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Overnight Ukraine military update
The Ukrainian military said that Russia launched 161 drones and about 14 missiles during an overnight attack.
The missile attack targeted critical infrastructure in the northeastern region of Kharkiv.
Ukrainian energy minister German Galuschenko said that some of the attacks damaged gas production facilities overnight, Reuters reported.
“The purpose of these criminal attacks is to stop the production of gas needed to meet the domestic needs of citizens and central heating,” he said on Facebook.
Zelenskyy calls for 'constructive' talks with US
After exchange of words with Trump, Zelenskyy tried to move the difficult conversation with the US forward ahead of today’s meeting with Kellogg.
In his regular video update on Wednesday night, he said it was “crucial that this discussion and our overall cooperation with the US remains constructive.”
But in a pointed comment, he added:
“Together with America and Europe, peace can be more secure, and that is our goal. But most importantly, this goal must be shared by our partners, not just by us,” he said.
Morning opening: Can Europe trust Trump?
Completely undeterred by public pushback from multiple European leaders, US president Donald Trump repeated his attack on Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy overnight, telling the audience at a Saudi-backed event in Miami that he is a “dictator without elections.”
Oh, the irony.
He also repeated his false claims about the US spending on Ukraine, and warned Zelenskyy “he better move fast or he is not going to have a country left; gotta move, gotta move fast.”
Separately, Trump also attacked Zelenskyy for treating US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent “rather rudely,” because the Ukrainians “wouldn’t sign the document” confirming his proposed minerals deal. (Zelenskyy said he wasn’t prepared to “sell [Ukraine] away.”)
“They are no longer dealing with the same United States as they were dealing a few months ago,” Trump said.
“If you’d told me just three months ago that these were the words of the US president, I would have laughed out loud,” former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev said.
You and me both, Dmitry.
Suppose you are a leader of a central and eastern, Baltic and Nordic European frontline nation. How confident are you that the US would immediately come to the rescue if Russia attacked your territory within the next few hours?
Exactly. That’s the problem.
A new Polish poll published overnight showed remarkable levels of trust in Nato as a whole, with 67% expecting the alliance to intervene if Poland gets attacked by Russia. On the other hands, that’s 33% thinking it wouldn’t. That is a lot.
Some may decide it is better to be safe than sorry and follow the Danish lead in rapidly increasing defence spending to prepare for what they fear comes next.
Prime minister Mette Frederiksen said the country needed “massive rearmament” to avoid war as she announced Denmark would spend 50bn DKK over the next two years on defence.
The investment brings Denmark’s defence spending up to 3% of GDP in the next two years (up from 2.4% in 2024), the highest level in over half a century.
Should others follow? Will they? Let’s see.
Amid this war of words, US Ukraine envoy Keith Kellogg will meet with Zelenskyy in Kyiv today, and we are expecting some lines from that meeting – and more from across Europe. I will bring you the latest.
It’s Thursday, 20 February 2025, and this is Europe live. It’s Jakub Krupa here.
Good morning.
