Here is the situation on Monday, February 17:

Fighting

• At least four people were killed by Ukrainian drone strikes in two separate incidents in Russia’s Belgorod region, regional Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said. In one incident, a woman was killed instantly by an attack on the car she was travelling in. Three men were later killed in a similar attack.
• More Ukrainian drone attacks later injured one person and damaged 12 houses in Russia’s Krasnodar region, said Governor Veniamin Kondratyev.
• Moscow’s Ministry of Defence said nine Ukrainian drones were shot down over the Sea of Azov and Russia’s southern region of Krasnodar.
• The Ukrainian military said Russia launched 143 drones in an overnight attack, out of which 95 were shot down. A further 46 failed to reach their targets, the air force said.
• At least one person was injured, and a critical infrastructure building caught fire, in southern Ukraine’s Mykolaiv due to overnight Russian attacks, said the region’s Governor Vitaliy Kim. Several houses in Kyiv were also damaged, the State Emergency Service said.
• A thermal power plant was damaged in the attacks on Mykolaiv, leaving tens of thousands of people without heating in below-freezing temperatures, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said at least 100,000 people were without power.

• According to Ukraine’s military, Russian forces intensified their attacks in eastern Ukraine, mainly targeting the logistics hub of Pokrovsk. The military said it recorded 261 clashes within 24 hours.
• Viktor Tregubov, a spokesperson for Ukrainian troops in the Pokrovsk area, said Kyiv reclaimed a mining village near the city. “A number of counterattacks by Ukrainian forces have had some success,” he said, adding that they could “already talk about the liberation of the village of Pishchane”.
• Moldova said two Russian drones violated the country’s airspace again, just days after the Russian ambassador was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs over a similar incident.

Politics and diplomacy

• Zelenskyy said he had instructed his ministers not to sign an agreement with the United States to supply rare earth minerals in exchange for previous and future US aid. He told The Associated Press news agency that the agreement did not protect Ukraine’s interests.
• White House National Security Council spokesperson Brian Hughes, without confirming the offer made to Kyiv, said Zelenskyy was being “short-sighted” about the matter and that a minerals deal would allow US taxpayers to “recoup” previous aid while also growing Ukraine’s economy.
• Zelenskyy warned that Russia would “wage war” on NATO should US President Donald Trump scale back support for the military alliance. He also said Trump had the leverage to push Russian President Vladimir Putin into ceasefire talks, but said Putin should never be trusted.
• Reuters reported that the US asked European allies what they required from Washington to participate in Ukraine’s security arrangements. According to the news agency, the demarche had six points and questions asking which countries would contribute to the guarantees and which allies would be willing to deploy troops to Kyiv.
• US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the upcoming days would determine Putin’s seriousness about peace in Ukraine, adding that he spoke with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov regarding what he described as the difficult operating conditions of the US Embassy in Moscow.
• Rubio also said the process towards peace could not be completed with just one meeting and that it would not be easy. While talks have been scheduled between Russia and the US in Saudi Arabia, Rubio said he was not sure who Moscow was sending and added “nothing has been finalised yet”.

• Zelenskyy said he would reject any peace agreement between the US and Russia that did not include Kyiv’s input.
• Ukrainian First Deputy Minister of Economic Development, Trade and Agriculture Yulia Svyrydenko said a delegation travelled to Saudi Arabia for meetings before a possible Zelenskyy visit. According to the minister, the delegation would focus on strengthening economic ties as Kyiv “prepares to sign important economic agreements with countries in the region”.
• Zelenskyy announced that he arrived in the United Arab Emirates for talks on the repatriation of captured Ukrainians, investment and economic cooperation.
• French President Emmanuel Macron said he spoke on the phone with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to discuss Saudi Arabia’s role in the Russia-Ukraine peace talks and what role Europe should play.
• German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Europeans would not support any peace process that supports the demilitarisation of Ukraine. “Ukraine must remain a democratic, sovereign nation – no decisions can be made over their heads,” he said.
• Trump said he could meet with Putin “very soon” to discuss Russia’s war on Ukraine. He also said he believes the Russian and Ukrainian presidents want to see an end to fighting.
• Russian newspaper Kommersant reported that the US and Russia would hold talks in Saudi Arabia over the war in Ukraine on Tuesday.
• British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he was prepared to send troops to Kyiv and contribute to security guarantees if it became necessary to protect his country and Europe’s security.