Have you missed the latest events on the war in Ukraine? 20 Minutes Get the point for you every night. Between strong statements, advances on the front and the results of the fighting, here is the essentials of this Monday, February 17, 2025, 1,090th day of war.
The fact of the day
The announcement had the effect of a small bomb on the international scene. The United States and Russia confirmed on Monday the holding of a meeting between some of their leaders on Tuesday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. These talks seem to be intended to restore relations between Moscow and Washington, by officially posing the beginnings of negotiations on Ukraine and a meeting between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump.
“Putin and Trump agreed on the need to leave the absolutely abnormal relationships behind them. The presidents decided that the dialogue must resume, “said Sergei Lavrov, the head of Russian diplomacy on Monday, confirming his presence in Riyadh. “I do not think we should see something that will be detailed or as an advance towards a sort of negotiation,” said the spokesperson for the US State Department, Tammy Bruce.
Fearing that Europe be excluded from the negotiating table, the French president Emmanuel Macron has in a hurry this informal mini-summit with a dozen leaders from European countries, the European Union and NATO, including the British Keir Starmer, Polish Donald Tusk and Italian Giorgia Meloni. Just before welcoming them, he spoke about twenty minutes on the phone with Donald Trump, according to his entourage, without specifying the content of this exchange.
“Europe’s security is a turning point,” reacted the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, upon her arrival in Paris. Yes, this is Ukraine, but it is also we who are concerned. We need an emergency state of mind. »»
The Declaration of the Day
« “Ukraine considers negotiations on Ukraine without Ukraine as being without result (…) We will not recognize such agreements” »
The lyrics are signed Volodymyr Zelensky. As surprising as it may seem, the Ukrainian president claims not to have been officially informed of talks between American and Russian ministers on Tuesday in Ryad. Quoted by the Interfax-Ukraine agency, Volodymyr Zelensky assures that it “will not recognize” any agreement concluded without it on its future. “Ukraine will not participate” in these negotiations and “did not know” their outfit in Saudi Arabia, he said Zelensky.
The figure of the day
90. This is the number of Ukrainian drones that Russia said on Monday having killed on the night of Sunday to Monday, including almost forty over the Azov Sea. An anti -navire cruise missile Neptune was also intercepted, without reporting victims.
The drones were destroyed in eight regions, including 38 above the Azov Sea, 24 in the Krasnodar region (southwest of Russia) and 15 above the Crimean Peninsula, annexed by Moscow in 2014.
Russia almost announces every day “neutralize” Ukrainian drones launched against its territory. kyiv says it leads these strikes, which often target energy sites, in response to Russian bombings that mourn Ukraine.
The trend
Like Germany, Spain estimated on Monday that it was “too early” to discuss the sending of its troops to Ukraine, while the United Kingdom said it was ready to send soldiers as force peacekeeping in the country.
“It is too early for the moment to talk about the deployment of troops in Ukraine. There is currently no peace “and the objective of diplomacy” must be to achieve it as soon as possible, “Foreign Affairs Minister José Manuel Albares said at a press conference. “When we have peace, then we will have to see what conditions it requires. When we talk about the deployment of armed forces, it is necessary to see what their mission is, which can constitute it, under which flag, with what mandate, “he added.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he was ready on Sunday to send soldiers to Ukraine if necessary, in order to “contribute to security guarantees” for this country. He also called on Europeans to play a more important role in NATO.
Germany has said it judged “prematurely” the discussions on sending possible troops to Ukraine, believing that it was necessary to wait “to see if and how peace, as we hope, is established in Ukraine” .
(tagstranslate) War in Ukraine (T) News (T) Russia (T) World (T) United States (T) Vladimir Putin (T) Volodyr Zelensky (T) Sergei Lavrov (T) Washington (T) Saudi Arabia
