Portal:Current events/2022 February 26

February 26, 2022 (Saturday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Russo-Ukrainian War
- 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
  - Kyiv offensive, Battle of Kyiv
    - Russian Ground Forces attempt to attack an army base near Kyiv on Victory Avenue as well as an electricity generating station in the city. The Ukrainian military says that they repelled both attacks. (Reuters)
    - A residential tower block near Kyiv International Airport is hit by a missile. (Al Jazeera)
    - Ukraine's army claims that its air defences shot down two Russian Ilyushin Il-76 transport planes carrying paratroopers near the cities of Vasylkiv and Bila Tserkva in Kyiv Oblast, but did not provide any video evidence or details on crash sites. Ukraine also claims that a Sukhoi Su-25 attack jet was shot down. (Times of Israel)
  - Battle of Melitopol
    - The Russian Armed Forces report that they have captured the city of Melitopol in Zaporizhzhia Oblast. However, this claim is disputed. Russian state media says that Russian troops entered the city after facing "no resistance". (Reuters) (TASS)
  - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posts a video of himself in the capital Kyiv amid rumors that he left the country. (Times of Israel)
  - The Russian Navy warns that all civilian ships and vessels attempting to approach the Ukrainian Black Sea coast will be destroyed as "terrorist threats". (Ukrainska Pravda)
  - Poland says that around 100,000 Ukrainians have crossed the border since the invasion began. (Reuters)
  - Russian President Vladimir Putin issues orders to expand the offensive, after declaring peace talks "dead". (Bloomberg)
  - The Ukrainian military destroys rails at all railway junctions leading to Russia as part of an attempt to prevent Russian military supplies from being delivered by freight trains. (Ukrainska Pravda)
  - Sergey Aksyonov, the head of the Republic of Crimea, says that supplies of water via the North Crimean Canal returned after Russians destroyed the dam that prevented the flow of water from the Dnieper river. (TASS)
  - Russian forces shell the city of Sartana, Ukraine, and the nearby village of Buhas, killing ten Greek nationals. (Al Jazeera)

Business and economy

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
- International sanctions during the Russo-Ukrainian War
  - In an official joint statement, the European Commission, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States, agree to remove some Russian banks from SWIFT. The group also commits to "imposing restrictive measures that will prevent the Russian Central Bank from deploying its international reserves in ways that undermine the impact of our sanctions." (The Guardian)
  - Several computer chip manufacturers, including TSMC and Intel, halt supplies of their products as a result of sanctions against Russia. (The Washington Post)

Health and environment

COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
  - COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea
    - South Korea reports 112 deaths from COVID-19, a new single-day record. (AP)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the United Arab Emirates, Face masks during the COVID-19 pandemic
    - The United Arab Emirates removes the mandatory face masks mandate in outdoor spaces, making the use of them optional. (The National)

International relations

Reactions to the 2021–2022 Russo-Ukrainian crisis, International reactions to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
- International sanctions during the Russo-Ukrainian War
  - Estonia–Russia relations
    - Estonia announces that it will close its airspace to all Russian airlines. (Reuters)
- Turkey–Ukraine relations
  - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan says that Turkey is making efforts for an immediate ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia. (Reuters)
- In a phone call, French President Emmanuel Macron calls for Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko to demand the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine. During the phone call, Lukashenko also called reports of Belarus potentially having nuclear weapons "fake news". (Big News Network) (Belta)
Nuclear program of Iran
- Iran Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian announces that Iran will be studying a rough draft aimed at reviving the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. (Times of Israel)

Law and crime

Protests against the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
- 2022 anti-war protests in Russia
  - Around 3,000 anti-war protesters across Russia have been detained since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched an invasion of Ukraine. (Times of Israel)
- Protesters gather at the Russian embassy in London. During the protest, demonstrators are seen throwing eggs at the embassy, and call for Vladimir Putin to withdraw troops from Ukraine. (The Independent)
- Around 200 demonstrators in Taipei, Taiwan call for the war to end. (Taiwan News)
- Iranian police disperse protesters chanting "Death to Putin" outside the Ukrainian embassy in Tehran. (Iran International)
- Protesters gather in Kansas City, Salt Lake City, the Space Needle in Seattle, and other cities across the U.S. to stand in solitary with Ukraine and call for peace. (The Kansas City Star) (The Salt Lake Tribune) (Seattle Times)
- Several Freedom Convoy truckers gather at the Grant Park in Chicago to protest in solitary with Ukraine. (Jalopnik)

Politics and elections

Education in Afghanistan
- Universities reopen in Afghanistan to male and female students for the first time since the Taliban took power 6 months ago. (VOA)

Science and technology

Internet censorship in Russia
- Russia blocks access to social media platform Twitter. (The Verge)