The Ambassador of Ukraine to the United States Olga Stefanishina was presented with a note of protest at the State Department after the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ attack on the oil terminal in Novorossiysk, which occurred back in November 2025. The Suspilne publication writes about this with reference to Stefanishina herself. According to the Ukrainian ambassador, the US reaction was due to the fact that the strikes directly affected American interests.

The United States imposed sanctions against three legal entities and four individuals. This is stated in a press release from the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the US Department of the Treasury (OFAC). Sanctions are imposed in connection with Russia and activities in cyberspace. UAE-registered companies Advance Security Solutions and Special Technology Services LLC FZ and Matrix LLC were added to the sanctions list.

An 18-year-old resident of Kharkov was detained in the case of a terrorist attack in Lviv, which resulted in the death of a police officer. As Radio Liberty was told by the Kharkov regional prosecutor's office, the girl is suspected of calling the police to the address where the bombs were planted. The suspect was placed under house arrest.

Evasion of customs duties on goods from China has reached a record scale and is causing American businessmen much more damage than the tariffs themselves, writes Bloomberg. According to recently released trade statistics, the gap between what China declared as exports to the United States and what U.S. customs recorded was a record $112 billion last year—meaning about a quarter of Chinese exports to the United States may have evaded customs control.

Russian intelligence services have turned hundreds of properties across Western Europe into a network of potential bases for sabotage and surveillance, intelligence officials in at least a dozen European countries are warning. The Telegraph writes about this with reference to current and former officers of three European intelligence services.

News The Insider February 25, 2026 #Military report In today's summary: In the Kharkov direction, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported on progress from Volchansk along the Seversky Donets On the Seversky salient, the Russian military is advancing towards Kramatorsk in several areas In the Konstantinovka direction, attempts by the Russian Armed Forces continue to cover Konstantinovka and Druzhkovka In the southern Donetsk direction, the Ukrainian military is expanding the zone of control

On February 24, US President Donald Trump delivered his annual State of the Union address, which became the longest in history - the speech lasted almost two hours. This is the second year in a row that Trump has broken his own record for length of address. Reuters publishes key points from the president's speech. Economics is the central theme Trump made the economy a key part of his speech.

Investigations Sergei Ezhov February 25, 2026 Russian parliamentarians are promoting a policy of restricting messengers that is extremely unpopular among Russians. In the State Duma, a special committee on information policy is responsible for this topic, whose members usually explain the latest high-profile blockings (Telegram, YouTube, Roblox, etc.) by the protection of “traditional family values” and Russian sovereignty.

The Far Eastern Federal University has introduced quotas for the recruitment of students into the unmanned systems troops - in February it was necessary to recruit 32 people. The corresponding table, broken down by department, was published by Marina Barinova, a public figure from Vladivostok, who previously served as an adviser to the then rector Nikita Anisimov (2016–2021). The T-Invariant publication notes that editors also report similar quotas from other universities.

Iran has sharply increased oil shipments to tankers amid the concentration of American forces in the Middle East, Bloomberg writes , citing data from satellite monitoring and analytical services. According to the agency, Tehran may be preparing for a possible US strike and is trying to withdraw as much raw material as possible before potential disruptions.

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has apologized to Gates Foundation staff for his ties to financier Jeffrey Epstein. At a closed meeting, he admitted that contacts with Epstein damaged the reputation of the foundation, but emphasized that he was not involved in his crimes and did not interact with the victims. The Wall Street Journal writes about this, citing a recording of an internal conversation with staff.

News The Insider February 25, 2026 Still from the video Yours Eternally On the fourth anniversary of the start of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Irish band U2 released a video for the song Yours Eternally . The clip includes footage from a documentary about the 13th brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine “Charter”, whose fighters defend the Kharkov region.

Igor Fishelev, a Russian military contractor and the subject of The Insider’s 2023 investigation into Western equipment deliveries to Russia’s defense industry, has been sanctioned by the UK government in its latest package, announced on the four-year anniversary of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The official notice detailing the designations indicates that Fishelev’s son Oleg was also sanctioned.

Art historian Christophe Leribeau has been appointed as the new director of the Louvre, Bloomberg reports . He will replace Laurence de Car, who resigned the day before. This was announced by the official representative of the French government, Maud Brejon. 62-year-old Leribeau headed the Palace of Versailles before his current appointment, and previously headed the Orsay Museum in Paris.

Russian and Iranian oil producers are offering ever greater discounts on their products to Chinese buyers. They are facing difficulties in selling it and unsold stocks are piling up on tankers on the high seas. Bloomberg writes about this. After a reduction in purchases from India, exporters from Russia and Iran staged a “price war” for the right to provide the most advantageous offer to a limited circle of Chinese buyers. Thus, Urals oil sells for about $12 per barrel cheaper than Brent.