The president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, demands a 20-year security guarantee from the United States for his country as an inescapable condition for signing a peace treaty with Russia, international media reported. Several residential buildings, commercial and public facilities, as well as electrical infrastructure, were damaged, and at least one person was injured. Meanwhile, the Kursk and Kaluga regions reported the downing of 25 and 14 drones, respectively, in the last day. The NABU declared that five of the seven suspects were arrested during the investigation. Russian forces took settlements in Ukraine. Russian forces took control of two settlements the previous day: Pokrovka, in the Sumy region, and Minkovka, in the Donetsk region, as part of ongoing military operations, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported on Monday. During the day, Russian forces attacked 152 areas, including energy and transport infrastructure used by Ukrainian forces, sites for the storage and launch of long-range drones, as well as temporary deployment points for Ukrainian formations and foreign mercenaries, the ministry indicated. Russian air defense systems also shot down eight rockets launched from American-made HIMARS multiple rocket launch systems and 345 fixed-wing drones, it added. The delegation that will negotiate in Geneva is being expanded. The Kremlin's press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, announced this Monday that the Russian delegation for talks on Ukraine in Geneva will be expanded, expecting that a wide range of key issues will be debated, including territorial ones. "The delegation will be expanded on this occasion. The Ukrainian army also attacked other regions between February 15 and 16. In the Belgorod region, 88 drones were detected in the last 24 hours, of which 51 were shot down. The next round of talks will take place on Tuesday and Wednesday in Geneva. Corruption in Ukraine. The former Minister of Energy of Ukraine, German Galushchenko, was detained by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) while trying to cross the border, the agency reported. "Today, when crossing the state border, NABU detectives detained the former minister in the framework of the Midas case," states the report, disseminated by Telegram and collected by the Ukrinform site. The NABU emphasized that preliminary investigative actions are underway and are carried out in accordance with the law and judicial sanctions. He added that the attacks lasted more than 12 hours, from the morning of February 15 until around 20:00 local time (17:00 GMT). Russian forces intercepted and destroyed more than 170 drones during that period. US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the president's son, will attend the talks in Geneva on Tuesday. Ukraine attacked with drones. The Ukrainian army carried out the most powerful and massive drone attack in the Russian region of Bryansk since the start of the conflict, damaging energy infrastructure facilities, the regional governor Alexander Bogomaz declared on Monday. Ukraine has not commented on the attacks so far. The head of state pointed out that in the trilateral negotiations, the United States addressed the issue of concessions too often with Ukraine, not with Russia. "Americans tend to return to the topic of concessions, and too often these concessions are discussed only in the context of Ukraine, not Russia," he added in a complaining tone, according to a Xinhua news agency cable. In addition to the Russian presidential adviser Vladimir Medinsky, the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister, Mikhail Galuzin, and other officials will participate," said Peskov. He added that Medinsky remains the head of the Russian delegation and commented: "On this occasion we will discuss a wider range of issues, which will cover key issues related to the territories and other relevant issues linked to the demands we have made," he said. Peskov had previously stated that talks on Ukraine would resume on February 17 and 18. In a comment to Ukrinform, the press secretary of the State Border Service, Andriy Demchenko, noted that border control measures at checkpoints are carried out by the State Border Service in accordance with the law. "I would like to note that border guards also carry out orders from authorized state bodies, which may, in particular, refer to additional investigations into the existence of legal grounds for crossing the state border. A well-informed source from the security forces informed that employees of the Anti-Corruption Bureau conducted searches at the home of businessman and co-owner of the Kvartal 95 studio, Tymur Mindich, as well as at the home of Galushchenko, who previously served as Minister of Energy. The Ministry of Justice subsequently confirmed that investigative actions were carried out with the participation of Galushchenko within the criminal case. He also stated that he expects serious and substantive talks to take place in the upcoming peace talks with Russia and the United States in Geneva. Zelensky made a strong stand in Europe, according to Agence France-Presse, and warned that this requirement is "inescapable," as verified by the Argentine News Agency. "We sincerely hope that the trilateral meetings next week will be serious, substantive, and useful for all," Zelensky stated during a speech at the Munich Security Conference in Germany, according to a report published on his official website. He specified that a total of 229 drones were destroyed in 24 hours in the region starting at 08:00 (05:00 GMT) on February 15. The border agency has no right to disclose this information, only to those who issue such orders," he clarified. The attacks damaged multiple power supply facilities, temporarily interrupting electricity and heating services in five municipal districts of the region and parts of the regional capital, he added. He noted that the emergency team restored electricity and heating after about three hours, repairing the infrastructure and activating backup systems.
