Next round of Ukraine-Russia peace talks set for early March, Zelensky says
· France 2426/02/2026 - 09:14
Russia and Ukraine exchange bodies of war dead, Kremlin aide says
Russia has handed Ukraine the bodies of 1,000 dead Ukrainian soldiers in exchange for those of 35 Russians, Kremlin aide Vladimir Medinsky has said.
The two sides have periodically exchanged their war dead in the course of the conflict, which passed its four-year anniversary this week.
26/02/2026 - 21:39
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26/02/2026 - 21:12
Swedish minister says drone jammed near French warship was 'probably' Russian
A drone jammed near the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle during a stopover in Malmo was probably of Russian origin, Sweden's Defence Minister Pal Jonson.
The drone came "probably from Russia, as there was a Russian military vessel in the immediate vicinity at the time of the facts", Jonson told the SVT television channel.
"In all likelihood, there is a strong link between the Russian military vessel and this drone."
Swedish armed forces are investigating the incident, which occurred on Wednesday in the Oresund Strait, around 13 kilometres from the Charles de Gaulle.
26/02/2026 - 21:10
Zelensky says 'more readiness' for next Russia meeting after Geneva talks
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday there was "more readiness" for the next round of talks with Russia to end the war, after Kyiv and Washington concluded their latest talks in Geneva.
"As a result of today's meetings, there is already more readiness for the next trilateral format. Most likely, the next meeting will be in the Emirates, specifically in Abu Dhabi. We expect the format to be in early March," Zelensky said in a regular evening address.
26/02/2026 - 20:05
Germany expands military powers to fight drones
Germany's parliament on has voted to give the armed forces broader powers to intercept or shoot down drones, responding to a surge in sightings since Russia began its war against Ukraine.
Since the Russian invasion, the number of drone incidents over Germany has risen, with pilots often untraceable. Experts suspect Russia is behind many of the flights.
Under the amended law, the armed forces can take direct action against drones when civilian authorities request help, including using jamming devices or weapons.
The defence ministry can also order operations independently, allowing faster responses to acute threats, according to details outlined in the legislation.
26/02/2026 - 19:32
US, Ukraine conclude talks in Geneva
US and Ukrainian officials have concluded their talks in Geneva on advancing efforts to end Russia's four-year invasion of Ukraine.
An AFP reporter saw the US delegation leaving Geneva's Hotel des Bergues, the venue of the talks, and the Swiss agency ATS-Keystone published a photo of the Ukrainian lead negotiator, Rustem Umerov, leaving the hotel.
26/02/2026 - 19:08
Romania scrambles fighter jets after drone breaches its airspace
Romania has scrambled fighter jets after a drone breached its national airspace during a Russian attack on Ukrainian infrastructure near the border, the defence ministry said, the second airspace breach in as many days.
The European Union and NATO member shares a 650km (400 miles) land border with Ukraine and has had drones breach its airspace and fragments fall on its territory repeatedly since Russia began attacking Kyiv's ports across the Danube.
26/02/2026 - 19:01
Russia says it downed 167 Ukrainian drones over six hours
Russia's Defence Ministry has said its air defence units had downed 167 Ukrainian drones over a six-hour period, including 12 headed for Moscow, Russian news agencies reported.
The agencies quoted a ministry statement as saying that 167 drones were intercepted and destroyed in a period ending 8pm (5pm GMT).
Many of the drones were intercepted over regions in central Russia. The ministry said 12 had targeted the Russian capital.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, writing on Telegram, said 13 drones had been downed while heading for the city.
26/02/2026 - 19:00
Putin envoy Dmitriev held talks with US officials in Geneva, state media reports
Russian President Vladimir Putin's special envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, held talks with US officials in Geneva on Thursday, the state-run RIA news agency reported.
Dmitriev declined to comment on the outcome of the meeting, RIA said.
26/02/2026 - 18:37
26/02/2026 - 16:58
Russia pounds Ukraine with missiles and drones ahead of peace talks
26/02/2026 - 16:43
Putin envoy Dmitriev arrives in Geneva, may hold talks with US officials, RIA reports
Russian President Vladimir Putin's special envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, arrived in Geneva where he may hold talks with US officials, the RIA news agency reported.
RIA said Dmitriev was seen arriving at the Four Seasons hotel, where the US delegation was holding talks with its Ukrainian counterparts.
26/02/2026 - 16:22
Russian authorities weigh block on Telegram from early April, RBC reports
Russian authorities have decided on a time frame for blocking the Telegram messaging app and this may happen in early April, the RBC news outlet reported.
Telegram is a hugely popular tool in Russia for both public and private communications, but the authorities accuse it of allowing itself to be used as a platform for illegal and extremist content.
Telegram rejects this, saying Russia is trying to throttle it in order to force people to switch to a new state-run app called MAX.
RBC said that by April, Telegram would only be available on the front lines of the war in Ukraine. Military sources, war correspondents and politicians have said Russian troops rely heavily on it, not only for communicating with their families back home but also for operational purposes.
26/02/2026 - 16:00
At least two South Africans have died in Russia war, says foreign minister
Several South Africans remain in Russia and at least two have died fighting for Russian forces in Ukraine, Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola has said, after 15 men reportedly tricked into joining mercenary forces were repatriated.
Eleven men landed back in South Africa on Wednesday, part of a group of 17 who requested help from Pretoria after they were trapped for months in the epicentre of the fighting in Ukraine's Donbas region.
Four arrived back home last week, while two remained in Russia to receive medical treatment for "very severe" injuries, Lamola said.
"There are other South Africans that we have since discovered were part of the process, and ... we have since discovered that some have also died," Lamola told state broadcaster SABC.
The government was "notified by the Russian embassy" of two men who had died, he said, who had been "part of another recruitment drive or another scheme".
26/02/2026 - 15:59
Ukraine war to decide 'third pillar' of global order, Polish FM says
The war in Ukraine will decide whether Europe or Russia becomes the "third pillar" of a new global order, Poland's Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski has said, two days after the conflict entered its fifth year.
NATO member Poland shares borders with both Russia and Ukraine, and its government has been a trenchant critic of Moscow throughout the conflict.
"This war will determine which actor becomes the third pillar – alongside the United States and China – of the new global balance of power," Sikorski said in his annual speech to parliament where he outlines the country's global priorities.
26/02/2026 - 15:46
On the front line with a Ukrainian air assault unit equipped with Caesar howitzers
In the Dnipro region of Ukraine, soldiers from the air assault forces are equipped with Ceasar self-propelled howitzers, the French defence industry's flagship weapon.
But the work of Ukrainian gunners has changed since the first Caesers were delivered. With the proliferation of drones, the nature of the war has changed, and with it the working conditions for artillery operators.
26/02/2026 - 15:13
Russia says it will retaliate after EU shrinks its diplomatic mission in Brussels
Russia has said it will retaliate against a European Union decision to cut its diplomatic representation in Brussels, and that the move showed that the EU did not deserve to take part in negotiations on ending the war in Ukraine.
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the EU decision to limit the size of the Russian mission to 40 people was "discriminatory" and would not go unanswered.
26/02/2026 - 15:12
Ukraine-US talks start in Geneva
Ukraine and the United States have begun talks in Geneva, Kyiv's top negotiator said, adding that the two sides would discuss post-war reconstruction and preparations for the next meeting with Russia.
"A bilateral meeting with the American delegation has begun – with Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner," said Rustem Umerov on social media.
"We will thoroughly work through the prosperity package," he wrote.
26/02/2026 - 13:38
British troop deployment in Ukraine would prolong war, Russia says
Any deployment of British troops in Ukraine would not end the conflict, but prolong the war, said Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.
France and Britain signed a declaration of intent in January on the future deployment of multinational forces to Ukraine following a ceasefire in the war with Russia.
Zakharova repeated a warning by Russia that it would see any foreign troops in Ukraine as legitimate targets.
26/02/2026 - 13:15
France slams 'baseless' Russian claims of nuclear transfers to Ukraine
France has hit back over what it called baseless Russian accusations that Ukraine was seeking a nuclear weapon or dirty bomb with help from London or Paris, calling it the latest example of Russian disinformation.
In a statement published on the fourth anniversary of the war, Russia's SVR foreign intelligence service said Britain and France believed that Ukraine would be able to secure more favourable terms if Kyiv possessed "a nuclear bomb, or at least a so-called 'dirty bomb'". It did not include documentary evidence to back its assertion.
"This baseless statement from the SVR has been picked up by various Russian propaganda outlets on X and by some foreign news agencies," Olivia Penichou, communications director at the French Ministry of Defence, told reporters.
"The Russian Federation frequently resorts to disinformation to foster a climate of mistrust toward the actions taken by France and its partners in support of Ukraine. This latest attempt is a perfect illustration of that."
Yesterday's key developments:
- US President Donald Trump spoke with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky ahead of a fresh round of talks aimed at ending Russia's invasion, a White House official said.
- Ukraine's lead negotiator Rustem Umerov will meet with US envoy Steve Witkoff on Thursday, Zelensky said.
- The first Ukrainian drone production plant in Britain started its operations, Ukraine's ambassador Valeriy Zaluzhnyi said.
- Russia attacked Ukraine's gas storage and production facilities in the Kharkiv and Chernihiv regions for a second day in a row, the state energy company Naftogaz said.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)