A morning Russian drone strike on Chernobyl generated initial concern, while tax season opened with a new mobile filing system. By mid-morning, Zelenskyy's Munich speech proposed a "European army" concept, responding to growing isolation from US-Russia talks.
The afternoon brought General Kellogg's confirmation that Europe would be excluded from peace negotiations, citing lessons from the Minsk agreements. This prompted emergency consultations between European leaders, with Sikorski reaching out to Macron. Reports emerged of Saudi Arabia potentially hosting US-Russia talks.
Evening coverage revealed Rubio-Lavrov discussions about "potential cooperation," while Trump's team outlined plans to separate Russia from its Chinese and Iranian alliances. Chinese military aircraft operations over Europe and British plans to supply Russian tanks to Ukraine completed the day's security developments.