New envoy to USA
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has appointed former Finance Minister Oksana Markarova Ukraine's ambassador to the USA. He added that she has three key advantages: she is patriotic, highly professional and positively perceived in the USA.
Markarova has been tasked with arranging US President Joe Biden's visit to Ukraine and establishing an active and trustful relationship with the new US administration, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has said. Last time the US president (George Bush) visited Ukraine in 2008.
Ukraine's Prosecutor-General Iryna Venediktova has told The Independent that there are no plans to re-open a probe into US President Joe Biden's son Hunter.
Security
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has put treason suspect Anatoliy Shariy on a state wanted list after he had not reported for questioning twice. However, the SBU briefed the pro-Russian blogger's lawyer Valentyn Rybin on the case files.
Exclusive: Commentator Yuriy Dudkin, who posed as an "expert from Ukraine" on the air of Russian propaganda TV shows, has been placed in custody for two months, sources have told LB.ua, quoting the ruling of Kyiv's Pecherskyy district court.
The SBU has solved the case of the abduction of Naftohazvydobuvannya manager Oleh Seminskyy which took place in 2012. According to investigators, Seminskyy's abduction was ordered by his former business partner, an MP of several convocations and a former transport minister. Although the SBU did not name this person, the description fits the profile of Mykola Rudkovskyy.
Pro-Russian MP Taras Kozak, who was subjected to sanctions by the National Security and Defence Council, has appealed them in the Supreme Court.
Energy
Exclusive: President Zelenskyy convenes a meeting on energy with representatives of the government, parliament, Naftogaz of Ukraine and the regulator tomorrow, sources have told LB.ua. Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, acting Energy Minister Yuriy Vitrenko, Naftogaz CEO Andriy Kobolyev, Servant of the People faction head David Arakhmiya and others are invited. The agenda is not disclosed.
Donbas
Pro-Russian separatists have violated the ceasefire five times since midnight, the Joint Forces Operation HQ has said. They opened aimed fire with automatic mounted grenade launchers and heavy machine-guns near Pivdenne, small arms near Pisky, automated mounted grenade launchers near Pavlopil and mounted anti-tank grenade launchers near Slavne.
Deputy Prime Minister Oleksir Reznikov has told the Voice of America that the Minsk negotiations on Donbas have been effectively blocked since July. "There are no discussions any longer, just scuffles and odd requests," he said.
Media
The staff of the Lviv TV channel NTA have issued a statement in which they demanded the dismissal of director-general Roman Lyubytskyy because it transpired that he had sold his other TV channel Pershyy Nezalezhnyy to employees of embattled pro-Russian MP Taras Kozak's media holding. The NTA staff said "any cooperation with structures acting in the interest of the aggressor state Russia is absolutely unacceptable". They added that Lyubytskyy has no influence on their editorial policy.
Coronavirus
On the morning of 25 February, Ukraine reported 8,147 new Covid-19 cases after running 36,670 tests. This is the highest number of new daily cases since 15 January when there were 8,199 of them.