Ukrainian and international news outlets reported on a series of significant events on February 15 and 16, 2026, including escalating conflict in Ukraine, the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and political developments in both Ukraine and Iran.
Fighting intensified in Ukraine on Sunday, February 16, with Russian forces launching attacks across the country, according to Ukrinform. The attacks wounded six people in the Dnipropetrovsk region, three in the Sumy region, and two in Zaporizhzhia. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Russia had launched approximately 1,300 drones, 1,200 guided aerial bombs, and dozens of ballistic missiles at Ukraine.
Meanwhile, in Gaza, Israeli airstrikes killed at least 11 people, including those in a tent encampment housing displaced families, local officials reported to Sky News. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) claimed the action was in response to ceasefire violations by Hamas. A fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has been in place since October, but more than 570 Palestinians have been killed since then, according to Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry, as reported by Sky News.
The search for missing loved ones continued in Gaza, with Hanaa al-Mabhuh searching for her missing son among the bodies returned by Israel at al-Shifa Hospital, as reported by Al Jazeera. The mother was seen wiping away tears, torn between the desire to find her son and the fear that he might be among the dead.
In Iran, the family of a protester was forced to pay for the bullet that killed him, according to Sky News. Nasrin described the painful details of her nephew Hooman's death during recent protests in Lahijan. The 37-year-old had told a friend that if he didn't return from the protests, he had "died so others could be free." Nasrin stated, "They had to pay for the bullet that killed their son."
In other news, former Ukrainian energy minister Herman Halushchenko was detained on Sunday while attempting to cross the Ukrainian border, according to a statement by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), as reported by Euronews. Halushchenko had resigned last November amid a large-scale corruption scandal in the country's energy sector. The NABU stated that the detention occurred during ongoing legal proceedings.
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