Russia in February 2026: the most important developments in security
In February 2026, the most widely reported security event in Russia was the shooting of a senior Russian general in Moscow on February 6. The general, reported to have links to the GRU military intelligence agency and the Wagner group, was shot several times and taken to hospital. Russian authorities called it an assassination attempt, and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and the Kremlin blamed Ukraine. On February 8 the FSB announced the detention of the gunman and an accomplice and said he had acted on instructions from Kyiv; President Vladimir Putin thanked the UAE leader for help with the arrest. On February 24 a suicide bombing outside a Moscow train station killed a police officer and injured two people, and the FSB reported foiling several other plots.
On February 14 five European countries, including the United Kingdom, said Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny had been poisoned in prison with a toxin derived from dart frogs.
The war in Ukraine continued throughout the month. Russia launched its largest missile and drone strike of the year against Ukrainian energy infrastructure on February 3, and on February 7 President Volodymyr Zelensky said 400 drones and 40 missiles were used. Ukraine struck oil, ammunition and missile sites inside Russia, including a Lukoil refinery in Volgograd after a barrage of 108 drones and a fertiliser plant in the Smolensk region where at least seven people were killed. On February 24, the fourth anniversary of the invasion, Zelensky said Putin had failed to break Ukraine.
Nuclear arms were the fourth strand. Russia said on February 4 that it was no longer bound by the New START treaty, which expired on February 5 and left no limits on the two countries' arsenals. The Kremlin said Russia and the United States agree on the need for quick talks, and Putin called developing Russia's nuclear forces an 'absolute priority'. Russia and Iran held joint naval drills, and on February 28 Russia told the UN that US and Israeli attacks on Iran were an unprovoked act of armed aggression.
by WorldBrief & Maksim Micheliov | AI-generated summary
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