Key Developments on March 2: * Ukraine captured more territory than it lost to Russia over February 2026, Syrskyi says * US deploys LUCAS kamikaze drones against Iran 'for first time in combat' * 70% of Ukrainians skeptical US-Ukraine-Russia talks will bring lasting peace, poll shows * Russian drone hits passenger train in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, 1 killed, 10 injured Ukrainian forces captured more territory in February 2026 than Russian forces were able to occupy in the same period, Ukraini

Ukrainians in Dubai and elsewhere in the UAE said Middle East airspace closures and security fears have revived the anxieties they fled at home, leaving some stranded as Kyiv seeks assurances for their protection. Pol

As markets opened on March 2, Russian officials were quick to frame the escalating Middle East crisis as an economic opportunity for the Kremlin. Within hours of the first U.S. and Israeli strikes, Russian Envoy Kirill Dmitriev quickly posted on X about crude potentially hitting "$100+" per barrel. Brent crude futures on the London ICE exchange initially had risen 13.04%, peaking at $82.37 per barrel — the highest level in over a year. Prices later eased to $79.38. The spike followed Iran's M

Zelensky said Ukraine has seen no signs of a PAC-3 interceptor shortage so far, but warned that a prolonged Middle East war and intense fighting could strain air defense supplies.

"I would suggest the following: leaders of the Middle East have great relations with Russians. They can ask Russians to implement a month-long ceasefire," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

As President Donald Trump ordered U.S. forces to begin their assault on Iran, David Hearst, the editor-in-chief of the Middle East Eye, a Qatari-funded, Al Jazeera offshoot, declared, "There is a chilling but uncanny resemblance in the way Donald Trump is preparing to attack Iran, and the way Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine." It is an ignorant statement infused with moral confusion. On July 12, 2021, Russian President Vladimir Putin published "On the Historical Unity of Russians and Ukrainians"

A new Helvetas and State Employment Service assessment says Ukraine can ease wartime labor shortages by retraining women and veterans, modernizing workplaces, and recognizing military skills as qualifications.

The new board comes amid a renewed push to reform Ukraine’s state-owned enterprises, which dominate the energy, banking, and infrastructure sectors.

The U.S.-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund narrowed down the candidates after sifting through 138 submissions, Ukraine’s Economy Ministry announced on March 2.

A drone hit a moving passenger train near Kryvyi Rih, killing one person and injuring seven others, including two children, officials said.

The claim came amid a slowdown in Russian advances on most parts of the front line over winter.

The U.S. launched a series of strikes against Iran as part of Operation Epic Fury, carried out jointly with Israel.

Over the course of 48 hours last week, three explosions targeting Ukrainian police officers in different cities raised the prospect of a chilling new front in Russia’s campaign of terror against civilians. On Feb. 22, two explosions hit the western city of Lviv near the Polish border after police responded to a call, killing a 23-year-old police officer and injuring 25 people. The next evening, an explosion occurred inside a police station in Dnipro, damaging the building. Later that same night

Only 25% of respondents said they rather believe in the talks' potential success, while 5% remained undecided, according to a poll by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS).

Russia launched 94 drones at Ukraine overnight, the Air Force said, reporting that Ukrainian air defenses intercepted 84 unmanned aircraft.

The number includes 960 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day.

The U.S. may consider suspending attacks if Iran "can satisfy us," Trump told NBC News on March 1, adding that "they haven't been able to." He separately told the Daily Mail he expected the operation to last four weeks.

Ukrainian drones struck an oil terminal, leaving fires in the southern Russian port city of Novorossiysk overnight on March 2, Telegram news channel Astra reported.

"We are not joining these strikes, but we will continue with our defensive actions in the region," U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said. "And we will also bring experts from Ukraine, together with our own experts, to help Gulf partners shoot down Iranian drones attacking them."

The mosaics covering the facades of factories, cultural centers, and apartment blocks across eastern Ukraine were designed with a specific kind of permanence in mind. They survived the Soviet collapse, the chaos of the 1990s, and decades of post-industrial neglect. What these mosaics couldn't survive was Russian artillery. As Russia’s full-scale war enters its fifth year, the fighting is erasing art that was meant to be indestructible. Photographer Oleg Petrasiuk has captured not just images o

"Khamenei, one of the most evil people in History, is dead," Trump wrote on Truth Social on Feb. 28. He also said the bombing of Iran would continue for at least the next week.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said that "the most intense operation against Israel and the United States is set to begin," while state outlets warned that "revenge is coming."

Key developments on Feb. 28-March 1: * Ukraine hits Russia' S-300 air defense radars in series of strikes, shows footage * 'Ukrainians made it through,' Zelensky says on toughest winter of Russia's invasion * Russia would accept security guarantees for Ukraine, Budanov says * 'Freedom to the Iranian people' — Kyiv voices support for US-led strikes on Iran Ukrainian forces struck radar stations of an S-300 air defense system and an S-300V4 complex in the Russian-occupied part of Donetsk Obl

Nelia Checheta served the state for decades — first with the Soviet military in Turkmenistan and later in Ukraine's Emergency Service — earning official honors along the way. At 62, her story continues not with commendations, but with a long prison sentence for collaboration. Checheta was convicted of passing information on Ukrainian troops and aircraft movements to an agent of Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB). She insisted the case was fabricated, but the evidence presented in court sug

Ukraine also targeted a Russian ammunition depot and a troop position in the Russian-occupied part of Donetsk Oblast overnight on March 1.

In the latest episode of Ukraine This Week, the Kyiv Independent’s Anna Belokur examines why U.S.-led peace negotiations have so far failed to end Russia’s war, one year after the now-infamous Oval Office clash between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky.

Belgium has detained the Ethera oil tanker linked to Russia's "shadow fleet," carrying out the operation jointly with French forces, Belgian Defense Minister Theo Francken said.

Russia's image as a reliable ally has suffered yet another blow as Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in joint U.S.–Israeli strikes across Iran on Feb. 28, marking a fresh outbreak of hostilities in the Middle East. So far, Moscow's response to the U.S.–Israeli bombardment of hundreds of targets in Iran has been limited to diplomatic support for Tehran, even as U.S. President Donald Trump has openly called for a change of regime. The latest development highlights Iran's junior ro

President Volodymyr Zelensky said that during the final week of winter, Russia launched over 1,720 attack drones, nearly 1,300 guided aerial bombs, and more than 100 missiles of various types against Ukraine.

U.K. Defense Secretary John Healey said he was confident the missiles did not target British military bases, but added that the strikes highlighted the "indiscriminate" nature of Iran's retaliatory campaign.

"Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime," Trump said in a video posted to his Truth Social, confirming U.S. invovlement in the strikes.

Russia launched 123 drones at Ukraine overnight, the Air Force said. Ukrainian air defenses intercepted 110 drones.