JUST IN: #Taliban rejects President Trump's request to return the $7,000,000,000 worth of US military equipment left behind in Joe Biden's Afghanistan withdrawal.

Palestinian and Israeli filmmakers make defiant speech after winning best documentary Oscar

US not planning to sign minerals deal with Ukraine — treasury secretary
"It is impossible to have an economic deal without a peace deal," Scott Bessent said.

The US administration is no longer looking at signing a rare earths and other minerals agreement with Ukraine, US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said.

"It is impossible to have an economic deal without a peace deal. The sine qua non for an economic deal, is that Ukrainian leadership wants a peace deal," he said in an interview with the CBS television channel.

When asked whether the deal is still on the table, he said, "Not at present."

On February 28, Zelensky arrived at the White House for a meeting with US President Donald Trump. Their televised exchange, with reporters present, unraveled into a shouting match, with Trump scolding Zelensky for being disrespectful to the US, and Vice President JD Vance noting that Zelensky had not ever said a "thank you" for all the support provided to Kiev. A news conference scheduled to follow the meeting was canceled, and Trump posted a statement on the Truth Social media platform saying that Zelensky was disrespectful and not ready for peace.

Zelensky’s visit was to yield a minerals agreement between the US and Ukraine. According to Reuters that cites a White House official, the decision to cancel the ceremony was made by the US leader.

Russian forces pound Ukrainian military airfields in precision strike
Russia’s Battlegroup North inflicted roughly 35 casualties on Ukrainian troops and destroyed an enemy artillery gun in its area of responsibility in the Kharkov Region over the past day, the ministry reported

#UN Security Council adopts US-drafted resolution on Ukraine conflict in its original form .

The UN Security Council has adopted the US-drafted resolution on the conflict in Ukraine in its original form, rejecting amendments by both European countries and Russia, a TASS correspondent reported.

Ten members of the Security Council, including Russia, the US and China, voted in favor of the document, while five countries, including the UK and France, abstained. To pass a resolution in the UN Security Council, a minimum of nine votes in favor and the absence of vetoes by the permanent members, that is the US, Russia, China, the UK and France, is required.

The adopted resolution is written in a neutral tone. It expresses sorrow for those killed in the Ukrainian conflict and emphasizes the UN's role in maintaining international peace and security. It also calls for an end to the conflict and the establishment of a long-term peace between Ukraine and Russia.

Before the vote on the resolution itself, the European countries tried to postpone the procedure until Tuesday, but the Security Council rejected their request. After that, a number of European countries, including France and the United Kingdom, proposed several anti-Russian amendments, some of which were blocked by Russia, while the rest did not get the required number of votes. Russia also proposed two amendments to the text of the resolution, but its amendments did not garner the required number of votes and were also rejected, while the US abstained from voting on all amendments.

Zelenskyy says he is willing to give up presidency if it means peace in #Ukraine

Who are the hostages released by #Hamas?

Eli Sharabi, 52

Eli Sharabi was taken captive by the militants from Kibbutz Beeri, a communal farm that was one of the hardest hit in the Hamas attack. His British-born wife, Lianne, and their teenage daughters, Noiya and Yahel, were killed by militants while hiding in their safe room. His brother, Yossi Sharabi, who lived next door, was killed in captivity. Hamas militants are holding his body, according to the Hostages Forum.

Eli Sharabi’s home bore marks from the attack months later. AP journalists saw bullet holes in the walls and the shattered oven and TV screens. Nearby homes were torched by militants and their roofs blasted off during fighting on Oct. 7.
Ohad Ben Ami, 56

Ohad Ben Ami, a father to three, was taken captive with his wife, Raz, from Kibbutz Beeri, where he was an accountant. Raz Ben Ami was released during the weeklong ceasefire in November 2023.

The hostages forum described Ohad Ben Ami as a “passionate nature enthusiast” and the “cornerstone of his family.”
Or Levy, 34

Or Levy was pulled out by the militants from a bomb shelter near the Nova music festival in southern Israel. His wife, Einav Levy, was killed during the attack. Their son Almog, now 3, has been in the care of relatives since the assault.

Levy was taken captive alongside American-Israeli Hersh Goldberg-Polin as well as two other hostages — Eliya Cohen and Alon Ohel. Goldberg-Polin, whose parents staged a high-profile campaign for his release, was killed in Hamas captivity.

Or Levy is from the city of Rishon Lezion, where he worked as a computer programmer for a startup.
Keith Siegel, 65

Keith Siegel, from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, was abducted with his wife, Aviva Siegel, from Kibbutz Kfar Aza, a communal farming village heavily damaged by the attack. She was freed during the November 2023 ceasefire deal, and has campaigned across the world for the release of her husband and other hostages.

Aviva Siegel said that she was held hostage with her husband during her 51 days in captivity. She said she took comfort from having her husband by her side as they were moved from tunnel to tunnel, the two given almost no food or water. Her parting words to him were, “Be strong for me.”
Ofer Kalderon, 54

Ofer Kalderon, a French-Israeli hostage, was taken captive from Kibbutz Nir Oz. His teenage children, Sahar and Erez, were also abducted, but they were freed during the weeklong ceasefire in 2023.
Arbel Yehoud, 29

Arbel Yehoud was taken hostage with her boyfriend, Ariel Cunio, from Kibbutz Nir Oz. A third-generation resident of the kibbutz, she loves science and space, and her friends held a public star gazing to mark her birthday in captivity.

Her brother, Dolev Yehoud, was killed on Oct. 7.
Agam Berger, 20

In videos of Agam Berger’s abduction, her face is covered in blood, though it’s unclear if it is from her own wound or those of other soldiers.

Berger is a violin player from a suburb of Tel Aviv who enlisted in the army just two months before the attack. Berger was released after the other female soldiers taken from the Nahal Oz military base.
Gadi Moses, 80

Gadi Moses was one of the oldest hostages who remained in captivity in Gaza.

He was taken from his home on Kibbutz Nir Oz, one of the communities hardest-hit in the Hamas-led attack. The hostages forum described Moses as an expert agronomist who lectured on agriculture and helped maintain the kibbutz’s community vegetable garden.

Moses’ partner, Efrat, was killed during the attack.
Watchara Sriaoun, 33

In the Oct. 7 attack, militants overran the compound where agricultural workers lived on Kibbutz Nir Oz. Out of the 16 Thai workers living there, 11 were killed and five, including Watchara Sriaoun, were abducted.

They were among at least 31 Thai workers taken in the assault. In the November 2023 ceasefire, 23 were released in a deal negotiated between Thailand and Hamas, with assistance from Qatar and Iran.
Sathian Suwannakham, 35

Sathian Suwannakham was also taken from Nir Oz. The kibbutz has continued to advocate for the release of the Thai workers by posting regularly about them on social media, in addition to the Israeli hostages.
Surasak Rumnao, 32

Surasak Rumnao was abducted from the town of Yesha, located near the southern Gaza Strip.

His mother, Khammee Lamnao, said the Thai Embassy in Israel called her to let her know her son would be released.
Pongsak Thaenna, 36

Pongsak Thaenna was also taken from the town of Yesha. Thais make up the largest group of foreigners held in Gaza.

In the early days after the Oct. 7 attack, then-Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin pressed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in phone conversations to assist the Thai hostages.
Bannawat Saethao, 27

Bannawat Saethao was also abducted from the town of Yesha.
Liri Albag, 19

Liri Albag, who was among those abducted from the Nahal Oz military base, was featured in a video Hamas released in early January, filmed under duress. Her family said the video was “difficult to watch” because of Albag’s clear emotional distress. They were particularly active in the protest movement pushing for a deal with Hamas to bring the hostages home.

“Liri, if you’re hearing us, tell the others that all the families are moving heaven and earth and want their children home, and we will fight until all hostages are returned,” her father said in a statement after the video was released.
Karina Ariev, 20

Karina Ariev was also taken from Nahal Oz.

Just before she was abducted, she she sent a message to her family, saying: “If I don’t live, take care of mom and dad all their lives. Don’t give up, live,” according to Israeli media. Her family said she loves to cook, sing, dance and write poetry.
Daniella Gilboa, 20

Also taken from Nahal Oz, Daniella Gilboa was originally named Danielle. Her parents changed it after she was taken captive, in line with a Jewish tradition that is believed to bring God’s protection.

Gilboa, from Petah Tikva, a suburb of Tel Aviv, played piano and studied music in high school. She dreams of being a singer, according to Israeli media.
Naama Levy, 20

The footage from Naama Levy’s abduction, in which she is wearing gray sweatpants covered in blood, was shown around the world.

Levy, among those taken from Nahal Oz, is a triathlete. When she was younger, she participated in the “Hands of Peace” delegation, which brings together Americans, Israelis and Palestinians to work on coexistence.
Romi Gonen, 24

Romi Gonen was taken from the Nova music festival in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. She spoke to her family for nearly five hours as militants marauded through the festival grounds. She told them that roads clogged with abandoned cars made escape impossible and that she would seek shelter in some bushes.

Her father, Eitan Goren, said she survived in part by learning Arabic, as it was the only way to communicate with her captors. “I just enjoy being with her even in silence, touching, hugging, watching her,” he said, a week after her release. “I missed it so much.”
Emily Damari, 28

Emily Damari is a British-Israeli citizen abducted from her apartment on Kibbutz Kfar Aza. She lived in a small apartment in a neighborhood for young adults, the closest part of the kibbutz to Gaza. Militants broke through the border fence of the kibbutz and ransacked the neighborhood.

The day after her release, Emily’s mother, Mandy, said her daughter was “in high spirits and on the road to recovery.”
Doron Steinbrecher, 31

Doron Steinbrecher is a veterinary nurse who loves animals, and a neighbor to Damari in Kibbutz Kfar Aza. Steinbrecher holds both Israeli and Romanian citizenship.

Steinbrecher was featured in a video released by Hamas in January 2024, along with two female Israeli soldiers. Her brother said the video gave them hope that she was alive but sparked concern because she looked tired, weak and gaunt.

Russian forces hit Ukrainian attack drone warehouses, drone operator sites — top brass.TASS has compiled the main information on the special military operation progress over the past 24 hours.

The Russian military struck Ukrainian infrastructure over the past day, the Defense Ministry reported.

"The Russian Armed Forces hit the infrastructure of Ukrainian military airfields, attack drone warehouses and drone operator sites, ammunition and fuel depots, as well as enemy temporary deployment sites in 157 areas," the ministry said.

TASS has compiled the main information on the special military operation progress over the past 24 hours.
Battlegroup West

The Russian Armed Forces have liberated the Novolubovka settlement in the Lugansk People's Republic, the Defense Ministry reported.

"As a result of decisive actions of the battlegroup West, the Novolubovka settlement in the Lugansk People's Republic has been liberated," it said.

According to the ministry, over the past 24 hours, the battlegroup defeated the manpower and equipment of six Ukrainian brigades, eliminating over 200 enemy servicemen and destroying a tank and a US-made M113 armored personnel carrier.
Battlegroup South

The servicemen on the battlegroup South have defeated Ukraine’s Foreign Legion units in the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), the Russian military reported.

"The battlegroup South has taken more favorable lines and positions, defeating the manpower and equipment of six Ukrainian brigades and the Foreign Legion units. The battlegroup also eliminated up to 220 Ukrainian servicemen," the statement said.

The ministry added that the Ukrainian military also lost an infantry fighting vehicle, nine vehicles and six field artillery guns, including a US-made 155 mm M777 howitzer, an electronic warfare station and an ammunition depot.
Battlegroup Center

Russia’s battlegroup Center has improved its tactical positions, eliminating over 375 Ukrainian servicemen, the Defense Ministry said.

"The battlegroup Center defeated the manpower and equipment of 17 Ukrainian brigades. The enemy lost over 375 servicemen," the statement emphasized.

The Ukrainian military also lost four armored combat vehicles, including a US-made MaxxPro armored vehicle, five vehicles and seven field artillery guns, including a US-made Paladin 155 mm howitzer, the ministry added.
Battlegroup East

The battlegroup East eliminated up to 160 servicemen and destroyed a German-made Leopard tank over the past 24 hours, the ministry pointed out.

"The battlegroup East continued to advance deep into the enemy's defense, defeating the manpower and equipment of five Ukrainian brigades. The enemy lost up to 160 servicemen, two tanks, including a German-made Leopard, three vehicles and two field artillery guns," the statement said.
Battlegroups North, Dnepr

The battlegroups North and Dnepr wipes out up to 125 Ukrainian servicemen over the past 24 hours, the military said.

The enemy also lost an armored personnel carrier, six vehicles, two artillery guns and four electronic warfare stations, as well as an ammunition depot.
Ukrainian equipment downed and destroyed

Russian air defenses have downed a Ukrainian Air Force’s MiG-29 jet, two Hammer bombs, two HIMARS rockets and 58 fixed-wing drones over the past 24 hours, the ministry pointed out.

According to it, a total of 656 aircraft, 283 helicopters, 44,190 drones, 596 anti-aircraft missile systems, 21,698 tanks and other armored fighting vehicles, 1,521 multiple rocket launchers, 21,948 field artillery guns and mortars, as well as 32,033 special military vehicles have been destroyed since the start of the special military operation.

Trump says Russia-US meeting in Riyadh was ‘very good’, confident of stabilization, US President stating that his confidence in the settlement in the Ukraine crisis has grown.

US President Donald Trump has described the Russian-American talks held in Riyadh as positive, stating that his confidence in the settlement in the Ukraine crisis has grown.

"Much more confident, they were very good," he told reporters after signing a number of his new executive orders in Mar-a-Lago, Florida.

"Russia wants to do something. They want to stop the savage barbarianism," he added.

On February 18, Russia and the US held talks in Riyadh, which lasted 4.5 hours. Russia was represented at the meeting by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, presidential aide Yury Ushakov and Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) head Kirill Dmitriev. The US was represented by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, and the US leader’s special envoy for the Middle East Steven Witkoff.

According to Ushakov, the delegations talked at length about everything on the agenda, including bringing the positions of Russia and the United States together and contacts on Ukraine. Lavrov called the conversation with US officials very constructive and reported that Russia and the United States had agreed to ensure the earliest possible appointment of ambassadors in both capitals. In turn, the US Department of State noted that Lavrov and Rubio agreed on creating negotiating teams on Ukraine as well as on future cooperation on shared geopolitical interests.

U.S. presented #Ukraine with a document to access its minerals but offered almost nothing in return.

— Ukrainian President #Volodymyr #Zelenskyy says he directed his ministers not to sign off on a proposed agreement to give the United States access to Ukraine’s rare earth minerals because the document was too focused on U.S. interests.

The proposal, which was a key part of Zelenskyy’s talks with U.S. Vice President JD Vance on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference on Friday, did not offer any specific security guarantees in return, according to one current and one former senior Ukrainian official familiar with the talks.

Zelenskyy’s decision not to sign a deal, at least for now, was described as “short-sighted” by a senior White House official.

“I didn’t let the ministers sign a relevant agreement because in my view it is not ready to protect us, our interest,” Zelenskyy told The Associated Press on Saturday in Munich.

The proposal focused on how the U.S. could use Kyiv’s rare earth minerals “as compensation” for support already given to Ukraine by the Biden administration and as payment for future aid, current and former senior Ukrainian officials said, speaking anonymously so they could speak freely.

Ukraine has vast reserves of critical minerals that are used in the aerospace, defense and nuclear industries. The Trump administration has indicated it is interested in accessing them to reduce dependence on China but Zelenskyy said any exploitation would need to be tied to security guarantees for Ukraine that would deter future Russian aggression.

“For me is very important the connection between some kind of security guarantees and some kind of investment,” the Ukrainian president said.

Zelenskyy did not go into details about why he instructed his officials not to sign the document, which was given to Ukrainian officials on Wednesday by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bassent on a visit to Kyiv.

“It’s a colonial agreement and Zelenskyy cannot sign it,” the former senior official said.

White House National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes did not explicitly confirm the offer, but said in a statement that “President Zelenskyy is being short-sighted about the excellent opportunity the Trump administration has presented to Ukraine.”

The Trump administration has grown weary of sending additional U.S. aid to Ukraine and Hughes said a minerals deal would allow American taxpayers to “recoup” money sent to Kyiv, while growing Ukraine’s economy.

Hughes added that the White House believes “binding economic ties with the United States will be the best guarantee against future aggression and an integral part of lasting peace.” He added: “The U.S. recognizes this, the Russians recognize this, and the Ukrainians must recognize this.”

U.S. officials in discussions with their Ukrainian counterparts in Munich were commercially minded and largely concentrated on the specifics of exploring the minerals and how to form a possible partnership to do that with Ukraine, the senior official said.

The potential value of the deposits in Ukraine has not yet been discussed, with much unexplored or close to the front line.

The U.S. proposal apparently did not take into account how the deposits would be secured in the event of continuing Russian aggression. The official suggested the U.S. did not have “ready answers,” to that question and that one of their takeaways from discussions in Munich will be how to secure any mineral extraction operation in Ukraine involving people and infrastructure.

Any deal must be in accordance with Ukrainian law and acceptable to the Ukrainian people, the senior Ukrainian official said.

“Subsoil belongs to Ukrainians under the Constitution,” Kseniiia Orynchak, founder of the National Association of Mining Industry of Ukraine, previously told the AP, suggesting a deal would need popular support.

Zelenskyy and Vance did not discuss the details of the U.S. document during their meeting Friday at the Munich Security Conference, the senior official said. That meeting was “very good” and “substantive,” with Vance making it clear his and Trump’s main goal was to achieve a durable, lasting peace, the senior official said.

Zelenskyy told Vance that real peace requires Ukraine to be in a “strong position” when starting negotiations, stressed that the U.S negotiators should come to Ukraine, and that the U.S., Ukraine and Europe must be at the negotiating table for talks with Russia.

But Gen. Keith Kellogg, Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, all but cut Europeans out of any Ukraine-Russia talks, despite Zelenskyy’s request.

“You can have the Ukrainians, the Russians, and clearly the Americans at the table talking,” Kellogg said at an event hosted by a Ukrainian tycoon at the Munich Security Conference. Pressed on whether that meant Europeans won’t be included, he said: “I’m a school of realism. I think that’s not going to happen.”

Ukraine is now preparing a “counter proposal” which will be delivered to the U.S. in “the near future,” the official said.

“I think it’s important that the vice president understood me that if we want to sign something, we have to understand that it will work,” Zelenskyy told the AP.

That means, he said, “it will bring money and security.”