Pete Hegseth told reporters, "We can talk all we want about values. Values are important. But you can't shoot values."
Elon Musk's son tells Trump, "You're not the President and you need to go away!" during his father’s press conference in The Oval Office.
@SecDef walks back his statement yesterday that a negotiated settlement is not likely to end with Ukraine in @NATO: "These negotiations are led by @realDonaldTrump. Everything is on the table. In his conversations with Vladimir Putin and Zelensky, what he decides to allow or not allow, is at the purview of the leader of the free world--President Trump. So I'm not going to stand at this podium and declare what President Trump will do or won't do, what will be in or what will be out, what concessions will be made or what concessions are not made."
https://x.com/nickschifrin
Trump appears to be seeking a deal over the head of Ukraine & Europe. This is the moment for Europeans to seize the frozen Russian assets and use them to give Ukraine leverage; leverage to shape a deal & to walk away from a rotten one if necessary.
Speaking at the NATO Summit, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth expressed his opposition to war-torn Ukraine joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
And he pushed back against the idea that supporting Ukraine is an expression of democratic values.
Hegseth told reporters, "We can talk all we want about values. Values are important. But you can't shoot values."
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Russian forces conducted a series of drone strikes against Ukraine on the night of February 12 and 13.
The Ukrainian Air Force reported that Russian forces launched 140 Shahed and decoy drones from Primosko-Akhtarsk, Krasnodar Krai; Shatalovo, Smolensk Oblast; and Oryol, Bryansk, and Kursk oblasts.[69] The Ukrainian Air Force reported that Ukrainian forces downed 85 drones over Kharkiv, Poltava, Sumy, Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Kirovohrad, Dnipropetrovsk, Mykolaiv, Kherson, and Odesa oblasts; that 52 drones were "lost," likely due to Ukrainian electronic warfare (EW) interference; and that the strikes damaged unspecified infrastructure in Kharkiv Oblast. Ukraine's Southern Operational Command reported on February 13 that Russian drone strikes damaged port infrastructure and an educational facility in Odesa Oblast.[70]
Ukrainian Air Force reported that Ukrainian forces downed 85 drones over Kharkiv, Poltava, Sumy, Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Kirovohrad, Dnipropetrovsk, Mykolaiv, Kherson, and Odesa oblasts
Ukrainian forces continue to target Russian energy and military infrastructure as part of an ongoing strike campaign against Russian defense industrial enterprises. Ukraine's Main Military Intelligence Directorate (GUR) announced on February 13 that Ukrainian drones destroyed two Valdai radar complexes in Dolgoprudny, Moscow Oblast and noted that Russian forces used the radar complexes to detect and down drones over the airspace near Moscow City.[18] Lipetsk Oblast Governor Igor Artamonov claimed on February 13 that Ukrainian drones targeted the Lipetsk water aeration station in Lipetsk City, and a Russian source claimed that Ukrainian drones targeted the Novolipetsk Metallurgical Plant, which is located near the station and produces about 20 percent of Russia's steel output.[19] Ukrainian outlet Suspilne, citing sources in Ukraine's Security Service (SBU), reported on February 13 that the SBU struck the Andreapol oil pumping station in Tver Oblast, causing a fire at the boiler equipment warehouse and a closed switchgear.[20]
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- Ukraine's European partners announced new military assistance to Ukraine amid the February 12 Ukraine Defense Contact Group (the Ramstein format) meeting.
- Russia reportedly lost just over 5,000 tanks and armored vehicles during 2024 compared with 3,000 in 2023.
- IISS noted that Russia has adapted some of its tactics to address ongoing equipment shortages and is increasingly relying on infantry-led assaults to advance along the frontline.
- It remains unclear if Russia can repair and newly-produce a sufficient number of tanks and armored vehicles to replace losses in Ukraine and equip new Russian units.
- Estonia's Foreign Intelligence Service (EFIS) assessed that Russia is attempting to build its capabilities not only to support Russia's war effort in Ukraine but also to prepare for a potential future war with NATO, which is consistent with ISW's assessments about ongoing Russian efforts to prepare its military and society for a future conflict with NATO in the medium to long-term.
- Ukrainian forces continue to target Russian energy and military infrastructure as part of an ongoing strike campaign against Russian defense industrial enterprises.
- The Moldovan Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) announced on February 13 the termination of the Moldovan-Russian Intergovernmental Agreement on the establishment and functioning of Russian cultural centers in Moldova in response to ongoing reports of Russian drones violating Moldovan airspace.
- Russian forces recently advanced near Borova and Siversk.
- Russian officials continue efforts to increase recruitment for the "BARS-Bryansk" volunteer territorial defense detachment.
https://t.co/Ryf3INzE8Y
https://t.co/s2tRJoEjK6
Fighting continued in the Ukrainian salient in Kursk Oblast on February 13. Russian milbloggers claimed that fighting continues west of Sudzha near Sverdlikovo and southeast of Sudzha near Cherkasskaya Konopelka.[29] A Russian milblogger claimed on February 13 that Ukrainian forces counterattacked near Kurilovka (south of Sudzha).[30]
Order of Battle: Elements of the Russian 106th Airborne (VDV) Division reportedly continue to operate near Cherkasskaya Konopelka.[31]
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