According to Reuters citing data from Kyiv, the attacks were mainly concentrated near Pokrovsk City, a strategic logistics center in Donetsk that Russia has been trying to gain control of recently.
The fiercest day of fighting since the beginning of 2025
Over the weekend, the Ukrainian military recorded 261 clashes with Russia in 24 hours, a record high so far this year and more than double the previous average of 100 a day. The number of clashes on February 16 dropped to 117, of which 38 occurred in the Pokrovsk region, according to the Ukrainian military. Russian forces now control a strip of territory south of Pokrovsk and are pushing southwest of the city. On Monday, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that it had captured the village of Fyholivka in Kharkiv. Kyiv has not commented on this information.
President Trump: "Russia defeated Hitler, Napoleon," but Putin wants to end the Ukraine conflict
While Ukraine continues to use drones to penetrate deep into Russian territory, the Moscow government's military continues to use UAV and missile attacks, in addition to its ground advance in the east. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also provided figures showing that Russia has increased the scale of its airstrikes. According to the leader, Russia last week fired about 1,220 bombs from aircraft, more than 850 UAVs and 40 missiles towards Ukraine, up from the previous week's figures of 1,206 bombs, 750 UAVs and 10 missiles.
Key members of the US delegation scheduled to attend the meeting with the Russian side in Riyadh on February 18 (in photo: Mr. Steve Witkoff, Mr. Marco Rubio and Mr. Mike Waltz)
The race for influence in Ukraine
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Saudi Arabia on Thursday ahead of a planned meeting with a delegation of Russian officials in an effort to find a way out of the nearly three-year conflict in Ukraine. Reuters quoted a source familiar with the matter as saying that the US delegation included Mr. Rubio, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and White House Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff. At a press conference in Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Mr. Yuri Ushakov, President Putin's foreign policy adviser, represented Moscow in the meeting with the US delegation, according to TASS.
The meeting will take place on February 18 in Riyadh, Russia’s Kommersant newspaper reported. The event is part of the first high-level meetings in recent years between the US and Russia, which usually precede formal talks at the presidential level. Secretary of State Rubio said on February 16 that the coming weeks will help the US determine whether Russian President Vladimir Putin is serious about bringing peace to Ukraine.
After Britain, another NATO country is open to sending troops to Ukraine.
Also on February 17, France chaired an emergency meeting of leaders of major European countries, according to AFP. The meeting was held after US President Donald Trump unexpectedly announced that he had spoken by phone with his Russian counterpart Putin to discuss Ukraine without consulting or informing European allies in advance.
Speaking ahead of the Paris conference, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said European leaders would focus on how to prevent US-Russia peace talks from ending in a way that "rewards" Russia after nearly three years of launching a special military campaign.
Before attending the conference, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced for the first time his readiness to deploy British troops to Ukraine as part of a post-war peacekeeping force. Sweden also said yesterday that it would not rule out contributing troops if necessary.
On the same day, the Kremlin encouraged all sides to discuss ways to end the conflict in Ukraine, according to TASS. The Kremlin also said that the idea of deploying European peacekeepers in Ukraine after the conflict ends is currently a "complicated question" and has not been thoroughly discussed.
Europe and the new security architecture
In an interview with the Financial Times published yesterday, EU Council President Antonio Costa stressed that the EU needs to be at the negotiating table with Russia on the Ukraine issue to outline the continent's "future security architecture". "If Mr. Trump really wants Europe to take on a greater role in the continent's security, then of course Europe must be the main force in designing the new security architecture," Costa said. On the same day, French Overseas Territories Minister Manuel Valls warned that Europe is at a turning point in its relations with the United States, forcing Europe to work harder than ever to protect Ukraine and increase defense spending for member states.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/tuan-le-khoi-dau-cho-tuong-lai-hoa-dam-ukraine-185250217230939966.htm
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