For today, links to 10 reports: from the Anadolu Agency, Tass, the Kyiv Independent, CNN, the Associated Press and National Public Radio, and to commentary from Common Dreams via Popular Resistance; others are accessible by clicking on their names below. (IRAN, WEST BANK, LEBANON and GAZA entries for this date are HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE. UKRAINE 2-15-25 entry is HERE.) — MCM
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‘From now on, we will talk about peace, not war’: Kremlin says following Putin-Trump phone call, by Zehra Nur Celik | Anadolu Agency ANKARA — Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said today the recent phone conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump represents a shift toward prioritizing peace in Moscow-Washington relations, according to the Russian state news agency Tass. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for report from Tass.
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Russian drone strikes hit power plant in Mykolaiv, leaving 100,000 Ukrainians without heat. From the Kyiv Independent. Russian air strikes early today shook southern Ukraine, leaving over 100,000 residents in Mykolaiv Oblast without heat, President Volodymyr Zelensky said. READ MORE . . .
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Top Trump officials set to meet with senior Russian officials to begin Ukraine talks, by Betsy Klein, Samantha Waldenberg, Jennifer Hansler and Mariya Knight | CNN Top Trump administration officials — National security adviser Mike Waltz, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Middle East envoy Steve Witkof — are expected to meet in Saudi Arabia soon with senior Russian officials to begin talks aimed at ending the war in Ukraine, sources say. READ MORE . . .
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FROM FEB. 15 Kellogg calls for sanctions against Russia’s shadow fleet, concessions from Ukraine to end war, by Dmytro Basmat and news desk | The Kyiv Independent The U.S. should implement additional sanctions on Russia’s “shadow fleet,” while also calling for concessions from Russia and Ukraine, to secure a peace deal, President Trump’s special envoy, Keith Kellogg said Saturday at at the Munich Security Conference. READ MORE . . .
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Ukraine de-occupies Pishchane, repels Russians: AFU. From Kyiv Post. Ukrainian counterattacks in the Pokrovsk sector successfully liberated the village of Pishchane in the Donetsk region from Russian occupation forces, according to a Ukrainian Armed Forces spokesperson. READ MORE . . .
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In Ukraine, a potential arms-for-minerals deal inspires hope and skepticism, by Samya Kullab and Hanna Arhirova | AP KIROVOHRAD REGION, Ukraine — The mineral ilmenite is extracted from mounds of sand deep in the earth and refined using a method that summons the force of gravity, resulting in a substance that glimmers like a moonlit sky. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for second AP report.
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FROM FEB. 15 Ukraine is a big topic at Munich Security Conference. Reported by Rob Schmitz and Andrew Limbong | NPR Top U.S. officials are in Germany for the annual Munich Security Conference, where the war in Ukraine is a major topic of discussion. Click HERE to listen and read.
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Finnish leader urges Europe to firm up Ukraine’s hand for U.S.-sought talks with Russia to end war, by Emma Burrows | AP MUNICH — Finland’s president today urged the rearming of Ukraine and putting “maximum pressure on Russia” through sanctions and asset freezes in the run-up to possible negotiations . . . READ MORE . . .
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FROM FEB. 14 Trump Wants Peace in Ukraine, But Why Not in Gaza? by Medea Benjamin and Nicolas J. S. Davies | Common Dreams / Consortium News / Popular Resistance As we approach the third anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a monumental shift is taking place that might just lead to the end of this calamitous war, owing to a stark reversal of the U.S. position from being the major supplier of weapons and funding to prolong the war to one of peacemaker. Meanwhile . . . READ MORE . . .