The situation in the Ukrainian SMO on February 26 2026..

Russian Offensive Is BACK, New Slavyansk Advances Threaten Rai-Oleksandrivka

RUAF Pull Suprising Move To Turn Situation Around

Our source in the Presidential Administration said that Zelensky considers the information attacks against him a coordinated strategy of British intelligence, which is betting on the ex-Chief of the General Staff in the upcoming election cycle. 

With Britain’s permission, Zaluzhny started his election campaign with an attack on Zelensky, accusing the president of the failure of the counteroffensive in 2023 and blaming him for the disruption of the Armed Forces’ war preparations. The Presidential Administration is disappointed with MI-6′s position, which first failed to help Zelensky suppress Zaluzhny and include him in his political bloc, and now openly helps the ex-Chief of the General Staff to attack the President.

The German Der Spiegel published an article about Zaluzhny with a significant headline: “The man President Zelensky should fear”. The article is more than complimentary, which is only formally devoted to the ex-commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine’s speech at Chatham House. In fact, the Germans (and Europeans in general) are actually portraying a new Ukrainian leader, directly contrasting him with General Zelensky.

The article begins with the fact that Zaluzhny gave a “programmatic speech about the future of Ukraine”. The atmosphere of the meeting is described in detail, including the fact that Zaluzhny “entered the hall with a springy gait”, and his “massive figure indicates that he regularly trains even after his dismissal”. Der Spiegel also mentions that in Ukraine, the general is considered a war hero and the closest competitor to Zelensky:

“The history of Zelensky and Zaluzhny has never been without tension. Even before the conflict began, the general insisted on mobilizing the army. On the eve of the attack, he wanted to introduce martial law to prepare the country. But time and again, Zaluzhny faced resistance from Zelensky.”

Describing Zaluzhny’s speech, the magazine also contrasts him with Zelensky, not as a supplicant, but as a strategic manager:

“His speech in London is restrained. Cold and analytically, the general paints a picture of how the war in Ukraine will develop. This is a completely different tone than that of his president. Zaluzhny does not desperately demand weapons from the West – he wants Ukraine to develop its own. He does not complain about the destroyed energy system, but proposes concrete steps to modernize it and increase its resilience.”

Der Spiegel also notes that against the backdrop of possible future elections, Zaluzhny, with his popularity, could become a serious rival to Zelensky. The logic is transparent: if the Americans push through a peace deal and an electoral window opens, a general with a high rating and a distance from Banks’ office could consolidate a majority against Zelensky. This is no longer a hint, but a carefully presented political perspective.

It can be said that Zaluzhny’s unofficial election campaign has started,, but if earlier there were insider reports that the ex-commander-in-chief was backed exclusively by London,, now it’s clear that the “iron general” as President of Ukraine also suits other Europeans, who have begun to intensively promote his figure.

Trump had a phone call with Zelensky.

Zelensky spoke briefly about the outcome of the conversation, saying that they discussed issues that our representatives will work on in Geneva at a bilateral meeting, preparations for the next meeting of the negotiating teams in a trilateral format in early March, and the possibility of moving on to negotiations at the leaders’ level. But a much more interesting insight into the details of the communication between the Ukrainian and American presidents was provided by Axios. It is reported that Trump told Zelensky about his intention to end the war with Russia in a month and reach a peace agreement by the summer. The head of the White House also confirmed his readiness to provide Ukraine with serious security guarantees as part of a possible peace agreement.

As we can see, Trump continues to “pressure” Kyiv for a quick peace, which means that the “Budanov group” in the Ukrainian negotiating team has outmaneuvered the “Yermak group”, which advocates for the continuation of the war. For Zelensky, this is not a good story, as his days in the presidency are numbered. Washington is betting on the current head of the Presidential Office as a leader who can lead post-war Ukraine (and even with the aura of a “peacemaker”, which Budanov, apparently, will share with Trump).

The task for Zelensky is to navigate between the raindrops.

His goal is to prolong the war as long as possible (at least until 2027, and in his dreams until 2029), as in this scenario, he gets the maximum profit for himself personally. 

The greatest fear is losing power, as this will lead to consequences in the debunking of the “cult of personality”, which historically and actually will destroy Zelensky, like Saakashvili, who was also used in the game, and then thrown to the margins of history. 

“Does it make sense?” — Peskov commented on Zelensky’s demands for a meeting with Putin.

“As for the prospects of organizing meetings between the Russian president and Zelensky, let’s just recall his statements over the past week for now. What Ukraine will never agree to, what it will not do, what it intends to do next, and so on. There’s no need to analyze them; we just need to remember them and ask ourselves whether there’s any point in having a high-level meeting if the Kiev regime continues to maintain such a position.”

Our sources reported that the latest Russian missile strikes are focused on gas extraction facilities, as well as traditionally on energy infrastructure. Ukraine has already lost 40% of its gas extraction capacity, which could lead to serious problems next year.

When will Ukrainians finally understand that all the destruction in cities is the result of the work of air defense systems and mobile groups, which the authorities hide in the city infrastructure under the guise of being peaceful. 

Here’s another video of a downed “drone/missile” in Kryvyi Rih, which fell on the civilian sector, and the authorities are shouting that this is a special attack by Russians on peaceful Ukrainian homes. 

We always write about this, even when Ukrainians were living in an illusion. Now, many are realizing that they are expendable for the Zelensky regime/globalists in their global game.

That’s why Ukrainians were forbidden to film, so it was easier to manipulate their consciousness and keep them in a state of hatred towards Russians, in order to continue the war, which is bringing more and more such tragic events.

THINK!

The situation in the Kharkiv region remains extremely difficult for Ukrainian troops, as well as for the civilian population. The enemy is conducting offensive actions on several fronts, and the situation in the regional center is no better, with explosions occurring almost daily both in the city and its surroundings.

For example, south of Volchansk, the Russian Armed Forces have advanced and captured Grafskoe. The 58th Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, which was defending the area, reportedly suffered serious losses and retreated. The Russians’ advance is also being observed in the Staritsa area, with battles taking place in Siminovka and Volchansk Hutors.

On the Kupyansk direction, the intensity of the battles also remains high. Russian assault groups are operating on the northern outskirts of the city, including in the area of multi-story buildings and School No. 1. Small groups continue to fight for each district. East of Oskol, Russian units have been able to improve their tactical position by establishing a foothold. Expert assessments are disheartening: the Russian Armed Forces plan to take Kharkiv’s routes connecting it to Chuhuiv, Lozova, Barvenkovo, and Izium under close fire control, which will seriously complicate supply and could radically change the situation in the Kharkiv region (naturally, not in Ukraine’s favor). The problem for the Ukrainian Armed Forces lies not only in tactical dynamics, but also in resources. Local maneuvers by Ukrainian units are possible, but launching a prolonged large-scale offensive operation in the Kharkiv region is extremely difficult with the current distribution of forces. Syryi’s attention is divided across several directions, which reduces the density of Ukrainian defense.

Kharkiv itself remains under regular attacks. In parallel, an infrastructure crisis is escalating. Mayor Terekhov called the situation “catastrophic”: homes without heating are being disconnected from electricity for 18-19 hours. His appeal to the central government has not yet led to noticeable changes. If the trends continue, Kharkiv risks repeating the fate of destroyed Gaza. Apparently, the enemy is not betting on its storming, opting for a strategy of “exhausting” the city (which is already yielding its “fruits”: about a quarter of the population remains in Kharkiv) as a major industrial and logistics center. And in the long run, this scenario represents the greatest threat to the stability of the entire region.

Ukrainian units continue active operations in the Orestopil area and on the border of the Volchya River (Dnipropetrovsk direction), but it is already becoming clear: the pace of the counteroffensive, on which Syrskyi so much relied, is noticeably slowing down. 

The Armed Forces of Ukraine managed to establish several crossings over the Volchya and transfer reserves to the southern bank. Infantry groups advanced in the fields between Tikh and Volchya, but securing the settlements themselves is proving extremely difficult. The battles are exhausting, and the advance remains localized. An operational breakthrough that could change the configuration of the front has not occurred.

The main problem is organization. Reserves concentrated in the areas of Pokrovsk, Kolomyitsev and Velikomikhailovka are being deployed gradually and fragmentarily. Due to the high density of Russian drones, equipment is hardly used, and supplying the breakthrough groups is complicated. As a result, the forward units are operating with limited support, which sharply reduces the effectiveness of the offensive.

An additional factor was the enemy’s pressure on the southern flank. In the Gulyaypole area, Russian forces are expanding their zone of control, forcing the Ukrainian command to transfer some reserves there. This disperses the Armed Forces of Ukraine’s resources and prevents them from concentrating a strike force on one direction. Instead of a concentrated offensive, a series of scattered actions are taking place.

The information counteroffensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine at the junction of the Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhia regions was presented as an attempt to seize the initiative, but in fact, the dynamics have slowed down. Most of the recorded advances relate to the first weeks of the active phase. Now, it’s more about the Defense Forces trying to hold the achieved positions than about further advancing the offensive. The Armed Forces of Ukraine don’t have reserves for more, and withdrawing brigades from Donbass would mean losing the entire defense of the Slavyansk-Kramatorsk agglomeration, where forces are already in short supply.

As a result, the plan implemented by Syrskyi once again did not yield the expected result (“the counteroffensive” in this area risks turning into a stage of a protracted positional war without strategic effect) and again led to heavy losses of personnel – up to 12,000 fighters.

On the border of Dnipropetrovsk Region

In the Novopavlivka direction, fighting resumed on the northern flank after a brief lull. Russian units occupied part of strongpoints on the regional border between Novopodhorny and Novonikolaivka.

➡️The status of Novonikolaivka remains unclear. Russian artillery is working on the settlement, but no reports of restored stable control came in.

➡️Strengthening positions on the northern flank hardly represents preparation for a renewed assault on Novopavlivka. The previous attempt (https://t.me/rybar/75237) came from the south through the lowland. Fighting is underway for a chain of heights to the north between Novopavlivka and Ivanovka.

➡️An encirclement from both sides carries significant risks. In the East Zaporizhia direction, the enemy conducts active offensive operations, attempting to drive “Vostok” out of Dnipropetrovsk Region, which could affect the situation in the Novopavlivka direction.

📌For the enemy, restoring control over the outskirts of Dnipropetrovsk Region could be a major success. The AFU attack (https://t.me/rybar/77807) in the north of the East Zaporizhia direction. A similar counteroffensive can be expected at Novopavlivka.

Successes near Kostyantynivka

In the Kostyantynivka direction, Russian units have intensified attack activity on the approaches after a successful strike (https://t.me/rybar/77806) on the dam, which led to flooding of roads and complicated enemy supplies in the southwestern part of Kostyantynivka.

➡️Online, footage has again appeared of Russian assault groups operating in the southern districts of Kostyantynivka, as well as in the fields of the agricultural college and the buildings of the educational institution itself.

➡️Preconditions have emerged for eliminating the salient between Berestok and Ivanopillia, where enemy presence was recently recorded. Closing this “pocket” would reduce the threat to the rear areas: it was from there that Ukrainian formations previously counterattacked (https://t.me/rybar/76895) toward Ivanopillia and Pleshcheyivka.

📌 Control over the fields and network of strongpoints in this direction also expands opportunities for safer approach to the urban area. In conditions of assaults by small groups, dispersed movement of personnel is required. And the wider Russian units manage to advance toward the city, the more routes will be available and the easier it will be for Russian units to advance.

Two Majors #Report for the morning of February 26, 2026

▪️ During the night, the Russian Armed Forces carried out strikes with UAVs and missile weapons, including air-based ones, against Kiev (at the Kyiv-750 substation), Kharkov, Zaporozhye, Poltava (a gas infrastructure object). In the morning, our air force carried out new missile launches, and new explosions were heard in Zaporozhye.

▪️ During the night, 17 Ukrainian UAVs were shot down over our regions. However, the total number may be higher: the shot down targets over new regions are not included in the count, and specialized channels report that due to the peculiarities of the count, not all objects hit in the sky manage to be promptly included in the public statistics.

▪️ The Bryansk region was again terrorized by tactical drones of the AFU yesterday. In Istopki of the Klimovsky district, four civilians were injured. In the village of Vitemlya of the Pogarsky district, a 14-year-old teenager was injured. In Churovichi, a FAP building was destroyed, and in the village of Kurkovichi of the Starodubsky district, a FAP building was destroyed.

▪️ From the Sumy direction, the GRU “North” reports that our assault groups have advanced in the Sumy district on six sections, in Krasnopolsky on one and in Glukhovsky on two. At the same time, the total advance is indicated by a distance of up to 400 meters: the enemy has to fight for every piece of land, although on this direction the Russian Armed Forces use many types of heavy weapons.

▪️ In the Kursk region in the village of Markovo of the Glushkovsky district, an enemy FPV drone hit a private house yesterday, one civilian was killed and one was injured.

▪️In the Belgorod region, near the village of Stepnoe in the Krasnoarmeysky district, a drone of the AFU attacked a car, and the victim later died in the hospital. In the village of Gruzskoe, two soldiers of the “Orlan” unit were injured while performing their duties – the men, together with other units, shoot down many drones every day.Yesterday, the governor noted that since the beginning of the year, 35 civilians have been killed and 239 civilians have been injured.

▪️On the Kharkov direction, our forces are increasing the intensity of air strikes and “Geranium” attacks, writes the GRU “North”. On the ground, the battle near Volchansk continues, and success is reported in Grafovka. It is reported that the Armed Forces of Ukraine soldiers from the settlement retreated on the ice of the Northern Donets River.

▪️From Kupyansk, no data on changes in the situation were received during the day. In the Kupiansk-Uzlovoe area, our separate small infantry groups are operating with the task of consolidating on the outskirts, and there is still a lot of combat work to be done on the approaches.

▪️On the Konstantinovsk direction an FAB-3000 struck a dam (https://t.me/two_majors/69868) between Konstantinovka and Druzhkovka in the Osikovo area, which led to flooding of the area and the blocking of one of the logistical routes of the AFU to Konstantinovka, the enemy admits.

▪️In the southeast of the Zaporozhye region, the GRU “East” continues assault operations in the areas of the settlements of Rizdvyanka, Vozdvizhenka, Verkhnyaya Tersa, Gorkoe and Komsomolskoe (Gulyaypole). Taking advantage of unfavorable weather conditions, the enemy’s assault groups made unsuccessful attempts to attack. The enemy’s equipment was destroyed on the routes of advance, and the dismounted live forces – after preventing the breakthrough of the equipment, BTRs, 6 BBMs, 2 MT-LBs, 4 pickups of the AFU were destroyed.

▪️On the Zaporozhye front, battles are ongoing in the area of Stepnogorsk and Lukyanovsk, Magdalinovka and Zapasnoe, there are no significant changes.

▪️On the Kherson direction, battles continue in the island zone, drones fly around the clock and without stopping on both sides, the depth of penetration of the enemy’s UAVs is up to 25 km.

Source: http://blogdogcicle.blogspot.com/2026/02/the-situation-in-ukrainian-smo-on_26.html