Italian PM visits Ukraine, Russia suspends participation in nuclear deal: highlights of the day

Visit of Italian PM Meloni

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni arrived in Kyiv. She visited Bucha and Irpin, Kyiv Oblast, and then met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and gave a press conference.

In particular, Meloni announced a new package of military assistance from Italy, which, in addition to SAMP-T, will also include Skyguard Aspide air defense systems.

Suspension of Russia's participation in nuclear deal

Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced that Russia is suspending its participation in the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START III or New Start). According to Putin, Russia is only suspending its participation, but not withdrawing from the treaty. In fact, it was this agreement that kept the United States and Russia from returning to the arms race.

NATO, the EU, and the US have already condemned Russia's decision. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg called on Moscow to change its mind, and European diplomat Josep Borrell said that the decision "is yet another example of how Russia is destroying the security system built at the end of the Cold War." US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called it "very unfortunate and irresponsible."

Putin also said that the United States is allegedly planning a "natural test of nuclear weapons," so he instructed the Russian Defense Ministry and Rosatom to "be ready to test Russian nuclear weapons if the United States does it first." President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Putin's threats were intimidation, "which no one pays attention to anymore."

The Russian leader announced this in his address to the Federal Assembly, which he delivered for the first time since 2021.

Biden's speech in Warsaw

Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden also delivered a speech during his visit to Warsaw. He once again condemned Russia's invasion and emphasized that Washington would support Ukraine for as long as necessary.

Biden said that the United States and its partners would announce new sanctions against Russia within a week. However, he assured that the United States does not want to destroy and control Russia, and millions of Russians, in his opinion, want to live in peace and not be at odds with their neighbors.

Reznikov's new deputies

The government has appointed Vitaliy Deynega, founder of the Come Back Alive Foundation, and Andriy Shevchenko, former Ukrainian ambassador to Canada, as new deputy defense ministers.

Vitaliy Deynega became Deputy Minister of Defense for Digital Development, Digital Transformation and Digitalization, and Andriy Shevchenko became Deputy Minister for European Integration.

China hands over details of its peace plan to Ukraine

Wang Yi, head of the Chinese Communist Party's Foreign Affairs Office and former Foreign Minister, shared with the Ukrainian Foreign Minister the key points of his peace plan.

Dmytro Kuleba said that he was "looking forward" to receiving the full text of the document, and then, according to him, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry will carefully study it and draw conclusions.

Meanwhile, Wang Yi arrived in Moscow to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. This is the first visit to Russia by China's top diplomat since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The Kremlin has not ruled out a meeting between Wang Yi and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Other news

• The Ukrainian State Film Agency and Olena Honcharuk, who won the competition for the post of head of the Dovzhenko Center, have not signed a contract. The parties have not reached an agreement on the clauses of the contract concerning the adoption of a new charter.
• The state rail company Ukrzaliznytsia announced that by 2025 it plans to completely Ukrainize the railroad, getting rid of all names and symbols associated with Russia and the USSR.
• The Ministry of Education and Science recommends that educational institutions work remotely on February 22-24 amid risks due to the anniversary of the start of Russia's full-scale invasion.
• On February 21 and over the next few days, the Ukrainian military will conduct exercises to defend Kyiv.
• Russia is preparing for another wave of mobilization. According to intelligence reports, they are currently actively working on the possibility of mass mobilization of university students.
• A delegation of US Republican congressmen arrived in Kyiv and met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
• Ukraine, the EU, and NATO agreed to establish a trilateral coordination mechanism to speed up the production, procurement, and delivery of rounds, parts, and weapons to Ukraine.