Overview
- In a BBC interview, Volodymyr Zelensky said Vladimir Putin has already set a wider conflict in motion and urged partners to stop trying to appease Moscow.
- Zelensky insists the next trilateral meeting "must not be empty" and tasked Rustem Umerov to coordinate with European, Turkish and Middle Eastern partners to secure concrete outcomes.
- Kyiv expects the next round in Geneva within ten days, whereas U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff projected roughly three weeks and suggested a possible Zelensky–Putin summit that could include President Trump.
- Zelensky said the U.S. side recognized Russia as the key reason for the lack of meaningful progress in the brief, difficult Geneva talks on Feb. 17–18.
- Ukraine tightened pressure on Moscow by announcing the foiling of assassination plots against Ukrainians and imposing sanctions on 225 ship captains involved in transporting Russian oil.