Ukrainian forces and civilians faced attacks on multiple fronts, while other regions grappled with the aftermath of conflict and corruption. On Sunday, February 16, 2026, Russian forces launched attacks across Ukraine, wounding several people, according to Ukrinform. Simultaneously, in Gaza, Israeli airstrikes resulted in at least 11 fatalities, as reported by local officials, and a former Ukrainian energy minister was detained while attempting to leave the country amid a corruption investigation, according to the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU).
In Ukraine, the attacks on Sunday injured six people in the Dnipropetrovsk region, three in the Sumy region, and two in Zaporizhzhia, as cited by Ukrinform. 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, the airstrikes, which included a blast at a tent encampment housing displaced families, prompted the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) to claim the actions were in response to ceasefire violations by Hamas. A fragile ceasefire had been in place since October, but more than 570 Palestinians had been killed since then, according to Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry, as reported by Sky News.
Adding to the complexities, the search for missing loved ones continued. In Gaza City, Hanaa al-Mabhuh was searching for her missing son among the bodies returned by Israel, according to Al Jazeera. She was seen moving between a hall displaying photographs of bodies and the morgue at al-Shifa Hospital, searching for any trace of her youngest child.
In a separate development, former Ukrainian energy minister Herman Halushchenko was detained on Sunday while trying to cross the Ukrainian border, according to NABU. Halushchenko had resigned last November amid a large-scale corruption scandal.
Elsewhere, the family of an Iranian protester was forced to pay for the bullet that killed their son, according to Sky News. Nasrin, whose nephew Hooman was killed during protests in Iran, shared the painful details of the event. The 37-year-old had joined demonstrations against the regime when he was killed. "They had to pay for the bullet that killed their son," Nasrin said, expressing both anger and disbelief.
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