Washington and its partners are considering additional sanctions if the parties do not observe a ceasefire, with political and technical negotiations between Europe and the U.S. intensifying since last week, Reuters' source said.
The Kyiv Independent’s contributor Ignatius Ivlev-Yorke spent a day with a mobile team from the State Emergency Service in Nikopol in the south of Ukraine as they responded to relentless drone, artillery, and mortar strikes from Russian forces just across the Dnipro River. Nikopol is located across from the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in the city of Enerhodar.
Peter Szijjarto's announcement came after Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) allegedly dismantled a Hungarian military intelligence network operating in Zakarpattia Oblast.
Moscow and Washington discuss the potential resumption of Russian gas supplies to Europe, among other issues related to the peaceful settlement of Russia's war in Ukraine, Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov confirmed to the Russian state-run Interfax news agency.
"This is a historic decision, as weapons for Ukraine will be purchased at the expense of the proceeds from frozen Russian assets through the European Peace Fund," Denys Shmyhal said.
A screenshot from video purporting to be a Ukrainian drone strike on Russia's Krasnador Krai region overnight on Feb. 26 (Telegram/Astra)
Ukrainian drones successfully struck the Tuapse oil refinery in Russia's Krasnodar Krai region overnight on Feb. 26, a source in Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR) told the Kyiv Independent.
"According to intelligence sources, the attack on the facility resulted in at least 40 explosions and a fire, damaging oil refining equipment," the source said.
The Kyiv Independent could not verify the claims.
Earlier on Feb. 26, Russia's Defense Ministry said 128 Ukrainian drones had been downed over the country, 83 of them in Krasnodar Krai.
It did not report any damage or casualties but unverified videos posted to social media showed explosions in the area, including at a nearby seaport.
Last night, a large-scale drone attack targeted Russia’s Krasnodar Krai as part of an effort to enforce peace. Key sites, including the commercial port in Tuapse and various facilities in the city, were struck. Russia’s Ministry of Defense claimed to have intercepted 128 drones… pic.twitter.com/8Fh20JC6uy
The HUR source said the refinery and port "plays an important role in ensuring the military logistics of the occupying Russian army."
"The oil terminal in Tuapse is one of the largest in the Russian Federation, and the Tuapse port is one of the key Russian cargo ports on the Black Sea," they added.
Rosneft's Tuapse refinery has been repeatedly targeted by Ukrainian strikes over the past year. Following an earlier strike, the facility underwent an emergency shutdown in May.
Ukraine has escalated attacks against Russia's oil industry, successfully reducing the processing capacities of multiple facilities.
Chris York is news operations editor at the Kyiv Independent. Before joining the team, he was head of news at the Kyiv Post. Previously, back in Britain, he spent nearly a decade working for HuffPost UK. He holds an MA in Conflict, Development, and Security from the University of Leeds.
Andrea Januta
