February 26, 2024 - Russia-Ukraine news

Our live coverage of Russia’s war in Ukraine has moved here.

Ulf Kristersson attends a press conference in Stockholm, Sweden, on February 26.

Sweden can expect that Russia will “not like” the country’s accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said Monday.

Kristersson also noted the historic nature of his country’s ascension into the alliance.

“Sweden is leaving behind 200 years of neutrality and non-alignment. It’s a big step and something to take seriously but it is also a very natural step that we take. Membership in NATO means that we now come home to a large number of democracies’ cooperation for peace and freedom. A very successful cooperation,” Kristersson said.

Earlier on Monday, Hungary’s parliament approved Sweden’s bid to join NATO, clearing the last hurdle for the country to become the 32nd member of the military alliance.

Volodymyr Zelenskiy speaks during a press conference in Kyiv, Ukraine on February 25.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed the Hungarian parliament’s vote to approve Sweden’s North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) membership on Monday.

More background: A decision to admit Ukraine would extend the sacred NATO pledge that an attack on one member is an attack on all to a nation Russia regards, at a minimum, as part of its sphere of influence — even if such a claim has no basis in international law. It would commit future Western leaders to go to war with nuclear-armed Russia and potentially risk a third World War if the Kremlin attacked its neighbor again.

French President Emmanuel Macron speaks during a press conference in support of Ukraine, with European leaders and government representatives, at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France on Monday.

Sending Western troops to Ukraine “cannot be ruled out,” French President Emmanuel Macron said Monday after hosting a conference in Paris where European leaders discussed the prospect.

There was “no agreement this evening to officially send troops onto the ground but we cannot exclude anything,” he told reporters.

The aid conference for Ukraine brought together representatives of the European Union’s 27 member countries including 21 heads of state and governments, he said.

“We will do anything we can to prevent Russia from winning this war,” Macron said. “And I say this with determination, but also with a collective humility that we need to have, in the light of the last two years.”

Macron also announced a new coalition would be set up to supply medium and long-range “missiles and bombs” to Ukraine. EU leaders and government representatives “decided to step up the munitions side and produce tangible results very quickly” across the eight coalitions that already exist, he said.

Ukraine’s president is warning that “millions” could die in his country’s war with Russia without aid from the United States. It comes as Ukrainian forces have retreated from a village in the eastern Donetsk region, near a key city where Russia claimed victory last week.

Meanwhile, aides for Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny say he was due to be part of a prisoner exchange before he died in an Arctic penal colony. A Western official, however, said there was no official offer on the table.

Here are the top headlines:

At least three people were killed and three others were injured after a drone strike hit a car with civilians in the village of Pochaevo, in Russia’s Belgorod region, the regional Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Monday.

Gladkov blamed Ukrainian armed forces on the strike.

Gladkov said in a Telegram post that the people in the car at the moment of the strike were local construction workers.

Three men “died from their wounds as a result of the explosion” following the strike and another three people were hospitalized with shrapnel wounds, he said.

Earlier on Monday, the village of Novaya Tavolzhanka in the Belgorod region “came under mortar fire from the Ukrainian armed forces,” Gladkov said.

Two children aged 10 and 11 were injured and taken to the local hospital as a result, according to Gladkov.

CNN cannot independently verify the casualties. 

The US State Department would not comment on reports of a potential prisoner swap with Russia for the release of Alexey Navalny.

Miller would not say whether such a deal would have included Paul Whelan or Evan Gershkovich — Americans detained in Russia.

“I’m just not going to speak to our conversations with any of our diplomatic partners about the work that we do to try to secure the release of wrongfully detained Americans or others held around the world,” said Miller.

CNN reported earlier that there were early discussions underway involving a prisoner exchange for Navalny and US citizens, a Western official told CNN on Monday — but no formal offer had been made prior to Navalny’s death.

Ukraine’s president pointed to the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014 as the beginning of Moscow’s aggression toward Kyiv.

Marking the Day of Resistance to the Occupation of Crimea and Sevastopol on Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the day Russia occupied the peninsula 10 years ago was the day “the future fate of international security and international relations was determined.”

Zelensky emphasized that Ukraine has “already achieved significant results in the Black Sea” and is working “to achieve the necessary results in the sky and on the ground in Crimea.” 

He also thanked Ukraine’s partners and noted that everything they “do together for the defense against Russian aggression adds real security” to their nations “for decades to come.”

A view of the Hungarian Parliament as representatives vote on the ratification of Sweden's NATO membership in the main hall of the parliament building in Budapest, Hungary, on February 26.

Hungary’s parliament on Monday approved Sweden’s bid to join NATO, clearing the last hurdle for the country to become the 32nd member of the US-led military alliance.

The vote passed with 188 members of parliament in favor and six against. In total, 194 members voted. Hungarian government spokesperson Zoltan Kovacs said on Monday that he is sure Sweden will be “a strong and reliable ally” who will benefit the NATO alliance. 

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson celebrated the vote.

Sweden applied to be a NATO member in May 2022 after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also welcomed the vote, and said, “Sweden’s membership will make us all stronger and safer.”

With Sweden’s accession, NATO will count 32 countries among its members, an ironic twist given that Russia launched its war against Ukraine in part due to the alliance’s growth in Eastern Europe along Russia’s border.

CNN’s Stephanie Halasz contributed reporting to this post.

There were early discussions underway involving a prisoner exchange for Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny and US citizens, but no formal offer had been made prior to Navalny’s death, a Western official told CNN Monday.

This comes as Navalny’s team asserted earlier on Monday that an offer had been made and was in the final stages to release Navalny in exchange Vadim Krasikov, a convicted Russian assassin imprisoned in Germany.

The source said the early discussions were between the United States and Germany.

The Western official did not say whether the early discussions involved Krasikov, nor did they say which US citizens were involved. However, it is likely they involved the two Americans who have been designated as wrongfully detained in Russia – Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan.

The German government declined to comment on the Navalny team’s claim. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said, “I know nothing about such an agreement.”

Ukrainian forces have retreated from the village of Lastochkyne in the eastern Donetsk region, both sides confirmed on Monday, as Russian forces intensify attacks and continue to push west.

Lastochkyne is located about 5 km (about 3 miles) northwest of Avdiivka, where Russia raised its flag on February 18.

The retreat from the village comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky tells CNN that “millions” could die in Ukraine’s war with Russia if US lawmakers don’t approve President Joe Biden’s $60 billion aid request for Kyiv.

The Ukrainian leader also said former US President Donald Trump doesn’t understand Russian President Vladimir “Putin will never stop.”

“I think Donald Trump doesn’t know Putin,” Zelensky said. “I know he met him… but he never fought with Putin. (The) American army never fought with the army of Russia. Never… I have a better understanding,” he said.

Zelensky warned that Trump will be “against Americans” if he chooses to support Russia over Ukraine.

Here’s what else to know:

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban speaks during the spring session of parliament in Budapest, Hungary, February 26, 2024.

Hungary “will approve Sweden’s NATO accession,” Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said at the Hungarian parliament on Monday, as quoted by Reuters. 

He asked his fellow lawmakers to approve the accession, adding that it “will strengthen Hungary’s security.”

Hungary is expected to vote on Sweden’s NATO accession bid later on Monday at around 10 a.m. ET. 

Some background: Hungary is the last member of the military alliance to approve Sweden’s application to join NATO, which it made in May 2022 after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine.

Ukraine is vowing the return of Crimea while appealing for international support in its fight against Russian occupation, as it marks the Day of Resistance to the Occupation of Crimea and Sevastopol on Monday.

This year also marks exactly 10 years since Russia annexed the peninsula.

“I want to address everyone in our country, in Europe, and in the world whose heart holds a sense of justice, who values justice, and who feels devastated whenever justice is destroyed,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

Other Ukrainian officials also echoed Zelensky’s words.

“We will definitely return the peninsula, because it is our land! And it is worth fighting for it until victory,” Ukraine’s Security Service vowed.

Alexey Navalny, his wife Yulia, and other demonstrators march in downtown Moscow on February 29, 2020.

A public farewell to Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny is expected to be held at the end of this working week, spokesperson Kira Yarmysh said in a post on social network X on Monday. 

Yarmysh added that the deceased politician’s aides are actively searching for a venue to host the public farewell and called upon those with suitable premises to get in touch with the team.

“We are looking for a hall for a public farewell to Alexey. Time: end of this work week,” Yarmysh said.

Navalny’s body was handed over to his mother last Saturday, nine days after news of his passing and following widespread public demands for the prompt return of his remains to the family.

People in cities across Russia have been gathering for impromptu vigils for over a week, laying flowers to monuments to victims of repression.

Ukrainian forces have retreated from the village of Lastochkyne in the eastern Donetsk region, both sides confirmed on Monday, as Russian forces intensify attacks and continue to push west.

Lastochkyne is located about 5 km (about 3 miles) northwest of Avdiivka, in what has remained one of the hottest areas on the battlefield. Russia raised its flag in Avdiivka on February 18.

The Russian Ministry of Defense also confirmed on Monday the capture of Lastochkyne, according to Russian state news agency RIA Novosti. 

More on the situation on the ground: Over the past day, Russian forces increased their attacks around Lastochkyne, conducting 45 airstrikes, 897 artillery attacks and 83 kamikaze drone strikes, Lykhoviy said, adding 72 combat engagements took place.

“Despite the enemy’s high pressure, our units are actively defending themselves and manoeuvring,” Lykhoviy said. 

The areas of Avdiivka and Marinka “remain the hottest spots,” he said.

“In the Avdiivka sector, our defenders repelled 25 enemy attacks over the last day, and 40 in the Mariinka sector, the highest number in the last few days,” Lykhoviy said. 

Former US President Donald Trump sits in New York State Supreme Court during the civil fraud trial against the Trump Organization, in New York City on January 11.

Former US President Donald Trump will be “against Americans” if he chooses to support Russia over Ukraine, the war-torn country’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday.

Speaking to CNN’s Kaitlan Collins in Kyiv, Zelensky said he “can’t understand how Donald Trump can be on the side of (Russian President Vladimir) Putin.”

Trump, who is now almost certain to become the Republican presidential nominee after winning the South Carolina Republican primary, has in the past refused to say whether he supports Russia or Ukraine.

Zelensky said that he believed Trump — who also said he would end the conflict in one day if elected — did not understand Putin’s goals.

“I think Donald Trump doesn’t know Putin,” Zelensky said. “I know he met him… but he never fought with Putin. (The) American army never fought with the army of Russia. Never… I have a better understanding,” he said.

Read the full story here.

Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s office said Sunday it had launched an investigation into the alleged killing of a group of Ukrainian prisoners of war by Russian forces.

Russian forces allegedly shot unarmed Ukrainian servicemen in the Bakhmut district in the eastern Donetsk region on Saturday, the office said.

A pre-trial investigation had been launched over an alleged “violation of the laws and customs of war combined with premeditated murder,” after video surfaced on social media that appeared to show the execution of surrendering Ukrainian troops. 

“The drone footage shows that representatives of the Russian Armed Forces first order our defenders to leave the trench. Then, having gathered all the defenders in one place and moved a few meters away, the enemy fires automatic gunfire at them,” the office said.

“The military of the aggressor state deliberately killed the wounded and unarmed Ukrainian soldiers, ignoring the norms of international humanitarian law.”

The Ukrainian servicemen appeared to be surrendering when they were killed, Ukraine’s human rights commissioner Dmytro Lubinets said in a personal message shared on social media.

CNN is not able to independently verify the claims. 

Russian dissident Alexey Navalny appears on a screen via a video link from the IK-3 penal colony during a hearing against the Ministry of Justice in Supreme Court, in Moscow, Russia, on January 11.

Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny’s aides said Monday they “achieved a decision on his exchange” in a prisoner swap while he was still alive and imprisoned in a penal colony. 

Maria Pevchikh, one of Navalny’s closest advisers said on social media that “in early February, (Russian President Vladimir) Putin was offered to exchange Vadim Krasikov, a killer and an FSB officer who is serving a sentence for murder in Berlin, for two American citizens and Alexey Navalny.”

Krasikov was arrested in Berlin in 2019 for the murder of a Chechen militant in Berlin’s Tiergarten Park and sentenced to life imprisonment.

Pevchikh said that Roman Abramovich, the Russian oligarch and former owner of Chelsea Football Club, “delivered the proposal to swap Navalny.”

She added that he was acting as “an informal negotiator communication with American and European officials.”

Pevchikh however, added that when she approached Abramovich about the details of: how, when and what circumstances he supplied the information to the President, he “did not answer these questions, but he did not deny anything either.” 

Pevchikh said that they “were at the final stage on the evening of February 15th.”

Navalny died in prison on February 16. 

CNN cannot independently verify these claims, and German government spokesperson, Christiane Hoffmann, said that she “cannot give a comment about this at this stage,” in answer to a question about the prisoner exchange reports.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said he knew “nothing about such an agreement,” in response to a question from CNN’s Matthew Chance about the alleged prisoner exchange.

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting in Moscow, Russia, on January 31.

The Kremlin said Monday that Russian President Vladimir Putin was not involved in the decision to hand over the body of opposition figure Alexey Navalny to his family. 

Navalny died while serving in a penal colony on February 16, and his family had for several days pleaded for Russian authorities to release his body.

On Friday, Russian authorities agreed to hand over the Kremlin critic’s body.

Speaking in his regular call with journalists, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov described the accusations made by Navalny’s mother, Lyudmila Navalnaya about blackmail and a suggested secret funeral for her son as “absurd,” adding that the Kremlin “has nothing to do with” the case and therefore “cannot exert pressure.” 

On Saturday, Navalny’s team reported that the body was now back with the family. Plans for his funeral remain unclear. 

Here’s a brief timeline of the events leading up to Navalny’s body being released:

French President Emmanuel Macron will host representatives from 23 nations at the Elysée Palace on Monday for an international conference to show support for Ukraine. 

The Elysée says the meeting is aimed at “exploring ways to strengthen the cooperation of partners in support of Ukraine,” as the war enters its third year.

Macron is hosting the presidents of Finland, Romania, Lithuania and Poland, as well as prime ministers from the Netherlands, Portugal, Estonia, Norway, Czech Republic, Austria, Germany, Belgium, Spain, Slovenia, Ireland, Greece, Latvia and Luxembourg.

The foreign ministers of Sweden and the UK, as well as a representative from the US, are also joining.

Macron and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is joining the summit virtually, are expected to deliver a joint opening speech at 11 a.m. ET.