At the UN, the resolution on peace zones initiated by Kiev and European countries was successfully adopted, not the one proposed by the US. The US, together with Russia, will veto it in the Security Council. The United States does not support the UN General Assembly’s draft anti-Russian resolution on Ukraine and calls for its withdrawal,” the US representative said. China’s permanent representative to the UN announced the opening of a window for a peaceful solution in Ukraine.
The dialogue between the US and Russia is continuing, according to Kirill Dmitriev, the president’s special representative for foreign investment and economic cooperation: ‘Russia is open to Russian-American economic cooperation, it is crucial for increasing the stability of the global economy,’ the head of the RDIF said on the X social network.
President Donald Trump: ‘I’m in serious talks with Putin about ending the war, as well as about major economic development agreements that will take place between the US and Russia. The negotiations are going very well. Russia has resources that the US is interested in, particularly rare earth metals, President Trump reported.
Relations between the US and Ukraine are more tense, despite the US president’s words. Trump said he might meet Zelenskyj this week or next to sign a natural resources agreement. I hope Zelenskyj will come to the Oval Office to sign the peace. We could end the war in Ukraine in a few weeks,’ Trump said. The deal is in the works and I think we are very close to an agreement where we will get our money back within a certain period of time… We got $350 billion… and we had nothing to show for it. It’s the Biden administration’s fault.
And again Trump: ‘Ensuring the security of Ukraine after the resolution of the war will fall to European countries, I am not opposed to the deployment of European troops in Ukraine as peacekeepers’. Trump stated that the conflict in Ukraine could escalate into a third world war and that the US intends to prevent such an outcome, adding that: ‘the conflict in Ukraine will be resolved in the coming weeks’.
US Secretary of State Rubio said he hoped for a new meeting with the Russian Federation to see what they could do to stop the conflict in Ukraine.
EU representatives are set to conclude a minerals agreement with Kiev, writes Le Figaro. Twenty-one of the 30 critical minerals that Europe needs can be supplied by Ukraine in a mutually beneficial partnership,’ said European Commission vice-president Sejournet. Several EU countries have rejected the proposal for the new aid package for Ukraine made by EU foreign policy chief Kaya Callas because they do not want to spend more money on Kiev and take it out of their national budgets, Politico reports. France, Germany, Italy, Spain and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen did not support the proposal to confiscate frozen Russian assets in order to transfer funds to Ukraine, Politico writes, citing sources. According to the newspaper’s interlocutors, confiscating the funds could scare off international investors and the EU would lose its advantage in negotiations over the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.
Donald Trump, in a briefing after a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, denied Greek media reports about plans to close the base in Alexandroupolis, Greece, the Hellasjournal portal reported.
Kiev has begun to calculate the cost of reconstruction: ‘The reconstruction of Ukraine over the next 10 years will require USD 524 billion, Prime Minister Shmyhal said. According to the latest Ukrainian sources, Kiev will transfer 50 per cent of the revenues from natural resources to a reconstruction fund, of which Washington will be the sole beneficiary, according to the draft resource agreement between Ukraine and the US. It also states that the fund could amount to $500 billion. Kiev will continue to make contributions until this amount is reached. Washington expects Ukraine to contribute double the amount of future US financial assistance. Pentagon and Ukrainian sources told the Wall Street Journal that Ukraine could continue fighting without US military aid until the summer or next year at the latest. The aim is to give European and Ukrainian defence industries more time to ramp up production in the absence of an agreement to end the war, although without American help Kiev will be deprived of some of its most advanced defensive and offensive weapons.
The Ukrainian parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, at its second attempt, backed a resolution recognising that Zelenskiy must exercise his powers until the new president takes office.
On 25 February, Putin held a meeting on the development of the rare earths industry. We are talking about our strategic foundations for the future, a priority direction that today determines and will continue to determine the country’s global competitiveness, the pace of economic development and the quality of life of our citizens. It is important to focus all available development tools and mechanisms on solving the tasks set,’ Putin said. And again: “it is possible that the US-Ukraine agreement on resources does not concern Russia, it does not concern us”. Because ‘Russia has an order of magnitude more rare earth metals than Ukraine, Moscow is ready to offer them to interested partners’.
On the Ukrainian elections, Putin was clear in an interview with the Zarubin reporter: ‘Zelenskiy has no chance of winning the elections, they are nil, unless they are blatantly rigged’. Russia is not against the preservation of the Ukrainian state, but it is important that Ukrainian territory is not used to threaten Moscow.
Putin said that the next possible contacts between the Russian Federation and the United States would be devoted mainly to bilateral relations. Putin said that he had not yet discussed the settlement of the Ukrainian conflict with Trump and that he was ready to discuss with the US the possibility of cutting defence budgets by up to 50 per cent. Putin said that Xi Jinping had informed him that the ‘peace group’ on Ukraine would be meeting soon in New York.
And now a look at the updated front line at 4pm on 25 February. In the morning, Ukrainian social media channels reported the launch of Tu-95M missiles. During the night, Gerans were operating on Ukrainian territory and explosions were reported in Kiev, Žytomyr and the Dnipropetrovs’k region. According to a pro-Russian report: A missile attack was carried out today on the Ozernoye airbase in the Zhytomyr region, where MiG-29 and F-16AM fighters are based. Three missiles hit targets, one was shot down by air defence systems’.
During the day, Ukrainian drones were shot down over Crimea, the Black Sea and the territory of the Bryansk, Oryol, Kursk and Belgorod regions.
In the Kursk region, the Russian Northern Troops Group reports ‘a successful development of the Russian forces in Pogrebki and around the liberated Maryevka’. Fighting continues in Orlovka, Novaya Sorochina and Lebedevka. In addition, the Russian forces are advancing near Kurilovka, implementing the plan to cut off supplies to the Sudzhansky group of the Ukrainian armed forces.
In the direction of Lyman, we are receiving data on the advance of our troops near Makiivka (LPR).
Near Pokrovs’k the fighting continues along the same line. The attack on Kostyantynopil’ continues after the successes of the Russian forces in Andriivka.
North of Velyka Novosilka and after the capture of Novoocheretuvate, according to social sources, the Russian forces are increasing the pace of their advance, leveling the front.
Towards Zaporizhia. Soldiers of the 247th are taking P’yatykhatky and advancing towards Lobkove and Stepove. The fighters are currently expanding the bridgehead to consolidate positions and counter Ukrainian counter-attacks.
Six Ukrainian attacks on villages in the Belgorod region were reported.
In the DPR, one person died as a result of attacks by Ukrainian forces and ten more civilians were injured in Horlivka. Homes, power lines and infrastructure have been damaged.
Graziella Giangiulio
Follow our updates on Geopolitical Gleanings - Spigolature geopolitiche: https://t.me/agc_NW and on our blog The Gleanings of AGCNEWS - Le Spigolature di AGCNEWS: https://spigolatureagcnews.blogspot.com/
