Ukraine downs 3 drones overnight on Feb. 27

Russian forces launched two Kh-59/69 guided missiles and 216 Shahed-type attack drones against Ukraine overnight, with Ukrainian air defenses intercepting 198 of the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

"Almost half of your 26 years of power in Russia you have spent in the war against Ukraine," Zelensky wrote to Russian President Vladimir Putin. "Whatever you say about NATO, geopolitics and the Russian language, this war is your personal choice — a war without a real reason. This is how history will remember it."

The number includes 1,550 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day.

"Without doubt, we are ready and willing to reach an agreement with Ukraine by peaceful means — and based on what we have discussed at the meeting with President (Donald) Trump in Anchorage," Russian President Vladimir Putin said.

"We simply struck where it was convenient to observe the results," Russian President Vladimir Putin said.

The Ukraine Support Act allocates $8 billion in military financing for Kyiv, extends the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative through 2027, and imposes additional sanctions on Russia.

"A decision was made to carry out systematic preemptive strikes that will disrupt enemy launches and reduce the number of enemy drones that will once again fly to attack kindergartens, high-rise buildings, and hospitals."

The letter lays out Putin's increasingly apparent vulnerabilities, Ukraine's growing strength, and the case for an immediate reopening of peace negotiations.

Eight Ukrainian military units lost the right to independently conduct basic training after inspections found shortcomings, Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said.

The vessel, measuring nearly 50 meters in length, was struck near the settlement of Iurkine in Russian-occupied Crimea, Unmanned Systems Forces commander Robert "Magyar" Brovdi said on Telegram.

The detective was detained in July amid a conflict between the President's Office and the NABU, which says the authorities are trying to eliminate its independence.

"The business elite in St. Petersburg can now see firsthand how the Russian Defense Ministry is eroding their share of the so-called 'social contract,'" a Russian military blogger known by the nickname Reporter Filatov said.