First modification: 02/26/2026 - 07:28Last modification: 02/26/2026 - 22:57

Moscow has "no deadline" to end the conflict in Ukraine, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Thursday. Earlier, Russia handed over the remains of 1,000 Ukrainian soldiers to kyiv and Ukraine returned the bodies of 35 Russian soldiers, while during the night there was a new wave of Russian attacks against several Ukrainian cities. The events occurred hours before the meeting in Geneva between delegations from the United States and Ukraine to coordinate positions and achieve an eventual trilateral dialogue with Moscow. The round of talks concluded and a next one is expected in the United Arab Emirates.

The essentials:

Below is the most relevant information from February 26 about the war in Ukraine and the diplomatic efforts to end the Russian invasion, which on February 24 entered its fifth year:

Russia shot down more than 200 Ukrainian drones in the last few hours (Moscow Ministry of Defense)

The Russian Defense Ministry said Thursday that its air defense units had shot down 220 Ukrainian drones in a nine-hour period, including 24 headed toward Moscow.

The Ukrainian negotiator leader said they are working to make the next talks “substantive”

Ukraine's top negotiator, Rustem Umerov, said participants in talks with U.S. negotiators in Geneva had spoken with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and were working to make the next tripartite meeting on a deal "as substantive as possible."

In a post on Telegram, Umerov stated that, following talks with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, they held a meeting with Zelensky to review the results of the meeting and discuss future actions.

Umerov said negotiators were working to finalize economic and security issues in order to "make the next trilateral meeting involving the United States and Russia as substantive as possible."

Zelensky affirms that the next round of talks will take place in early March in the United Arab Emirates

The next round of trilateral peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, mediated by the United States, will likely take place in Abu Dhabi in early March, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday.

He made the remarks in an evening speech following talks in Geneva between U.S. and Ukrainian officials on postwar reconstruction.

New Russian attacks in kyiv and Kharkiv; low expectations for meeting in Geneva

Suspected of recruiting people for the Russian war in Ukraine detained in Kenya

A day after the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry denounced that more than 1,700 Africans have been recruited by deception by the Kremlin to fight on its behalf in the invasion of Ukraine, the Kenyan Police reported this Thursday, February 26, that it arrested Festus Omwamba, suspected of trafficking 25 men to Russia to be assigned to the front in 2025.

The man, identified by at least three recruits, would have lured his victims with the promise of a job in Europe.

Putin's envoy is in Geneva for possible meeting with US delegates

Russian President Vladimir Putin's special envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, arrived in Geneva on Thursday, where he could meet with US officials, according to the state news agency RIA.

The outlet reported that Dmitriev was seen arriving at the Four Seasons hotel, where the American delegation was talking with their Ukrainian counterparts.

Ukraine and Russia exchange soldiers' bodies ahead of talks between kyiv and the US

Russia delivered the remains of 1,000 Ukrainian soldiers to kyiv, according to a Moscow official this Thursday, February 26.

For its part, Ukraine returned the bodies of 35 Russians. This exchange, one of many since the full-scale Russian invasion, came just as the United States and kyiv are set to begin a new round of talks in Geneva in an attempt to end the Russian invasion.

'Moscow has "no deadline" to end the war in Ukraine': Russian Foreign Minister

Moscow has "no deadline" to end the conflict in Ukraine, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Thursday, ahead of a new meeting between Ukrainian and American envoys scheduled in Geneva to prepare for future trilateral talks with Russia.

"Have you heard us say anything about deadlines? (...) We don't have any deadlines, we just have tasks (...). We are fulfilling them," he declared, quoted by the state news agency TASS.

Sybiha denounces massive Russian attacks and demands a firm response from the EU

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Andrii Sybiha, stated on the social network While "the whole world demands Moscow to stop this senseless war," he wrote, the Kremlin responds with "more terrorism and aggression."

Sybiha called for urgent new decisions, such as defense assistance packages and more sanctions against Russia, and called it "unacceptable" that some actors in the EU block collective defense measures or threaten to curb energy supplies to Ukraine. This “blackmail,” he maintained, weakens Europe and benefits Russia.

Russia and Ukraine exchange bodies of soldiers who fell in war

Russia handed over to Ukraine the bodies of 1,000 dead Ukrainian soldiers in exchange for the remains of 35 Russian soldiers, Kremlin adviser Vladimir Medinsky reported this Thursday.

Both countries have carried out periodic exchanges of deaths throughout the war in Ukraine, which this week marked four years since its beginning.

Defending against Russian aggression would cost 1.2 trillion euros, says Polish minister

Protecting NATO's eastern flank against possible Russian aggression would involve a minimum cost of 1.2 trillion euros ($1.42 trillion), said Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski during a speech before Parliament.

As he explained, guaranteeing the defense of the countries located on that eastern border of the Atlantic Alliance would require at least 1.2 trillion euros, a figure that is equivalent to 24 times Poland's annual defense budget.

Zelensky denounces Russian attack with hundreds of drones and missiles against Ukraine

President Volodymyr Zelensky stated in X that Russia launched 420 drones and 39 missiles, including ballistic missiles, against critical infrastructure and residential areas in eight regions of the country overnight. Dozens of people were injured, including children.

He noted that gas facilities and electrical substations were attacked, although most of the missiles were intercepted thanks to air defense systems sent by allies.

Russian attacks leave at least 20 people injured in Ukraine

The overnight Russian missile and drone attack caused damage to residential buildings and injured around 20 people in the eastern and southern regions of Ukraine.

Ballistic and cruise missiles were directed at kyiv and Kharkiv, in the east of the country, while drones attacked Zaporizhia, in the south.

At least 14 people were injured in the Kharkiv region, including a seven-year-old child, the governor of that region, Oleh Syniehubov, reported on Telegram, adding that the city was attacked with two missiles and 17 drones.

Zaporizhia Governor Ivan Fedorov said at least seven people were injured in the overnight attack on the city and that Russian drones damaged 19 apartment buildings, while another 500 homes were left without heat due to damage to infrastructure.

Russian night attacks, the prelude to the meeting between the United States and Ukraine

A new night of attacks in Ukraine: explosions were heard in the center of kyiv, while authorities had warned of a possible Russian attack.

Other large cities in the country such as Kharkiv, Zaporizhia and Krivoy Rog were also attacked, according to local officials.

People take shelter in a metro station during a Russian missile and drone attack, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in kyiv, Ukraine, February 26, 2026. Photo: Alina Smutko, Reuters

Ukrainian military shoots down a Russian drone during a missile and drone attack, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in kyiv, Ukraine, on February 26, 2026. Photo: Gleb Garanich, Reuters.

Washington and kyiv prepare a possible three-way dialogue with Moscow in Geneva

Ukrainian and American emissaries meet this Thursday in Geneva to prepare new trilateral talks with Russia with the aim of ending the war in Ukraine, which entered its fifth year on Tuesday.

US President Donald Trump's envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, meet with Ukrainian negotiator Rustem Umerov in Geneva on Thursday.

The Kremlin's emissary for economic affairs, Kirill Dmitriev, also plans to travel to Geneva on Thursday "to continue negotiations with the Americans in the economic field," according to a source cited on Wednesday by the Russian state agency Tass.

Trump and Zelensky coordinate positions before the new round of negotiations in Geneva

The president of the United States, Donald Trump, and his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, held a telephone conversation on February 25, on the eve of a new meeting between delegations from Washington and kyiv in Geneva. The objective of the meeting is to prepare future trilateral talks with Moscow to try to end the war that began after the Russian invasion.

Zelensky confirmed that the meeting on February 26 will serve as a preliminary step to an eventual three-way dialogue with Russia. Meanwhile, on the battlefield, at least seven people were killed in western Russia after a drone attack blamed on Ukraine, according to local authorities. In parallel, kyiv presented evidence of damage to the Druzhba pipeline due to Russian attacks, while Hungary accused Ukraine of trying to interrupt energy supplies to its territory through that infrastructure.

Welcome to the coverage of the most representative events of the day of February 26 related to the war in Ukraine.

With EFE, AFP, Reuters and local media

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