In the Heart of Ukraine

00:06:30 Russia is virtually preventing freedomof navigation to Ukrainian ports.

Hi, this is Yevhen Matiushenko with Ukrinform

and you’re watching our weekly recap of. the latest news, In the Heart of Ukraine.

Vladimir Putin used a non-explicit part of an. old R-rated limerick in a comment referring

to Ukraine’s obligation to fulfill the Minsk. agreements in a way Russia interprets them.

The jingle brings up sexual assault connotations. from the Sleeping Beauty tale. Putin said, quote:

"Whether you like it or not,tough it out, my beautiful girl."

What kind of rape diplomacy is that?...

Apparently unhappy with such an aggressive remark,

Zelensky snapped at Putin, when. asked to comment on the issue.

Ukraine sure is beautiful, but to. say it’s yours is just too much.

Baam!

What the Russian leader keeps insisting on

is that Ukraine talk directly with representatives. of the unrecognized entities that emerged in parts

of Donetsk and Luhansk regions with what. Ukraine has repeatedly stated was direct

support and supervision on the part of Moscow.

Meanwhile, one of Ukraine’s major red lines is:

we do not negotiate with Russian proxy forces.

May we please have adults in the room?

Speaking of Minsk agreements,

U.S. diplomats inKyiv underlined the fact that

Russia is pushing a distorted interpretation of the deal,

including insisting on "autonomy" for Moscow-controlled Donbas.

Nowhere in the Minsk Agreements is the word “autonomy” mentioned, the U.S. embassy tweeted.

The advisors to the Normandy Four leaders met in Berlin on Thursday.

The meeting saw no breakthroughs as no documents were signed after more than eight hours of talks.

The head of the Ukrainian President’s Office, Andriy Yermak, said

the parties agreedthat

the Minsk accords must be implemented.

Now the main stumbling block is

the sequence of steps laid down in the deal.

French President Emmanuel Macron visited Kyiv this week

the next day after meeting President Putin in Moscow.

While in Ukraine,

the French leader refuted media reports by Le Figaro and Le Monde claiming

he had discussed with his Russian counterpart the prospects of Ukraine’s “Finlandization”

(read – neutral status beyond security blocs).

In turn, Zelensky also said he never. heard of the idea being brought up.

“We’re not offering anyone. Ukrainization, are we?” said Zelensky.

Had anyone discussed this or not,

one thing isclear:

Finlandization won’t work for Ukraine.

This would untie Russia’shands in many respects and so,

taking this into account, we don’t want to get FINNISHED.

A Ukrainian expert with the Anti-corruption. Action Center, Daria Kaleniuk,

took to Twitter suggesting that Macron, who is. seeking to find solutions to the crisis

triggered by Putin,

considers an asset freeze targeting Russian oligarchs.

It turns out, Roman Abramovich, Valentin. Yumashev, Boris and Arkady Rotenbergs,

Oleg Deripaska, Oleksandr Ponomarenko,. Gennadiy Timchenko, and many others

have plenty of those across France…

So, when Putin arrogantly bullies journalists

with a question of whether France wants war with Russia, Daria suggests that

he asks his close friends ifthey’re ready to lose all they have in France… and other NATO allies.

The Czech Foreign Minister, Jan Lipavský,

who visited Kyiv this week,

made a validpoint as regards Russia’s security ultimatums.

These “demands are absolutely not the way to run talks.”

Speaking in Kyiv alongside hiscounterparts from Austria and Slovakia,

the Czech top diplomat said the countries of the Slavkov Trilateral firmly stand with Ukraine

in its confrontation with Russia.

“The security of Ukraine is the security of entire Europe,” he said.

Alexander Lukashenko, the man who refers to himself as Belarus President,

this week went on a verbiage spree,

apparently trying to flex muscles after reportedly being told in Moscow

topostpone his ski vacation in Kazakhstan and remain in the country

to observe the joint Russian-Belarusian military exercises.

So, when reflecting on a possible war with Ukraine,

Lukashenko claimed Ukrainewouldn’t last three to four days.

He went even further in his fantasizing, claiming

the CSTO security bloc has proved their troops would already be standing at La Manche

beforeNATO even manages to deploy its response force.

Well, what can I say?

Everyone must rememberfrom school years a typical arrogant kid who

would bully his peers while having anolder, buff-looking friend behind his back.

That’s exactly what this looks like.

Chill out, Mr. Lukashenko.

You’re not in a position to tell anyone of your military resolve while

your own country is being absorbed by your neighbor while

you’re doing nothing just to stay in the top office.

This won’t last long, trust me.

There can only be one czar in Russia,

andhe doesn’t have a mustache, as I recall.

Does he?

As Mr. Lukashenko threatened to sever fuel and energy supplies to Ukraine

in case of a clash with Russia and

as Mr. Putin has no plans to stop using energy. as a weapon,

the US and the EU will work to strengthen Ukraine’senergy resilience,

says Josep Borrell, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.

“Together with the US, we oppose the use of. energy supply as a weapon and geopolitical lever,”

Borrell said, referring to Russia’srecent behavior on the gas market

as the prices for European consumers have. skyrocketed amid growing tensions with Russia

and while certification of the Nord. Stream 2 pipeline is still underway.

Russia has declared large areas of the Azov and. Black Seas unsafe for navigation

February 13 through 19

due to military exercises involving missile and artillery fire.

This is clearly a violation of the 1982. UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

As the crisis takes up much of. everyone’s air time these days,

certain news from Ukraine are just nice, you know.

So, on a light note:

Ukrainian movie director and former. Kremlin prisoner Oleh Sentsov

this week shared some exciting news.

Netflix has acquired streaming rights to his latest feature film Rhyno.

Premiered last year, the film has already claimed international awards, winning

the Best Picture and Best Actor nominations at the Stockholm International Film Festival.

Also, a Danish-Swedish-Ukrainian documentary, A House Made of Splinters,

by Danishdirector Simon Lereng Wilmont,

was recognized at the Goteborg film festival.

The film, telling a story of a children’s home in eastern Ukraine,

earlier won Sundance World Cinema Documentary Best Director award.

I hope many more Ukrainian film directors and. actors

will become real international stars

and shine bright in the global movie industry.

Speaking of stars,

this week we marked the 116th anniversary of the internationally-acclaimed aviation designer Oleh Antonov.

It is his Kyiv-based bureau thatmanufactured the world’s largest cargo plane, Mriya,

which is “Dream” in Ukrainian.

Meanwhile, our biggest dream here in Ukraine is that

we don’t get engulfed by a flow. of worrying news from the front line

and just across our border with Russia

and rather enjoy stories on new art projects, innovative technology, and economic breakthroughs.

Stay tuned.

We will get back to you at the end of next week with

the recap of the latest news.

This is Ukrinform, In the Heart of Ukraine.