UNITED24 Media Telegram Highlights
The United States and Russia are close to an agreement to extend the New START Treaty, Axios reported, citing sources.
Two sources noted that the draft still requires approval by the presidents of both countries. Another source confirmed that US special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner held talks with Russian officials in Abu Dhabi, but did not confirm that an agreement had been reached.
[...] “The treaty will officially expire on Thursday, and its extension will not be legally formalized. We agreed with Russia to act in a spirit of goodwill and begin discussions on ways to renew it,” an unnamed US official said.
In practice, the sides plan to adhere to the terms of New START for at least six more months while negotiations on a possible new agreement continue.
[...] Washington remains skeptical about a new treaty because it would not limit China, which has a smaller but rapidly growing nuclear arsenal. Beijing has shown no interest in joining such an agreement.
🗣 The talks were constructive. The delegations discussed outstanding issues, including ways to implement a ceasefire and monitor the cessation of hostilities, Umerov said about the negotiations in Abu Dhabi.
The trilateral talks will continue in the coming weeks.
We are bringing our people home — 157 Ukrainians. Soldiers of the Armed Forces, the National Guard and the State Border Service. Soldiers, sergeants and officers. Civilians are also returning together with the defenders. Most had been held in captivity since 2022, — President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets added that 18 defenders sentenced by Russia to long prison terms were also returned home. https://t.me/United24media/39669
🇺🇦🇨🇿 Czech video game studio Amanita Design will donate a week’s profit to humanitarian aid in Ukraine.
From February 2 to 9, the studio will transfer 100% of revenue from sales of all games and DLC to the organization “People in Need.”
The funds will help provide food, heating, home repairs, and essential assistance to families and individuals affected by ongoing Russian aggression, the studio said.
⚡️“A crisis could arrive in 3–4 months.” Putin warned of a possible financial crisis by summer, — WP
Russian businesses say real inflation is rising much faster than the officially reported 6%. Moscow is seeing the highest number of restaurant closures since the pandemic, while rising costs have forced thousands of layoffs.
Falling revenues are widening the budget deficit unless taxes increase. Pressure on the banking system is also growing due to high interest rates and aggressive corporate lending to finance the war.
🇳🇴 Norway will contribute €86.4 million to Ukraine’s Energy Support Fund — Denys Shmyhal.
The Energy Minister noted that the funds will help restore critical energy facilities damaged by Russian attacks and support Ukraine during the harsh winter.
According to him, the Fund has already mobilized more than €1.7 billion from 36 donors and ensured the delivery of critical equipment across the country.
More than 1,100 apartment buildings in Kyiv will remain without heat until at least the end of winter and throughout March.
The reason is critical damage to the Darnytsia Thermal Power Plant. According to Klitschko, repairs will take at least two months.
The real military spending of the Russian Federation in recent years has exceeded officially declared levels by 66%, even when accounting for classified items, according to an analysis of the Russian budget by Germany’s Federal Intelligence Service (BND).
Using NATO classification — which includes construction projects, IT services, and social security for military personnel — Russia spent about €250 billion on military-related items last year, instead of the declared €150 billion. According to BND estimates, military spending consumed roughly half of Russia’s budget, or about 10% of GDP.
In 2024, under NATO methodology, Russian military expenditures reached €200 billion — €62 billion more than indicated in official budget data. In 2023, with official spending at €82 billion, actual expenditures totaled about €136 billion; in 2022 — €106 billion instead of €64 billion, intelligence officials estimate.
“These funds are used not only for the war against Ukraine, but also for the further development and expansion of military potential, particularly near NATO’s eastern flank,” the BND said.
The Court of Justice of the European Union has upheld the right of EU member states to confiscate cars imported from Russia in violation of sanctions.
The discount at which Russian suppliers sell their oil to China has reached record levels after Donald Trump announced a trade deal with India that could cut off Russian crude, Reuters reports.
Indian refineries have been reducing purchases of Russian fuel for months. China is taking advantage: some shipments are being redirected there, but sellers are forced to offer deeper price concessions.
Discounts on ESPO crude shipped from the Pacific port of Kozmino rose this week to nearly $9 per barrel against Brent, Reuters reported, citing traders. In recent months, discounts were $7–8.
The discount on Urals crude, previously shipped mainly to India from western Russian ports and now partially redirected to China, has reached $12 per barrel. Brent traded in the range of $65.8–69.8 per barrel this week.
As the world watches the Milan–Cortina Olympics, Estonia’s Foreign Ministry highlights the contrast between global celebration and Russia’s ongoing aggression against Ukraine.
More than 600 Ukrainian athletes and coaches have been killed or injured, and hundreds of sports facilities destroyed, while Russian athletes continue to compete.
The ministry said this is not neutrality but a choice that contradicts Olympic values, stressing that sport cannot be “outside politics” when used as a tool of propaganda and war, and urging the Olympic Movement not to allow aggressors to whitewash their crimes through international sport.
A soldier who had been considered killed in action since September 2022 has returned from captivity — Lviv Regional Military Administration
This is Nazar Daletsky, a resident of the village of Velykyi Doroshiv, Kulykivska community. He served in the 24th Separate Mechanized Brigade named after King Danylo.
In May 2022, Nazar lost contact. At first, he was listed as missing. Later, the family was told he had died in the Kupiansky district on September 25, 2022 — on his birthday.
In July 2025, a released Ukrainian defender reported that Nazar was alive. In August, another soldier confirmed it. In October, a third. His relatives kept believing and asking. Today, a real miracle happened, said regional military administration’s head Maksym Kozytsky. [photo of black-capped man]