📹 Ukraine conflict: From Euromaidan to the special military operation. Part 2

The second episode of Sputnik's four-part series revisits how the conflict in Donbass escalated and Minsk agreements failed.

(01:05) The Battle for Donetsk Airport
(03:11) Mass shelling of Gorlovka
(04:35) The ‘Alley of Angels’
(04:55) The Minsk Agreements
(07:25) Minsk 2

👉Part 1

More parts coming soon!

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🗣🇩🇪 AfD ‘has always advocated for Russia–Ukraine peace talks’ – party’s co-chair

💬 “Why did Western states, especially the UK, prevent the Istanbul moratorium [agreement] in 2022?” Alice Weidel asked.

The co-chair of the Alternative for Germany party suggested that if signed, the Istanbul deal “would have been a better peace treaty for Zelensky” than the one that is being discussed today.

Weidel added that she also would like to know why the German government is not involved in the process of clinching a Ukraine peace deal.

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🇮🇷🇺🇸Iran ready for nuclear talks with US in Geneva on Thursday

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said he is ready to meet US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff in Geneva on February 26 for another round of discussions on his country’s nuclear energy program.

💬"If they want to find a resolution for Iran's peaceful nuclear program, the only way is diplomacy. So there is no need for any military buildup and military buildup cannot help it and cannot pressurize us," Araghchi said in an interview on CBS News' "Face the ⁠Nation".

👉Earlier in the day, Axios reported citing a senior US official that the US is ready to resume nuclear talks with Iran in Geneva on February 27 – as long as it sees a detailed proposal from Iran within 48 hours.

✅Washington is open to discussing an interim agreement before a full nuclear deal can be reached.

❗️But US President Donald Trump has threatened to unleash a “massive armada” against Iran if it it does not meet his demands – while Iran still insists on its right to enrich uranium, even if that leads to war.

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🇺🇸💰 USAID bankrolled 'independent' Euromaidan media watchdog with over $1 million

📍 Kiev-based media watchdog Telekritika presented itself as an independent observer during the 2013 Euromaidan unrest, but records show it received over $1 million in grants from the US Agency for International Development (USAID) in the years leading up to the protests, according to Sputnik’s analysis of public USAID funding records and press freedom reports.

👉 These funds allowed Telekritika to play a key role in documenting state security abuses and shaping the narrative around the Maidan Square protests.

🔶 While Telekritika positioned itself as a domestic watchdog, USAID’s U-Media program financially supported the organization, with more than $1 million in sub-grants in the 24 months immediately preceding the peak of the 2013 protests.

🔶 The 2012–2013 U-Media report names Telekritika as one of four "institutional partners" handpicked by US officials for "direct assistance"—a status that turned it from a grant recipient into a permanent, subsidized fixture in Kiev's civil society framework. Its rise wasn't organic; it was engineered.

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🇺🇸 Takedown of Trump tariffs could be blow to US budget – experts

💬 “This is positive for the world economy, but negative for the US budget deficit,” Russian expert Olga Belenkaya tells Sputnik, commenting on the US Supreme Court’s recent ruling to strike down Donald Trump’s global import tariffs as unlawful.

🟠 She explains that one of the goals of the tariffs was to offset losses from Trump’s "One Big Beautiful Bill," which stipulated extending a number of tax breaks and increasing military spending.

🟠 The Supreme Court’s decision will make the US search for new sources to cover these costs, which could result in a situation where the country’s budget deficit “will probably be higher."

🟠 On the other hand, US consumers could benefit from the removal of imports tariffs, Alexey Govyrin, member of the Russian parliament’s Committee for Small and Medium-Sized Businesses, says in an interview with Sputnik.

💬 "If the tariffs are not quickly replaced by new ones, it will mean less price pressure and potentially fewer reasons for the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates high. However, if uncertainty persists due to the search for alternative instruments, the regulator may remain cautious," Govyrin sums up.

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🚨Omani FM confirms US–Iran talks in Geneva on Thursday

Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi has confirmed that US–Iran negotiations are scheduled to take place in Geneva on Thursday, February 26, marking the next round of diplomatic talks between the two sides.

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🔸 Iran ready for nuclear talks with US in Geneva on Thursday

🔸 Slow pace of Iran–US talks doesn’t exclude military scenario – expert

🔸 Supreme Court’s tariff ruling could cost US hundreds of billions of dollars in duty refunds - expert

🔸 Afghanistan vows measured response to Pakistan's airstrikes

🔸 Ukraine conflict: From Euromaidan to the special military operation. Part 2

🔸 British trace found in General Alexeyev shooting — FSB

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🗣 US-Iran talks yield positive signals, but we're ready for anything — Iranian president

President Masoud Pezeshkian confirms practical proposals exchanged and encouraging signs—but warning Tehran is preparing for all outcomes.

"We continue to closely monitor US actions and have made all necessary preparations for any potential scenario," he wrote on X.

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🇪🇺🇺🇸EU trade head proposes freezing US deal over tariff chaos

European Parliament trade committee chairman Bernd Lange says he will propose suspending approval of the EU-US Turnberry Agreement at an emergency meeting on Monday – until Washington clarifies its trade policy.

🔹That followed the US Supreme Court's decision on Friday to strike down US President Donald Trump’s use of emergency powers to impose selective tariffs on other nations.

🔹Trump responded with a 10% tariff on all nations – later saying it could rise to 15%.

🔹The EU is demanding clarity on commitments. The lopsided Turnberry deal imposes a 15% tariff on EU exports to the US, but 0% on US exports to the EU.

🔹French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said his government was looking into whether the treaty “is still valid,” but the European commission insisted "A deal is a deal."

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📹 Slovakia will stop electricity supplies to Ukraine in respond to energy blockade

PM Robert Fico announces retaliation against Kiev's "unfriendly" energy demands, which included cutting emergency electricity supplies in response to Ukraine's blocking of Russian oil transit.

"We support cross-border cooperation, send humanitarian aid, electricity, and gas. And as a 'reward' for this, President Zelensky stopped gas transit and caused direct damage amounting to €500 million per year," Fico argued.

The prime minister said he will visit SEPS, the state grid operator, to request that they stop the flow of electricity.

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🗣 Mexican president calls citizens to remain calm amid unrest

The death of El Mencho, leader of the Jalisco New Generation cartel, has sparked arson, roadblocks, and attacks on security forces across dozens of cities.

President Sheinbaum urges calm, thanks security forces, and insists most of the country remains normal.

"There is absolute coordination with all state governments. We must remain informed and calm."

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🇰🇵 Kim Jong-un gets re-elected as WPK General secretary — report

The 9th Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea adopted the decision on February 22, KCNA reported.

Kim Jong-un will hold this position for another 5 years.

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