Ukraine war latest: Claiming Ukraine threat, Orban deploys troops to 'protect energy infrastructure'
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 Ukrainian threat, he said on Feb. 25, escalating tensions tied to disrupted Russian oil transit.
The move follows weeks of strain between Kyiv and Budapest after flows through the Druzhba pipeline — a critical route delivering Russian crude to Hungary and Slovakia — halted in late January following Russian strikes on Ukraine's energy infrastructure.
"A defense council meeting I convened due to the Ukrainian oil blockade has just concluded," Orban said. "Since Jan. 27, no oil has been arriving in Hungary via the Druzhba pipeline."
"I see that Ukraine is preparing further actions aimed at disrupting the operation of Hungary's energy system. I have ordered the strengthening of protection for critical energy infrastructure."
Hungary plans to deploy troops and equipment near key sites, while police will step up patrols around power plants, distribution stations, and control centers, according to the prime minister.
Corruption exposed in aircraft shelter project, Air Force logistics commander, SBU official detained
The Air Force's Logistics Commander and the head of a regional Directorate of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) were detained for embezzling from the budget allocated to the construction of aircraft shelters, Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko reported on Feb. 25.
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.
While Kravchenko refrained from identifying the officers, Ukrainian news outlet Ukrainska Pravda reported, citing its sources, that Andrii Ukrainets, the Air Force's Logistics Commander, and Volodymyr Kompanichenko, the head of the SBU directorate in Zhytomyr Oblast, were detained.
Kravchenko said the state allocated over $32 million for the construction of prefabricated arch structures in a May 2025 decision to protect aviation, but the SBU's Military Counterintelligence Department found "significant violations" during inspections.
The violations include designs that do not meet safety requirements, structures that inadequately provide aviation protection, and inflated costs of works, according to Kravchenko.
"Despite this, advance payments under the concluded contracts began to be transferred," Kravchenko said in a Facebook post.
The Air Force said it "categorically condemns" the alleged criminal offenses, expressing its readiness to cooperate with the investigating authorities and to provide all necessary information and documentation.
Zelensky, Trump hold phone call ahead of Ukraine-US talks in Geneva
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.
Zelensky confirmed the call in a social media post, saying Trump's representatives, U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and adviser Jared Kushner, also participated.
"I just spoke with U.S. President Donald Trump. President Trump's representatives, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, were also on the call," Zelensky wrote. "Our teams are working hard right now, and I thanked them for all their efforts and such involvement in the negotiations, in the work to end the war."
The conversation came a day before Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council Secretary Rustem Umerov is scheduled to meet with Witkoff and Kushner in Geneva on Feb. 26.
Zelensky said the leaders discussed the agenda for the upcoming bilateral meeting and preparations for a broader round of talks in early March involving full negotiating teams in a trilateral format. He said the goal of the upcoming meetings is to pave the way for negotiations at the leadership level.
"President Trump supports this sequence of steps. Only in this way can all the complex and sensitive issues be resolved and the war finally ended," Zelensky wrote.
Ukrainian defense companies sign partnership deals with European allies valued at nearly $950 million
Four Ukrainian defense companies have signed partnership agreements with companies from Denmark, Finland, and Latvia under the Build with Ukraine joint production initiatives, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Feb. 25.
"We are expanding joint production of drones to defend against Russian attacks today and to defend and deter in the future," Zelensky wrote in a social media post.
The total value of the agreement documents signed between Ukrainian defense manufacturers and their European partners is about 800 million euros (about $950 million), according to a press release from the Ukrainian Council of Defence Industry.
The council, a platform supporting Ukraine's leading private defense manufacturers, 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.
"These Build With Ukraine joint production initiatives help lay the foundation for a truly self-reliant European defense industrial base that will strengthen our shared security in the future," Zelensky said.
The announcement comes as more Ukrainian defense manufacturers, especially those producing drones, bolster partnerships with Western allies to secure financial support in exchange for knowledge and battlefield expertise.
