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Russia and the US resumed dialogue this week after a 3-year pause

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said that all G20 nations welcomed recent US-Russia talks in Riyadh, which aimed to restore dialogue and address the ongoing Ukraine conflict. Lavrov made the remarks at a press conference on Friday, following the two-day G20 foreign ministers’ meeting in Johannesburg, South Africa, that began on February 20.

Speaking to journalists, Lavrov said “All welcomed our meeting,” while acknowledging that the Riyadh talks marked only the start of dialogue.

The high-level discussions in the Saudi capital earlier this week involved Lavrov, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and other officials from both sides. The talks focused on reestablishing diplomatic ties between Moscow and Washington and potential paths toward resolving the Ukraine conflict.

Both sides described the talks as productive, with Lavrov stating that the delegations worked “quite successfully” on improving relations. Rubio called the meeting “the first step of a long and difficult journey but an important one.” 

As a result of the talks, both sides agreed to lay the groundwork for restoring US-Russian bilateral ties and working towards a resolution to the Ukraine conflict. They also committed to organizing a summit between their respective leaders in the future.

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Addressing reporters on Friday, Lavrov noted that the way certain “tragicomic characters leading the Brussels bureaucracy and NATO reacted to the Riyadh meeting speaks for itself.”

The foreign minister further argued that only “unhealthy people” would view diplomatic engagement between two global powers as a “betrayal of Western interests.”

Both the EU and Ukraine, which were excluded from the talks in Saudi Arabia, condemned the meeting. Vladimir Zelensky described the talks as “disreputable,” accusing Washington of “helping Putin get out of years of isolation” and portraying Russia as “a victim.” 

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas suggested that Moscow emerged as the biggest winner from the talks, stressing that any peace deal regarding Ukraine has to involve the Europeans and Ukrainians to be effective.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Moscow “has never refused contact with EU nations or withdrawn from negotiations with Ukraine.” He noted that it was Kiev that pulled out of the Istanbul talks in the spring of 2022 and later banned its officials from engaging in any dialogue with Moscow.

The Russian president reiterated that Moscow is ready to return to the peace process at any time, but said the decision ultimately lies with Kiev and Brussels.

A Romanian official reportedly said that Russia demanded to the US that the bloc removes its troops from Eastern Europe during talks in Riyadh

The Kremlin has rejected a senior Romanian official’s claim that Russia demanded to a US delegation during talks in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday that NATO withdraws from Eastern Europe.

Spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded on Friday to the allegation by the Romanian president’s chief of staff and adviser for defense and national security, Cristian Diaconescu, who made the claim to the Antena3 broadcaster on Wednesday, as reported by the Financial Times.

Suggestions about the reported Russian demand are “not true,” Peskov stated. He stressed that Moscow’s concerns regarding “NATO’s military infrastructure having inched toward our borders as part of several waves” is “no secret to anyone.”

Diaconescu reportedly alleged that while Trump’s emissaries rejected the purported demand, “the situation can change from hour to hour or from day to day” and Washington could eventually cave in.

The FT also quoted an anonymous “senior official from the region” admitting they are “not sure what is seeping through to Trump…”

“So the risk and concern remains that Russia tricks DC into something via a push on Ukraine,” the source told the newspaper.

READ MORE: NATO poses threat to port infrastructure – Moscow

Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz stated on Wednesday that the “withdrawal of US troops is a scenario that Poland is not considering”.

Following a phone call between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart, Moscow and Washington held talks in Saudi Arabia to work toward normalizing bilateral relations to “take each other’s interests into account.” The Kremlin has since suggested that Putin and Trump could meet in person by the end of the month.

The 83rd Guards Air Assault Brigade claims to have taken out a Swedish-designed Strv-122А

A Russian drone has taken out a Swedish-designed main battle tank in Ukraine’s Sumy Region, one of Moscow’s elite units has claimed, releasing the video of the strike.

On Thursday, Russia’s 83rd Guards Air Assault Brigade claimed to have destroyed a Strv-122А. The unit also released FPV footage of the alleged attack.

The tank fitted with an anti-UAV frame on the roof, is seen driving at a high speed across a snowy plain without any cover. The vehicle is a licensed version of the German Leopard 2 A5 which features several improvements, including better command, control, and fire-control systems and reinforced armor.

The drone gradually catches the tank from behind and smashes into its unprotected engine compartment. It is unclear from the video how serious the damage was or what happened to the tank crew.

The 83rd Guards Air Assault Brigade claimed that the Strv-122 was later tackled by other drones, adding its UAV detachments had destroyed several Ukrainian artillery pieces in the same area.

According to Swedish media, Stockholm has sent a total of 10 Strv-122s to Ukraine.

The Russian military often uses cheap drones to target Ukrainian Western-supplied heavy armor on the move. Last spring, unnamed US officials acknowledged that American-supplied M1 Abrams tanks had substantial difficulties on the battlefield because they were often detected and attacked by Russian drones.

Russia’s Security Council has claimed that the US-led bloc is developing a new doctrine for conducting military operations on the seabed

NATO is developing plans for potential combat operations targeting Russia’s port infrastructure, the deputy secretary of the country’s Security Council, Grigory Molchanov, has claimed.

In a statement on Friday, Molchanov suggested that the US-led military bloc is building up its capacity to target sea transport, large oil terminals, rail crossings intended for fuel deliveries, and large bridges. He noted that the threats posed to Russia’s port infrastructure also include Ukraine’s widespread use of unmanned attack boats in the Black Sea.

Molchanov also reported that the bloc has been developing “doctrinal documents” for the purpose of conducting operations on the seabed, and that these missions are seen by NATO as a new type of combat environment in addition to land, air, sea, space, and cyberspace.

To address these threats, Molchanov said the Russian Security Council is recommending that a closer eye be kept on the activities of foreign states that are “capable of creating threats to underwater and port critical infrastructure, as well as increasing the effectiveness of the system of comprehensive protection of these facilities.”

Last month, NATO announced that it would increase its presence in the Baltic Sea and launch regular patrols as part of operation Baltic Sentry. This came after several incidents of underwater cables reportedly being damaged in the region, which NATO states blamed on Russia. 

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In January, however, the Washington Post said Western intelligence officials concluded that the damage was likely due to “maritime accidents,” as no evidence of Russian sabotage was found. Moscow denied the accusations, insisting that it has no intention of attacking or interfering with the infrastructure of any NATO member states. 

Russian officials have condemned the bloc’s military buildup on its borders. Nikolay Patrushev, an aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin, claimed that the West is trying to “deprive Russia of access to the Baltic Sea.”

Deputy Foreign Minister Aleksandr Grushko stated last month that Russia will do everything necessary to protect its interests in the region and will not allow NATO to turn the Baltic Sea into its own “internal lake.”

President Donald Trump earlier accused Kiev of misusing aid and demanded reimbursement

The US has halted weapons sales to Ukraine, senior MP Roman Kostenko, who serves as secretary of the Verkhovnaya Rada’s Defense Committee, claimed on Thursday.

Washington has been the biggest source of military aid to Ukraine since the escalation of its conflict with Russia in early 2022, including through weapons and equipment shipments and financial support. Part of the financial aid has been used to pay US arms makers to procure new weapons for Ukraine’s army or replace old ones previously provided.

In an interview with journalist Natalia Moseychuk, Kostenko stated that “according to my information, the weapons that were going up for sale have stopped. Those companies that were ready to transfer these weapons are now waiting because there is no decision [from Washington].”

He claimed that the suspensions were linked to the budding rapprochement between Washington and Moscow, who held their first direct negotiations at senior level in three years in Saudi Arabia this week. According to Kostenko, the fact that Ukraine was not invited to the talks has prompted uncertainty among US arms manufacturers about deliveries to Kiev.

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Kostenko said Ukraine is attempting to resolve the issue and has offered to pay for the weapons directly instead of counting on their delivery as part of US aid. His remarks were confirmed by fellow MP Aleksey Goncharenko in a Telegram post on Friday.

“The US has frozen arms sales to Ukraine. Roman Kostenko’s statement yesterday is absolutely true,” Goncharenko wrote, adding that “American companies confirmed this to me.”

Neither Washington nor US arms makers have commented on the reported pause in shipments. Ukrainian MP Alexandra Ustinova, who serves as an adviser to the defense minister, refuted the claims in a post on Facebook, stating that “the US has NOT stopped selling weapons to Ukraine” and advising fellow MPs not to “add fuel to the fire” by voicing unconfirmed information.

The remarks come amid a growing spat between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky. In a post on his Truth Social platform on Wednesday, the US leader accused Zelensky of mismanaging the conflict with Russia and misusing American financial aid. Trump earlier threatened to cut aid for Ukraine, and has insisted that Kiev must repay Washington for the funding it has received, which the US leader claimed was “more than $300 billion.” He demanded the “equivalent of $500 billion worth of rare earths” from Ukraine in return.

READ MORE: Kremlin comments on Trump-Zelensky dispute

Zelensky has accused the US leader of “living in a disinformation space” supposedly created by Russia. He rejected the proposal for Ukraine’s rare earths, saying last week that it was not “in the interests of sovereign Ukraine.” Zelensky previously refuted Trump’s estimates of the aid provided by Washington, insisting Ukraine had not received even half of that sum.

The potential was grossly misrepresented, Artyom Dmytruk has told RT

Vladimir Zelensky wildly misled US President Donald Trump when he boasted about Ukraine’s mineral deposits, Artyom Dmytruk, a member of Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada, has told RT.

Zelensky offered the US a partnership to develop Ukraine’s minerals. “The Americans helped the most, and therefore the Americans should earn the most. And they should have this priority, and they will,” he told Reuters this month. He claimed that Ukraine has Europe’s largest titanium deposits, while Prime Minister Denis Shmigal wrote in an op-ed for Politico that the country’s subsoil contains “22 out of the 30 minerals listed as critical for the EU.”

Speaking to RT on Thursday, Dmytruk explained that Zelensky’s tactic was deceptive. “It is an issue on which Zelensky has once again fooled the whole world, and, more specifically, Donald Trump and his team,” Dmytruk said. 

“First, all of these resources, the rare-earth minerals, are currently located on the territories with active combat. Second, no one can say what the price of extracting these resources will be,” he added.

“If these precious resources could have been mined so easily and on such a large scale as Zelensky promised, and if it would have been profitable, the companies in Ukraine would have started doing it long ago. It is yet another lie, another farce that Zelensky attempts to exploit.” 

A critic of Zelensky’s government, Dmytruk fled Ukraine in 2024 after being charged with assaulting a police officer. He denies any wrongdoing and insists that the prosecution is politically motivated.

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Dmytruk blamed “the party of war” in Kiev for the hostilities with Russia. Ukraine will face “an eternal war and destruction” unless “the party of peace” prevails and negotiates a deal with Moscow, he argued.

On Wednesday, Zelensky confirmed that he refused to sign a deal that would have granted the US 50% ownership of Ukraine’s rare-earth minerals. “I cannot sell our country,” he said, stressing that Kiev demands that the West provide security guarantees against Russia.

The feud between Trump and Zelensky escalated this week when the US president labeled him “a dictator without elections” and claimed that he is deeply unpopular at home. Trump’s national security adviser, Mike Waltz, told Fox News on Thursday that Ukrainians “need to tone it down” and sign the proposed minerals agreement. 

In an op-ed for Bloomberg on Wednesday, commodities expert Javier Blas wrote that Trump’s expectations of a deal for Ukraine’s rare-earth minerals are grossly exaggerated. He said Ukraine “has no significant rare-earth deposits other than small scandium mines.”

Zelensky acknowledged earlier this month that around half of its rare-earth deposits are “under Russian occupation,” according to Reuters.

Polls show that former Commander-in-Chief Valery Zaluzhny would win with 65% of the vote

Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky would lose to his former commander-in-chief, Valery Zaluzhny, by a large margin if elections were held in Ukraine today, The Economist reports, citing internal polling.

Zelensky’s five-year presidential term expired in May 2024, and he has refused to hold elections since, citing martial law. Speaking late last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that Zelensky no longer has the legitimacy required to sign official agreements.

In an article on Wednesday, The Economist said, “many Ukrainians are clearly frustrated with their war leader.” According to data cited in the report, Zelensky “would lose a future election by 30% to 65% to Valery Zaluzhny,” if the former commander runs for office. Zaluzhny currently serves as Ukraine’s ambassador to the UK.

The Economist further claimed that, in sharp contrast to the 90% popularity he supposedly enjoyed during the early days of the conflict in 2022, Zelensky’s trust ratings hit a low of 52% last month.

On Thursday, Ukraine’s Strana.UA media outlet – which is considered to be in opposition to the country’s government and has come under pressure from the authorities – cited a recent survey conducted by Socis suggesting that only 15.9% would vote for Zelensky, with Zaluzhny enjoying the support of 27.2% of respondents.

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The question of Zelensky’s popularity at home was raised by US President Donald Trump on Tuesday, when he told reporters that the “leader in Ukraine… he’s down at a 4% approval rating.” He added that calls for new elections are “not a Russia thing,” but rather “something coming from me, and coming from many other countries also.”

Responding to the US president’s claim, Zelensky suggested on Wednesday that Trump had fallen for “Russian disinformation.” He also cited a January poll from the Kiev International Institute of Sociology (KMIS) that indicated 57% of Ukrainians trusted him.

The Ukrainian leader’s remarks apparently did not sit well with Trump, who blasted Zelensky in a post on his Truth Social platform later that day as a “dictator without elections.” The US president reiterated his allegation that Zelensky “is very low in Ukrainian Polls,” concluding that he “better move fast or he is not going to have a Country left.”

Speaking at the Munich Security Conference last Saturday, the Ukrainian leader said he is “ready to talk about elections, [but] Ukrainians don’t want this.” He suggested that holding a vote amid the conflict with Moscow would undermine national unity.

Latvia has also restricted access to a number of Russian media outlets, citing national security concerns

Latvia has blocked access to the website of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF) within its territory. The country’s media watchdog has also restricted several Russian media outlets, citing security threats.

Latvia’s National Electronic Mass Media Council (NEPLP) justifies the decision by stating that the blocked sites distribute content that has been deemed “contrary to the security and national security interests of the Latvian information space.”

According to the official gazette of the Baltic state, Latvijas Vēstnesis, the affected websites also include the Vechernyaya Moskva newspaper, the Gorod 55 and Chelyabinsk Today publications, and the Donetsk News Agency, as well as the Saint Petersburg, Vesti GTRK Murmansk, and Krasnodar TV channels. The NEPLP claims that, while promoting a Russian perspective on global events, these outlets may create a “false impression” of Russia’s actions in the Ukraine conflict and justify the annexation of former Ukrainian territories.

The Russian Communist Party has condemned the move as “unacceptable,” arguing that it undermines freedom of speech and democratic values.

Since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, Latvian authorities have taken a number of measures to limit Russian media influence within its territory and restricted the use of the Russian language in nearly all spheres of life, despite it being the second-most spoken in the country.

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Moscow has repeatedly criticized Riga’s de-russification policies, calling them a violation of Russian speakers’ rights. Last year, Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova announced that Moscow has filed pre-trial claims against Latvia, as well as Lithuania and Estonia, for systemic discrimination against Russian compatriots, arguing that these practices violate the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.

According to Zakharova, Russophobia “has reached a qualitatively new level, particularly in the Baltics.” She vowed earlier that Moscow would seek to “take proactive measures to hold states accountable that violate their international obligation to eliminate all forms of racial discrimination.”

Crude processed underground can drastically boost production, according to researchers

A team of Russian and foreign experts and scientists at Kazan Federal University have developed and started to successfully apply the revolutionary concept of refining oil underground. The idea was presented at the Future Technologies Forum in Moscow on Thursday.

Specialists from Mexico, Yemen, China, and Chad are part of a laboratory that developed the idea of combining two processes – oil extraction and refining, according to Mikhail Varfolomeyev, the head of the Department of Petroleum Engineering at the university.

”Essentially, we created a new industry. We learned how to partially process oil underground and significantly increased oil recovery,” Varfolomeyev said at a session on chemistry.

The research into underground refining is particularly important for the Republic of Tatarstan, where Kazan University is located, as half of the region’s oil reserves consist of heavy crude, a highly viscous substance that cannot easily flow from production wells, Varfolomeyev noted.

Tatneft, a major oil and gas company headquartered in the republic, has helped put the concept into practice.

“Experiments in wells exceeded expectations several times over. We anticipated a 40-50% increase in oil production, but it reached 200%. This goes beyond import substitution, rather becoming a case of innovative import substitution, or leapfrogging industrial development,” Varfolomeyev said.

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Import substitution is a term that refers to replacing foreign imports with domestically produced goods or equipment, something that Russia has made strides in since 2022, when Western-imposed sanctions severely limited the country’s foreign trade.

Russia is going through “hard times,” as it cannot freely buy technology and goods it needs, according to another participant at the forum, Presidential Aide for Science and Education Andrey Fursenko, who added that the country has the resources to overcome the issue.

The Russian Science Foundation, a state-funded organization that supports scientific research and innovation, has contributed to the funding of the research. Russia’s largest integrated petrochemical company, Sibur, and Gazprom Neft, the oil subsidiary of energy giant Gazprom, have also come on board, Varfolomeyev said.

Russia is one of the world’s top three crude producers, vying for the top spot with Saudi Arabia and the US, according to the International Energy Agency.

READ MORE: ‘Illegal’ US sanctions will not stop Russia’s oil trade – Moscow

In January, the US imposed new sanctions against Russia’s oil production and exports, aiming, among other things, to limit the provision of technical know-how and equipment to the country’s oil industry.

The Future Technologies Forum is taking place in the Russian capital February 20-21.