Putin says Trump must go harder on Europe and Ukraine; must move faster; he promised 24 hours; won’t meet with Trump until Trump is ready for serious results; the cause of the war is NATO
Putin: I’m surprised by Trump’s restraint toward allies who behaved rudely 0/
Putin: The U.S. is working with European allies on Ukraine to reach solutions acceptable to both sides. It’s not an easy task.
When Trump was a candidate, he spoke about resolving the Ukraine crisis quickly. But after becoming president and receiving more information, his position changed. 1/
Putin: I haven’t seen Donald in a long time. We don’t have a close relationship, but during his presidency, we met and discussed U.S.-Russia relations. I’d gladly meet him again today.
I think he would too - it was clear from our phone call. But just meeting for coffee isn’t enough. Our teams need to prepare serious issues that matter to both Russia and the U.S. 2/
Putin: There are many issues where both the U.S. and Russia are involved.
Of course, Ukraine remains our top priority. 3/
Putin: It’s natural - Trump started receiving real information, and it changed his approach. That takes time. I want to meet, but the meeting must be prepared to bring real results. 4/
Putin: Trump was accused of ties to Russia, dragged through courts - nothing was proven because nothing happened.
Meanwhile, European leaders openly interfered in the U.S. election, even insulting a candidate. We had our sympathies but didn’t interfere. 5/
Putin: We don’t speculate on Euro-Atlantic relations, but Europe, as U.S. allies, is to blame for what’s happening.
They dragged him through courts, accused him of ties to Russia, while every European leader directly interfered in the U.S. election. 6X
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Former MI6 Chief Moore: If we don't stand up to Putin and ensure that he does not win in Ukraine, then his stomach will grow with the eating.
He may test Europe in other ways. We have to stick by the Ukrainians. 1/
Moore: Behind Putin is Xi Jinping and the Chinese government.
Putin would have already have lost were it not for the Chinese support that he has garnered. Making sure that the Ukrainians win through in the end is absolutely vital. 2/
Moore: Putin is more comfortable than he should be. The casualties now are astonishing and even the Russians will struggle to replace that level of losses.
Putin has completely mortgaged the Russian economy to the war effort. 3/
FT: Ukraine plans to announce elections on February 24 after the US told Kyiv to hold them by May 15 — or risk losing proposed US security guarantees.
At the same time, the Zelenskyy Office says elections are impossible without proper security conditions. 1/
According to the FT, Kyiv is considering holding presidential elections alongside a national referendum on any peace deal with Russia.
Ukrainian and Western officials familiar with the discussions confirm active planning. 2/
The May 15 deadline comes amid White House pressure to finalize a peace framework by June.
Zelenskyy said on February 9 that Washington wants a “clear schedule” and aims to close the war before US midterm campaigning intensifies in November. 3/
Russia knows it can’t create a second Ukrainian SSR. Its goal is the destruction of Ukraine — “Novorossiya,” LNR/DNR, “Malorossiya.”
Signs of genocide are clear, including deporting children, Ukrainian Institute of National Memory head Oleksandr Alfyorov for Ukrainska Pravda.1/
Alfyorov: “In Ukraine, Russia needs only two resources: history and children.”
Russia uses history as a weapon — through “Novorossiya,” “LNR,” “DNR,” “Malorossiya,” and the myth of a “fight against Nazism” to justify occupation and erase Ukrainian statehood.
2/
Alfyorov: “Russians violate territories with their markers and people.”
They glorify Soviet generals, invent imperial continuity, and turn memory into a tool that normalizes war, borders, and violence.
3/
IOC banned Ukrainian skeleton racer from wearing helmet with faces of athletes killed by Russia at the Olympics.
Vladyslav Heraskevych: "The IOC is betraying those athletes who were part of the Olympic movement, not allowing them to be honored" — The Telegraph. 1/
Heraskevych wore the helmet at Cortina d'Ampezzo.
On it: figure skater Dmytro Sharpar, killed defending Bakhmut in 2023. Weightlifter Alina Peregudova, 14, killed with her mother by russian shelling in Mariupol in 2022. Strongman Pavlo Ishchenko, killed in combat in 2025. 2/
Also: ice hockey player Oleksiy Loginov. Biathlete Yevhen Malyshev, killed in the Battle of Kharkiv in 2022.
Heraskevych: "Some of them were my friends. Despite precedents when the IOC allowed such tributes, this time they decided to set special rules just for Ukraine." 3/
Chris Wright, US Energy sec.: Russia is funding its war by selling oil, gas and coal. Europe is the biggest buyers of Russian oil and natural gas to this day.
Trump is saying you’re helping fund this war machine, so we’re going to stop large buyers. 1/
Chris Wright: What’s India doing right now? It’s looking to buy more oil from the United States, probably more from Venezuela and other sources.
One way to help end the war in Ukraine is to starve the Russian war machine. 2X