Issued on: 23/02/2026 - 06:54Modified: 24/02/2026 - 04:37
Ukraine will need $588 billion to rebuild from the destruction caused by Russia's full-scale invasion, a World Bank report said on Monday – a figure almost three times the country's annual economic output. Russian strikes killed three people and wounded several others overnight, regional authorities said, as Moscow intensified its assaults on the eve of the war's four-year anniversary. Follow our liveblog to see how the day's events transpired.
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Russian drone strikes in Zaporizhzhia injure five ahead of war anniversary
Overnight Russian drone strikes on the southeastern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia wounded five people, including a child, authorities said on Tuesday.
The Ukrainian State Emergency Service (DSNS) said the attacks, which occurred late on Monday, targeted multiple sites across the regional centre.
"Five people, including one child, were injured as a result of the attacks," the DSNS said.
At one location, a drone slammed into a factory building next to a nine-storey residential block, sparking a fire that spread over 200 square metres.
Zelensky urges Trump to stay 'on our side' ahead of war anniversary
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday exhorted his counterpart Donald Trump to remain “on our side”, speaking ahead of the fourth anniversary of Russia’s brutal war against Kyiv, according to an interview with CNN.
The United States should “stay with… a democratic country which is fighting against one person. Because this person is a war. Putin is a war,” Zelensky told CNN during an interview in Kyiv.
“If they really want to stop Putin, America’s so strong,” the Ukrainian leader went on.
Asked if he believes Trump is putting enough pressure on Putin, Zelensky said: “No.”
He added: “We can’t just give him everything he wants. Because he wants to occupy us. If we give him all he wants, we will lose everything – all of us, people will have to run away or be Russian.”
Police officer killed in Moscow blast near railway station
A man detonated an explosive device beside a police patrol car in central Moscow early Tuesday, killing one officer and wounding two others, the Russian interior ministry said.
The blast occurred at about 12:05 am (2105 GMT Monday) on Savyolovsky railway station square, according to the ministry’s statement on Telegram.
The attacker approached traffic police officers sitting in their patrol vehicle and then an explosive device detonated, the statement said. The attacker died at the scene, it said.
Slovakia’s power supply stance ‘will not affect’ Ukraine grid, says national power company
Ukraine’s national power company said on Monday that any refusal by Slovakia to extend emergency electricity supplies to Ukraine on demand would have no effect on the country’s power system.
“The likely halt to emergency electricity supply from Slovakia will in no way affect the situation in Ukraine’s unified power system,” Ukrenergo said in a statement.
“In general, emergency assistance from Slovakia has been a rare occurrence. At issue are short-term supplies,” it said.
In Brussels, volunteers assemble drones to be sent to Ukraine
In undisclosed locations, volunteers meet regularly in the Belgian capital to assemble drones destined for Ukraine.
Teachers, European civil servants, members of the Ukrainian diaspora and former military personnel are participating in this initiative coordinated by the NGO Wings for Europe.
Funded by private donations, these devices are then sent to the front lines. FRANCE 24's Alix Le Bourdon and Dave Keating report from Brussels.
Ukraine moves date for resumption of Druzhba oil deliveries to Feb 25, Slovakia says
Slovakia's oil pipeline system operator Transpetrol was informed by Ukraine that a resumption of oil deliveries via the Druzhba pipeline has been moved to February 25, the country's economy ministry said, adding no reasons were provided.
The Druzhba pipeline outage has been the centre of a dispute between the neighbours since shipments of Russian oil to Slovakia and Hungary were cut off last month when Ukraine says a Russian drone strike hit pipeline equipment in western Ukraine.
Slovakia and Hungary say Ukraine is to blame for the prolonged outage.
Ukraine ex-army chief says 'no' presidential ambitions during war
Ukraine's popular former military commander-in-chief, Valery Zaluzhny, rebuffed a question about whether he wanted to become president, arguing the issue should not be discussed until the war ends.
Ukraine imposed martial law when Russian forces swept over the border in February 2022, and military rule prohibits holding elections.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said this month the country will only hold polls once it security guarantees are in place as well as a ceasefire with Russia.
Explosion in Mykolaiv injures seven Ukrainian police officers, police chief says
An explosion in Ukraine's southern city of Mykolaiv injured seven police officers, two of them seriously, the head of the national police said, marking the second attack involving police in three days.
Ivan Vyhivskyi said the officers had parked their cars in anticipation of a shift change when the explosion occurred.
"The day before yesterday, a terrorist attack against police officers took place in Lviv," Vyhivskyi wrote on Facebook, referring to the city in western Ukraine near the Polish border.
"This is not a coincidence. The enemy is deliberately trying to kill Ukrainian police officers who defend people and the state every day."
On Saturday, an explosion in Lviv killed a woman police officer and injured 24 people.
Hungary vows to block EU cash for Ukraine
Hungary looks set to carry out a threat to block new EU sanctions on Moscow and a huge loan for Kyiv, in a blow to Europe's pro-Ukrainian consensus on the eve of the war's fourth anniversary.
Two Russian security personnel were on board France-seized tanker
Two employees of a Russian private security company were aboard a suspected Russian "shadow fleet" tanker seized by France in September, an informed French source and a lawyer told AFP.
The two men were employed by Moran Security Group, a Russian private security company, and were tasked with monitoring the crew and gathering intelligence, a source with knowledge of the matter said on condition of anonymity.
The source said dozens of vessels of Russia's "shadow fleet" are equipped with such crew protection teams, notably to escort them in the Baltic Sea and the Atlantic Ocean – all supplied by Moran Security.
EU's Costa urges Hungary's Orban to respect €90 billion loan deal for Ukraine, letter shows
European Council President Antonio Costa urged Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban to honour an EU deal for a €90 billion loan to Ukraine, after Budapest said it would block the plan until Russian oil flows again through the Druzhba pipeline that crosses Ukraine.
"When leaders reach a consensus, they are bound by their decision. Any breach of this commitment constitutes a violation of the principle of sincere cooperation," Costa, who chairs summits of EU leaders, said in a letter to Orban.
"No Member State can be allowed to undermine the credibility of decisions taken collectively by the European Council," Costa wrote, referring to the loan, which was approved by EU leaders at a summit in December.
Slovakia to stop emergency power supplies to Ukraine over oil spat, PM says
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has requested the country's power grid operator to stop emergency electricity supplies to Ukraine if oil flows via the Druzhba pipeline do not resume.
"From today, if the Ukrainian side turns to Slovakia with a request for assistance in stabilising the Ukrainian energy network, it will not receive such assistance," Fico said in a statement.
Fico said the measure would be cancelled after the resumption of oil transit to Slovakia.
EU failure to agree Russia sanctions for Ukraine war anniversary a 'setback', Kallas says
The EU's top diplomat Kaja Kallas expressed regret that the bloc failed to unanimously agree new sanctions on Russia for the fourth anniversary of the Ukraine war, after Hungary vetoed the move.
"This is a setback and message we didn't want to send today, but the work continues," she said after a meeting of EU foreign ministers.
Ukraine's Naftogaz secures first US LNG delivery via Germany
Ukraine's Naftogaz has secured the supply of US liquefied natural gas (LNG) via a terminal in Germany, the state-run oil and gas company said.
The LNG will be sourced from the US and supplied in Germany by TotalEnergies, Naftogaz said.
After it is regasified by Deutsche ReGas, it will then be delivered via pipelines through Poland to Ukraine, it said.
"This new partnership opens up a new reliable import route for Ukraine for the current year," CEO Serhiy Koretskyi said in a statement.
Actions of Hungarian government act of political sabotage, says Poland's Tusk
Actions of the Hungarian government are an act of political sabotage that make helping Ukraine impossible, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said, referring to a possible blocking of further EU sanctions on Moscow and a €90 billion loan for Kyiv by Budapest.
Ukraine: Europe on the front line
Four years after Russia's full-scale invasion, the EU has established itself as Ukraine's main source of support. With a loan of €90 billion voted through in February 2026, the EU has confirmed its massive commitment to Kyiv, while the Trump administration has pulled back.
Yesterday's key developments:
Overnight strikes targeted energy infrastructure in Odesa, central Ukraine
Hungary said it would block the EU's latest package of sanctions on Russia.
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