Ukraine War Updates: Drone Strikes Intensify, Peace Talks Continue

As the conflict enters its fifth year, fighting continues across multiple fronts in Ukraine, with recent days marked by intensified drone attacks and ongoing diplomatic efforts to find a resolution. Here’s a breakdown of the key developments as of February 26, 2026.

Drone Attacks and Casualties

A Ukrainian drone attack on the PAO Dorogobuzh fertilizer factory in Russia’s Smolensk region on Wednesday, February 25, resulted in the deaths of seven people and injuries to ten others, according to Russian authorities. BBC News reports that Russia’s Investigative Committee stated 30 drones were used in the strike. Regional Governor Vasily Anokhin described the factory as a “civilian enterprise” on Russian social media platform Max.

The Dorogobuzh plant, owned by Russia’s Acron Group, produces nitrogen fertilizers, including ammonium nitrate, a key component in industrial explosives. Kyiv Post notes the facility was previously targeted in December 2025, though without casualties at that time.

Further attacks were reported in other regions. One person was killed in a drone strike on the village of Markovo in Russia’s Kursk region, according to regional governor Alexander Khinshtein. In Ukraine, four people were killed and two injured in Russian attacks near Zaporizhzhia, with a total of 643 air attacks on 32 settlements in the region. Eleven others were injured in attacks on the Kherson region, damaging civilian infrastructure including residential buildings, water towers, and gas pipelines.

Energy Infrastructure Targeted

Ukraine’s gas storage and production facilities in the Kharkiv and Chernihiv regions were attacked by Russia over two consecutive days, according to Ukraine’s state energy company Naftogaz. Repairs to the Druzhba pipeline, which transports Russian oil to Eastern Europe through Ukraine, remain delayed due to ongoing Russian attacks. Damage to the pipeline in January disrupted fuel supplies to Hungary and Slovakia, prompting protests from both countries.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has ordered increased security at critical energy infrastructure sites and threatened to block a 90-billion-euro ($106 billion) EU loan for Kyiv, as well as vetoing new EU sanctions against Russia, until oil shipments through the pipeline resume.

Diplomatic Efforts and Peace Talks

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed optimism about upcoming trilateral talks between the United States, Russia, and Ukraine, scheduled for March. He believes these talks could “create an opportunity to move talks to the leaders’ level” and are “the only way to resolve all the complex and sensitive issues and finally end the war.” Zelenskyy also reiterated that Ukraine does not possess nuclear weapons, dismissing Russian claims to the contrary as an attempt to exert pressure during negotiations.

China’s President Xi Jinping and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz discussed the situation in Ukraine, with China emphasizing the importance of dialogue and negotiation, and considering the “legitimate concerns of all sides.”

Other Developments

South Africa secured the return of 11 South African men who had been fighting for Russia in Ukraine. Ukraine has opened its first drone production plant in Britain, according to Ukraine’s ambassador to the United Kingdom, Valerii Zaluzhnyi. Germany has reduced its budget for strike drones to 2 billion euros ($2.4 billion) from 4.3 billion euros.

Ukraine is accelerating the deployment of anti-drone nets along roads in front-line areas, aiming to cover 4,000 kilometers (2,485 miles) by the end of the year.