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The United Nations Security Council will convene a high-level meeting Wednesday to address the fragile Gaza ceasefire and Israel’s expanding operations in the West Bank, as diplomatic attention shifts toward President Donald Trump’s upcoming inaugural Board of Peace meeting.

The session in New York was initially planned for Thursday but was moved up, according to The Associated Press, after Trump announced that his newly formed Board of Peace would meet the same day, creating scheduling conflicts for diplomats expected to attend both events.

The AP reported that the foreign ministers of the United Kingdom, Israel, Jordan, Egypt and Indonesia are expected to attend the monthly Middle East meeting of the 15-member U.N. Security Council.

Several Arab and Islamic nations requested the session last week to address the situation in Gaza and Israel’s expansion of settlements in the West Bank before some of their leaders head to Washington.

TRUMP ENVOY WARNS HAMAS OF ‘SERIOUS CONSEQUENCES’ AS ADMIN LAUNCHES PHASE TWO OF GAZA PLAN

Palestinian U.N. Ambassador Riyad Mansour speaks to the media on behalf of the Arab Group at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City on Feb. 17, 2026.(Zamek/VIEWpress via Getty Images)

Trump announced Monday that member states of his newly formed Board of Peace have pledged more than $5 billion toward humanitarian aid and reconstruction efforts in Gaza.

He said participating countries have also committed thousands of personnel to an international stabilization force and local policing efforts aimed at maintaining security in the enclave.

In outlining the initiative, Trump said Hamas must adhere to what he described as a commitment to “full and immediate demilitarization,” framing the effort as a broader push toward regional stability.

TRUMP LAUNCHES PHASE 2 OF GAZA PEACE PLAN — BUT HAMAS DISARMAMENT REMAINS THE REAL TEST

Palestinians shop for food beneath a destroyed building in Gaza City’s Zawiya market on Feb. 18, 2026, during the first days of Ramadan.(Omar Al-Qattaa/AFP via Getty Images)

Israel formally joined the Board of Peace on Feb. 11, ahead of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s meeting with Trump at the White House.

Netanyahu was not present at the initial ceremony held in Davos, Switzerland, in late January, where leaders from 17 countries, including presidents and other senior government officials from Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, and Central and Southeast Asia signed the founding charter alongside Trump.

Netanyahu later agreed to join the initiative after previously raising concerns about the composition of the Gaza executive board, particularly the roles of Qatar and Turkey.

President Donald Trump, center, holds up a signed Board of Peace charter during the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026.(Evan Vucci / AP Photo)

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A number of other countries were invited by the White House to participate, including Russia, Belarus, France, Germany, Vietnam, Finland, Ukraine, Ireland, Greece and China.

Poland and Italy said they would not join the board.

Ashley Carnahan is a writer at Fox News Digital.

US House set to consider aviation safety legislation next week

February 18, 2026 4:29 PM UTC / Reuters

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Emergency personnel work near the site of the crash, with the U.S. Capitol in the background, after American Eagle flight 5342 collided with a Black Hawk helicopter while approaching Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and crashed in the Potomac River, U.S. January 30, 2025. REUTERS/Nathan Howard Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

WASHINGTON, Feb 18 (Reuters) – The House of Representatives is set to consider aviation safety legislation next week after the National Transportation Safety Board issued dozens of recommendations after its probe into a January 2025 collision between an American Airlines (AAL.O), opens new tab regional jet and Army Black Hawk helicopter killed 67 people.

The U.S. Senate passed legislation unanimously in December that would require aircraft operators by the end of 2031 to equip their fleets with a key safety system known as automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast system, also known as ADS-B. The bill also boosts oversight of commercial jet and helicopter traffic and flight routes near commercial airports.

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Leaders on the House Transportation and Armed Services committees are separately working to introduce a comprehensive House bill to address the range of issues raised by the accident, a spokesperson for the transportation committee said.

Reporting by David Shepardson

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Democrat Cinde Warmington launches bid to oust GOP Gov Kelly Ayotte

By Paul Steinhauser
Fox News
Published February 18, 2026 1:26pm EST

After signing into law Republican-backed bills banning sanctuary cities in New Hampshire and allowing for law enforcement cooperation with federal immigration authorities, GOP Gov. Kelly Ayotte says she wants to ‘make sure we keep our state safe’

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With November’s elections less than nine months away, Democrats finally have a major candidate to take on Republican Gov. Kelly Ayotte as she seeks a second term steering swing-state New Hampshire.

Cinde Warmington, a former member of New Hampshire’s elected Executive Council, on Wednesday officially launched her second straight campaign for governor.

Republicans have controlled the governor’s office in the crucial northern New England battleground for nearly a decade — first under former Gov. Chris Sununu and now under Ayotte, who succeeded Sununu 13 months ago — and Democrats are aiming to finally win back what’s known in New Hampshire as “the corner office” in the Statehouse.

In her campaign release and launch video, Warmington took aim at Ayotte over affordability, which has been a winning issue for Democrats amid persistent inflation in the year since President Donald Trump returned to the White House.

STRATEGY SESSION: TRUMP’S POLITICAL TEAM HUDDLES ON MIDTERM MESSAGING

[image_1]
Former Executive Councilor Cinde Warmington of New Hampshire, seen in a campaign video, launches her second straight bid for governor of the key northern New England swing state.(Cinde Warmington for Governor)

“The prices of groceries, housing, electricity, and property taxes are crushing working families. And Kelly Ayotte is making life in New Hampshire even more expensive,” Warmington charged.

And Warmington knocked Ayotte for not more forcefully pushing back against Trump’s unprecedented second-term agenda, which includes an ongoing attempt by the administration to open an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in the state.

NEW HAMPSHIRE BECOMES FIRST NEW ENGLAND STATE TO BAN SANCTUARY CITIES

“I’ll stand up to Trump when he jacks up healthcare costs and tariffs. I’ll say no to ICE’s warehouse, and I’ll work for our small businesses and make sure we don’t have a sales or income tax,” she emphasized.

Ayotte, a former U.S. senator who previously served as state attorney general, has had some friction with the Trump administration over the past year, and criticized Washington over a lack of transparency surrounding the ICE facility. The governor also forced the resignation of a state official who had been in communication with Trump’s team without telling Ayotte.

[image_2]
Republican Gov. Kelly Ayotte highlights her state’s status as the safest in the nation as she signs into law two bills that ban sanctuary cities, at the Statehouse in Concord, N.H., on May 22, 2025.(Paul Steinhauser/Fox News)

Ayotte’s approval ratings are in positive territory — 50%-45% in the most recent University of New Hampshire poll conducted last month — and her fundraising has been formidable.

While Democrats have controlled the state’s federal delegation in Congress for a decade, they haven’t won a gubernatorial election since 2014. But Democrats are energized, as Republicans in New Hampshire and across the country face a rough political climate, and the GOP, as the party in power both in Washington and in Concord, the Granite State’s capital city, will deal with the traditional political headwinds that incumbents typically face.

[image_3]
Republican Gov. Kelly Ayotte, a former U.S. senator, is interviewed by Fox News Digital in January 2024 at the Statehouse in Concord.(Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)

Ayotte’s campaign quickly blasted Warmington over her past lobbying for the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries.

“Cinde Warmington spent her career as a lobbyist for the opioid industry, promoting OxyContin and defending New England’s most notorious pill mill. Cinde chose to make money off big pharmaceutical companies who hurt Granite Staters, and she is absolutely disqualified from serving as our Governor,” Ayotte spokesman John Corbett charged in a statement.

Warmington first ran for governor two years ago, losing the Democratic primary to former Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig, who lost to Ayotte in the general election by nearly 10 points.

The Republican Governors Association communications director Courtney Alexander argued that “the fact that an already failed candidate is all New Hampshire Democrats could come up with speaks to their desperation.”

Warmington may not have the Democratic primary field to herself.

Democratic Mayor Deaglan McEachern of Portsmouth, who is mulling a gubernatorial run, said in a statement, “With everything happening in Concord and Washington, DC, the stakes are too high to risk losing this race, and I believe it’s time that New Hampshire Democrats look to the future as we work to beat Kelly Ayotte.”

“I look forward to saying more soon,” he added.

Paul Steinhauser is a politics reporter based in the swing state of New Hampshire. He covers the campaign trail from coast to coast.

White House says Trump has had no direct talks with Democratic lawmakers recently on shutdown

By Reuters
February 18, 2026 6:59 PM UTC Updated 29 mins ago

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The U.S. Capitol Building in Washington D.C., U.S., February 13, 2026. REUTERS/Annabelle Gordon Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

WASHINGTON, Feb 18 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump has had no direct talks with the Democratic lawmakers recently concerning a government shutdown, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Wednesday.

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Reporting by Steve Holland, writing by Bhargav Acharya; Editing by Christian Martinez

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Fourth alleged rape victim testifies against son of Norway’s future queen: “He just wouldn’t stop”

February 18, 2026 / 11:21 AM EST / CBS/AFP

A fourth woman at the center of a rape case against the son of Norway’s crown princess testified in an Oslo court on Wednesday over an alleged rape in 2024, when he was already under investigation.

Marius Borg Hoiby, Crown Princess Mette-Marit’s 29-year-old son from a relationship before her 2001 marriage to heir apparent Crown Prince Haakon, faces 38 charges, including raping four women while they were asleep or had passed out.

Hoiby has pleaded guilty to several relatively minor offenses, but denies the rapes. He faces up to 16 years in prison if convicted.

The court heard testimony Wednesday from a woman who recounted an alleged rape on the night of Nov. 1-2, 2024. Hoiby is accused of having engaged in sexual acts while she was asleep and of having filmed the acts without her knowledge.

As with the three other alleged rapes, the events are said to have taken place following a night of drinking — during which Hoiby is alleged to have used cocaine — and after initial consensual sex in the young woman’s hotel room.

“I was getting more and more tired. I felt like I was just lying there and he just wouldn’t stop. The more tired I got, the less I took part,” she told the court.

After she had told him she wanted to sleep, she said she was woken up by “a violent blow” to her genital area.

“It was painful,” she said, adding that “I think I just froze, then I fell back asleep.”

Hoiby is accused of having filmed 27 videos and taken four sexually explicit photos that night, some of which, according to the prosecution, show the woman was asleep.

Hoiby was due to testify Wednesday, but will instead take the stand on Thursday.

Marius Borg Hoiby, son of Norwegian Crown Princess Mette-Marit, is seen June 16, 2022, in Oslo, Norway. Hakon Mosvold Larsen/NTB/AFP via Getty Images

From the outset, he has denied rape and maintains that all the sex had been consensual.

At the time of the fourth alleged rape, he was already under police investigation. Hoiby was arrested on Aug. 4, 2024, suspected of having assaulted his partner the previous night.

The investigation into that incident uncovered a slew of other suspected offenses, including video footage on his phone and laptop of what police believed to be rapes.

When confronted by police, none of the women were aware of what had happened to them or that the actions could be considered criminal.

“I had memories of what had happened … but in my mind, I hadn’t defined it as an assault,” the young woman told the court Wednesday.

This court sketch by Ane Hem shows Marius Borg Hoiby, center, with defense attorneys Ellen Holager Andenæs and Petar Sekulic, who are following the testimony of a friend of one of the victims during Hoiby’s trial in Oslo, Norway, Feb. 6, 2026. Ane Hem/NTB Scanpix via AP

Just days before the trial, Hoiby was arrested on new charges alleging assault, threats with a knife and violation of a restraining order.

The case has deeply embarrassed the royal family, especially his mother, who suffers from an incurable lung illness and who is torn between her role as mother and future queen.

Crown Prince Haakon released a statement in late January saying neither he nor Mette-Marit would attend the trial.

Hoiby was raised by the royal couple alongside his step-siblings, Princess Ingrid Alexandra and Prince Sverre Magnus. Unlike them, he has no official public role.

In his statement, Haakon alluded to Hoiby’s “autonomous” status.

“Marius Borg Hoiby is not a member of the Royal House of Norway and is therefore autonomous. We care about him, and he is an important member of our family. He is a citizen of Norway and, as such, has the same responsibilities as everyone else — as well as the same rights,” Haakon said.

FIRST ON FOX: Federal agents seized more than 36,000 illegal firearms, including thousands bound for Mexico, since President Donald Trump took office, according to newly released figures by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

The ATF also seized more than 2.3 million rounds of ammunition, saying Wednesday the illegal firearms and rounds originated with gang members and transnational criminal organizations, among others. The announcement marked a shift from the Biden administration’s ATF, whose seizures focused on ghost guns, pistol braces and other regulatory priorities, in addition to illegal trafficking.

The Trump administration has focused its efforts on combating street crime, gang violence and drug cartels. ATF Deputy Director Robert Cekada said the agency was aggressively pursuing what he described as sprawling networks of both domestic and international criminal organizations and gangs who traffic illegal firearms in and out of the country.

TRUMP URGES DHS, ICE TO PUBLICIZE ARRESTS, SAYS CRACKDOWN IS ‘SAVING MANY INNOCENT LIVES’

An image of confiscated firearms(Department of Justice)

“Illegal crime guns increasingly originate from every state in the country. This is not a southwest border problem, it is a national threat,” Cekada said in a statement. “ATF agents are aggressively targeting gangs, cartels and transnational criminal organizations that illegally traffic firearms and turn American streets into war zones.”

The ATF said its seizures included intercepting 4,359 guns and more than 648,000 rounds of ammunition that were headed for Mexico, where authorities said they would have been used by violent gangs and drug cartels.

In addition to guns, the Justice Department revealed in September that the ATF and other agencies seized more than 2 million unauthorized vaping products, which Cekada recently said often came from China but were also “very closely affiliated with the cartels in Mexico.”

Seized firearms at ATF Arizona(Department of Justice)

The gun figures showcase a key part of the ATF’s work — investigating gun trafficking and confiscating firearms from people illegally in possession of them.

Table of seized firearms(Department of Justice)

ATF agents use ballistics and tracing databases and DNA evidence to investigate the guns’ origins with the aim of uncovering their supply chains and identifying potential offenders. The seized guns are typically returned to their rightful owners or eventually destroyed.

The surge in such seizures comes amid scrutiny over how the administration is balancing its enforcement authorities with Second Amendment protections.

Seized firearms at ATF Denver(Department of Justice)

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The Trump administration recently drew criticism from gun rights groups after top officials initially justified immigration officers killing a Minnesota man because he appeared to be legally carrying a firearm. Likewise, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro recently warned that people who bring guns into Washington, D.C., were “going to jail,” spurring backlash from Second Amendment advocates like Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., who said he brings a gun into D.C. weekly with a valid permit.

The ATF noted its agents were focused not on lawful gun commerce, but rather on traffickers who arm gang members, drug cartels, illegal immigrants, terrorist organizations and other people prohibited from owning guns.

Ashley Oliver is a reporter for Fox News Digital and FOX Business, covering the Justice Department and legal affairs. Email story tips to ashley.oliver@fox.com.

Ukraine protests as Russian, Belarusian Paralympic athletes cleared to compete under their nation’s flags

February 18, 2026 / 12:04 PM EST / CBS News

Ukraine’s national sports minister said Wednesday that officials from the country would not attend the upcoming Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games, in protest over a decision to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete under their national flags.

The International Paralympic Committee has lifted a ban in place for three years on athletes from Russia and its ally Belarus competing under their national flags. The ban was issued in response to Russia’s ongoing full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

“The IPC can confirm that NPC [National Paralympic Committee] Russia has been awarded a total of six slots: two in Para alpine skiing (one male, one female), two in Para cross-country skiing (one male, one female), and two in Para snowboard (both male),” the committee said in a statement. “NPC Belarus has been awarded four slots in total, all in cross-country skiing (one male and three female).”

The 2026 Paralympics begin on March 6.

Immediately after the invasion in February 2022, the International Olympic Committee effectively barred Russian and Belarusian athletes from competing in Olympic and Paralympic Games under their national flags.

A decision the following year permitted athletes from those countries to participate in Olympic Games as neutral competitors, but national symbols, including flags, anthems and team uniforms, remained prohibited.

Ukraine’s Minister of Youth and Sports, Matvii Bidnyi, strongly condemned the decision and said officials from the country would not take part in any Paralympic events, though Ukrainian athletes would still compete.

In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin signs autographs to Russian Paralympians, medalists from the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games following a state awards ceremony at the Kremlin in Moscow, Dec. 16, 2024. Alexander KAZAKOV/POOL/AFP/Getty

“The decision by the Paralympics organisers to allow killers and their accomplices to compete at the Paralympic Games under national flags is both disappointing and outrageous,” he wrote on social media.

He stressed that Ukrainian athletes — who have often performed well in Paralympic competition, finishing second on the medals table at the 2022 Beijing Games — would not take part in the boycott.

Some European officials also condemned the decision to let Russian and Belarusian athletes compete under their flags – which could, if the country takes a gold medal, see the first playing of Russia’s national anthem at an Olympic or Paralympic event in years.

European Union Commissioner for Sport Glenn Micallef said he would join Ukraine in boycotting the Paralympics opening ceremony, calling the decision to allow Russian athletes to compete under their national flag “unacceptable.”

“While Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine continues, I cannot support the reinstatement of national symbols, flags, anthems and uniforms that are inseparable from that conflict,” Micallef said.

Lisa Nandy, the U.K. Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, also condemned the decision.

“Allowing athletes from Russia and Belarus to compete under their own flags while the brutal invasion of Ukraine continues sends a terrible message,” Nandy said, calling it “completely the wrong decision” and urging the IPC to “reconsider this decision urgently.”

The debate highlights the challenge for Games organizers of keeping the Olympics as free as possible of politics. Earlier this month, Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych was disqualified from the Winter Olympics for wearing a “helmet of memory” depicting Ukrainian athletes killed in the war with Russia.

CBS News has asked the International Paralympic Committee to comment on the decision to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete under their flags.

Cuban-born congressman says ‘regime has to go,’ warns ‘it’s going to be painful’ | CNN Politics

Published 2:50 PM EST, Wed February 18, 2026 / Source: CNN

By Blake McGill, CNN

Through military action in Venezuela and threats of tariffs on Mexico, the Trump administration has shut off the flow of oil to Cuba, attempting to strong-arm the communist-run island into making significant political and economic reforms. Cuba is running out of oil, CNN’s Patrick Oppmann has reported. Rep. Carlos Gimenez and CNN’s Boris Sanchez discuss.

8:09 • Source: CNN

Politics of the Day 8 videos

Some Democrats to boycott Trump State of the Union for rally

February 18, 2026 5:12 PM UTC / Reuters

U.S. President Donald Trump delivers the State of the Union address to a joint session of the U.S. Congress in the House Chamber of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., February 4, 2020. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/ File Photo [Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab]

• Summary

• Boycott highlights deepening partisan tensions
• Event to occur on National Mall outdoors near Capitol
• White House says, ‘It’s not a surprise’

WASHINGTON, Feb 18 (Reuters) – A group of liberal U.S. lawmakers will abandon President Donald Trump’s State of the Union speech on Tuesday for an outdoor rally to protest his policies, marking a rare coordinated boycott as partisan tensions around the annual address intensify.

About a dozen Democrats in the Senate and House of Representatives have announced their participation in a “People’s State of the Union” event on the National Mall, near the Capitol, to highlight their opposition to the Republican administration’s policies, organizers said on Wednesday.

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Among the lawmakers set to appear at the 8:30 p.m. (0130 GMT on Wednesday) rally — just ahead of Trump’s 9 p.m. speech — are Senators Jeff Merkley of Oregon, Chris Murphy of Connecticut and Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, along with Representatives Becca Balint of Vermont, Greg Casar of Texas, and Pramila Jayapal of Washington state.

“It’s not a surprise that they refuse to celebrate and honor the Americans who have benefited from the commonsense policies Republicans have governed with,” said White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson, who added that Democrats have voted against Trump initiatives on taxes and mass deportation of immigrants.

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PARTISAN DIFFERENCES DEEPEN

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The boycott underscores how Trump’s return to the national stage has deepened partisan fissures, turning a once‑stately ritual into a battlefield over the direction of U.S. democracy. By rallying outside the Capitol where Trump will be speaking to Congress, the lawmakers say they aim to frame the moment as a public challenge to Trump’s agenda.

“Donald Trump has made a mockery of the State of the Union speech – taking a moment that is meant to bring the country together and turning it into a campaign rally to spew hatred and division,” Murphy said in a statement.

Constituents of theirs who have been affected by Trump policies will also speak at the rally, according to a statement by MeidasTouch, which calls itself a pro-democracy, independent news network. The liberal group MoveOn Civic Action is also an organizer, the groups said.

Other House progressives plan to attend Trump’s speech, or at least part of it, but will demonstrate their discontent in other ways.

Representative Mark Pocan of Wisconsin, for example, has invited Wisconsin Soybean Association President Doug Rebout to the speech.

U.S. soybean producers worry that Trump’s tariffs on foreign goods have hurt American farmers, resulting in retaliation from China that has at times interrupted soybean trade and have contributed to higher prices for many consumer goods, said Pocan spokesman Matt Handverger.

The Democratic boycott, first reported by the New York Times, highlights the increasingly partisan tone of the annual address, which in recent years has included lawmakers interrupting the speech, displaying protest signs or coordinating attire to highlight various such causes as women’s rights.

Last year, it was Representative Al Green of Texas, a Democrat who stood up and shouted in protest of Republican plans to cut the Medicaid health insurance plan for the poor and disabled. He was removed from the chamber by security guards and later reprimanded by the Republican-controlled House.

In 2020, Trump climbed to the podium for the final State of the Union address of his first term and refused to shake then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s hand. At the end of the speech, Pelosi stood and demonstrably tore the speech transcript in half. She later said she did so because every page contained a “lie.”

The annual State of the Union address, intended to inform Congress of pressing issues confronting the nation, was first delivered by President George Washington in 1790 — a brisk 1,089-word report a far cry from the tense and lengthy spectacles of today.

Reporting by Richard Cowan and Andrea Shalal; Editing by Howard Goller

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As U.S.-backed negotiations between Russia and Ukraine in Geneva ended without a breakthrough, Kyiv made gains on the battlefield, recapturing territory at its fastest pace in years through localized counterattacks along the southeastern front.

The advances come as analysts point to disruptions in Russian battlefield communications and shifting operational dynamics, developments that could strengthen Ukraine’s leverage even as talks remain stalled.

Ukrainian forces retook about 78 square miles over five days, according to a report by Agence France-Presse based on an analysis of the Institute for the Study of War battlefield mapping. The gains represent Kyiv’s most rapid territorial advances since its 2023 counteroffensive in the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions.

Retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Richard Newton said Ukraine’s battlefield performance should not be underestimated. “As this war grinds on, the world too often forgets that Ukraine’s determination, innovation and moral clarity are force multipliers. Its ability to defend against a larger, better-resourced enemy should never be counted out,” Newton told Fox News Digital. “There are growing signs that Russia’s supposed invincibility is no longer a safe assumption, particularly as pressure increases on the Kremlin and its partners.”

[UKRAINE SAYS IT CARRIED OUT FIRST-EVER UNDERWATER DRONE STRIKE ON RUSSIAN SUBMARINE IN NOVOROSSIYSK]

Ukrainian soldiers from the 115th Brigade Mortar Unit conduct mortar training in Lyman, Ukraine.(Jose Colon/Anadolu via Getty Images)

The fighting has centered east of Zaporizhzhia, where Russian forces have steadily advanced since mid-2025. Open-source battlefield monitoring and mapping indicate Ukrainian troops pushed forward around Huliaipole and nearby settlements, though analysts caution the front remains fluid, and some areas are not fully secured, The Telegraph reported.

The Institute for the Study of War assessed in mid-February that the counterattacks appear to be exploiting disruptions in Russian command-and-control. ISW said Ukrainian forces are likely leveraging limits affecting Russian battlefield communications, including reported restrictions tied to the use of Starlink satellite terminals and messaging platforms cited in open-source reporting.

Members of the 93rd Kholodnyi Yar Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces control an FPV drone with optical fiber guidance in the frontline town of Kostiantynivka on Feb. 17, 2026.(Iryna Rybakova/Press Service of the 93rd Kholodnyi Yar Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces/Reuters)

Analysts say reduced connectivity can create short windows for Ukrainian units to move through contested zones that are typically dominated by drone surveillance and electronic warfare. ISW and other observers emphasize that such opportunities are temporary and do not signal a broader collapse in Russian defenses.

The evolving fight is also shaped by the growing role of drones. In a Feb. 10 special report, ISW said Russia’s expanding use of first-person-view drones reflects a campaign to “weaponize and institutionalize intentional civilian harm as a purposeful tool of war,” warning the tactic is becoming embedded in operational doctrine and could influence future conflicts.

[UKRAINE STRIKES MAJOR RUSSIAN AMMO DEPOT WITH ‘FLAMINGO’ MISSILE AS TRUMP URGES ZELENSKYY TO MOVE ON DEAL]

Ukraine fires six FP-5 Flamingo missiles in a night strike on Russia’s 117th GRAU arsenal in Kotluban, Volgograd Region.(East2west)

Despite the recent gains, analysts caution against viewing the developments as a decisive shift in the war. Newton argued that sustained Western military support remains essential. “Putin responds to force,” he said. “The United States and Europe should continue providing Ukraine with both defensive and offensive capabilities, including long-range systems capable of striking deep inside Russia.”

Retired Vice Adm. Robert S. Harward said battlefield gains are increasingly tied to diplomacy. “Both sides are trying to use battlefield advances to strengthen their position at the negotiating table,” Harward said. “It’s a sign neither side is ready to strike a deal yet.”

Harward pointed to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s stated willingness to hold elections following a ceasefire as evidence Kyiv is signaling flexibility, while Moscow continues to press its demands. “If a lasting and fair diplomatic agreement is achievable, the current U.S. team is well-positioned to help deliver it,” he said. “But negotiations must be paired with sustained pressure on Russia and its partners.”

Russia releases drone footage of an alleged Ukraine attack on Putin residence.(Russian Defence Ministry/Handout via Reuters)

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Nearly two years after Ukraine’s last major offensive stalled, the war remains defined by incremental territorial changes rather than sweeping breakthroughs. Both sides continue to rely heavily on drones, artillery and electronic warfare, with front lines shifting village by village.

“As U.S.-led talks continue, it is critical to increase pressure on Putin to end the war on terms that restore deterrence and prevent further aggression,” Newton said.

Efrat Lachter is a world reporter for Fox News Digital covering international affairs and the United Nations. Follow her on X @efratlachter. Stories can be sent to efrat.lachter@fox.com.