Key developments on Feb. 26: * More than 90,000 Ukrainians officially missing due to Russia's war, commissioner says * Ukraine might have a new Flamingo missile deep strike strategy, experts say * Russia, Ukraine agree on body exchange, 1,000 fallen Ukrainians brought home * Russian FPV drone on fiber optic cable reaches Kharkiv for 1st time since start of full-scale invasion, prosecutor's office says More than 90,000 Ukrainians are officially registered as missing due to Russia's full-sca

Two films about Russia and Ukraine are generating buzz in this year's film awards season: Mstyslav Chernov's "2,000 Meters to Andriivka" and "Mr. Nobody Against Putin," directed by American documentarian David Borenstein and Pavel Talankin, the film's protagonist and a former videographer at a secondary school in Russia. Two of the most prestigious Western honors have gone to "Mr. Nobody." One, it beat out "2,000 Meters" for the Best Documentary BAFTA Award during Sunday's ceremony. Second, at

Swedish broadcaster SVT reported that Swedish forces used electronic countermeasures after a suspected Russian drone launched from a nearby vessel approached France’s aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle during NATO exercises in Malmö.

Employees of several agencies looked for warrants in the Midas case in the official register for court decisions and got access to them in November and December, according to log-in data obtained by the NABU.

The drone hit a tree around 3 p.m. local time in Kyivskyi district on Feb. 25. No casualties were reported, the regional prosecutor's office said.

Russia launched a combined missile and drone attack across Ukraine early on Feb. 26, targeting Kyiv and other cities and causing damage to residential buildings and civilian infrastructure.

Every time negotiations between Russia, Ukraine, and the U.S. appear to gain momentum, Moscow introduces a new allegation — drone attacks, assassination attempts, nuclear plots, sabotage — that threatens to stall or derail the process. Ukrainian officials and Western analysts say the pattern is no coincidence. A high-level Ukrainian official familiar with the course of the negotiations told the Kyiv Independent that the "nonsense" Russia is spreading is intended to influence the talks and dive

A new artificial intelligence (AI) agent could equip Europe to better defend itself against the barrage of Russian disinformation attacks. Cipher is Canadian-developed AI software that has proven to accurately and quickly detect Russian disinformation targeting Canadian networks, on both the far right and the far left of the political spectrum. Now that Cipher has passed the testing stage, the researchers are training the AI agent to distinguish those same narratives in the Russian language.

Karina Remez knew her husband — 33-year-old Dmytro Remez — had been captured in 2022 while defending Mariupol. For years, there was no confirmed information about where he was being held. Then, in early February 2025, a man contacted her claiming he had shared a cell with Dmytro and had personal information to pass on. The initial questions soon escalated into direct blackmail. They demanded that she blow up a communications tower and provide Ukrainian military locations. To pressure her, they

"Law enforcement investigators, together with representatives of Ukrainian expert institutions, will take all necessary measures aimed at identifying the repatriated deceased," the Coordination Headquarters said.

Ukrainian delegates are meeting U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in Geneva as part of the ongoing efforts to broker a peace with Moscow, Ukraine's top negotiator, Rustem Umerov, announced on Feb. 26.

Most missing persons are members of Ukraine's security and defense sector.

Ukraine has increasingly reported using domestically produced Flamingo cruise missiles since November 2025, with the General Staff most recently saying it hit a key missile factory in Russia. While the FP-5 Flamingo's actual capability has been a subject of debate, the reported strikes on Russian-occupied territories and deep inside Russia may signal that Ukraine could expand its use of the missiles for attacks on high-value Russian targets. The General Staff on Feb. 21 confirmed using Flaming

Russia launched 420 drones and 39 missiles of various types, including 11 ballistic missiles, at Ukraine overnight, the Air Force said.

When one thinks about the conditions at a nuclear power plant, the image that comes to mind would likely be very different from that which Russian workers at an occupied plant in Ukraine have created. Russian workers brought in to operate the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant after it was seized in March 2022 have converted work areas into makeshift living quarters, which a former acting chief engineer said appears to violate plant safety rules and create a fire risk. Rosatom, the Russian nuclea

Editor's Note: This story is part of the "Hidden Canon" – a special series celebrating Ukrainian classic literature and aiming to bring it to a wider international audience. The series is supported by the Ukrainian Institute. In an age where minds rarely know rest, the craving for true stillness feels almost radical. Long before smartphones and social feeds, Ukrainian writer Mykhailo Kotsiubynskyi sensed this human need with startling clarity. More than a century ago, he created a literary ma

KHARKIV, KHARKIV OBLAST — A blonde-haired woman walks through a slim pathway between corpses lying against walls and autopsy tables inside Ukraine's oldest morgue. The main autopsy room, connected with two additional rooms and equipped with an elevator to lift the corpses from the basement, is busy with forensic experts like her going through three bodies on the table. One belongs to a Ukrainian soldier, while the other two are civilians — an elderly lady and a middle-aged man. "It's most lik

The number includes 1,360 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day.

I came to Ukraine in September of last year, well into the fourth year of the war that had already reshaped the country's geography, economy, and daily life. Having worked for decades in conflict settings, from Afghanistan to Sudan, I am still amazed by the way people in the direst situations can cope and hope for a better future. What one cannot underestimate is how challenging this winter has been in Ukraine. Those living even a thousand kilometers from the front line feel the severe effects

The suspect in the murder of former Ukrainian top official Andriy Portnov was arrested in the German town of Heinsberg, Spanish National Police reported on Feb. 25.

Key developments on Feb. 25: * Claiming Ukraine threat, Orban deploys troops to 'protect energy infrastructure' * Corruption exposed in aircraft shelter project, Ukrainian military officials detained * Zelensky, Trump hold phone call ahead of Ukraine-US talks in Geneva * Ukrainian defense companies sign European partnership deals worth $950 million Hungary will deploy soldiers and equipment to protect key energy infrastructure amid what Prime Minister Viktor Orban described as a potential

The Ukrainian Council of Defence Industry said the agreements include cooperation in the production of aerial and ground drones, as well as preparations to scale up products on the European market.

President Volodymyr Zelensky held a phone call on Feb. 25 with his American counterpart Donald Trump ahead of planned talks between senior officials from both countries in Geneva.

A Kremlin spokesperson questioned "whether there's any point in holding a summit" between Putin and Zelensky as long as the Ukrainian side maintains its current position in negotiations.

Valerii Zaluzhnyi said the launch of Ukrainian drone company Ukrspecsystems' production in the U.K. has "a deep strategic logic" for integration into the British defense industry.

The Kyiv Independent’s Chris York speaks with Olha Polishchuk, a conflict data analyst who tracks military and civilian deaths in Russia’s war against Ukraine.

The suspects in the embezzlement scheme were caught "red-handed" while trying to illegally transfer the money, and $320,000 was seized from them, according to Kravchenko.

The Kyiv Independent’s separate analytical unit, KI Insights, is excited to announce the launch of its podcast, Ukraine Insights — a show dedicated to unpacking Ukraine’s politics, security, economy, and international relations through in-depth, expert-driven conversations.

"I see that Ukraine is preparing further actions aimed at disrupting the operation of Hungary's energy system," Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban claimed.

"Usually, when Russia fails to win on the battlefield, it start looking for nuclear weapons on Ukrainian territory," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

"I won't go into too many details, but today I can congratulate our army first and foremost —all the defense forces — because as of today, 300 (square) kilometers have been liberated," Zelensky told Agence France-Presse.

The total cost of reconstruction and recovery in Ukraine is $588 billion, the World Bank said in a new report published Feb. 23, as Russia's full-scale invasion enters its fifth year. Housing, transport, and energy sectors are most affected, with the total needs amounting to almost three times Ukraine's entire gross domestic product — $210 billion in 2025, according to the International Monetary Fund. The sum needed for reconstruction in those sectors covers damage caused in the 46 months from