Exclusives
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Nordic states go on alert after threat to entire region’s energy grid. Authorities guard power stations as intelligence points to Russia-linked actor |
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Georgia is fast-tracking dictatorship while the world looks away. In several weeks, the regime went after universities, pharmacies, car imports, and a sidewalk. The speed isn't strength—it's desperation. |
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The Girl With The Teddy Bear—a 1928 Ukrainian novel that survived Stalin’s purges—reaches English after 97 years. Viktor Domontovych’s 1928 novel survived Stalin’s purges, Soviet censorship, and nearly a century of neglect. Euromaidan Press publishes an exclusive excerpt. |
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Kazakhstan jails citizen for six years for fighting for Russia against Ukraine. 25-year-old from Petropavlovsk signed contract with Russian military, was wounded, then fled back |
Military
Russia runs out of soldiers in Kherson Oblast, so it hands rifles to nurses – partisans. When soldiers run out, doctors get guns. That's what's happening on Russia's Kherson front, as Ukrainian drone strikes drive casualties up.
Ukraine hits occupied Luhansk oil depot for the second time in five days, sparking massive fire. Defense forces also struck fuel warehouses near Mariupol, Novotoretske, and Koptieve and a Russian drone control point in Kherson Oblast the same night, the Ukrainian General Staff reported.
North Koreans march with Russian flags through Pyongyang as Ukraine counts 6,000 of their dead in Kursk. Ukrainian intelligence says veterans are being redeployed as instructors in drone operations and artillery, accelerating Pyongyang's military modernization.
Besieged Russians in Kupiansk high-rises "dwindling," Ukrainian military says. Dozens of trapped Russian soldiers cling to apartment blocks they can't leave
Russian forces hit Kostiantynivka residential area with phosphorus munitions. Russian forces attacked Kostiantynivka in Donetsk Oblast with phosphorus munitions followed by a FAB-1500 aerial bomb with a 1,500-kilogram warhead, according to Ukraine's 28th Separate Mechanized Brigade.
Ukraine wants to build its own ballistic missile interceptors but needs time and partners. Ukraine faces a critical shortage of PAC-3 interceptors for its Patriot systems and is negotiating joint production consortiums with international partners, Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said.
Russia fires 187 drones overnight: 20 hit home, one killed in Kharkiv Oblast, hotel struck in Sumy. Ukrainian air defenses shot down or suppressed 165 out of 187 Russian drones launched overnight on 26-27 Feb.
"The Air Force has started performing better": Zelenskyy says restructured air defenses are delivering results. Over 30 missiles intercepted in latest wave, most targeting energy sector.
ISW: Russia appears to have seized Pokrovsk after two-year battle – but gains stall beyond the ruins. Ukrainian forces not observed in the town since late January, ISW says.
Intelligence and technology
Russia built an invisible web of Shahed relay towers in Belarus — Ukraine just tore it down. Russia needed a network of rooftop antennas to guide its drones over Ukraine, and Kyiv needed an operation to kill it.
Ukraine sentences FSB agent to 15 years for guiding Russian bombs onto Pokrovsk. Woman drove and walked near front lines, sending Google Maps screenshots to her handler
Partisans burn out Russian jamming tower near Sevastopol, clearing skies for Ukrainian drones, Atesh claims. Site sits near Black Sea Fleet backup command post and coastal missile brigade.
International
Paint on Ukraine's top poet bust is smokescreen — Serbia's true message to Kyiv is in €800M of artillery shells, says expert. Unknown vandals doused a monument to Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko with black paint in Serbia's Novi Sad on the anniversary of Russia's full-scale war.
Ex-commander of US Army forces in Europe says Russia tried to kill him on way to NATO summit. Dutch response: "We don't know what he's talking about". A bomb exploded on the roof of his train. The general blames Russian saboteurs. Dutch Railways told reporters they weren't even aware of the incident.
Telegraph: UK and France rehearse Ukraine deployment as Coalition members balk at sending troops. Exercise Orion tests airborne readiness as Coalition members haggle over troop numbers and hem and haw over giving Russia a say in peacekeeping.
UK and French paratroopers rehearse rapid deployment as 10,000-troop Ukraine peacekeeping force takes shape. More than 1,500 British, French, and Italian paratroopers jumped over western France on Feb. 24 in a nine-day drill designed to prepare a rapid-reaction force that could deploy to Ukraine under a future ceasefire agreement, the Telegraph reports.
IMF greenlights $8.1 bn for Ukraine after dropping its most controversial demands. The IMF has approved a $8.1 billion four-year program for Ukraine, with a $1.5 billion first tranche on its way — after the Fund agreed to scrap all four prior actions, including the contested VAT requirement for small entrepreneurs.
Vatican issues postage stamp depicting Kyiv cathedral during wartime blackout. The Vatican's new €1.35 postage stamp shows Kyiv's Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ with no electricity
Ukraine and US finalize positions in Geneva ahead of next three-way talks with Russia. Teams reviewed recovery document outlining reconstruction and investment plans.
Humanitarian and social impact
Poet went to war twice and vanished — his friend published the book he left behind. A soldier who volunteered in 2014, re-enlisted in 2022, and has been listed as missing since that December — Borys Humeniuk turned 60 on 30 Jan.
Political and legal developments
Russia shed its skin three times — tsarist, soviet, oligarch — but imperial beast inside never died, Budanov says. Russia's imperial core must be ripped out and carved it into nations, or the world never sleeps safe, he stresses.
Zelenskyy names Abu Dhabi as next talks venue, says 'leaders decide key issues' in personalist regimes like Russia. Eight days after a difficult trilateral round in Geneva that yielded progress only on military issues, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy said the talks will reconvene in Abu Dhabi in early March — this time with the explicit goal of preparing a summit between heads of state.
Head of Zelenskyy's Office: Russia's negotiators know they'll have to accept US guarantees for Ukraine. Russia should be replaced by "several regional nation-states," each focused on its citizens' welfare, Ukraine's Head of the Office of the President Kyrylo Budanov said in an interview with Lebanese outlet Al Modon
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