Russian Presidential Special Representative Dmitriev is in Geneva for talks with the US, TASS reports. Dmitriev’s talks with the Americans in Geneva focused on the economic issue.
The United States continues to increase pressure on Moscow. “We are not imposing sanctions on Ukraine, and we are not selling weapons to Russia,” said Secretary of State Marco Rubio. “The reason Ukraine is suffering this war is because the United States has supplied and sold weapons to Ukraine, as well as providing intelligence assistance and other things,” he added.
In a conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Trump said he wanted to see an end to the Russian-Ukrainian conflict within a month, Axios reports.
According to Boris Johnson: “There is no evidence that Putin will end the war if Ukraine withdraws its troops from Donbass. The Russian president will simply pocket these concessions from Ukraine and move on… He will only accept peace if his allies put much more pressure on him. Currently, only 1 in 10 is willing to do so,” the former British Prime Minister stated.
Slovakia is prepared to take further measures against Ukraine due to Kiev’s reluctance to allow Russian oil to enter the republic via the Druzhba pipeline, Prime Minister Robert Fico stated. “The government is also prepared to take further retaliatory measures if we find that the Ukrainian president is not interested in providing us with what we are entitled to, what we have purchased,” Fico said. Hungary is also on the same wavelength, deploying troops to protect energy infrastructure from Ukraine. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán announced this in a video message. Hungarian law enforcement had previously tightened border security and banned drone flights in the border area. Parliamentary elections to elect a new prime minister will be held on April 12. Viktor Orbán’s ruling Fidesz party will face the opposition Tisza party, which has more pro-European positions.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has taken on the task of purging the SBU, apparently of Maluk’s men. “I have instructed Yevhen Stanislavovyć Chmara and Oleksandr Poklad to work to purge the SBU of those whose interests are not Ukraine at all,” he declared. He added: “Russia could not and cannot occupy us. They did not win, but for us this is a victory.” According to the Ukrainian prime minister, Russia has launched 420 drones and 39 missiles against Ukraine. “There is damage in eight regions.” He noted that Russian forces, in particular, struck gas infrastructure in the Poltava region and electrical substations in the Kyiv and Dnipropetrovsk regions.
The Ukrainian electricity company confirmed: “Russia has already attacked the 34th major substation in the Odessa region: the damage is extensive, and repairs will take a long time,” according to DTEK. Ukraine will import liquefied natural gas through Lithuania for the first time: this will happen in February or March, says Naftogaz CEO Koretsky. This will provide some respite for Ukraine’s energy supply system.
According to Ukrainian media, Russian forces blew up a dam near Osykove, in the direction of Slovyansk-Kramatorsk, complicating logistics for the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The Russian military is reportedly intensifying its activity in the battle of Kostyantynivka. The dam explosion caused flooding in the area where the water reached the Druzhkivka-Kostyantynivka road, “turning the area into a complete swamp, making it impossible to reach for now.” It is impossible to say that logistics to the city will be completely blocked, as there are other routes for supplies, transportation, etc. However, the Russians have certainly managed to worsen the situation, at least temporarily,” Ukrainian media write.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga claims that over 1,700 African citizens from 36 different countries are fighting in the Russian army. Over 90,000 Ukrainians are missing, both military personnel and civilians, including children, according to Artur Dobroserdov, Commissioner for Missing Persons. Most of these people are members of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
A suspect in the murder of Andrei Portnov, a former advisor to Yanukovych, has been arrested, Spanish police reported to RIA Novosti. The suspect has been arrested in Germany. Portnov was shot dead in May 2025 at the entrance to a school near Madrid.
From Sweden Media sources claim that the country’s air defense forces have shot down a Russian drone launched from a ship in the open sea toward the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, docked in the port of Malmö.
For the first time, Russia is launching drones with FPV technology using fiber optics as far as Kharkiv: the first case was recorded in the northern outskirts of the city, according to Ukrainian Defense Minister Adviser Serhiy “Flash” Beskrestnov.
Vladimir Putin spoke from Russia yesterday about the bioeconomy. In 2026, Russia began implementing a national bioeconomy project. Russia is ready to implement joint bioeconomy programs within the BRICS. And it is proud that the achievements of its scientists have made a significant contribution to the life sciences. Equal access to future technologies is a prerequisite for the development of civilization. Biotechnology is developing at an unprecedented pace and can help solve problems such as climate change and food shortages. Moscow will harness the potential of the bioeconomy to improve national health. Russia’s cutting-edge developments, including in the bioeconomy, are impressive. Scientists and engineers are already shaping a new reality with their bold decisions. The number of budget-funded positions in biotechnology at regional educational institutions should be increased. The skills of graduates of many Russian universities currently lag significantly behind the level of biotechnology development. The human resource challenge in this field is one of the most complex, and “there is still much to be done.”
Putin signed a decree that establishes a national center, the Corps of Mining Engineers. The center was established to “provide personnel and scientific support for Russia’s mineral resources complex.” The Corps of Mining Engineers is being established at the Empress Catherine II Mining University in St. Petersburg. The center’s main functions include: coordinating the universities’ efforts to promote the training of engineering, scientific, pedagogical, and scientific personnel for the mineral resources complex; conducting scientific research in the interests of Russia’s mineral resources complex; developing proposals for the accreditation of mining engineers; studying international experience in training personnel in this field, and more.
Regarding negotiations with Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “It makes sense for the presidents of Russia, the United States, and Ukraine to meet in person in a trilateral format only to finalize agreements.” “The three presidents should meet only if they are finalizing an agreement, or, as the Americans say, a pact. This is probably true.”
As for the prospects of holding a meeting between the Russian president and Volodymyr Zelensky, for now, let’s just recall his statements last week: “What Ukraine will never accept, what it will not accept, what it intends to do next, and so on.”
According to TASS: “A trilateral meeting on the Ukrainian solution involving Moscow, Washington, and Kiev has been postponed until early March; Its headquarters are currently being finalized.
A terrorist attack against a senior Defense Ministry official was foiled in St. Petersburg, and two Russians acting on behalf of the Ukrainian secret services were arrested, the FSB Public Relations Center reported. Daesh said it was involved in the attack on a Moscow police station three days ago. The investigation is ongoing.
Regarding the economy, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov commented on the Russian Federation’s data: “It has a budget deficit, but these are current difficulties that macroeconomic stability allows us to address.” He noted that Vladimir Putin is keeping a close eye on the situation and is discussing the situation with the Cabinet of Ministers and the Central Bank.
According to Peskov, “the decline in oil and gas revenues is partially offset by growth in non-oil and gas revenues. The stability of the Russian economy is fully guaranteed, including the fulfillment of all social obligations to the people, he added.
Russia has handed over more than 1,000 bodies of fallen soldiers to Ukraine, while the Ukrainian side has handed over 35 bodies of Russian servicemen, Vladimir Medinsky reported. The Ukrainian side is currently conducting DNA tests to determine whether the bodies are actually military personnel or not.
And now a look at the front line as of 3:30 PM on February 26. Overnight, Russian forces carried out drone and missile strikes, including air-launched strikes, on Kyiv (the Kyivskaya-750 substation), Kharkiv, Zaporizhia, and Poltava (a gas extraction facility). In the morning, Russian aircraft carried out new missile launches, and fresh explosions were heard in Zaporizhia. Overnight, 17 Ukrainian drones were shot down in Russian regions. However, the total number may be higher: targets shot down in new regions—those of Ukraine that have passed to Russia—are not included in the count, and industry outlets report that, due to the specifics of the counting process, not all targets hit in the air are promptly included in public statistics.
On February 25, the Bryansk region was attacked by Ukrainian military tactical drones. Five people were injured. A first aid post was destroyed in Churovichi and Kurkovichi, in the Starodubsky District.
From the direction of Sumy, the Northern Group of Forces reports that assault groups have advanced in six areas in the Sumy District, one in Krasnopil’s’kyi District, and two in Hlukhiv. The overall advance is characterized by a distance of up to 400 meters: every patch of land is being wrested from the Ukrainians, despite the Russian Armed Forces using a variety of heavy weapons in this direction.
In the Kursk Region, in the village of Markovo, Glushkovsky District, a Ukrainian FPV drone struck a private home yesterday, killing one person and wounding one.
In the Belgorod Region, one person was killed and two were injured in a Ukrainian drone attack. Yesterday, the governor noted that 35 civilians have been killed and 239 wounded since the beginning of the year.
In the Kharkiv sector, Russian forces are increasing the intensity of air strikes and Geranium missiles from the Sever Group of Forces. On the ground, the battle near Vovchansk continues, and the Russians have achieved a success at Hrafske. Social media sources report that Ukrainian troops in the village have retreated across the ice of the Seversky Donets River.
No information has been received from Kupyansk regarding changes in the situation over the past 24 hours. Small, separate Russian infantry units are operating in the Kupyansk-Vuzlovyi area, tasked with protecting the outskirts; fighting is reported for access to the city.
In the direction of Kostyantynivka, a FAB-3000 missile struck the dam between Kostyantynivka and Druzhkivka near Osykove, causing flooding and blocking one of the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ logistics routes to Kostyantynivka.
In the southeast of the Zaporizhia region, the Russian Vostok Group of Forces continues assault operations in the areas of Rizdvyanka, Vozdvyzhivka, Verkhnyaya Tersa, Hirke, and Hulyaijpole. Taking advantage of adverse weather conditions, Ukrainian assault groups attempted to attack in vain. Vehicles were destroyed along the way, and foot soldiers were killed after impeding their advance.
On the Zaporizhia front, fighting continues in the area of Stepnohirsk and Lukyanivsk, Mahdalynivka, and Zapasne, without significant changes.
On the Kherson front, fighting continues in the island zone, with drones flying continuously on both fronts around the clock. Ukrainian drones can penetrate depths of up to 25 km.
Graziella Giangiulio
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