Key Takeaways from the ISW:
- Kremlin officials recently have been repeating the same messages about Russia’s commitment to its original war aims in Ukraine to various media sources that reach international and domestic audiences.
- Lavrov explicitly reiterated Russia’s 2021 and 2022 demands of NATO and Ukraine in his February 11 interview with a Russian propagandist channel.
- The United States, Ukraine, and Russia may hold another round of trilateral talks on February 17 to 18.
- The Kremlin appears to be subordinating two major security institutions under Russian Chief of the General Staff Army General Valery Gerasimov, a Putin loyalist.
- Russian milbloggers issued new complaints about the Kremlin’s handling of the recent throttling of Telegram, continuing domestic backlash against further Kremlin censorship efforts.
- US Ambassador to NATO Matt Whitaker highlighted the success of the Prioritized Ukrainian Requirements List (PURL) initiative, which funds NATO purchases of US-manufactured weapons for Ukraine.
- Ukrainian forces recently advanced near Hulyaipole. Russian forces recently advanced in northern Sumy Oblast, and near Velykyi Burluk, Borova, and Slovyansk.
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