For today, links to 12 reports: from the Associated Press, Kyiv Post, Reuters, Agence France-Presse, the Kyiv Independent, National Public Radio, and the Moscow Times, and to commentary from Reuters; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (SYRIA, IRAN, LEBANON, GAZA and WEST BANK entries for this date are HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE, or scroll up. UKRAINE 2-18-25 entry including map is HERE, or scroll down.) — MCM
– – –
Trump is living in a Russian-made ‘disinformation space,’ says Ukraine’s Zelenskyy, by Justin Spike and Hanna Arhirova | AP KYIV — Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said today U.S. President Donald Trump is living in a Russian-made “disinformation space” as a result of his administration’s discussions with Kremlin officials — and said he “would . . . READ MORE . . . Click HERE for report from Kyiv Post.
– – –
Zelenskiy on U.S. minerals deal: ‘I can’t sell Ukraine.’ From Reuters. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has rejected US demands for billions in mineral wealth from Ukraine to repay Washington for wartime aid, saying America had supplied nowhere near that sum sought and offered no specific security guarantees in the agreement. READ MORE . . .
– – –
U.S. Ukraine envoy Kellogg arrives in Kyiv ahead of talks with Zelensky. From AFP. U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine arrived in Kyiv today ahead of a planned meeting with officials and President Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukrainian media reported. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for report from the Kyiv Independent.
– – –
FROM FEB. 18 Russia and U.S. agree to work toward ending Ukraine war in a remarkable diplomatic shift, by Matthew Lee and Dasha Litvinova | AP RIYADH — Russia and the U.S. agreed Tuesday to start working toward ending the war in Ukraine and improving their diplomatic and economic ties, the two countries’ top diplomats said after talks that . . . READ MORE . . . Click HERE, HERE and HERE for second AP report, and reports from Reuters and NPR.
– – –
Russian air defenses down Ukrainian MiG-29 fighter jet over past day. From Tass. MOSCOW — Russian air defense forces shot down a Ukrainian MiG-29 fighter jet over the past day in the special military operation in Ukraine, Russia’s Defense Ministry said today in a broader statement. READ MORE . . .
– – –
What have U.S. sanctions on Russia achieved since the war in Ukraine began? Michel Martin of NPR talks with Edward Fishman, author of Chokepoints: American Power in the Age of Economic Warfare, three years after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began. What have U.S. sanctions achieved? Click HERE to listen and, later, read, and HERE for analysis via the Moscow Times.
– – –
Major risks loom as Trump upends U.S. Russia policy, by Matt Spetalnick | Reuters WASHINGTON — When Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine nearly three years ago, then-U.S. President Joe Biden took a firm stand in solidarity with Kyiv, forged a bulwark of European allies and set veteran advisers to isolating Moscow economically and . . . READ MORE . . .
.