Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump in the White House, Washington D.C., February 28, 2025 (CNN)

Wednesday’s Coverage: NATO’s “Unwavering” Support for Kyiv

Map: Institute for the Study of War

UPDATE 1802 GMT:

Germany has delivered a new package of military assistance, including 4 IRIS-T air defense systems and missiles for Patriot systems, to Ukraine.

The aid also includes 120 IGLA man-portable air defense missiles; 66 Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles; Kinetic Defense Vehicles; 38,000 more rounds of Gepard anti-aircraft ammunition; 27,000 more rounds of 155 mm shells and 1,000 additional rounds of 122 mm ammunition; 70 Vector reconnaissance drones; 150 HF-1 armed drones; 10 surface drones; and other vehicles and equipment.

The support brings Germany’s total military aid to Ukraine to approximately €28 billion during Russia’s full-scale invasion.

UPDATE 1756 GMT:

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky says Donald Trump’s envoy, real estate developer Steve Witkoff, is spreading Russian propaganda and overstepping his authority by promoting the handover of Ukrainian territory to the Kremlin.

At a press briefing in Kyiv on Thursday, Zelensky reiterated that Ukraine will not negotiate away its territory. Witkoff has said the resolution of Russia’s 38-month invasion should be the recognition of Moscow’s control of four regions — Donetsk and Luhansk in the east and Zaporizhzhia and Kherson in the south — as well as the Crimea peninsula.

Zelensky said:

I believe Mr. Witkoff has adopted the strategy of the Russian side. Consciously or not, he is spreading Russian narratives. Either way, it does not help. And I do not see any mandate for him to speak about Ukrainian territories. These lands belong to our people, to our nation, and to the future generations of Ukrainians.

UPDATE 1747 GMT:

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky says Kyiv’s forces have killed around 200 Russian soldiers and injured 30 others, destroying 115 units of military equipment, near Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region in the east of the country.

Zelensky said the National Guard had repelled yet another Russian attack in its nine-month offensive to seize the logistics hub.

The massive attack near Pokrovsk involved Russian armored combat vehicles and motorcycles, as well as about two companies, said a Ukrainian military spokesperson.

UPDATE 1104 GMT:

Meetings among officials from Ukraine, UK, France, Germany, and the US are underway in Paris.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Donald Trump’s envoy, real estate developer Steve Witkoff, lead the American delegation.

Ukraine Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha posted:

UPDATE 1005 GMT:

The Trump Administration has voted against a UN General Assembly resolution for cooperation between the UN and the Council of Europe.

The resolution, put forward by Luxembourg and Lithuania, passed 105-9 with 33 abstentions.

The US was allied with Russia, Belarus, North Korea, Nicaragua, Niger, Sudan, Mali, and Eritrea.

Jonathan Shrier of the American delegation declared, “The current resolution repeats statements as to the Russia-Ukraine war that the United States considers unhelpful in advancing the cause of peace.”

He also denounced the Global Compacts on Migration and on Refugees, invoking the rhetoric of Vice President J.D. Vance assailing Europe at the Munich Security Conference in February.

UPDATE 0851 GMT:

Ukraine’s air defenses downed 25 of 75 drones launched by Russia overnight, and another 30 were lost to electronic counter-measures.

The Russians also fired two Iskander-M ballistic missiles and three S-300/400 surface-to-air guided missiles.

UPDATE 0833 GMT:

The European Union has failed to agree a ban on imports of Russian liquified natural gas and has shelved the proposal, say EU officials.

Opposition from some members prevented the ban from inclusion in the EU’s upcoming 17th sanctions package.

Europe’s imports of Russian LNG, which is largely not subject to sanctions, reached record levels in 2024.

The EU plans to completely phase out Russian fossil fuels by 2027. The European Commission is expected to provide a plan by May 6, a deadline postponed from March because of uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.

UPDATE 0708 GMT:

At least three civilians, including a girl and an elderly woman, have been killed and at least 30, including five children, have been injured in Russia’s latest strikes on Dnipro city in south-central Ukraine.

Three weeks ago, Russian drones murdered four civilians and injured 24 in Dnipro.

Ukraine War, Day 1,130: Russia’s Latest Mass Murder in Dnipro

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky commented:

In Kherson city in the south, a Russian “double tap” attack killed one person and wounded three. An initial strike was followed by an assault as first responders went to the scene.

Two people were wounded in Izyum in northeast Ukraine by a Russian missile.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Ukraine President Voldoymyr Zelensky says Kyiv has made “good progress” on a rare earth minerals deal with the Trump Administration.

Zelensky said in his nightly video address to the nation:

The basic legal stuff is almost finalized, and then, if everything moves as quickly and constructively, the agreement will bring economic results to both our countries.

Earlier in the day, Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko claimed “significant progress” in the talks, citing agreement to sign a memorandum “in the near future”.

Svyrdydenko noted, “Our legal staff has adjusted several items within the draft agreement,” while emphasizing that the deal must be ratified by Ukraine’s Parliament, the Verkhovna Rada.

A Trump Concession on “Debt”?

A previous draft agreement collapsed on February 28 when, as it was ready to be signed in the White House, Vice President J.D. Vance verbally ambushed Zelensky and the Ukrainian delegation was evicted from the building.

That agreement set out 50-50 control of the profits from the minerals, with proceeds going to Ukraine’s recovery and reconstruction.

Earlier this month, the Trump Administration demanded full control of revenues until Ukraine repaid all US aid given during Russian’s 38-month full-scale invasion.

But a “senior official with knowledge of the negotiations” said revised drafts appeared not to recognize previous US military aid as a debt owed by Ukraine, so talks were moving forward “quite fast”. Sources told Bloomberg that the Administration had reduced its demand from $300 billion to $100 billion.

Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko said on Wednesday that Ukraine is seeking joint energy projects with the US.

He said of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, the largest in Europe, which has been occupied by Russia since the first days of the full-scale invasion:

We have a common interest with the United States to bring the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant under Ukrainian control and start the operation of this nuclear power plant.

It can bring new opportunities for cooperation between us, for example, when it comes to electricity exports.