Worth noting, korrespondent.net has compiled its Invasion of Ukraine series into separate months, beginning May 9th, 2023. Linked in the title.
[Korrespondent] 22.23 The demining coalition has already raised EUR51 million out of the EUR130 million planned for 2025. This was reported by the press service of the Ministry of Defense.
19:37 Russian troops carried out an airstrike on the village of Zolochiv in the Kharkiv region on February 26, three people were injured, 30 houses were damaged. This was reported by the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration on Wednesday, February 26.
19:00 Ukraine uses its own countermeasures to every action of the Russian aggressors. Our military responded to a larger number of "shahids" with FPV drones. This was stated by the commander of the Unmanned Systems Forces, Colonel Vadim Sukharevsky, in an interview for LIGA.net .
18:25 The United States will check Russia's readiness to end the war in Ukraine. And to do this, it is necessary to find out the demands of the Russian side. This was stated by US Secretary of State Mark Rubio in an interview with Fox News . It has now been agreed that teams of US and Russian diplomats will discuss what needs to be done to end the war in Ukraine, the Secretary of State noted.
17:59 The Finnish Ministry of Defense has launched a new program to support Ukraine, which includes an order for the Finnish defense industry worth 660 million euros. The Finnish ministry reported this on its website on Wednesday, February 26.
17:50 The American side has invited President Volodymyr Zelensky to visit the United States. Preparations are currently underway. The Ukrainian leader said this during a conversation with journalists. He would like to "coordinate the position of Ukraine and the United States" before Donald Trump speaks with Vladimir Putin.
17:47 A group of men of military age and two smugglers were detained near the border with Hungary. This was reported by the State Border Service of Ukraine on its website on Wednesday, February 26.
17:02 Since the beginning of the day, 58 combat clashes have occurred on the front in 10 directions. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported the details in an operational summary as of 16:00.
16:39 Ukrainian military have struck a number of strategic facilities of the Russian invaders in the temporarily occupied Crimea and in the Krasnodar Territory of the Russian Federation. This was reported by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. This concerns strikes on the military airfields of Saki and Kacha, as well as on the Tuapse Oil Refinery.
16:20 The final version of the agreement with the US on mineral resources does not provide for "any debts" on the part of Ukraine. This was stated by President Volodymyr Zelensky. At the same time, one of the points of the agreement with the US contains a mention of security guarantees for Ukraine.
15:27 President Volodymyr Zelensky held another Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief concerning current challenges . He said this today at a meeting with journalists.
14:39 Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov criticized the idea of peacekeepers in Ukraine. For some reason, he believes that such an approach will "heat up the conflict."
14:00 Russian troops attacked the city of Konstantinovka with aerial bombs. At least five civilians were killed, said Vadim Filashkin, head of the Donetsk OVA.
13:55 The Security Service and the National Police detained three FSB henchmen who committed contract arson in the Kiev and Dnepropetrovsk regions.
The enemy's main targets were relay cabinets that ensured the smooth movement of trains, in particular military trains of the Defense Forces. To commit sabotage, the defendants used flammable mixtures that they prepared according to FSB instructions.
13:45 The names of the spouses who died today in Kryukovshchyna in the Kyiv region due to a Russian attack have become known to the general public. They turned out to be surgeon Pavel Ivanchev and his wife, journalist Tatyana Kulik. Ukrainian war correspondent Andrey Tsaplienko reported this on his Telegram channel on Tuesday, February 26.
13:36 Russian invaders suffered huge losses in the village of Kotlino, Pokrovsk community, Donetsk region. This was reported by the operational-strategic group of troops (OSGV) Khortitsa. During the assault actions, our paratroopers cleared the settlement.
13:11 High-level diplomats from the US and Russia will meet in Istanbul on February 27, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a briefing in Doha. The main topic will be the resumption of "normal activities" of embassies in both countries, he said.
12:50 The share of refugees planning to return to Ukraine has fallen to its lowest level since Russia's full-scale invasion, at 43%. Only 20% of Ukrainians are completely confident that they will return, according to a survey by Info Sapiens.
At the same time, the share of those who definitely do not plan to return to Ukraine has increased - there are already 13.5% of them, which is almost twice as many as in January 2024. Another 20% are unlikely to return.
Almost half of those wishing to return to Ukraine (44%) have not yet decided on the timing of their return.
11:49 A Russian attack on the Kyiv region on the evening of February 25 killed two people and injured two others; an investigation has been launched. This was reported by the Prosecutor General's Office on its Telegram channel on Wednesday, December 26.
11:20 The issue of liberating Crimea in the context of Ukraine's territorial integrity, sovereignty and security remains on the agenda. Russia has failed to "normalize" the occupation of the peninsula. President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote about this on Telegram .
10:33 France, Great Britain, Germany and other European countries are ready to send troops to ensure a ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia. This was stated by French Finance Minister Eric Lombard, Bloomberg reports . He believes that the United States has agreed to support the deployment of European peacekeeping troops in Ukraine.
10:20 The Security Service neutralized an FSB agent group that was spying in the Kiev, Kharkov and Lviv regions on Russia's instructions. The attackers adjusted missile attacks on Ukrainian Armed Forces locations.
9:58 Sicheslav paratroopers took control of the village of Kotlino near Pokrovsk: they drove the Russians out of the village. This was reported by the Airborne Assault Troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on their Facebook page.
09.16 At night, Russian troops attacked Ukraine with 177 Shahed-type attack UAVs and drone imitators of various types of directions. Air defense forces shot down 110 drones, another 66 were lost.
As a result of the Russian attack, the Kyiv, Kharkiv, Kirovohrad and Sumy regions suffered.
08.50 Operators of the 3rd regiment of the Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine destroyed about a platoon of Russian soldiers during a raid on an industrial complex in the Donetsk direction.
08:15 Over the past 24 hours, aviation, missile forces and artillery of the Defense Forces hit 17 areas of concentration of personnel, weapons and military equipment, two command posts, an artillery facility, an ammunition depot and two electronic warfare/radar systems of the Russians.
07:53 In the Kiev region, as a result of a night attack by Russian drones, one person was killed and two others were injured.
The body of the deceased was found during the extinguishing of a fire in a two-story private house in the Buchansky district. In another locality, a girl born in 2005 was hospitalized with a wound to the back of her head. A man born in 1981 received a wound to his right hand.
07:36 As of February 26, 2025, the total combat losses of Russian troops on the territory of Ukraine were estimated at 870,700 people (+1,170 per day).
07:15 In Russia, air defense forces allegedly shot down 128 drones overnight. This was reported by the press service of the Russian Defense Ministry. The drones attacked the Kursk, Bryansk regions, Krasnodar Krai of Russia and occupied Crimea.
Linked article is available only through a VPN
[EngMilRu] The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue the special military operation.
In Khar'kov direction, units of the Sever Group of Forces defeated units of a mechanised brigade of the AFU and a territorial defence brigade close to Volchansk, Dolzhik, and Zolochev (Khar'kov region).
The AFU lost more than 30 troops, two tanks, an armoured fighting vehicle, four motor vehicles, three artillery guns, and a Grad MLRS.
Units of the Zapad Group of Forces improved the tactical situation. The Russian Armed Forces inflicted losses on manpower and hardware of two mechanised brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, two territorial defence brigades, and a national guard brigade close to Kupyansk, Petropavlovka, Monachinovka, Kondrashovka, Podvysokoye, Kopanki, and Zeleny Gai (Khar'kov region).
The AFU losses amounted to more than 200 troops, eight motor vehicles, and two field artillery guns. Two Zakhist-AF and Anklav electronic warfare stations as well as an ammunition depot were eliminated.
Units of the Yug Group of Forces took more advantageous lines and positions. Russian units hit three mechanised brigades, a mountain assault brigade, and an airmobile brigade near Serebryanka, Aleksandropol, Nikolayevka, Seversk, Konstantinovka, and Chasov Yar (Donetsk People's Republic).
The AFU losses amounted to up to 185 troops, a Strela-10 anti-aircraft missile launcher, a motor vehicle, and three field artillery guns. An electronic warfare station and an ammunition depot were neutralised.
The Tsentr Group of Forces' units improved the situation along the front line. Five mechanised brigades, an assault brigade, an assault regiment of the AFU, a special forces brigade, and two national guard brigades were hit near Mirolyubovka, Zverevo, Novaya Poltavka, Kotlino, Krasnoarmeysk, Novoaleksandrovka, Peschanoye, Uspenovka (Donetsk People's Republic).
The enemy losses amounted to more than 325 troops, two tanks including a German-made Leopard tank, two armoured fighting vehicles including a U.S.-made MaxxPro armoured vehicle, a pick-up truck, and two artillery guns.
Units of the Vostok Group of Forces continued advancing into the depth of enemy defence. Russian forces engaged a mechanised brigade of the AFU and a territorial defence brigades hit near Andreyevka, Burlatskoye (Donetsk People's Republic) and Gulyapole (Zaporozhye region).
The enemy losses amounted to up to 175 troops, an armoured fighting vehicle, a motor vehicle, four field artillery guns including a 155mm Polish-made Krab self-propelled artillery system, and an ammunition depot.
The units of the Dnepr Group of Forces engaged manpower and hardware of two mechanised brigades, a mountain assault brigade, and three coastal defence brigades of the AFU close to Stepnoye, Ponyatovka, Dneprovskoye (Kherson region), Novodanilovka, and Novoandreyevka (Zaporozhye region).
The AFU lost up to 90 troops, seven motor vehicles, an artillery gun, an electronic warfare station, and a counter-battery radar.
Operational-Tactical Aviation, attack unmanned aerial vehicles, and Missile Troops and Artillery of the Russian Groups of Forces engaged the infrastructure of military airfields, depots of unmanned aerial vehicles as well as clusters of Ukrainian manpower and hardware in 139 areas.
Russian air defence systems shot down five French-made Hammer guided bombs, 19 Czech-made Vampire MLRS projectiles, and 185 aircraft-type unmanned aerial vehicles.
In total, since the beginning of the special military operation, 656 aircraft, 283 helicopters, 44,616 unmanned aerial vehicles, 597 anti-aircraft missile systems, 21,742 tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles, 1,522 MLRS combat vehicles, 22,042 field artillery guns and mortars, and 32,121 units of support military vehicles have been neutralised.
The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue the operation to neutralise AFU formations on the territory of Kursk region.
The units of the Sever Group of Forces liberated Orlovka and Pogrebki.
Russian units hit formations of a heavy mechanised brigade, a motorised infantry brigade, five mechanised brigades, an assault brigade, two air assault brigades, two territorial defence brigades, and two assault regiments of the Armed Forces of Ukraine near Gogolevka, Guyevo, Zaoleshenka, Kubatkin, Kurilovka, Lebedevka, Makhnovka, Mirny, Nikolskiy, Novaya Sorochina, Oleshnya, Rubanshchina, Sudzha and Yuzhny. Three enemy counter-attacks were repelled.
Operational-Tactical, Army, and Artillery strikes engaged AFU manpower and hardware close to Agronom, Bondarevka, Viktorovka, Dmitryukov, Zamostye, Kazachya Loknya, Kositsa, Malaya Loknya, Martynovka, Melovoy, Nikolayevka, Cherkasskaya Konopelka, Cherkasskoye Porechnoye as well as Basovka, Belovody, Zhuravka, and Yunakovka (Sumy region).
The AFU lost over 270 troops, two armoured personnel carriers, 13 armoured fighting vehicles, 26 motor vehicles, eight artillery guns, a mortar, a radar, 12 UAV command posts, and two ammunition depots during the day.
Since the beginning of hostilities in Kursk direction, the AFU losses amounted to more than 63,595 troops, 381 tanks, 288 infantry fighting vehicles, 243 armoured personnel carriers, 2,055 armoured fighting vehicles, 2,211 motor vehicles, 485 artillery guns, 52 MLRS launchers, including 13 of HIMARS and seven of MLRS made by the USA, 23 anti-aircraft missile launchers, one self-propelled anti-aircraft system, ten transport-loading vehicles, 116 EW stations, 15 counter-battery warfare radars, eight air defence radars, 50 units of engineering and other materiel, including 19 counterobstacle vehicles, one UR-77 mine clearing vehicle, five bridge launchers, one engineering reconnaissance vehicle as well as 14 armoured recovery vehicles, and one command post vehicle.
The operation to neutralise the AFU units is in progress.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[NewsFront] 21:37 Around 20.50 Moscow time by air defense systems on duty destroyed two Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles:
one over the territory of the Republic of Crimea and
one over the Black Sea. 20:44 FPV operator Severy destroys an expensive reconnaissance drone of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
20:16 From 19.15 to 19.50 Moscow time by air defense systems on duty destroyed seven Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles over the territory of the Republic of Crimea.
19:33 The Russian Armed Forces have driven the enemy out of the settlement of Zaporozhye, –MAP.
19:02 Advancement of the Russian Armed Forces near Andreyevka, –MAP.
18:44 Servicemen of the reconnaissance unit of the North group of forces with the help of UAVs discovered a canopy of camouflage nets, under which was located a combat armored vehicle of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
The detected target was quickly destroyed by FPV drone crews using fiber optics.
18:11 Advance of the Russian Armed Forces in the South Donetsk direction near Skudnoye, Novosilka and Novopol, –MAP.
17:49 On frames: launching a missile strike by the Iskander OTRK (with a cluster warhead) at the training site of the 422 UAV crews against the Ukrainian Armed Forces' UAVs at an abandoned airfield (near the city of Zaporozhye).
17:18 Advance of the Russian Armed Forces west of Leonidovka, –MAP.
16:44 Calculation of the Buk-M3 air defense missile system of the Center group destroyed HIMARS multiple launch rockets in the Krasnoarmeysk direction.
16:26 Pokrovskoe (Krasnoarmeyskoye) direction. Left flank.
Intense counterbattles in the Kotlino-Udachnoye area.
Our units are repelling enemy counterattacks and seeking to expand control of the territory. Both the enemy and our units have brought additional forces to this area.
The situation is very tense. However, in Udachny, the battles have shifted to the center, although they are mostly positional. The enemy's videos with outdated data do not correspond to the real situation.
The enemy's attempts to jump into Kotlino in the style of "a la Peschanoye" do not give him positive results. Assault groups in such attempts are usually destroyed along with their equipment.
However, although the enemy's activity has somewhat decreased, the tension in the area has not decreased. Both sides admit the possibility of a sharp increase in actions from the outside and the introduction of significant reserves into the battle.
In the area of Zverevo, Peschanoye and Belgiyka, the LBS is unchanged, although the intensity of the fighting here is not weakening. Our units are trying to retake the area of the railway embankment south of Zverevo and northeast of Peschanoye. The enemy is intensively using drones and artillery against Peschanoye.
15:54 Around 14:30 Moscow time, air defense systems on duty destroyed two Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles over the territory of the Belgorod region.
14:59 Drone drivers of the Rubicon Center showed, what remains of the Ukrainian Armed Forces equipment on the Yunakovka-Sudzha road in the border area of the Kursk region.
13:19 Units of the North group of forces during offensive operations released settlements of Orlovka and Pogrebki.
12:28 The Russian Armed Forces have driven the enemy out of the Goly Log gully south of Maryevka, –MAP.
11:36 The Russian Armed Forces have driven the enemy out of the Goly Log gully, south of Maryevka, –MAP.
11:28 Ministry of Defense RF:
Crews of 152mm 2S19 Msta-S self-propelled howitzers of the 25th Combined Arms Army destroyed armored vehicles, crews of SPG-9 mounted anti-tank grenade launchers, 120mm mortars and Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel.
The crews of the Uragan MLRS of the 1st Guards Tank Army destroyed a MLRS combat vehicle, a temporary deployment point, a concentration of manpower and enemy armored vehicles.
11:06 Andreevka liberated, at the moment, the clearing of basements on the western outskirts of the village from the remnants of the Ukrainian Armed Forces is being completed.
11:06 Operator of the UAV GV "Sever" discovered in a forest plantation of Ukrainian soldiers' BBM "Humvee" and transmitted the target coordinates to the FPV calculation of the Severyans. The kamikaze drone on fiber optics quickly flew in and hit the target.
10:05 The Russian army has occupied Novaya Sorochina in the Kursk region, –MAP.
10:05 Assault units of the "North" group continue successfully to dislodge the enemy in the Khar'kov direction.
9:25 Information on strikes carried out by the Ukrainian Armed Forces on the Belgorod Region over the past 24 hours:
In the Borisovsky district, in the village of Kazachye-Rudchenskoyereleased4 munitions in one attack, also one drone was shot down by the air defense system. No consequences.
In the Valuysky municipal district, the settlement of Urazovo, the villages of Dvuluchnoye, Dolgoe, Kukuyevka, Logachevka and Posokhovo were attacked by 41 drones, of which 37 were shot down and suppressed.
In the village of Kukuyevka, 4 units of special equipment were damaged, in the village of Posokhovo - a water supply infrastructure facility.
In the Volokonovsky district, eight rounds of ammunition were fired at the settlement of Malinovo, the villages of Borisovka, Tishanka, the farms of Gayevka and Davydkin during two attacks and attacks were carried out using six drones. three private houses, two outbuildings, a passenger car, a commercial facility and a power line were damaged.
In the Grayvoronsky municipal district, the settlement of Gorkovsky, the villages of Bezymeno, Novostroevka-Vtoraya and Novostroevka-Pervaya were subjected to three attacks, during which 11 munitions were fired, and were attacked by two drones.
Tonight in the village of Novostroevka-Pervaya, as a result of explosive devices dropped from a drone, one private house and a car were damaged.
In the Krasnoyarsk region, two artillery shells were fired at the village of Prilesye, the villages of Grafovka, Demidovka and Kolotilovka, and 10 drones were attacked. A social facility was damaged.
In the Shebekinsky municipal district, the settlement of Leninsky, the villages of Arkhangelskoye, Voznesenovka, Murom, Novaya Tavolzhanka and Rzhevka were subjected to one shelling, during which seven7 munitions were fired, and were attacked with the help of 36 drones, 32 of which were shot down and suppressed.
In the village of Murom, wo private houses were destroyed and one was damaged, in the village of Arkhangelskoye, a private house was damaged.
Air targets were shot down by the air defense system over the Yakovlevsky municipal district. In the settlement of Tomarovka, one private house and a car were damaged as a result of falling debris.
09:16 Soldiers of the Tula 106th Airborne Division from the previously liberated Sverdlikovo broke through the defense of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, entered Lebedivka, reached the center and are advancing in the direction of the eastern part, clearing out the Ukrainian Armed Forces strongholds and driving out the occupiers.
8:36 Snipers of the "East" group of forces supported offensive of assault groups in the South Donetsk direction.
Having waited for the assault to begin, the riflemen suppressed the enemy's firing points and machine gun crew, ensuring the safe approach of our assault troops. The snipers also destroyed the enemy reserve, which was moving forward to reinforce.
8:21 According to operational information from the unit of the 79th Mechanized Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, consisting of a battalion abandoned the territory of the village of Constantinople under pressure from our forces and dispersed along the strongholds in the direction of Razliv and Bogatyr.
8:20 Around 07.20 Moscow time by air defense systems on dutydestroyed two Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles over the territory of Krasnodar Krai.
8:17 Frontline report for the morning of 02/26/2025
Zaporizhzhya Front. Over the past 24 hours, no information about changes in the LBS has been received, –MAP.
Donetsk Front. Russian troops continue to expand their zone of control northwest of Velyka Novosilka. Fighting continues in Constantinople, Russian troops have slightly slowed the pace of the offensive, but long-range weapons are actively working on enemy positions.
In the Pokrovsk direction, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are trying to counterattack, showing activity in several areas. There are also reports of a possible counterattack by Ukrainian troops in Dzerzhinsk, but this information has not yet been confirmed.
Chasov Yar direction. No significant changes in LBS. Fighting continues in Chasov Yar and on the flanks.
Kursk Region. Russian troops have liberated Pogrebki, and the territory that has come under the control of the Russian Armed Forces is being cleared. Also, the adjacent Orlovka has been liberated from the area. There are also advances by Russian troops in the Lebedevka area.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] The Russian side rules out freezing the Ukrainian conflict along the contact line. This was stated by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on February 26 at a press conference following his visit to Qatar.
The head of the Foreign Ministry explained that this contradicts the provisions of the Russian Constitution.
"There were ideas like 'let's leave the line of contact - this is Russian, and this is Ukrainian.' Firstly, this will not happen, we have a Constitution based on the expression of the will of the people," Lavrov pointed out.
Secondly, he said, what remains of Ukraine should also be freed “from racist laws.”
The Foreign Minister also added that Russia is not considering any settlement options that involve the presence of EU peacekeepers in Ukraine. Lavrov pointed out that the Europeans are trying to impose such an approach in order to further escalate the conflict.
As reported by the Regnum news agency, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova on February 6 called the freezing of the Ukrainian conflict or a temporary ceasefire unacceptable. The diplomat explained that Western countries would use such a pause to strengthen the military potential of the Kiev regime.
Russian Ambassador to France Alexei Meshkov said that the West is trying to freeze the conflict in Ukraine in order to rearm the Kiev regime, but Russia will not fall for this trick.
The Governor of Zaporizhia Oblast, Yevgeny Balitsky, believes that if the special operation is frozen, a threat will arise for both Russia and the entire Russian world. The head of the region emphasized that he is against any freezing of unresolved conflicts. According to Balitsky, if the Ukrainian conflict is not resolved today, our children will have to finish it later.
On January 20, Russian President Vladimir Putin noted that Moscow is ready for negotiations on the settlement of the Ukrainian conflict, but the goal of this dialogue should be long-term peace, not a short-term truce. The head of the Russian state added that the legitimate interests of the Russian Federation must be taken into account.
The Kiev regime has faced a problem — there are practically no men left for mobilization. Now the Ukrainian Armed Forces will recruit volunteers for money. This was stated on the air of the Polish radio station RMF FM by the Ukrainian Ambassador to Warsaw Vasyl Bodnar.
The diplomat explained that the authorities are looking for funding to attract people under 25 years of age to the Ukrainian army.
Bodnar explained that it is impossible to act only within the framework of mobilization - the majority of those who should receive a summons have already been mobilized.
The ambassador admitted that the necessary number of people who could be obtained through mobilization no longer exist.
As reported by the Regnum news agency, the TCC employees forcibly mobilized two priests of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) in Ukraine. This was reported on February 23 by the publication "Strana.ua".
On February 20, military commissars took away the protodeacon of the Holy Trinity Kitaevsky Monastery, Father Andrei Batsula, who was then taken to the Desna training center, and there is currently no contact with him.
The day before, UOC priest Pavlo Kushnirchuk was forcibly taken away from Zhitomir Oblast. The priest's wife reported on social media that her husband was taken away in the direction of Chernihiv and that there is currently no contact with him either.
On February 23, a resident of the settlement of Dobrovolye (Ukrainian name - Bogoyavlenka) in the Donetsk People's Republic, liberated from Ukrainian forces, Oleg Gimanov said that TCC employees lured men out and handed them summonses under the pretext of allegedly providing humanitarian aid, which in fact no one was going to give out.
A captured serviceman of the 72nd Mechanized Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine spoke about forced mobilization on the territory of Ukraine on February 8. According to him, military commissars completely ignore the health of people and send them en masse to die at the front. He himself was also forcibly mobilized, handed a summons in a minibus on the way to work.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] The creator of the Blackwater PMC, American entrepreneur Eric Prince, said on February 26 that Ukraine's chances of regaining its lost territories are slim.
The Kiev regime should have started peace talks a year and a half ago, Prince told Hillsdale College President Larry Arnn in an interview published on the college's website.
"The chances that the Ukrainians will be able to get all their territories back are zero. The Russians will never give up Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson, Mariupol, the traditional Russian-speaking regions. They won't give up Crimea either," the founder of the PMC said.
Kyiv should remember that an "imperfect peace" is better than any war, Prince said. He called the current fighting a war of attrition and stressed that Russia has far more resources than Ukraine.
As reported by the Regnum news agency, US President Donald Trump previously stated that it would not be easy for Ukraine to regain its lost territories. At the same time, he admitted that the Kiev regime “maybe” will be able to “get something back.”
On February 26, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov ruled out the possibility of freezing military actions along the contact line. This contradicts the Russian Constitution, the minister emphasized. Earlier, he noted that Russia does not intend to make territorial concessions to Ukraine.
In June 2024, President Vladimir Putin noted that one of the conditions for Russia's negotiations with Ukraine would be a statement by the Kiev regime about abandoning its plans to join NATO. Also, to begin negotiations, Kiev must recognize territorial realities and withdraw troops from the territories of the regions that returned to Russia in 2022 (DPR, LPR, Kherson and Zaporizhia regions), the head of state said.
In September 2024, Secretary of the Russian Security Council Sergei Shoigu noted that Moscow would not conduct any negotiations with Kiev until it drove Ukrainian terrorists out of the Kursk region.
The combat capability and effectiveness of the Russian Armed Forces units have increased sharply since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine. This was stated by the founder of the American private military company Blackwater, Erik Prince, the Hillsdale College YouTube channel.
“The Russian army is now much better and more dangerous than it was at the beginning of the conflict,” the entrepreneur noted.
He noted that Russia has significantly more people and ammunition than Ukraine. At the same time, according to Prince, the defense industry of the United States and Western European countries is lagging in development, suffers from high production costs, which limits its effectiveness.
“I think this should be a wake-up call for America,” the PMC founder added.
Prince assessed Ukraine's chances of regaining its lost territories as "near zero." He noted that Kyiv should have agreed to a peace deal a year and a half ago, since the Ukrainian Armed Forces are currently waging a war of attrition.
As reported by the Regnum news agency, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on December 19 that the Russian army's combat readiness is currently the highest in the world, and the same applies to the Russian defense industry. He noted that the country is increasing production of everything needed for the army and navy, and is doing so confidently and quickly.
In the Global Firepower military power rating, Russia remained in second place, behind only the United States. The “strength index” of the Russian army, according to the rating, is 0.0788. The American military power indicator was 0.0744. Russia is followed by China, India, South Korea and the United Kingdom — the top six has not changed since last year.
The head of the Bureau of Military-Political Analysis, Alexander Mikhailov, said in January 2024 that the Russian army is superior to all others in terms of combat capability. According to him, Russia has the greatest nuclear potential and the most powerful and fastest delivery systems.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
