Thursday, February 27
Russia’s war against Ukraine
A worker looks on at a granite mine on Feb. 26, 2025 in Zhytomyr Oblast. Despite the ongoing war, many mining companies across the country have continued their operations, extracting resources such as titanium, graphite, and beryllium. Ukraine and the U.S. have negotiated a deal to pay back American aid with revenue from Ukraine’s minerals and other natural resources. (Kostiantyn Liberov/Libkos/Getty Images)
No security guarantees in US minerals deal, to be discussed later, Zelensky says. While it does not contain any concrete security guarantees, the agreement states the U.S. government “supports Ukraine’s efforts to obtain security guarantees needed to establish lasting peace.”
No sanctions relief for Russia pre-deal and Ukraine ‘can forget about’ NATO, Trump says. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Feb. 26 that Ukraine will not be allowed to join NATO as part of a future peace agreement with Russia and ruled out lifting sanctions on Moscow before a deal is reached.
Zelensky confirms upcoming meeting with Trump. “I will meet with President Trump,” Zelensky said in his evening address on Feb. 26. “It is important for me and all of us in the world that America’s assistance is not stopped.”
Ukraine hits key Russian military sites in Crimea, Krasnodar Krai, General Staff says. The joint operation targeted the Saky and Kacha military airfields in occupied Crimea and Russia’s Tuapse oil refinery, the military claimed on Feb. 26.
‘More than 40 explosions’ — HUR confirms Ukrainian drone strike on Russia’s Tuapse oil refinery. Earlier on Feb. 26, Russia’s Defense Ministry said 128 Ukrainian drones had been downed over the country, 83 of them in Krasnodar Krai.
Your contribution helps keep the Kyiv Independent going. Become a member today.
Ukrainian forces liberate Kotlyne village near Pokrovsk in Donetsk Oblast. Kotlyne and Pokrovsk are connected by the T 0406 highway, which also leads to Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.
128 Ukrainian drones attack Russia overnight, Kremlin claims. Residents reported explosions in the cities of Tuapse and Anapa in Krasnodar Krai, while the airport in Sochi was closed due to a drone attack.
Zelensky officially dismisses Joint Forces Commander Andrii Hnatov, now serving in General Staff. In January, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that Brigadier General Andrii Hnatov had been appointed deputy chief of the General Staff.
Ukraine’s agriculture industry has lost $80 billion due to Russian invasion, minister says. This figure includes not only direct damage but also indirect damage from disrupted logistics, increased fertilizer and fuel costs, expenses for land reclamation and demining, and occupied territories, Agriculture Minister Vitalii Koval said.
Read our exclusives
Ukraine war latest: Trump to meet Zelensky Feb. 28 to sign mineral deal
U.S. President Donald Trump announced that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will visit Washington on Feb. 28 to sign a minerals agreement between the two countries.
Photo: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Exclusive: The full text of the US-Ukraine mineral deal
The Kyiv Independent has obtained from a source in the Ukrainian government the full text of the mineral deal agreement between the U.S. and Ukraine and is publishing the text in full.
Photo: Tetiana Dzhafarova and Alex Wroblewski/AFP
‘Don’t try to build a whole new drone:’ How one Ukrainian wartime startup got into quantum encryption — and the West
One Ukrainian startup has rebuilt the humble walkie-talkie to weather the waves of modern electronic war with Russia. With thousands of Ukrainian soldiers already using their handheld comms devices, NATO is tuning in.
Photo: Himera/Facebook
Human cost of Russia’s war
Ukrainian journalist Tetiana Kulyk killed in her home by Russian drone attack in Kyiv Oblast. Tetiana Kulyk was a journalist at the Ukrinform news agency and host of “the Nation of the Invincibles” program.
Ukrainian director of commercials Vitalii Kokoshko killed in Russia’s war. Vitalii Kokoshko, a Ukrainian director of commercials and veteran of the Ukrainian advertising industry, was killed in Russia’s war, his daughter Olha Kokoshko wrote on Facebook on Feb. 25.
5 killed, 11 injured in Russian airstrike on Kostiantynivka in Donetsk Oblast. According to Ukraine’s National Police, a 47-year-old woman and four men — aged 56, 57, and 75, with one more yet to be identified — were killed in the attack.
Russian attacks across Ukraine kill 5, injure 36 over past day. Russian forces launched 177 drones from the Russian cities of Orel, Bryansk, Kursk, Shatalovo, Millerovo, and Primosk-Akhtarsk at Ukraine overnight, according to Ukraine’s Air Force.
General Staff: Russia has lost 870,700 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24, 2022. This number includes 1,170 casualties Russian forces suffered just over the past day.
Opinions and insights
Hitler wanted to kill me because I’m Jewish. Putin wants to kill me because I’m Ukrainian
“You swore: ‘Never again.’ This ‘never again’ has arrived. If you are serious, you must support Ukraine differently than you have before. Even if you have already done a lot, we now need action.” Read an address by Roman Shvartsman, chair of the Odesa Association of Jews and a Holocaust survivor.
Photo: Himera/Facebook
International response
US, Russia to meet again tomorrow in Istanbul, Lavrov says. The first round of talks on Feb. 18 in Saudi Arabia marked the first direct negotiations between the U.S. and Russia since Moscow’s full-scale invasion began.
Ukraine not on agenda in next US-Russia talks, State Department says. “To be clear, there are no political or security issues on the agenda. Ukraine is not on the agenda,” a U.S. State Department spokesperson said in an email to Reuters. U.S. and Russian officials will meet in Istanbul on Feb. 27.
Trump says sanctions against Russia to be lifted ‘at some point.’ “No, we haven’t lifted any sanctions on anybody… I guess it will be at some point, but right now, we haven’t agreed to lift sanctions on anybody,” Donald Trump said.
Romania approves shooting down drones that violate its airspace. The move comes after multiple incidents in which Russian drones crashed onto Romanian territory during attacks against neighboring Ukraine.
US author explains Donald Trump’s Russia, KGB connections
In other news
Poland to adapt all civilian airports for dual-military use. “Every airport must be adapted and in some way adapted to the possibility of cooperating and working with the military,” Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said on Feb. 25.
Far-right Romanian presidential candidate detained, charged in election probe. The Romanian Prosecutor General’s office has charged pro-Russian Calin Georgescu with “incitement to actions against the constitutional order” and other alleged crimes related to the Nov. 24 first-round elections.
Ukraine’s DTEK plans LNG import deal by April, Bloomberg reports. The company expects to finalize and announce the deal within the next two months, with most potential partners based in the U.S.
Ukraine Daily is made possible thanks to support of our readers.
For as little as $5/month you can help us keep going.
Your donation is processed by a U.S.-based secure payment system.
We have no access to your bank data.
This newsletter is open for sponsorship. Boost your brand’s visibility by reaching thousands of engaged subscribers. Click here for more details.
Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Chris York, Yana Prots, Kateryna Hodunova, Tymur Zadorozhnyy, Liliane Bivings, Abbey Fenbert, and Dmytro Basmat.
If you’re enjoying this newsletter, consider joining our membership program. Start supporting independent journalism today.
Comments
No comments yet. Be the first to react!