Oil prices dropped more than 2% on Feb. 12 after U.S. President Donald Trump took a significant step toward ending the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, which has contributed to higher oil prices due to concerns over global supply disruptions.
Senator Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn. said on Feb. 12 that "to prevent Putin from dining in Kyiv, we need to mobilize the bipartisan Congressional coalition standing with Ukraine."
In 2024, Russia’s total defense expenditures surged by 42% in real terms, reaching 13.1 trillion rubles. When adjusted for purchasing power parity—which accounts for differences in what money can buy in different countries—this amounts to $462 billion.
"We'll meet in Saudi Arabia," U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House following his conversation with both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky.
The project seeks to enhance combat effectiveness by expanding the use of drones within elite units of the Ground Forces and the State Border Guard Service.
The tanker, built in 2023 and sailing under the Antigua and Barbuda flag, had arrived at Ust-Luga on Feb. 6, according to ship-tracking data from Vesselfinder. Russia’s Baza Telegram channel reported that the vessel was carrying 130,000 tonnes of heavy fuel oil.
"Yes, shut them down. Europe is free now (not counting stifling bureaucracy). Nobody listens to them anymore. It’s just radical left crazy people talking to themselves while torching $1B/year of US taxpayer money," Musk wrote.
Russia’s permanent representative to the United Nations in Geneva said his country is willing to maintain stable relations with the U.S. administration but emphasized that Washington has yet to take concrete steps toward resuming arms control discussions.
The damage comes amid a series of recent disruptions to undersea telecom and power cables in the Baltic Sea. Western experts and officials have accused Russia of engaging in hybrid warfare against countries supporting Ukraine.
Speaking at a televised meeting with Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin on Feb. 7, Putin noted that consumer prices in Russia rose by 9.5% in 2024 and have climbed further to 9.9% year-on-year this month.
The number of sanctioned vessels has now reached 265, with U.S. blacklisting proving to be the most disruptive. Of the 435 ships that transported Russian crude in 2024, 112—or 26%—are now under Washington’s sanctions.
Writing on Truth Social on Feb. 7, U.S. President Donald Trump accused the agency of widespread corruption and fraud, declaring, "CLOSE IT DOWN!"
President Volodymyr Zelensky stressed in an interview with Reuters on Feb. 7 that Ukraine was not offering to "give away" its resources but seeking a mutually beneficial partnership.
Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia will disconnect from Russia’s power grid this weekend and synchronize with the Western European network.
The representative survey found that 67% of Germans backed Germany’s military support for Ukraine.
President Volodymyr Zelensky has approved sanctions against 57 captains of Russia’s "shadow fleet," a group of tankers routinely used to evade sanctions targeting Russia's oil trade, and 55 individuals involved in looting Ukraine’s cultural heritage in occupied Crimea.
Russia's Ministry of Defense has proposed changes to military medical examination rules that would simplify the conscription of individuals with psychosis, hypertension, and syphilis.
Presidential Office head Andriy Yermak said the children who returned home include a 16-year-old girl who lost her mother, a 17-year-old boy who had been issued a summons to join the Russian army, and an eight-year-old girl.
U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to announce on Feb. 4 that the United States will withdraw from the United Nations Human Rights Council and extend a freeze on funding for the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, a White House official told Reuters.
A key focus of the meeting is geopolitics and EU relations with the United States, with U.S. President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs expected to dominate the agenda.
"Putin's remarks about the legitimacy of Ukraine's President are absurd. During his quarter-century stay in the Kremlin, Ukraine saw three presidents change in fair elections; President Trump returned for a second term after an impressive victory. This is democracy and legitimacy," Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote on Feb. 2.
"We have meetings and talks scheduled with various parties, including Ukraine and Russia. And I think those discussions are actually going pretty well," Trump told reporters late on Feb. 2.
In an interview with the Associated Press on Feb. 2, Zelensky added that while these countries had previously cooperated on weapons and technology, they are now openly engaged in Russia’s war against Ukraine.
The removals are part of a broader effort by Trump’s team to strip USAID of its independence. Nearly 100 senior career staff members have been placed on leave as discussions continue about shifting the agency under State Department control.
A U.S. Justice Department investigation found that Russia funneled billions of dollars through American banks to Turkey in 2022, using the Akkuyu nuclear power plant project as cover to evade sanctions, according to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ).
Ochamchire, more than 700 kilometers southeast of the nearest Ukrainian-controlled territory, could provide Moscow with a naval base that remains largely beyond the range of Ukraine’s existing long-range strikes.
"At the time of the attack, dozens of local residents were inside the building preparing to evacuate," Ukraine's military said on Feb. 1, adding that nearly 95 people could be trapped under the rubble.
Keith Kellogg, Trump's special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, told Reuters that presidential and parliamentary elections, suspended since the all-out war began, "need to be done."
The attack destroyed all five floors of one of the building's sections, caused a fire, and damaged neighboring buildings. Search and rescue operations are ongoing at the site.
In an interview with the Associated Press, Gitanas Nauseda warned that a peace settlement without proper deterrents would allow Russia to consolidate its forces and prepare for further military action.
"We will be speaking, and I think we will perhaps do something that’ll be significant," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Jan. 31. "We want to end that war. That war would not have started if I was president."
Ukrainian journalist and director Mstyslav Chernov won the Best Documentary Direction award at the Sundance Film Festival on Jan. 31 for his "2,000 Meters to Andriivka" film in the World Cinema category.
