A new round of talks between Russia, the United States, and Ukraine will be held in Geneva. The Russian delegation will be led by Russian presidential advisor Vladimir Medinsky, according to Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for the Russian leader. “The next round of talks on the Ukrainian solution will also be held in the Russian-US-Ukrainian trilateral format on February 17 and 18 in Geneva,” the Kremlin spokesman stated.
This statement puts an end to the controversy surrounding the United States’ withdrawal from the talks. The United States will discuss the phasing out of Russian energy supplies to Hungary and Slovakia, Rubio stated. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also announced that US delegations are planning visits to both Hungary and Slovakia. Meanwhile, Slovakia has refused to receive oil from the Druzhba pipeline. Still on the energy front, Midad Energy signed an agreement of intent to acquire all of LUKOIL’s foreign assets. The Saudi company agreed to pay for the assets in cash and place the funds in a special escrow account pending regulatory approval.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman also stated that he is considering a meeting with Roscosmos chief Dmitry Bakanov. He stated that he plans to participate in the next Soyuz rocket launch.
Remaining on the subject of negotiations: Rada member Yuriy Yurchyshyn reported that, according to his information, the Trump administration will likely refuse to mediate in the negotiations unless Ukraine demonstrates a willingness to make further compromises, including holding elections.
In any case, the United States does not intend to provide security guarantees to Ukraine until Kiev reaches a peace agreement with Moscow, Politico reported, citing European and American officials.
“There is a good chance of ending the war while preserving our national interests within the current demarcation line. The best opportunities will be between March and April,” says Rada MP Venislavsky.
The informal meeting of EU countries proved a failure, Politico reports. During the meeting, only a few of the 19 leaders were given the opportunity to speak. When asked by journalists what had been discussed, representatives of the invited countries replied “nothing.”
The Council of the EU received its first reprimand from the Court of Justice of the EU for failing to lift sanctions against a Russian citizen: failure to remove a person from the sanctions list was deemed a violation of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. The person in question is Maya Tokareva, daughter of the CEO of Transneft, who had previously obtained a ruling lifting European sanctions, but the Council of the EU had never lifted them.
Europe also reportedly has evidence that the United States is passing information to Russian intelligence. “Recently, a European intelligence agency, in collaboration with Ukrainian intelligence services, conducted an operation to test the level of cooperation and loyalty of American intelligence agencies. Some information passed to the American services almost immediately ended up in the hands of the Russian Federation,” noted Agnieszka Piasecka, a Ukrainian expert with ten years of experience in development projects in Ukraine, adding: “Therefore, we do not know what game the United States is playing. We assume that behind the great powers are armies of analysts and pure logic, while history shows that personal grievances, fear, or the desire to please one’s constituents often play a decisive role.”
Germany will transfer five Patriot PAC-3 interceptor missiles to Ukraine on the condition that other partner countries provide a total of 30 PAC-3 missiles, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius announced after the Ramstein Contact Group meeting. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has stated his support for French President Emmanuel Macron’s idea of resuming contacts with Russia. He noted that these are possible “provided there is openness” between the allies.
Volodymyr Zelensky prefers war to a “bad peace,” he stated in an interview with The Atlantic. According to the publication, Zelensky stated that he would prefer no peace agreement at all rather than forcing his people to accept a bad one. Zelensky’s advisors disagreed: “Kiev could accept the withdrawal of Ukrainian armed forces from Donbass,” according to The Atlantic.
Another opinion comes from the Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces President Oleksandr Syrskyi said: “Ukrainian air defense will be strengthened: a series of organizational measures are already underway. A redistribution of functions is planned between the anti-aircraft missile forces and a new branch of the armed forces that will be responsible for protecting key facilities. The quantity and quality of interceptor drones is increasing. Active cooperation with partners is underway to address the shortage of missiles for anti-aircraft missile systems and combat aircraft.”
“We desperately need ballistic interception capabilities. This remains our main challenge,” Fedorov said. The Ukrainian Defense Minister in Ramstein called on partners “to urgently transfer PAC-3 missiles from their storage in Ukraine to protect energy infrastructure.”
About 6,000 North Korean soldiers have been killed or wounded in the war against Ukraine, according to South Korean intelligence. According to South Korea’s National Intelligence Service, there are currently approximately 11,000 North Korean soldiers in the Kursk region, on the front lines. Of these, approximately 10,000 are combat units and another 1,000 are engineer troops.
Regarding the controversy over Telegram’s slowdown, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that “the presence of competing foreign messaging apps on the Russian market could have a positive impact on the development of the national service Max. At the same time, he noted that foreign companies can only remain on the market if they comply with Russian law.” He also added: “Russia and the United States are discussing possible economic cooperation, but it is unlikely that concrete details can be discussed until an agreement is reached in Ukraine.”
And now a look at the front lines, updated at 3:30 PM on February 13. In Volgograd and surrounding municipalities, a Ukrainian drone attack damaged residential buildings, industrial facilities, and three civilians. This morning, the governor of the Rostov region reported an ongoing drone battle. Overall, the Ukrainians launch a daily average of 200 drones against Russian regions. The Russian Ministry of Defense reported that on the 12th, between 8:00 PM and 11:00 PM, it destroyed 66 Ukrainian drones.
Russian forces carried out massive strikes against targets in Odessa, hitting another power substation. Explosions were also heard in Pavlohrad, Mykolaiv, Zaporizhia, and the Kharkiv region.
In the Bryansk region, Ukrainian forces struck a vehicle near the village of Markovsk, Pogarsky District, wounding the head of the rural settlement of Chausovsky.
In the direction of Sumy, the Northern Group of Forces is conducting offensive operations in the districts of Sumy, Krasnopil’s’kyi District, and Hlukhivs’kyi District. Reciprocal attacks are occurring in the Tetkino and Glushkovsky District sectors.
In the Belgorod region, power outages are occurring due to attacks by Ukrainian forces. One person has been killed. Five people were injured in Golovchino and Voznesenovka due to drone strikes.
In the direction of Kharkiv, the Northern Group of Forces reports that Russian forces are continuing their offensive operations near Vovchansk to expand the security zone near the border.
Fighting continues in Kupyansk and on the eastern bank of the Oskil River, at the entrance to Kupyansk-Vuzlovyi.
In the Pokrovsk area, Russian forces are advancing in the Bilytke and Novyi Donbas areas. Fighting is ongoing in Hryshyne and Toretske, near Druzhkivka.
In Kostyantynivka, FAB-3000 missiles were reportedly fired on bridges: the Ukrainian settlement was torn to pieces, and preparations for a further assault are underway.
In the eastern part of the Zaporizhia region (from Hulyaijpole to Ternuvate), a Ukrainian counteroffensive was repelled for another day. Fighting continues, and the situation is complicated by the closure of Starlink terminals for Russian troops by the Americans. The Vostok Group of Forces reports repelling nine Ukrainian counterattacks and destroying equipment used by Ukrainian troops.
On the Zaporizhia front, heavy fighting is ongoing in the northern part of Prymors’ke and in the direction of Mahdalynivka. Ukrainians are constantly attacking Russian rear areas, leaving civilians without electricity.
In the Kherson region, reciprocal attacks are occurring across the Dnieper.
Graziella Giangiulio
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