Artillery strikes on Bilenke signal start of Fortress Belt preparation Russian forces shelled Bilenke near Kramatorsk on Feb 26‑27, the first tube‑artillery hits on the city’s suburbs, marking artillery preparation for a spring‑summer offensive against Ukraine’s Fortress Belt in Donetsk Oblast [1].
Russia expands university recruitment to staff its Unmanned Systems Forces The Ministry of Defence is pressuring students at at least 95 institutions, offering high salaries, guaranteed service and debt forgiveness, while some contracts allow redeployment beyond USF units; recruitment intensified after Dec 2025 and now struggles as casualties outpace enlistments [8][9].
Kremlin detains Readovka founder on fraud charges amid media crackdown Alexey Kostylev was arrested on suspicion of embezzling roughly one billion rubles from MoD contracts; the move follows earlier funding cuts and a Kremlin‑linked takeover, reflecting broader efforts to control pro‑war outlets [13][14][15][16][17].
Russian drone approached French carrier Charles de Gaulle in Swedish waters A SIGINT ship launched a drone in the Oresund Strait on Feb 25; Swedish patrol vessels jammed the drone about 13 km from the carrier, marking a rare aerial incursion near a NATO capital ship [21][22][23][24].
Evidence suggests Russian use of white phosphorus in Kostyantynivka Geolocated footage shows a strike with white‑phosphorus munitions followed by a FAB‑1500 glide bomb; about 2,000 civilians remain in the town, and Protocol III of the CCW bans incendiary weapons against populated areas [28][29][30].
Russian authorities issue missile‑strike alert across 13 federal subjects On Feb 27 Russia declared a missile warning covering regions including Tatarstan, Bashkortostan and Rostov; officials reported debris hitting a high‑rise in Taganrog and a drone strike on an energy site in Kursk [32][33][34].