Hamas will release 6 hostages tomorrow. Completing the first phase of the agreement.

Ukraine will import up to 800 million cubic meters of gas from Europe in February and March to offset a production drop of up to 40% caused by Russian missile strikes.

Russia has stepped up attacks on gas fields in recent weeks.

Source: Reuters

Trump's FBI Director Kash Patel:

We need America to wake up and prioritize Israel.

Zelensky angered Donald Trump so much during the peace talks that Trump was on the verge of withdrawing American military support from Ukraine.

One official says, Zelensky "showed how not to do the 'Art of the Deal' " when it came to courting Trump's support.

Source: Axios

Ukrainian MP Honcharenko:

The Americans realized that Ukraine does not have any large reserves of rare earth metals and minerals.

Instead, the US began to demand: infrastructure, a gas transportation system, and nuclear power plants.

445 prisoners from the Gaza Strip who were arrested after October 7 will be released by Israel tomorrow.

Zelensky will hold a major press conference on February 23.

More than 50,000 civilian employees in the Pentagon are at risk of layoffs.

Source: CNN

Trump administration has yet to finalize its decision on withdrawing troops from Syria.

CENTCOM has been asked to present options and risks, including a full withdrawal, partial pullback, or troop increase.

Meanwhile, Israel is pressuring the U.S. to take a larger role in the region, warning that if Washington does not step up, it may act unilaterally to protect its interests.

Source: Senior U.S. official to Al Jazeera

Macron is considering to increase France's military spending from 2.1% to 5% of GDP.

This possibility is being studied by Macron in the event that the United States decides to no longer protect Europe.

I don't know if 5% is the right figure for France, but in any case; we will have to go up, Macron said.

Source: Franceinfo

Trump's envoy Steven Witkoff describes his visit to Russia as productive, saying:

"I had a long talk with President Putin, building a friendship with him. That led to Mark Fogel getting on the plane."

US House Speaker Mike Johnson says that the US Congress has no appetite to approve new military aid to Ukraine.

The funding should be stopped because this is going on for too long, Johnson said.

Putin:

The Oreshnik warheads can withstand temperatures equal to the temperature of the Sun.

The European Union will announce the suspension of its sanctions on Syria on Monday.

Source: AFP

US and Ukraine want to finalize minerals deal this week.

Trump administration is considering a minerals agreement as a way to link the US and Ukraine, but most of Ukraine's future security guarantees will lie with Europe.

Source: Bloomberg

“We created a monster,” one U.S. official said, criticizing European allies for fueling Zelensky’s confidence while refusing to send troops.

Another White House official compared the Ukrainian leader to an actor making a “rookie mistake,” saying he has started identifying too closely with his public image.

European Commissioner for Defense Kubilius is expected to announce a new aid package to Ukraine on Monday, on the third anniversary of the beginning of the full-scale war in Ukraine.

Syrian President Ahmad Al-Sharaa met with Chinese Ambassador Xi Hongwei and his delegation at the People’s Palace in Damascus.