Ukraine-Russia war latest: Zelensky suggests peace talks could be postponed amid Middle East attacks

Russia fired more missiles at Ukraine in February than in any other month for at least three years, according to new analysis.

Figures from AFP claimed that Russia hit Ukraine with 288 missiles in February, an increase of around 113 per cent compared to the 135 missiles launched in January, The Moscow Times reported.

The previous record was set in October 2025, when Russia launched 270 missiles at the country, according to Kyiv.

Russia has suffered an estimated 1,266,770 troop casualties since its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, according to the figures released on Sunday.

The Ukrainian ministry of defence said the number includes 870 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day.

It has also lost 11,709 tanks, 24,108 armoured tanker vehicles, and 80,510 vehicle and fuel tanks, it said.

Ukraine’s defence ministry has not revealed its own losses, but CSIS estimated that Ukraine has seen 500,000 to 600,000 military casualties, including up to 140,000 deaths.

Emmanuel Macron said Russia’s shadow fleet has suffered a “major blow” after French navy helicopters assisted Belgian forces in seizing an oil tanker in the North Sea.

The French president said: “Europeans are determined to cut off the sources of funding for Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine by enforcing sanctions.”

Belgium’s defence minister Theo Francken said on Sunday its armed forces had seized the vessel, which was suspected of sailing with a “false flag and false documents”.

The Netherlands will help scale up Ukraine’s “drone line” initiative, the Ukrainian defence minister has said.

Mykhailo Fedorov met with the Netherlands deputy prime minister and minister of defence and secured additional resources to expand on its drone wall.

In a post on social media, Mr Fedorov said he was “grateful for the Netherlands’ leadership and continued support through PURL. Together we strengthen Ukraine’s technological edge.”

Over 1,000 crews are currently operating under the project.

Between January and February, they eliminated every third Russian service member on the front line, the Ukranian defence department said.

Last June 2025, the Netherlands signed contracts for the production of 600,000 Ukrainian drones under the initiative.

Russia hit Ukraine with more than 14,670 guided aerial bombs, 738 missiles, and nearly 19,000 attack drones over winter, Volodymyr Zelensky has said.

In the last week of February alone, it used more than 1,720 attack drones, nearly 1,300 guided aerial bombs, and over 100 missiles to attack Ukraine.

Ukrainian civilians have faced their toughest winter yet as Moscow repeatedly target’s the country’s energy system, leaving hundreds of thousands without power for long periods.

“But despite everything, Ukrainians made it through this difficult winter, when Russia did not even try to seek justification for its bestial strikes on civilian critical infrastructure,” the Ukrainian president said.

“Evil must be confronted in every part of the world. When the United States and other partners show enough determination, even the bloodiest dictators ultimately pay for their crimes. I thank everyone who helps Ukraine defend itself and save lives.”

Volodymyr Zelensky has welcomed “Belgium’s decisive decision” in seizing an oil tanker belonging to the Russian shadow fleet.

Belgium’s defence minister Theo Francken said on Sunday its armed forces had seized the vessel, which was suspected of sailing with a “false flag and false documents”.

The Ukrainian president said the vessel had long been under US, EU, and UK sanctions.

He added: “It is also important to modernise European legislation so that tankers carrying Russian oil are not just stopped but seized, with their oil repurposed for Europe’s security.

“We must be resolute. Russia operates like a mafia organization, and the response must match that reality. If they reject the rules for the sake of war, the rules must foresee a clear and firm answer.”

More than 90,000 have been officially registered as missing under special circumstances, according to reports

The figures, which include both military personnel and civilians, were reported by Artur Dobroserdov, the commissioner for missing persons in special circumstances.

Since the war began, 15,172 Ukrainian civilians have been killed, including 739 children, according to the UN’s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).

Vladimir Putin has called the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei a “cynical murder”.

He said the killing was in “violation of all standards of human mortality and international law”, Russian state news said.

The Russian leader expressed his condolences to Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian over the killing.

Russia on Saturday condemned the the US-Israel strikes on Iran as “a preplanned and unprovoked act of armed aggression against a sovereign and independent UN member state”.

Belgium has seized a vessel belonging to the Russian shadow fleet, its defence minister claimed.

In a post on Sunday, Theo Francken said: “Over the past few hours, our armed forces, with the support of the French Defence, have boarded an oil tanker belonging to the Russian shadow fleet.

“The vessel is currently being escorted to the port of Zeebrugge, where it will be seized.”

The oil tanker was suspected of sailing with a “false flag and false documents”, the defence minister said.

A Belgian official said the seized vessel is named Ethera and is on the European Union’s sanctions list.