Victory Chronicles-DAY 1099

At least five innocent civilians were killed and eight injured in Russian projectile strikes on the town of Kostiantynivka in the Donetsk region on Feb. 26, regional officials said.

Vadym Filashkin, head of the Donetsk Regional Military Administration, said that Russian forces dropped three guided bombs on the town and its outskirts. He noted that Russian attacks on civilians in Kostiantynivka have become more frequent and severe in recent weeks. “It is dangerous to stay in the town! Evacuate in time!” he urged.

Ukraine to receive €700 million for demining from partners, Defense Ministry says. Ukraine’s international partners have pledged €700 million for demining efforts, the Defense Ministry announced following a meeting of the Demining Coalition in Vilnius.

The funds will be allocated through 2034, with a €130 million budget planned for 2025, the ministry said. “Over the last quarter of 2024, €16.1 million was spent on purchasing equipment. As of February, Lithuania’s Central Project Management Agency (CPMA) has already accumulated €51 million,” said Ruslan Berehulia, head of the Defense Ministry’s Mine Action Directorate.

Kharkiv police inspect drone strike sites. Police are investigating the aftermath of an overnight drone attack that left two people suffering from acute stress reactions, authorities said on Feb. 26.

At around midnight, police received reports of at least three drone strikes in the city’s Kyivskyi district. One drone hit an apartment on the second floor of a residential building, sparking a fire and injuring two residents. Another drone crashed onto a major roadway, damaging the facade of a nearby building and shattering about 100 windows in surrounding structures.

A third drone struck a restaurant, officials said. Police are conducting on-site inspections, documenting the attacks, and collecting evidence. A criminal investigation has been opened under Article 438 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code for war crimes.

Poltava National Guard troops shoot down seven Shahed drones. National Guard troops in Poltava destroyed seven Russian Shahed-131/136 attack drones overnight, officials said.

“Thanks to coordinated actions and the high skill of Ukrainian defenders, the attack was repelled, preventing potential destruction and casualties”, the National Guard of Ukraine said in a statement.

Key Takeaways:

• Russian President Vladimir Putin implicitly acknowledged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as the legitimate president of Ukraine and Russia’s future negotiating partner while promoting a new information operation that aims to destabilize Ukrainian society and the Ukrainian military from within.
• Putin attempted to use new language to repackage the calls for regime change in Ukraine that he has demanded since 2021.
• Putin offered to make a deal with the United States on Russian rare earth minerals as part of efforts to outbid Ukraine on this matter and to push the United States to accept Russian offers of economic measures in lieu of any actual Russian concessions on Ukraine.
• Putin attempted to claim that he supports Europe’s participation in negotiations on Ukraine while continuing to show his unwillingness to make concessions and seemingly proposing Russian allies as possible future negotiating parties.
• Kremlin officials continue to exploit diplomatic engagements with Russia’s allies to reinforce Moscow’s narrative that Russia invaded Ukraine to protect Russian-speaking minorities in Ukraine.
• A delegation from North Korea’s Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) arrived in Moscow on February 25 at the invitation of Russia’s ruling party, United Russia, amid reports that North Korea may be shipping more material to Russia.
• Western officials continue to highlight the scale of European military aid to Ukraine.
• Russian forces recently advanced in Kursk Oblast and near Kupyansk, Lyman, and Velyka Novosilka, and Ukrainian forces recently advanced near Kupyansk.
• Samara Oblast authorities reduced one-time payments to soldiers who sign military service contracts with the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) after temporarily increasing these payments in January 2025.
• The BBC Russian Service reported on February 25 that over 100 Russian government, military, and security officials accused and convicted of various corruption charges are fighting in Ukraine.
• The Kremlin continues efforts to use its “Time of Heroes” program, which places veterans of the war in Ukraine in government positions, to form a new Russian elite composed of loyal and ultranationalist veterans that will continue to militarize Russian society over the long term.
• Russia may be reopening a Soviet-era submarine base in occupied Crimea.

Sr. Lt. Serhii Zapishnii was killed on Feb. 1 in an aerial attack on a residential high-rise building in Poltava. His family lived on the fifth floor of the building, which was hit by a Russian projectile. His wife, Kateryna, and their children — 12-year-old daughter Diana and 7-year-old son Daniel — were killed alongside him. Zapishnii was 40 years old.

A native of Dykanka, Poltava region, Zapishnii graduated from the National Aerospace University – Kharkiv Aviation Institute, where he met his future wife. After graduation, Serhii and Kateryna Zapishni moved to Poltava, where they worked at an aircraft design bureau. 

For a time, Zapishnii opened a family business to run a board game store. In his spare time, he modeled figures and developed new games. In September 2024, he signed a contract and joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and served as an onboard aviation technician in a helicopter squadron based in Poltava.

“My brother loved board games; he loved hosting game nights. He dreamed of opening his own board game production company. Zapishnii was a very kind man. He loved his family—caring, calm, polite, loving. He and Katia were very fond of each other. They enjoyed spending time alone, walking around the city or in nature,” said his sister, Tatiana.

Zapishnii was buried in his hometown. He is survived by his mother and sister.

*Serhii’s story on the Heroes Memorial – a platform for stories about the fallen defenders of Ukraine.

• Bloomberg: France expects US to provide backup after Ukraine ceasefire
• Russian foreign affairs minister: Russia will not agree to cease hostilities in Ukraine along current front line
• Politico: State Department officials pushing to release more frozen Ukraine funds
• Ukraine’s prime minister  says agreement with US on minerals to be linked to security guarantees
• Romanian prime minister  supports increase in defense spending, but opposes sending troops to Ukraine
• Bloomberg: Ukraine liquified natural gas trader expects to sign supply deal by April