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What the days before 21 February 2025 showed
Summary
A look back at strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure and sharp diplomatic exchanges reported in the run-up to 21 February 2025.
What was the picture as of 21 February 2025? Reports from the preceding days pointed to a war that continued on the ground while diplomacy moved quickly and unevenly.
On 19 February 2025, Russian missile and drone strikes hit locations across Ukraine. At least one person was killed and 14 others were injured. Among the attacks was a large drone strike on energy infrastructure in Odesa, which left 160,000 residents without heating and electricity.
The same day, the diplomatic track produced contrasting signals. Russian President Vladimir Putin praised the high-level talks between Russia and the United States in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, calling them a "first step" towards restoring full diplomatic ties with the United States.
In the same period, relations between Washington and Kyiv were reported to be deteriorating. U.S. President Donald Trump called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a "dictator" and said he had done a "terrible job". He also warned that Zelenskyy was "not going to have a country left" soon.
Two tracks, one week
Taken together, the reports from 19 February 2025 described a Ukraine under continued strikes on its energy system while the terms of peace negotiations were being discussed in a format that, as reported, centred on Russia and the United States. Moscow framed the Riyadh meeting as the start of a wider restoration of ties, while the U.S. president's remarks about Ukraine's leader underlined the strain between Kyiv and Washington.
