to their lack of a Ukrainian representative and he called for "fair" peace talks about ending the war, arguing they should also involve the European Union, Turkey, and Britain.

The Atlantic Council's Deni said any potential settlement that can be reached is still likely far off and will require further discussions with Ukraine and European governments.

He added the meeting in Riyadh should be seen as the latest U.S. attempt to reset relations with Russia, following similar efforts by former President George W. Bush in 2001 and former President Barack Obama in 2009. Each of those diplomatic pushes ended with strained ties and new geopolitical flashpoints in Georgia and Ukraine.

"At a certain point you need to speak to your adversary and diplomacy needs to be in the U.S. toolbox," Deni said. "Reset efforts make sense, but in the past they've ended in disappointment."

Iran has charged British citizens Craig and Lindsay Foreman with espionage, the country’s judiciary spokesman announced on February 18.

Asghar Jahangir said the couple had entered Iran “under the guise of tourists” and “collected intelligence in several provinces in the country.”

He said they were detained by the Intelligence Organization of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) in the southern Kerman Province.

The U.K. Foreign Office confirmed their arrest on February 13.

According to Lindsay Foreman’s social media, the couple were on a motorbiking trip across the world, with the final destination being Australia.

British media say they entered Iran on December 30 via Armenia and intended to leave the country via the Pakistani border after five days. They had stayed in Tabriz, Tehran, Isfahan, but never checked into their hotel in Kerman.

Ebrahim Hamidi, the top judge in Kerman Province, alleged that “it has become clear” that the couple “have ties with several institutes linked to intelligence services.”

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The U.K. Foreign Office has not commented on the charge. Britain currently advises its citizens against all travel to Iran, citing “significant risk” of arrest, questioning, or detention.

Iran is accused by human rights groups of engaging in “hostage diplomacy,” taking foreign and dual nationals for leverage in dealings with the West.

Egypt is developing a plan to rebuild the Gaza Strip that would not entail forcing Palestinians out of the territory, as Arab nations scramble to counter U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposal to move out residents and allow the United States to take control.

The plan, according to a report by Egypt’s state-run Al-Ahram newspaper, calls for establishing “secure areas” within territory where Palestinians would initially stay while Egyptian and other international construction firms remove ruins and rebuild infrastructure.

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Three safe zones would be designated within Gaza under the plan during an initial six-month period. Mobile houses and shelters would be established and humanitarian aid would flow in.

The rebuilding project – expected to last five years -- would also provide tens of thousands of jobs to Gazans, an Egyptian official told AP.

Two Egyptian officials and Arab and Western diplomats told AP that Cairo has been discussing the plan with officials in Europe, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. Possible funding matters are high up on the agenda.

On February 4, Trump told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a White House news conference that "the U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip and we will do a job with it, too. We'll own it."

Trump said Palestinians currently living there would be resettled permanently to Arab nations in the region and that the United States would lead an effort to turn Gaza into the “Riviera of the Middle East.”

More than 2.3 million people live in the Gaza Strip, although most have been displaced following 16 months of attacks by the Israeli military, which has vowed to wipe out the influence of Hamas -- the U.S.- and European Union-designated terrorist organization that ruled the territory.

Palestinians have widely said they would not leave their homeland.

Media reports have stated that Saudi Arabia is leading an urgent effort by Arab nations to develop a plan for Gaza to counter Trump's proposal. Egypt, Jordan, and the U.A.E. are reportedly involved in the effort.

Egypt, Jordan, and other Arab nations have rejected calls to take in Gaza’s population.

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U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who arrived in Israel on February 15 for a Middle East tour, expressed full support for Israel’s war aims in the Gaza Strip and said that “must be eradicated.”

“As long as [Hamas] stands as a force that can govern or as a force that can administer or as a force that can threaten by use of violence, peace becomes impossible,” Rubio said in a joint news conference with Netanyahu on February 16.

Israel and Hamas have reached a cease-fire deal that mostly ended the fighting that was triggered by the extremist group’s invasion of Israel on October 7, 2023, that killed some 1,200 people.

But the truce remains fragile, even Hamas frees Israeli hostages in exchange for Tel Aviv’s release of imprisoned Palestinians.

With reporting by AP and Reuters

On the eve of U.S.-Russia talks in Saudi Arabia, Moscow has released Kalob Wayne Byers, who had been held since February 7 on drug charges, U.S. and Russian media reports say, following a series of prisoner swaps and releases by Moscow in recent weeks.

The move disclosed late on February 17 appears to be another step aimed at reducing U.S.-Russia tensions ahead of the Saudi talks as Washington steps up diplomatic moves to end the fighting in the Ukraine war.

The New York Times quoted a Kremlin official as saying the upcoming talks are designed to improve bilateral relations, "so certain events can be viewed in this context."

The Associated Press cited representatives for Byers as saying the man was at the U.S. Embassy awaiting a flight home. The report said the move was a straight release and not a prisoner exchange. His name was also listed by some sources as Kalob Byers Wayne.

A Russian court ordered Byers, 28, to be held in custody after he was arrested at a Moscow airport on drug-smuggling charges when customs officials alleged that they found cannabis-laced marmalade in his baggage.

A court post on Telegram said he faced a charge that carries a prison sentence of up to seven years.

The arrest came days after a U.S.-Russia prisoner swap, which the White House described as a sign of a diplomatic thaw and a step toward ending the war in Ukraine.

Washington and other Western governments have accused Russian President Vladimir Putin's government of arresting citizens of Western countries on fabricated or exaggerated charges and holding them as "hostages" it can trade with the United States and other countries.

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The U.S.-Russia talks in Saudi Arabia on February 18 remain controversial with America's allies who fear Washington could strike a deal with Moscow that could undermine Ukrainian and wider European security concerns.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told reporters in Abu Dhabi, where he was visiting as part of a Middle East tour, that his country would not participate in the talks.

Zelenskyy said earlier that Kyiv was not invited to the session and that, in any case, it considers negotiations on Ukraine without Ukraine to serve no purpose.

"We cannot recognize any agreements about us without us," Zelenskyy told reporters in the capital of the United Arab Emirates.

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"And we will not recognize such agreements," added Zelenskyy, who traveled on to Turkey after his U.A.E. stop.

The U.S. presidential envoy for Ukraine and Russia, Keith Kellogg, told reporters that no one will force a peace deal on Zelenskyy, and that he and the people of Ukraine would make that call.

"Nobody will impose [a peace agreement] on an elected leader of a sovereign nation," Kellogg said.

Kellogg earlier caused a stir when he said Europe may not be "at the table" if the United States brokers negotiations to end Russia's war against Ukraine. He later clarified to say that, even if Europe were not "at the table," its views would be taken into account.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio -- who will lead the U.S. team in Saudi Arabia -- echoed those remarks, saying Ukraine and other European nations would be included in any meaningful negotiation sessions, if and when they take place.

U.S. President Donald Trump on February 16 also said that Zelenskyy "will be involved" in any peace negotiations, without providing specifics.

Bloomberg, citing unnamed officials, reported on February 16 that Trump wants to secure a cease-fire by Easter, which falls on April 20 this year both for Western and Orthodox churches.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Putin's foreign policy aide, Yury Ushakov, arrived in Riyadh late on February 17 to take part in the talks with their U.S. counterparts.

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The United States will also be represented by national-security adviser Mike Waltz, and special envoy Steve Witkoff, the State Department confirmed.

Kellogg is not scheduled to attend the Saudi sessions, but Zelenskyy said the U.S. presidential envoy will visit Ukraine on February 20.

"I want him to visit the front line with me [...] We will meet [Ukrainian military chief Oleksandr] Syrskiy and maybe some brigade commanders," Zelenskyy said.

Kyiv said Zelenskyy's visit to the region was aimed at boosting economic ties and that there were no plans to meet with U.S. or Russian officials.

The Ukrainian leader is scheduled to travel to Saudi Arabia on February 19 for what Kyiv said were economic discussions.

Mykhaylo Podolyak, a senior adviser to Zelenskyy, said there were no plans for Ukrainian representatives to attend the U.S.-Russia talks.

Zelenskyy has said he would not engage in negotiations before meeting with allies, including European leaders, to develop a strategy.

In a sign of bipartisan support from the U.S. Senate, Jeanne Shaheen -- the leading Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee -- Republican Thom Tillis and Democrat Michael Bennet concluded a visit to Kyiv and other cities on February 17.

“It is more important than ever for the United States to stand firm with Ukraine," Bennet said.

With reporting by The New York Times, Reuters, and AP

France will host a second meeting to discuss the war in Ukraine and European security, but will invite Canada and other European countries not present at the earlier emergency summit this week in Paris.

According to diplomatic sources, the new summit will take place on February 19 and will include Canada, Norway, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, the Czech Republic, Greece, Finland, Romania, Sweden, and Belgium.

The new meeting and the inclusion of additional countries was confirmed by RFE/RL after it was first reported by Reuters.

During the February 17 summit in Paris, European leaders expressed willingness to offer security guarantees to Ukraine, but they warned the level of such assurances would be based on Washington's participation in the event of a comprehensive peace agreement.

Still, many leaders underlined continued support for Kyiv.

"Ready and willing," NATO chief Mark Rutte said on X on February 17.

"That's my take from today's meeting in Paris. Europe is ready and willing to step up. To lead in providing security guarantees for Ukraine. Ready and willing to invest a lot more in our security. The details will need to be decided but the commitment is clear."

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French President Emmanuel Macron, who hosted the event, said that "we seek a strong and lasting peace in Ukraine."

"To achieve this, Russia must end its aggression, and this must be accompanied by strong and credible security guarantees for the Ukrainians."

Simultaneously, the European Union appeared poised to approve “in the near future” a further 5 billion euros ($5.24 billion) in aid for Ukraine, according to a draft document seen by RFE/RL.

The document noted that, since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, the bloc has provided Ukraine with 134.5 billion euros ($141 billion) in aid, including 48.5 billion euros ($51 billion) in military assistance.

"The European Union will provide Ukraine with military support for as long as necessary and as intensively as necessary," the draft text said.

Macron briefed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy following the gathering.

Zelenskyy posted on X that he had a "long conversation" with the French president, who relayed information on his talks with fellow European leaders and others.

"We share a common vision: Security guarantees must be robust and reliable," Zelenskyy wrote.

“Any other decision without such guarantees -- such as a fragile cease- fire -- would only serve as another deception by Russia and a prelude to a new Russian war against Ukraine or other European nations,” he said.

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Europe Left Scrambling After Exclusion From Ukraine Talks

The new meeting will come one day after high-stakes U.S.-Russia talks in Saudi Arabia, which did not include European governments or Kyiv.

The announcement of the Saudi talks roiled U.S.-Europe relations amid concerns that Washington could strike a deal with Moscow counter to Ukrainian and European security interests.

That meeting appears to have laid the foundation for future talks between Moscow and Washington, with both sides agreeing restore staffing at their respective embassies in Washington and Moscow in order to create missions to support Ukraine peace talks, bilateral relations, and cooperation more broadly.

Following the meeting in Saudi Arabia, U.S. national-security adviser Michael Waltz said any postwar peace guarantee would have to be "European-led," echoing calls by U.S. officials for European allies to increase defense spending and praising Britain and France for "talking about contributing more forcefully to Ukraine's security."

The idea of sending European peacekeepers to Ukraine following a truce moved to the forefront after remarks by British Prime Minister Kier Starmer.

Speaking to reporters in Paris on February 17, Starmer said he was "prepared to consider committing British forces on the ground alongside others, if there is a lasting peace agreement."'

He cautioned that it was still too early to be specific: "We are at early stages of discussions; they haven't started yet."

However, he added that "there must be a U.S. backstop, because a U.S. security guarantee is the only way to effectively deter Russia from attacking Ukraine again."

Starmer joined the leaders of France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, the Netherlands, Denmark, the European Commission, the European Council, and NATO in the French capital to discuss Ukraine's security on February 17.

But the meeting in Paris also exposed divisions among European nations.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said discussions over sending peacekeepers were "completely premature" and "highly inappropriate" while the war is ongoing.

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Scholz added that, in his view, there should be no divide between Europe and the United States on responsibility for Ukraine's security.

"NATO is based on the fact that we always act together and share the risk, thereby ensuring our security. This must not be called into question," said Scholz, who added that there could be no peace agreement without Kyiv's consent.

Last week, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told a meeting of Ukraine's military allies in Brussels that Washington would not deploy troops to Ukraine in any agreed peace deal and that NATO membership is not seen by the White House as part of the solution to the conflict.

Not all European nations are eager to provide additional assistance to Ukraine, including Hungary -- which has maintained close ties with Russia even after the Kremlin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which will hit the three-year mark on February 24.

Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto, speaking during a visit to Kazakhstan, was critical of the Paris summit, calling it a gathering of "frustrated European politicians."

He repeated accusations often made by Russian officials alleging that leaders at the summit were looking to prolong the war.

"So today, supporters of the war, anti-Trump, and frustrated European politicians are gathering in Paris to prevent a peace agreement with Ukraine," he was quoted as saying by Hungarian state media at a news conference in Astana.

With reporting by Reuters, AP, and dpa

Saudi Arabia is hosting one of the most important diplomatic meetings between Russia and the United States in years.

XXX

On February 18, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Riyadh.

The meeting will aim to restore the fraught ties between the two countries. It will focus on ending the war in Ukraine, where Washington has led its European allies in helping Kyiv against a Russian invasion that began three years ago.

Experts see the talks as a sign that Saudi Arabia is seeking to assume a central role in international diplomacy while deepening its ties with longtime ally Washington.

The discussions will be an opportunity for the oil-rich Arab nation to assert its political clout after it rejected U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan to relocate Gaza’s residents while resisting any normalization of relations with Israel.

Reviving Ties

“Riyadh wanted to have a bigger diplomatic footprint,” said Amin Tarzi, an adjunct professor of International Relations at the University of Southern California’s Washington, D.C. Program.

He says that Riyadh is seeking to “revive the relationship” that Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman built with U.S. President Donald Trump during his first administration.

In May 2017, Trump made his first foreign visit to Saudi Arabia.

“Both Riyadh and Washington would like to expand relations under the current U.S. administration,” said Tarzi.

In 2018, Riyadh was diplomatically isolated after its ties soured with Washington following the gruesome murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi. He was a Saudi citizen and was killed inside his country’s consulate in Istanbul.

Saudi Arabia, the richest and most powerful Arab nation, has been diplomatically overshadowed by its smaller Gulf neighbors, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.).

Qatar has been central to the ongoing negotiations between Israel and Hamas, which has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union.

The gas-rich country has been assisting Washington in its efforts to resolve intractable issues. Since 2013, it has hosted an office of the Afghan Taliban, which helped the first Trump administration to conclude a peace agreement with the Islamist militant group in February 2020.

To underscore the U.A.E.’s diplomatic clout, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy toured its capital, Abu Dhabi, on February 17 before traveling to Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

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Zelenskyy has opposed direct negotiations between Russia and the United States on Ukraine, saying Kyiv will not “recognize any agreements about us without us.”

“These U.S.-Russia talks are an opportunity for Riyadh to showcase that it is a diplomatic powerhouse,” Tarzi said.

Matthew Robinson, the director of the Euro-Gulf Information Center, a think tank in Rome, agrees.

He sees it as part of Riyadh’s effort “to be a key global player in resolving major geopolitical problems.”

Gaza Plans

Robinson also sees Riyadh quietly attempting to offset any fallout from rejecting Trump’s plan to take over the Gaza Strip.

On February 4, the U.S. president said Washington would take over the war-ravaged Palestinian enclave after its population is resettled elsewhere to rebuild and turn it into the “Riviera of the Middle East.”

“The policy dispute will not sour the larger strategic relationship between Riyadh and the Trump administration,” Robinson said.

He said that Riyadh and Washington's longstanding ties are based on mutual security interests in the region, economic cooperation, and defense partnerships.

Robinson added that ongoing discussions between Riyadh and Washington over the future of Gaza demonstrate that “while allies might disagree on particular policy issues, their broader strategic goals can both enable and fortify bilateral relations.”

Despite U.S. encouragement, Riyadh has refused to normalize ties with Israel before an independent Palestinian state is established. Under the Abraham Accords, the U.A.E. and Bahrain established diplomatic relations with Israel in September 2020 during the first Trump administration.

Tarzi says that, by hosting the talks between Washington and Moscow, Riyadh will preserve all other aspects of its relationship with the United States “and add a peace-building opportunity under its auspices.”

Later this week, Riyadh is hosting a meeting of Arab leaders which is expected to to formulate a response to Trump's Gaza plan.

Former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has claimed that Ukrainian authorities are planning to hold presidential elections by the end of this year.

"Write it down -- October 26 this year," Poroshenko said in an interview published by the Ukrainian news site Censor.net on February 16.

Poroshenko, who currently heads one of the leading opposition parties in Ukraine, claims that the country's state printing service is now calculating the number of ballots needed to hold the elections.

He said he got this information from anonymous insiders in Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's office who were also quoted by local media outlets.

"According to our sources, the [Ukrainian] Election Commission is starting to make changes in the voter register. [...] This is solely for the purpose of preparing for elections," he said.

However, the parliamentary leader of Zelenskyy's Servant of the People party, denied Poroshenko’s claim.

“During martial law, elections are impossible to hold [...] The leaders of all parties have agreed that elections will not be held until at least six months after the end of martial law,” Davyd Arakhamia said in a statement on Telegram.

Zelenskyy's five-year term in office was supposed to end last year on May 20.

A presidential election was to have taken place in March or April 2024, but was postponed because the country is still under martial law. Under the Ukrainian Constitution, Zelenskyy must continue to perform his duties until a new head of state is elected.

Ukraine has been under martial law since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. It has been extended in 90-day intervals 14 times by parliament, with the most recent extension running until May 9.

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Poroshenko's claim on February 16 regarding election preparations came days after Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) said that Kyiv had imposed sanctions on the ex-president, including an asset freeze and a ban on withdrawing capital from the country.

"Anyone who has undermined Ukraine's national security and helped Russia must be held accountable," Zelenskyy said on Telegram on February 13, the day after the sanctions were imposed.

Poroshenko slammed the move, calling it “unconstitutional” and “politically motivated.”

"The sanctions imposed against me as the leader of the opposition and the fifth president carry absolutely illegal restrictions," he said on February 13.

One of Ukraine's richest men, who primarily made his fortune building a confectionery empire after the breakup of the Soviet Union, Poroshenko served as president from 2014 to 2019, when he lost out to Zelenskyy in his bid for a second term.

Seen as a possible candidate in any future Ukrainian presidential contest, Poroshenko had previously rejected the idea of holding elections while the country is at war, saying in a visit to Paris last month that the only “winner” of such a vote would be Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Poroshenko said Putin would use propaganda and a “fifth column” to undermine Ukraine during any election campaign.

In an interview with Reuters last week, U.S. President Donald Trump’s envoy for Russia and Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, said Washington wants Kyiv to hold elections, possibly by the end of this year.

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When asked about that possibility, Zelenskyy told The Guardian newspaper that Ukrainians were alarmed by such statements.

"It is very important for Kellogg to come to Ukraine. Then he would understand the people and all our circumstances,” Zelenskyy said.

Many analysts and politicians have cited concerns over security, displaced voters, and infrastructure as major impediments to Ukraine holding any type of legitimate election under the current circumstances.

Kellogg is expected to visit Ukraine on February 20, Zelenskyy said at a virtual press conference with Ukrainian reporters on February 17.

Ukraine will not participate in the upcoming talks between U.S. and Russian officials in Saudi Arabia, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told reporters in Abu Dhabi, where he was visiting as part of a Middle East tour, which also includes Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

Zelenskyy on February 17 said Ukraine was unaware of the U.S.-Russian talks in Saudi Arabia and considers any negotiations on Ukraine without Ukraine to serve no purpose.

"We cannot recognize any agreements about us without us," Zelenskyy told reporters in the capital of the United Arab Emirates.

"And we will not recognize such agreements," added Zelenskyy, who traveled on to Turkey after his U.A.E. stop.

Meanwhile, the U.S. presidential envoy for Ukraine and Russia, Keith Kellogg, told reporters that no one will force a peace deal on Zelenskyy, and that he and the people of Ukraine would make that call.

"Nobody will impose [a peace agreement] on an elected leader of a sovereign nation," Kellogg said.

He earlier caused a stir when he said Europe may not be "at the table" if the United States brokers negotiations to end Russia's war against Ukraine. He later clarified to say that even if Europe were not "at the table," its views would be taken into account.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio echoed those remarks, saying Ukraine and other European nations would be included in any meaningful negotiation sessions, if and when they take place.

"Ultimately, it will reach a point -- if it's real negotiations, and we're not there yet -- but if that were to happen, Ukraine will have to be involved because they're the ones that were invaded, and the Europeans will have to be involved because they have sanctions on [President Vladimir] Putin and Russia as well," Rubio said.

"We're just not there yet."

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Putin's foreign policy aide, Yury Ushakov, arrived in Riyadh late on February 17, set to take part in bilateral talks with their U.S. counterparts in Saudi Arabia on February 18.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the meeting will focus on restoring relations between Moscow and Washington, while Ushakov told Russian state TV that the delegation would be approaching the talks with a "businesslike" attitude.

Upon arrival, Ushakov said that "the main thing is to achieve a real normalization of relations between us and Washington."

The United States will be represented by Rubio, who is already in Riyadh, national security-adviser Mike Waltz, and special envoy Steve Witkoff, the State Department confirmed.

Speaking at a news conference in Moscow with his Serbian counterpart ahead of the Saudi talks, Lavrov claimed that Europe had already had several chances to be involved in a settlement on Ukraine but that he didn't know how European politicians could contribute given that they want the war to continue.

While there are different views on Ukraine among European politicians, most agree that they want "a just and lasting peace" to be settled with Ukraine at the table.

U.S. President Donald Trump on February 16 insisted that Zelenskyy "will be involved" in any peace negotiations to end the Russian war, while he also stated that he could meet "very soon" with Putin. Trump did not specify details.

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Bloomberg, citing unnamed officials, reported on February 16 that Trump wants to secure a cease-fire by Easter, which falls on April 20 this year both for Western and Orthodox churches.

Trump told reporters his team has had "long and hard" talks with Russian officials and that Witkoff had spoken with Putin for three hours recently.

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Kellogg is expected to visit Ukraine on February 20, Zelenskyy said at a virtual press conference with Ukrainian reporters.

"I want him to visit the front line with me [...] We will meet [Ukrainian military chief Oleksandr] Syrskiy and maybe some brigade commanders," Zelenskyy said.

Kyiv said Zelenskyy's visit to the region was aimed at boosting economic ties and that there were no plans to meet with U.S. or Russian officials.

Zelenskyy late on February 17 said he had arrived in Turkey for talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Turkish presidential spokesman Fahrettin Altun said Zelenskyy will meet with Erdogan on February 18 to discuss "regional and global" issues.

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Zelenskyy is expected to travel to Saudi Arabia on February 19, although specific details were not disclosed.

Mykhaylo Podolyak, a senior adviser to Zelenskyy, said that "there are no negotiators who will represent Ukraine in Saudi Arabia" in peace talks.

"Today, there is nothing on the negotiating table that could be discussed. Russia is not ready for negotiations," he told Ukrainian TV.

Zelenskyy has said he would not engage in negotiations before meeting with allies, including European leaders, to develop a strategy.

"I will never accept any decisions between the United States and Russia about Ukraine, never," Zelenskyy told NBC's Kristen Welker on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.

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In a sign of bipartisan support from the U.S. Senate, Jeanne Shaheen -- the leading Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee -- Republican Thom Tillis and Democrat Michael Bennet concluded a visit to Kyiv and other cities on February 17.

“It is more important than ever for the United States to stand firm with Ukraine," Bennet said.

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Zelenskyy Says He Will 'Meet With Only One Russian: Putin'

“As the Ukrainian people continue their brave fight against Vladimir Putin’s aggression, we must keep supporting their fight – for the sake of Ukraine and democracy everywhere.”

With reporting by Reuters and AP