Here are the key developments on the 1,097th day of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Here is the situation on Tuesday, February 25:
Fighting
Politics and diplomacy
- Russia’s Human Rights Commissioner Tatyana Moskalkova said Moscow and Kyiv reached an agreement with the Red Cross to evacuate residents from the occupied Russian region of Kursk.
- The United Kingdom posted a notice on its government website announcing 67 new sanctions against Russia. The targets include global companies supplying to the Russian military and extending the regime on shipping by 40 vessels.
- Washington and Moscow officials are scheduled to meet again in Saudi Arabia, the AFP news agency reported citing an anonymous diplomatic source. Senior US and Russian officials met in Riyadh last week to discuss an end to the war.
- Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said it has submitted a new claim against Russia at the International Criminal Court (ICC) over the arbitrary arrest and deportation of 19 Ukrainian journalists.
- The European Union’s foreign ministers adopted a 16th package of sanctions against Russia. The targets include cryptocurrency exchange for the first time and a ban on third-country airlines that continue operations in Russia.
- The United States twice sided with Russia in votes at the United Nations, highlighting Washington’s change of stance on the war. The two countries opposed a European-drafted resolution, passed by the UN General Assembly, condemning Russia and supporting Ukraine’s territorial integrity, but pushed a US-drafted resolution through at the UN Security Council calling for an end to the conflict but refraining from criticism of Russia.
- US President Donald Trump said he would meet his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, as early as this week to sign the rare earth deal in exchange for US aid. Kremlin correspondent Pavel Zarubin said Russia was not concerned about the US-Ukraine deal on rare earth elements.
- President Vladimir Putin said Russia was not opposed to Europe’s involvement in peace talks. However, he noted that Brussels had previously declined to engage in dialogue with Russia.
