Ukraine in February 2026: the most important developments in security
In Ukraine in February 2026, the war was dominated by Russian attacks on the power system during deep winter cold. On 3 February Russia launched its largest missile and drone attack of the year on energy infrastructure, leaving thousands without heat, and on 7 February President Volodymyr Zelensky said the assault involved 400 drones and 40 missiles. Emergency blackouts followed, and Kyiv residents received electricity for only a few hours a day. Further strikes hit Odesa and its port, Naftogaz sites and other energy facilities through 26 February. A drone strike on a bus carrying energy workers killed at least 15 people on 1 February.
Ukraine struck targets inside Russia, including oil refineries and depots, an oil terminal in Krasnodar region, a missile factory and a site on the Druzhba pipeline. A drone strike on a fertilizer plant in Smolensk region killed at least seven people, according to Russian investigators. A senior Russian military intelligence general was shot in Moscow on 6 February, and Russia said the suspect admitted working for Ukrainian intelligence. On the ground, Russia said it captured villages in the Zaporizhzhia region, while an analysis of ISW data found Ukraine made its fastest gains in two and a half years in mid-February, in the south.
Nuclear questions drew attention. On 24 February Russia warned that any transfer of nuclear weapons to Ukraine would breach international law and bring a tough response, and its intelligence service accused the UK and France of such plans, without evidence. Ukraine called the claims absurd, and Zelensky said he would accept such weapons but had received no proposals. On 27 February Russia and Ukraine agreed a local ceasefire around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant to allow repairs, confirmed by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
On the fourth anniversary of the invasion, Zelensky said Russia had failed to break Ukraine. Allies pledged support: a Ramstein-format meeting secured 38 billion dollars in military aid for 2026, according to Ukraine's defense minister, Britain and Germany announced air defense deliveries, and Ukraine opened its first defense production plant in Britain.
by WorldBrief & Maksim Micheliov | AI-generated summary
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