Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky hosts Donald Trump’s envoy Keith Kellogg in Kyiv, February 20, 2025 (Andrew Kravchenko/Bloomberg/Getty)

EA on Pat Kenny Show: Trump’s 1st Month of Damage

Thursday’s Coverage: Zelensky Calls Out Trump “Living in His Disinformation Bubble”

Map: Institute for the Study of War

UPDATE 1952 GMT:

Undoing the positive statement by his envoy Keith Kellogg (see 1545 GMT), Donald Trump has again insulted Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Trump told Fox Radio that Zelensky does not need to be involved in negotiations:

I don’t think he’s very important to be at meetings, to be honest with you.

When Zelensky said, “Oh, he wasn’t invited to a meeting,” I mean, it wasn’t a priority because he did such a bad job in negotiating so far.

UPDATE 1939 GMT:

Anticipating the lifting of US sanctions by the Trump Administration, Vladimir Putin has told his Cabinet to prepare for the return of Western companies, saying Russian firms should have “certain advantages” over those re-entering the market.

Putin declared during a speech at the Future Technologies Forum, “External problems, sanctions, with all the challenges and difficulties for us, have played an important stimulating role.”

UPDATE 1558 GMT:

US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz has declared, to the Conservative Political Action Conference, that Ukraine will soon agree to hand over rare earth minerals to the Trump Administration.

Well, look, here’s the bottom line. President Zelensky is going to sign that deal, and you will see that in the very short term.

And that is good for Ukraine. What better could you have for Ukraine than to be in an economic partnership with the United States?

He insisted, “Under Trump this war will end, and it will end soon….By the end of this all, we are going to have the Nobel Peace Prize sitting next to the name of Donald J. Trump.”

UPDATE 1545 GMT:

In sharp contrast to the vitriol from the Trump Administration against Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky, Donald Trump’s envoy Keith Kellogg has responded to Zelensky’s post about their meeting with praise:

Speculation had arisen that Kellogg had been silenced by the Administration when he cancelled a joint press conference with Zelensky on Thursday.

UPDATE 1346 GMT:

Vladimir Milov, Russia’s former Deputy Energy Minister, says Kremlin officials are surprised by Donald Trump’s quick capitulation to Vladimir Putin over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

The Kremlin had expected Trump would make certain demands and was “preparing some sort of offers here and there to make what they call a deal”, said Milov.

Speaking from Vilnius, Lithuania, Milov said:

Everybody in Moscow is totally astonished by now that they were given all the concessions they wanted, even before the negotiations started

This is a shocking result, even by Vladimir Putin’s standards.

UPDATE 1335 GMT:

More than 130 Ukrainian civil society organizations have said it is not possible to hold elections during Russia’s invasion and martial law.

“The legitimacy of the Ukrainian government is the exclusive prerogative of the Ukrainian people,” the joint statement explained.

Amplifying Kremlin propaganda, Donald Trump has said Ukraine President Zelensky is a “dictator” and lied that Zelensky has a 4% approval rating.

Ukraine was set to hold the Presidential vote in May 2024, but its Constitution does not allow elections in wartime.

Almost 70% of Ukrainians believe that Zelensky should remain in office until the next elections can be held after the end of martial law.

UPDATE 1322 GMT:

Poland’s President Andrzej Duda has pressed Ukraine counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky to work with the Trump Administration despite its hostile remarks about Zelensky and Ukrainian and European security.

The Trump camp has heaped praise on Poland, hoping to separate it from other countries in the European Union. The nominee for US Ambassador, Thomas Rose, is a hard-right activist who pushed disinformation by Trump and Elon Musk — including the effort to break up US agencies.

Duda told Zelensky in a “candid conversation” that “there is no other way to stop the bloodshed and achieve lasting peace in Ukraine except with the support of the United States”.

For this reason, I suggested to President Zelenskyy to remain committed to the course of calm and constructive cooperation with Donald Trump. I trust that good will and honesty form the foundation of the US negotiation strategy. I have no doubt that President Trump is guided by a deep sense of responsibility for global stability and peace.

Duda will see Donald Trump in the White House on Saturday.

UPDATE 0931 GMT:

Amid direct US-Russia talks over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, the communiqué from the G7 nations — the US, France, Italy, Germany, Canada, Japan, and the UK — has been watered down.

The US delegation has blocked any reference to “Russian aggression” (see Original Entry), but there are more significant changes with respect to policy.

The updated communiqué removed the clause that countries will instruct their finance ministers to “limit or adjust the price cap on Russian oil in an attempt to push Moscow into negotiations”.

The G7 set the price ceiling for Russian oil at $60 per barrel in December 2022. Two months later, restrictions on $100 per barrel for diesel fuel and $45 per barrel for fuel oil came into effect.

The revised draft also removed mention of “long-term security guarantees” such as deployment of troops and “credible international control over the observance of the agreed [demarcation] lines”.

The new draft merely says, “Credible guarantees of Ukraine’s security and integration into the EU will be crucial to ensuring a lasting peace that will prevent future aggression.”

UPDATE 0913 GMT:

A Financial Times investigation concludes that Russia’s executions of Ukrainian prisoners of war “point to a systematic policy“.

Amid a sharp increase in the executions in 2024, FT and experts from the Center for Information Resilience analyzed footage to confirm that Russian forces were carrying out the executions.

Ukraine’s authorities have documented Russia’s execution of 177 captured Ukrainian soldiers as of mid-December 2024. The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine reported the significant increase, with 79 executions recorded in 24 separate incidents since last August.

The number of mass killings is a conservative estimate, because many Ukrainian units do not publish information about executions as “it has become routine”.

Ukrainian officials opened investigations into 43 executions with 109 victims in 2024. FT analyzed footage of 30 of these instances with 133 victims.

UPDATE 0900 GMT:

The Trump Administration has given Kyiv an “improved” draft agreement on Ukraine’s provision of rare earth minerals to the US, say a “US official and three sources with knowledge”.

“A source with knowledge” said several aides of Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky have encouraged him to sign the updated proposal, avoiding a further clash with Donald Trump and enabling him to justify US support for Ukraine.

“There was significant improvement in the recent draft and it is in conformity with Ukrainian law,” the source said.

UPDATE 0851 GMT:

Tuesday’s direct US-Russia talks on Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine were preceded by months of informal discussions, say “three sources with knowledge of the matter”.

The back-channel contacts developed after Donald Trump’s victory in the US Presidential election last November. The participants have diplomatic and security experience but were not government officials.

Some Trump advisors were aware of the contacts. It is unclear if Ukrainians were present and what topics were discussed.

UPDATE 0812 GMT:

Ahead of his meeting on Monday with Donald Trump in Washington, French President Emmanuel Macron has said, “I’m going to tell him, ‘You can’t be weak with President Putin. That’s not who you are, it’s not your trademark, it’s not in your interest.'”

Macron said Europe needs a “massive defense plan” to face Russia’s growing threat as a “dangerous military power that has become imperialist”. He said Russia has “globalized” the war in Ukraine by bringing in North Korean troops, and a worldwide conflict is not off the table.

Macron and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who is in Washington on Thursday, are proposing that members of NATO deploy troops in western Ukraine to protect air defenses, energy infrastructure, and facilities such as drone manufacturing plants.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky posted on Thursday night:

UPDATE 0803 GMT:

House Speaker Mike Johnson has ruled out further US aid to Ukraine.

Johnson told the Trumpist outlet Newsmax on Thursday, “We have to bring (the war) to an end. And I can tell you that our European allies understand the necessity as well. It’s on too long.”

He praised Donald Trump as “the brute force” amid direct US-Russia talks.

UPDATE 0745 GMT:

At least 12 civilians have been killed and at least six injured by Russian attacks across Ukraine over the past day.

Seven people were slain in the Donetsk region in the east, two in Dnipropetrovsk in south-central Ukraine, and two in Kherson and one in Zaporizhzhia in the south.

Air defenses downed 87 of 160 drones launched by Russia overnight. Another 70 were lost to electronic counter-measures.

Russian forces also fired two Iskander-M/KN-23 ballistic missiles against the Odesa region in southern Ukraine.

UPDATE 0738 GMT:

China has pulled back from its call for Ukraine and Europe to be included in talks to end Russia’s invasion.

Speaking at the G20 meeting in Johannesburg, South Africa, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Beijing supports Donald Trump’s direct approach to Russia. He did not reiterate his supportive message, in conversations with European counterparts, at last week’s Munich Security Conference.

“China supports all efforts conducive to peace, including the recent consensus reached between the United States and Russia,” Wang said. “China is willing to continue playing a constructive role in the political resolution of the crisis.”

Wang met Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on the sidelines of the G20, and said relations between their two countries were “moving towards a higher level and broader dimension”.

Lavrov said he and Wang will soon meet in Moscow.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky says a meeting with Donald Trump’s envoy Keith Kellogg in Kyiv “restores hope” amid Trump’s threat to support Vladimir Putin’s three-year invasion, including direct US talks with Russia.

But Trump and his unelected co-President Elon Musk continued their lies and insults of Zelensky and Ukraine on Thursday.

In his nightly video address to the nation, Zelensky said:

Significantly, Kellogg — who was excluded from the US-Russia talks in Riyadh last Tuesday — cancelled the joint press conference after the meeting. He made no public comment.

Musk Rants as Trump Administration Demands Handover of Minerals

Meanwhile, Musk launched a tirade against Zelensky, reinforcing Trump’s falsehoods that the President is a “dictator” who is supported by “4%” of Ukrainians.

Using his platform X, Musk lied that Zelensky is “despised by the people of Ukraine” and would lose an election if the country held one.

In fact, Zelensky’s approval rating is still 57% despite Ukraine still enduring Russia’s attacks and mass killings. Trump’s has slipped to 48.5% since his inauguration on January 20, while his disapproval rating has risen to 46.7% from 41.5%.

Facing facts from readers in X’s Community Notes correcting his lies, Musk vowed to “fix” the feature.

Musk’s rant and Kellogg’s cancellation of the joint press conference came as Trump Administration officials demanded that Ukraine hand over $500 billion of rare earth minerals sought by Trump.

Zelensky has rejected a US draft proposal, presented by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent last week, as it was “not ready,” drafted under US law, and offered inadequate compensation.

National Security Advisor Mike Waltz told Fox TV that Ukraine should “tone it down, take a hard look and sign that deal”.

He insisted that Ukrainian comments on the agreement and how Trump is carrying out talks over Russia’s invasion are unacceptable, Waltz said, given everything the US has done for Ukraine.

But this could be overcome as Trump “also said how much he loves the Ukrainian people”.

Echoing Trump’s falsehood, Treasury Secretary Bessent said, “President Zelensky, when I met with him, assured me he would be signing the minerals deal in Munich [last weekend]. He has not”.

He proclaimed that the handover of the minerals, in return for past US aid, was Trump’s “very elegant plan” to “bring the Ukrainians closer to the US”, but has now turned into “a media circus”.

Other officials said Administration may pursue a “simplified” deal and later negotiate detailed terms, such as the extent of US ownership, say “two people with knowledge of the matter”.

US Blocks Condemnation of Russian “Aggression”

In an interview at the Conservative Political Action Conference, Vice President J.D. Vance defended the exclusion of Ukraine and Europe from the US-Russia talks:

I think with president Trump, what makes him such an effective negotiator, and I have seen this in private, is that he does not take anything off the table … Everything is on the table. And of course that makes the heads explode in America because they say: “Why are you talking to Russia?”

As part of those “effective” negotiations, the US is refusing to condemn Russia’s invasion.

At the United Nations, the American delegation will not co-sponsor a resolution to mark the third anniversary of the full-scale assault. The resolution condemns Russian aggression and reaffirms Ukraine’s sovereignty and pre-2014 international borders, before Russia annexed Crimea and pursued “hybrid warfare” with special forces, disinformation, and sabotage to split eastern Ukraine from the rest of the country.

The White House is blocking a similar statement from the G7 nations — the US, France, Italy, Germany, Japan, Canada, and the UK. Trump’s envoys are objecting to the phrase “Russian aggression” and have not agree to allow Zelenskyy to address leaders by video.