Deadlines, Delusions and Drones
As Donald Trump pushes a summer peace timeline, Moscow pounds Ukraine’s infrastructure and pitches an economic fantasy to reshape Trump-era diplomacy
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the United States wants to push Kyiv and Moscow toward ending the war before the start of summer, comments that came as Russia launched another overnight barrage of missiles and drones against Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. In remarks released by his office on February 7, Zelenskyy said Washington had proposed a new round of talks between Ukraine and Russia to take place in Miami in a week – and that Kyiv had agreed to participate. Moscow and Washington have not commented about future talks scheduled for Miami. “The Americans are proposing that the parties end the war before the start of this summer, and will likely pressure the parties to adhere to this schedule,” Zelenskyy said. “The [US midterm Congressional] elections are definitely more important to them. Let’s not be naive. And they say they want to get everything done by June.” Those comments came hours after Russian missiles and drones struck Ukrainian power plants and electricity networks overnight, triggering rolling blackouts and renewing pressure on a grid already battered by weeks of attacks, Ukrainian authorities said - RFE/RL
Russia presented the United States with a £9tn economic co-operation proposal, Volodymyr Zelensky has said. The proposal, dubbed the “Dmitriev package” after Russian negotiator Kirill Dmitriev, was uncovered by Ukrainian intelligence, the Ukrainian president said on Saturday. He also revealed that the US has set a June deadline for Ukraine and Russia to reach a peace deal, despite Kyiv and Moscow remaining in deadlock over territory. “Intelligence showed me the so-called ‘Dmitriev package’ that he presented in the US – it amounts to around $12tn (£9tn),” Mr Zelensky said. Bilateral economic deals with the US form part of the broader negotiating process, but the Ukrainian president warned that they must not infringe on Ukraine’s constitution. The move suggests Moscow is intensifying efforts to influence Donald Trump, amid a constant tug of war with Ukraine to win Washington’s favour as the US pushes for a diplomatic breakthrough.
Some experts were sceptical about the proposed economic package, pointing out that $12tn is several times Russia’s entire GDP - Telegraph
President Trump’s new “Board of Peace,” which he says intends to resolve global conflicts, is scheduled to meet in Washington in the coming weeks, according to a U.S. official and a Board of Peace official. The meeting is planned for Feb. 19, according to an invitation letter that was shared with The New York Times, the details of which were confirmed by the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomacy. The Board of Peace, as envisioned in a charter signed last month, has divided several U.S. allies, including France and a number of other European nations that declined to join at this time. Critics have called it the latest example of Mr. Trump’s efforts to dismantle the post-World War II international system, and analysts say he is trying to create a rival to the United Nations that puts him in charge. As chairman, he would have veto power over some of the body’s decisions. The original idea for the board was to focus on war-torn Gaza’s reconstruction, but its remit has broadened since then. One of the primary objectives of the upcoming summit is to raise funds for the reconstruction, according to the two officials and one other Board of Peace official who also spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss planning details. The Board of Peace met for the first time in Davos, Switzerland, last month, as member states signed its founding charter.
Voters in Japan are braving frigid temperatures and snowfall today to decide whether to grant Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi a fresh mandate in a lower-house election held just months into her premiership.
Meanwhile in Thailand, scorching heat — and a nationwide alcohol ban — greet voters heading to the polls for their own lower-house vote.
My World Briefing hot-take analysis video, reporting from the ground in Thailand, looks at what these parallel elections say about voter mood, legitimacy, and political volatility across Asia.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's Liberal Democratic Party is poised to win a single-party majority in a general election on Sunday, according to exit polls tallied by Nikkei, giving the nation's first female leader a strong mandate to tackle a cost-of-living crisis and national security issues.
Two of three recent opinion surveys in Thailand indicated the governing Bhumjaithai Party (BJT) may win Sunday’s general election, while the third saw the People’s Party (PP) as the potential winner. Surveys by King Prajadhipok’s Institute (KPI), which is the parliament’s democracy promotion organisation, and the National Institute of Development Administration (Nida) concluded that BJT could well win the election, with PP the runner-up and the Pheu Thai Party (PT) third. According to KPI, BJT should win 134-151 House seats, followed by PP with 128-143 seats and PT with 100-115 seats - Bangkok Post
Morgan McSweeney has quit as UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s chief of staff. In a statement, he takes “full responsibility” for advising the PM to appoint Peter Mandelson as US ambassador last year, a decision he calls “wrong.” McSweeney masterminded Labour’s landslide 2024 general election victory. “It’s about time,” Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch says, but adds: “Starmer has to take responsibility for his own terrible decisions” - BBC
Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai is set to be sentenced Monday after his conviction in a landmark national security trial that has drawn international attention and become a symbol of Beijing’s crackdown on dissent in the Chinese territory. Lai, a 78-year-old media tycoon who was one of the most prominent critics of China’s ruling Communist Party, faces possible life in prison. The case has been criticized by the U.S. and other governments as politically motivated and a sign of shrinking space for dissent in Hong Kong, a former British colony that returned to Chinese rule in 1997. “The eyes of the world will be on Hong Kong,” Aleksandra Bielakowska of Reporters Without Borders, a press freedom advocacy group, said in a statement Friday. “The outcome will resonate far beyond Jimmy Lai himself, sending a decisive signal about the future of press freedom in the territory.” Rights groups and members of Lai’s family have also expressed concern about his health after he’s spent more than 1,800 days in custody, much of it in solitary confinement. Hong Kong officials say Lai has received appropriate medical care and that he had requested to be kept separate from other prisoners. Lai was arrested and charged in 2020, shortly after Beijing imposed a sweeping national security law in response to months of anti-government protests the previous year. Hong Kong authorities say the law was necessary to restore stability after the protests, which sometimes turned violent, and that Lai’s case has nothing to do with press freedom - NBC
Will Lewis, the embattled chief executive and publisher of The Washington Post, has stepped down, the company announced Saturday, days after the newspaper came under widespread criticism for laying off hundreds of its journalists. Mr. Lewis said in a statement that he had made the decision “in order to ensure the sustainable future of The Post.” His email, which was terse, thanked only Jeff Bezos, the owner of The Post, and did not mention journalists at the newspaper. Mr. Lewis left three days after the company, facing years of financial losses, undertook a significant round of layoffs that cut 30 percent of the staff — more than 300 journalists — decimating The Post’s local, international and sports coverage. Marty Baron, the celebrated former editor of The Post, called it one of the “darkest days in the history of one of the world’s greatest news organizations.” In a news release announcing Mr. Lewis’s departure, Mr. Bezos said that The Post has “an essential journalistic mission and an extraordinary opportunity.” He added, “Each and every day our readers give us a road map to success.” He did not mention the cost-cutting in his statement. Mr. Lewis’s sudden exit took many at The Post by surprise. He was seen in meetings on Wednesday and gave no indication he was leaving, according to one person familiar with the matter. The next day, Mr. Lewis was photographed at an event before the Super Bowl in San Francisco. The juxtaposition of that photo with the shuttering of The Post’s sports department as part of the layoffs drew widespread outcry from current and former Post staff members. And it was Matt Murray, the newspaper’s top editor, who delivered the grim news of the layoffs to employees over a Zoom call; Mr. Lewis did not participate. Katie Mettler, a former chair of the Washington Post Guild, said on Saturday: “I’m glad Will Lewis has been fired. I wish it had happened before he fired all my friends. - NYT
The journals…
