In-depth daily coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war, NATO operations, European security developments, and military activities across the continent.
Day 1,459 of Russia's full-scale invasion saw one of the largest combined aerial strikes of 2026, with Russia firing 345 missiles and drones against Ukraine's energy infrastructure on the night of February 21-22. Ukrainian air defenses intercepted 307 of 345 targets (89% kill rate), but strikes damaged energy facilities across Odesa, Kyiv, Mykolaiv, and Kirovohrad oblasts. Ukraine struck back deep into Russian territory, shutting down all four Moscow airports with a mass drone attack, while the Flamingo cruise missile strike on the Votkinsk Plant was confirmed. On the ground, 130 combat engagements raged, concentrated on the Huliaipole (27) and Pokrovsk (26) axes. A suspected Russian-directed IED terrorist attack in Lviv killed a 23-year-old policewoman and injured 25. Hungary announced it would veto both the EU's 20th sanctions package against Russia and the €90 billion loan to Ukraine at Monday's Foreign Affairs Council, demanding Ukraine resume oil transit through the Druzhba pipeline. NATO's Steadfast Dart 2026 exercise continued, with the TCG Anadolu deploying to Latvia under Operation Eastern Sentry. Preparations intensified across Europe for the February 24 fourth anniversary of the full-scale invasion, with the Coalition of the Willing video conference and UN Security Council special session both scheduled.
The night of February 21-22 saw Russia launch a combined assault of 50 missiles and 297 strike drones, totaling 345 aerial weapons, in what officials described as a deliberate campaign against Ukraine's energy infrastructure. The strike package included 4 Zircon anti-ship missiles from Crimea, 22 Iskander-M/S-400 ballistic missiles from Bryansk, Belgorod, and occupied Donetsk, 18 Kh-101 cruise missiles from Vologda, 2 Iskander-K cruise missiles and 4 Kh-59/69 guided missiles from Kursk, plus approximately 200 Shahed-type and other strike drones from seven launch sites across Russia and Crimea.
Ukrainian air defenses intercepted 307 of 345 targets, an 89% overall kill rate, including 33 of 50 missiles and 274 of 297 drones. The Kh-101 interception rate was 17 of 18. However, 14 missiles and 23 drones struck 14 separate locations, causing significant damage to energy facilities in Odesa, Kyiv, Mykolaiv, and Kirovohrad oblasts. DTEK facilities suffered major damage, with large fires in the Odesa region. In Mykolaiv, approximately 16,000 subscribers lost power. Scheduled outages were announced across multiple regions for February 23.
The human cost was concentrated in Kyiv Oblast, where 1 person was killed in Fastiv district and 15 were injured, including four children. Eight people, including a child, were rescued from rubble in Putrivka. A fire broke out on a residential high-rise rooftop in Kyiv's Sviatoshynskyi district. In Sumy Oblast, four civilians, including a 17-year-old boy, had been killed hours earlier on February 21 when a Russian drone deliberately struck an ambulance in Znob-Novhorodske. A Russian missile also hit the Mondelez International factory (producer of Oreo and Milka) in Trostianets, prompting Ukraine's Foreign Minister Sybiha to accuse Russia of targeting American business interests in Europe. A second wave on the night of February 22-23 consisted of 1 Iskander-M and 126 strike drones, with air defenses neutralizing 105 of 126 drones. In Odesa, this wave killed 2 people and injured 3. President Zelensky stated Russia had launched over 1,300 strike drones, 1,400 guided aerial bombs, and 96 missiles against Ukraine in seven days alone.
The Ukrainian General Staff's daily report for February 22 recorded 130 combat engagements across the entire front, with Russian forces also launching 2 missile strikes using 51 missiles, 95 airstrikes dropping 244 KAB guided aerial bombs, deploying 8,990 kamikaze FPV drones, and conducting 3,331 shellings including 78 from MLRS systems. More than half of all combat engagements were concentrated in just two sectors: Huliaipole (27 engagements) in Zaporizhzhia Oblast and Pokrovsk (26 engagements) in Donetsk Oblast.
The Huliaipole sector saw the heaviest fighting, with Russian forces attacking toward Zelene, Zaliznychne, Huliaipilske, and Olenokostiantynivka. This axis has become a critical battleground since Ukraine launched its southern counteroffensive in early February 2026, recapturing approximately 201 square kilometers in southeastern Zaporizhzhia between February 11-15, the fastest Ukrainian territorial gains in over two years, facilitated in part by a critical Starlink outage that disrupted Russian command-and-control. As of February 22, Ukrainian forces had liberated at least 168.9 square kilometers since January 1. The UK Ministry of Defence (in its February 20 update) confirmed over 100 square kilometers retaken north of Huliaipole.
In the Pokrovsk sector, 26 engagements occurred near Rodynske, Udachne, Filiia, and toward Bilytske, Hryshyne, and Novopidhorodne. Other active sectors included Kostiantynivka (15 engagements), where fighting raged near Pleshchiivka and Sofiivka, and Lyman and Sloviansk (6 each). The ISW's February 22 assessment noted Russian forces had recently advanced near Slovyansk, while Russian media reported the capture of the village of Karpivka in Donetsk Oblast. Russian losses reported by the Ukrainian General Staff for February 22 totaled 890 personnel killed, along with 9 tanks, 6 armored vehicles, 41 artillery systems, 1 MLRS, 1,705 tactical drones, and 205 vehicles. Cumulative Russian losses since February 24, 2022 reached approximately 1,259,780 personnel. In Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Governor Ivan Fedorov reported 754 Russian strikes on 44 settlements, killing 2 and injuring 4. Across Kherson Oblast, 5 people were injured as 39 settlements came under fire.
Ukraine conducted a significant deep-strike campaign on February 22, with dozens of drones targeting Moscow during the afternoon and evening. Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin initially reported 11 drones intercepted, then updated the figure to 21 drones downed in a second wave around 6:00 PM Moscow time. The attacks triggered the "Carpet" emergency plan, shutting down all four Moscow airports, Domodedovo, Vnukovo, Sheremetyevo, and Zhukovsky, from approximately 3:25 PM, with restrictions reimposed 40 minutes after a brief reopening. The Russian Ministry of Defense additionally claimed 29 drones were destroyed over Bryansk Oblast and others over Kaluga, Belgorod, Tula, Kursk, and Tver oblasts. Russian authorities reported no casualties or significant damage.
In a strategically significant strike the previous night (widely reported on February 22), Ukrainian FP-5 Flamingo cruise missiles hit the Votkinsk Plant in Udmurtia, over 1,300 kilometers from Ukraine's border, the factory that manufactures Iskander, Oreshnik, and Yars ballistic missiles. Workshops No. 22 and No. 36, involved in final missile assembly, were damaged. Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces also struck an oil depot in Russian-occupied Luhansk, setting a fuel tank ablaze, destroyed two Russian Tor air defense systems in occupied Donetsk Oblast (valued at over $50 million), and struck two Russian border guard ships and two Be-12 aircraft in Crimea.
In a development the ISW assessed as part of Russia's escalating sabotage campaign against Ukrainian society, two improvised explosive devices detonated at approximately 00:30 and 00:43 on February 22 near a shopping center in central Lviv. The bombs were triggered as police responded to a staged break-in report, a classic lure-and-ambush tactic. 23-year-old policewoman Viktoria Shpylka was killed, and 25 people were injured, with 14 hospitalized and 6 in serious condition, most of them law enforcement personnel.
A 33-year-old woman from Rivne region was detained near Stary Sambir while attempting to flee the country. Ukrainian authorities stated she acted under direction of a "curator" linked to Russian special services. Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko traveled to Lviv personally. President Zelensky called the attack a terrorist attack and stated Ukraine had intelligence that Russia intends to continue carrying out such actions. Deputy Head of the Presidential Office Iryna Vereshchuk called for restrictions on Telegram, which has been used as a coordination platform. The ISW assessed this as evidence that Russia is escalating sabotage operations to degrade Ukrainians' trust in their security apparatus and destabilize Ukrainian society far from the frontlines.
In the most consequential diplomatic development of the day, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó announced that Hungary would block both the EU's 20th sanctions package against Russia and the €90 billion EU loan to Ukraine at Monday's Foreign Affairs Council. The announcement followed an Energy Security Council meeting in Budapest attended by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. Hungary's stated condition: Ukraine must resume Russian oil transit through the Druzhba pipeline, which Kyiv says was disrupted by a Russian drone strike on January 27 that damaged pipeline equipment. Szijjártó accused Ukraine of political blackmail timed to drive up fuel prices ahead of Hungary's April parliamentary elections.
The 20th sanctions package, proposed by the European Commission on February 6, contained a full maritime services ban replacing the G7 price cap on Russian oil, listing of 43 more shadow fleet vessels (bringing the total to 640), sanctions on 20 additional Russian regional banks, cryptocurrency measures, and the first-ever activation of the EU's anti-circumvention tool banning CNC machines and radio exports to high-risk third countries. Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico amplified the pressure, threatening to cut emergency electricity supplies to Ukraine by February 23 if oil transit did not resume. Ukraine's Foreign Ministry condemned both countries' statements as provocative, irresponsible ultimatums. Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk responded on X with a pointed reference to Moscow's satisfaction. EU High Representative Kaja Kallas said Monday morning that the sanctions and energy issues should not be tied together.
Preparations intensified for the February 24 fourth anniversary of the invasion. French President Emmanuel Macron and British PM Keir Starmer confirmed they would co-chair a Coalition of the Willing video conference with all 35 member nations on February 24. The UN Security Council scheduled a special session, and the Council of Europe planned ceremonies at the Palais de l'Europe in Strasbourg. Solidarity demonstrations were held in Washington DC, Paris, and Prague on February 21-22. On the peace process, a TASS source reported the next round of US-brokered negotiations may resume in Geneva on February 26, following the third round on February 17-18. Zelensky, in his February 21 evening address, discussed negotiation strategy with chief negotiator Rustem Umerov and held talks with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. The Czech Republic transferred 200 reconnaissance drones (worth approximately $800,000) to five Ukrainian brigades.
NATO's largest exercise of 2026, Steadfast Dart 26, continued its January 2 to March 18 run, though the live-fire demonstration phase concluded on February 20 at Bergen Training Area in northern Germany. The exercise involved approximately 10,000 service personnel from 11 NATO nations under Joint Force Command Brunssum. Its most historic achievement came on February 14, when a Bayraktar TB3 UCAV launched from Turkey's TCG Anadolu struck a surface target with Roketsan MAM-L munitions and recovered aboard, the first full ship-to-target combat cycle for a carrier-based drone in NATO history.
On February 20, NATO Allied JFC Brunssum confirmed that TCG Anadolu was deploying toward Latvia's coast under Operation Eastern Sentry, a move described as an unmistakable message of NATO readiness. Turkey was the single largest national contributor to Steadfast Dart 2026. Three persistent NATO operations continued: Baltic Sentry (since January 2025, monitoring undersea sabotage threats), Eastern Sentry (since September 2025, responding to Russian drone incursions into Polish airspace), and Arctic Sentry (since February 11, 2026, coordinating allied Arctic operations). The LEAP initiative (Low-Cost Effectors and Autonomous Platforms), launched at the February 20 E5 defense ministerial in Kraków, targets mass production of cheap autonomous interceptor drones by 2027, drawing on Ukrainian battlefield experience. EU High Representative Kallas warned that Europe's security is more uncertain than it has been in decades.
Serbia's student-led anti-corruption protests continued through their 16th consecutive month, sustained by anger over the November 2024 Novi Sad railway station canopy collapse that killed 16 people. The preceding days saw escalating confrontations: on February 17-18, Serbian police pursued and arrested student protesters at Ušće Park in Belgrade, where demonstrators had opposed construction of a new aquarium for the Expo 2027 project. In Novi Sad, protesters and journalists were attacked by hooded assailants. A parallel farmers' protest movement has grown since February 11, with agricultural machinery deployed to streets in southern Serbia. Pro-Russian organizations called for a pro-Russia rally in Belgrade on February 24.
In Bosnia-Herzegovina, the aftermath of Siniša Karan's narrow victory in the February 8 Republika Srpska presidential repeat election (50.54% vs. 48.09%) continued to reverberate. Convicted separatist leader Milorad Dodik announced plans to propose returning Dayton Agreement competencies including the army, border police, and abolition of the state-level court to the RS National Assembly. EUFOR Althea maintained approximately 1,100 personnel overseeing Dayton implementation, while KFOR sustained 4,700 troops from 29 nations in Kosovo. In Kosovo, PM Albin Kurti's government approved a 2026 budget of €4 billion with zero allocation for 10 Serb-majority municipalities, while closing statements were delivered on February 18 in the trial of ex-President Hashim Thaçi at The Hague.
An intensive US diplomatic push continued through the week, with both President Aliyev and PM Pashinyan visiting Washington for the "Board of Peace" initiative. The core obstacle remained unchanged: Azerbaijan insists Armenia amend its constitution to remove references implying territorial claims to Karabakh. Aliyev stated that once the amendment is made, a peace agreement could follow the very next day. Any such amendment would require a national referendum, tentatively slated for 2027, and faces fierce opposition from Armenian nationalist forces. Construction on the TRIPP Corridor connecting Azerbaijan with Nakhchivan through Armenian territory has not begun.
In Georgia, daily protests outside parliament in Tbilisi continued for approximately the 452nd consecutive day since November 28, 2024. The Georgian Dream government intensified its authoritarian turn: on January 28, it proposed legislation criminalizing receipt of foreign funding without government authorization, punishable by up to six years in prison. Former President Salome Zourabichvili and former PM Giorgi Gakharia were attacked at Tbilisi airport on February 18 by ruling party-affiliated individuals. Moldova's energy crisis, triggered by Gazprom's January 2025 gas cutoff, remained ongoing but stabilized, with the country importing approximately 70% of its electricity from Romania. Transnistria's industrial activity remained down by up to 70%. Moldova's EU accession process continued at record pace, with a target date of 2028.
A Dutch joint intelligence assessment (AIVD and MIVD) warned that Russia is preparing for a prolonged confrontation with the West through intensifying cyberattacks, sabotage, and covert influence operations. Deutsche Bahn suffered a DDoS attack around February 18-19, disrupting booking and information systems. The European Commission disclosed on February 6 that an attack targeting its central mobile device management infrastructure had been detected and contained. The ISW assessed that Russia's Lviv IED attack fitted into a broader pattern of hybrid warfare escalation, with sabotage operations designed to undermine Ukrainian civilian morale far from the frontlines. Russia was also reported to be selling 500 Verba MANPADS and 2,500 missiles to Iran in a deal worth approximately $500 million.