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Morning Headlines
The Kyiv Independent: Drone attacks targeted several regions of Russia overnight on Feb. 17, including the Ilsky oil refinery in Krasnodar Krai, where a large-scale fire broke out following reported strikes, according to local authorities, Telegram channels, and monitoring groups.
ISW: Russia may reintensify its sabotage campaign in 2026 by shifting from using unreliable organized crime networks to financially motivated individual agents.
More News
The Kyiv Independent: Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys on Feb. 14 dismissed the concept of "Article 5-like" security guarantees that Ukraine is negotiating with the West, urging realistic solutions instead of "hollow" promises.
Reuters: Ukraine has received 4.4 million rounds of large-calibre ammunition under a plan pulling together Czech arms traders and producers and funding from foreign donors, President Petr Pavel told a Czech news website in an interview.
Kyiv Post: Russian-born athletes who changed nationality and now compete for countries such as Poland are to be banned from reentering their homeland, stripped of their titles or even face prosecution, Russia’s sports minister has warned.
The Kyiv Independent: Croatia refused to transport Russian oil to Hungary and Slovakia following a request from the two countries, Croatian Economy Minister Ante Susnjar said on Feb. 16.
United24 Media: Ukraine’s Office of the Prosecutor General has named senior commanders of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet as suspects in connection with the missile strike on Lviv and sites within the UNESCO buffer zone on July 6, 2023, an attack that killed nine civilians and damaged historic cultural landmarks.
The Kyiv Independent: Russian troops have scaled up their offensives from villages north of Pokrovsk, intensifying efforts to encircle the city and its sister town of Myrnohrad, the 7th Rapid Response Corps reported on Feb. 16.
The Moscow Times: Police in Far East Russia’s republic of Sakha (Yakutia) have reportedly arrested a man suspected of killing two people after he was twice released early from prison for signing military contracts to fight in Ukraine.
The Kyiv Independent: Ukrainian strikes hit several "important" military targets in Russian-occupied parts of Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Dnipropetrovsk oblasts, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces reported on Feb. 16.
Reuters: China's Russian oil imports are set to climb for a third straight month to a new record high in February as independent refiners snapped up deeply discounted cargoes after India slashed purchases, according to traders and ship-tracking data.
BBC: Nigeria's foreign ministry has issued an urgent warning over what it describes as the increasing illegal recruitment of its citizens to fight in foreign conflicts. It comes after Ukrainian officials said they found the bodies of two Nigerians who they said were killed in combat last year.
CNN: Hungary is buying Russian oil despite alternative supplies being available, according to a report that accuses Budapest of failing to pass down to consumers the savings it makes from buying cheap Russian fuels. Instead, the savings become profits for Hungary’s largest oil company, which is part-owned by foundations linked to PM Orbán, according to the report from the Center for the Study of Democracy.
worth mentioning
Germany says talks with France on nuclear deterrence are at an early stage
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