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A curated weekday guide to major news and developments over the past 24 hours. Here’s today’s news:
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR — U.S. AND INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE
The United States yesterday joined Russia in voting against a draft U.N. resolution condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with 93 countries voting in favour of the resolution. The United States also abstained from voting on a resolution it sponsored after the General Assembly passed amendments introducing language condemning Russian aggression into its text. Eric Bazail-Eimil reports for POLITICO.
The U.N. Security Council yesterday adopted a U.S.-drafted resolution taking a neutral position on the Russia-Ukraine conflict on the third anniversary of Moscow’s invasion. France, Britain, Denmark, Greece, and Slovenia abstained and Russia voted in favor after vetoing European efforts to add language supporting Kyiv. Michelle Nichols reports for Reuters.
More than a dozen European and Western leaders yesterday marked the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in Kyiv, as EU foreign ministers adopted a new package of sanctions against Moscow targeting a cryptocurrency exchange. David L. Stern and Ellen Francis report for the Washington Post; Reuters reports.
China and Russia are “true friends” whose ties wouldn’t be influenced by “any third party,” Chinese President Xi Jinping told Russian President Vladimir Putin during a call yesterday. Simone McCarthy and Nectar Gan report for CNN.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
A truce between Ukraine and Russia could be agreed in the coming weeks, French President Emmanuel Macron said following White House talks with President Trump in which both leaders sought to project a picture of unity despite differences on how the conflict should be resolved. Bernd Debussmann Jr, Max Matza, and Peter Bowes report for BBC News.
Ukraine and the United States are close to striking a deal on Kyiv’s natural resource revenues, Trump and Ukraine’s deputy prime minister said yesterday. A proposal seen by the New York Times yesterday contained more favorable terms to Ukraine than previous drafts but did not include security guarantees requested by Kyiv. Constant Méheut reports.
Putin has said he “will accept” European peacekeepers in Ukraine, Trump claimed yesterday. Moscow has previously stated it would consider such a move an escalation in the conflict. Clea Caulcutt and Eli Stokols report for POLITICO.
Ukraine will need approximately $524 billion to rebuild its economy after Russia’s invasion, a study by the World Bank, U.N., EU, and the Ukrainian government released yesterday found. Andrea Shalal reports for Reuters.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACTIONS
The Trump administration has rescinded a Biden-era regulation intended to prevent American allies from using U.S.-made weapons to violate international humanitarian law, current and former officials said yesterday. Meg Kelly, Missy Ryan, and Alex Horton report for the Washington Post.
The Office of Special Counsel will seek to stay the mass firings of some probationary federal workers as the en masse firings appear “contrary to a reasonable reading of the law,” the agency’s head Hampton Dellinger announced yesterday. Abbie VanSickle reports for the New York Times.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth yesterday said he is replacing the top lawyers for the military services because he didn’t think they were “well-suited” to provide “the best possible recommendations … to lawful orders.” Hegseth also refused to comment on whether Lt. Gen. Dan Caine, Trump’s pick to become the Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman who possesses few of the qualifications detailed in U.S. law for the position, is “underqualified.” Sarah Fortinsky reports for the Hill; Dan Lamothe reports for the Washington Post.
FBI Director Kash Patel was sworn in yesterday as acting chief of the Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives Bureau. Alanna Durkin Richer reports for AP News.
The acting Internal Revenue Service Commissioner, Doug O’Donnell, is expected to announce he is retiring today, with Melanie Krause, the IRS Chief Operating Officer expected to become the new acting leader, sources say. Andrew Duehren reports for the New York Times.
Confusion over Elon Musk’s “what did you do last week?” email continued yesterday, with Trump stating that Musk was saying federal employees who do not answer are “sort of semi fired or … fired” as the Office of Personnel Management informed agency leaders that response to the email is voluntary. Late yesterday, Musk indicated that the email will be resent, with failure to respond for the second time resulting in termination. The Health and Human Services Department told its employees that anyone responding should tailor their responses to an assumption that they “will be read by malign foreign actors.” Michael D. Shear and Kate Conger report for the New York Times; Rebecca Beitsch reports for the Hill; Dan Levine, Alexandra Alper, and Andy Sullivan report for Reuters.
U.S. FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Putin yesterday said he is ready to “offer” the United States access to rare earth minerals in Russia and Russian-occupied Ukraine, adding that Russia “undoubtedly” had more such resources than Ukraine. Hafsa Khalil reports for BBC News.
Trump yesterday said the tariffs on Canadian and Mexican goods are “going forward … on schedule.” It was not clear whether he was referring to tariffs imposed on Canada and Mexico specifically or “reciprocal tariffs” on countries all around the world. Doug Palmer reports for POLITICO.
The Trump administration’s foreign aid freeze has stalled a U.N. program aimed at stopping imported fentanyl chemicals from reaching Mexico’s drug cartels, sources say. Stephen Eisenhammer and Laura Gottesdiener report for Reuters.
The United States yesterday imposed sanctions on dozens of people and oil tankers across China, the United Arab Emirates, India, and other jurisdictions over their alleged links to Iran’s oil sales, the Treasury said. Fatima Hussein reports for AP News.
The Trump administration has halted efforts to hold detained migrants in Guantánamo Bay tent structures amid concerns about conditions in the facilities, a U.S. official said. Haley Britzky and Priscilla Alvarez report for CNN.
The U.S. aid freeze has forced the closure of almost 80% of the emergency food kitchens in Sudan, affecting nearly two million people, aid volunteers told BBC News. Barbara Plett Usher and Anne Soy report.
OTHER U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
China-affiliated hackers infiltrated the Republican National Committee’s internal communications system last summer in a months-long data breach, according to a forthcoming book by Alex Isenstadt and verified by the Wall Street Journal. Meredith McGraw and Dustin Volz report.
California has agreed to drop parts of a law challenged by Elon Musk’s X that requires large social media companies to disclose their policies for handling hate speech, disinformation, harassment, and extremism, according to a settlement agreed by California state Attorney General Rob Bonta and X yesterday. Tyler Katzenberger reports for POLITICO.
SYRIA
Hundreds of participants attended the long-awaited national dialogue conference in Damascus yesterday and today. The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces militia was not invited to the talks. Raja Abdulrahim and Euan Ward report for the New York Times.
The EU yesterday began easing its energy and transport sanctions and banking restrictions on Syria in a bid to kickstart Damascus’ economic recovery. AP News reports.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR
Egypt rejects the proposals to displace the Palestinian people in order to not “liquidate” the Palestinian cause and to avoid threatening regional national security, Cairo said in a statement today issued ahead of the emergency Arab League summit scheduled for March 4. Reuters reports.
OTHER GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
Around 7,000 people have been killed since January in fighting in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, with 450,000 people without shelter after 90 displacement camps were destroyed, the DRC’s prime minister told the Human Rights Council yesterday citing U.N. data. Olivia Le Poidevin reports for Reuters.
Heavy fighting at Sudan’s famine-stricken Zamzam refugee camp forced Médecins Sans Frontières to suspend their provision of aid in the area, the international medical aid group said yesterday. AP News reports.
The security arrangements that “underwrote global peace and stability for decades are unravelling before our eyes,” U.N. Secretary General António Guterres told the Conference on Disarmament yesterday. Olivia Le Poidevin reports for Reuters.
Moroccan authorities have arrested a dozen people planning attacks on behalf of the Islamic State in the Sahel this month, Moroccan officials said yesterday. Sam Metz reports for AP News.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION
A federal judge yesterday expressed skepticism about the “constitutionality” of DOGE’s “structure and operations,” pointing to the Constitution’s Appointments Clause as a source of particular concern during a hearing. Alan Feuer reports for the New York Times.
A federal judge yesterday refused to order the White House to immediately restore the Associated Press’ access to Trump’s events, saying the service did not show it suffered irreparable harm while urging the Trump administration to reconsider the ban. Matt Sedensky reports for AP News.
The federal government is temporarily barred from conducting immigration enforcement in certain places of worship following a ruling by a federal judge that such actions could violate religious freedom. Anumita Kaur reports for the Washington Post.
A federal judge yesterday issued a restraining order barring the Office of Personnel Management and the Department of Education from sharing sensitive information with DOGE, saying the move appears to breach federal privacy laws. Kyle Cheney and Josh Gerstein report for POLITICO.
Farmers and environmental groups yesterday sued the Agriculture Department over its removal of references to climate change from its websites, alleging the move denied them “access to resources they need to advocate for funds they are owed.” Karen Zraick reports for the Washington Post.
Two former Democratic members of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board who were told they were fired by Trump filed a lawsuit yesterday asking a court to declare their terminations illegal and reinstate them to the Board. Charlie Savage reports for the New York Times.
Did you miss this? Stay up-to-date with our Litigation Tracker: Legal Challenges to Trump Administration Actions
