SpaceX CEO Elon Musk declined Ukraine's request to activate Starlink coverage around Sevastopol to support an attack on Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, citing concerns about complicity in a major act of war.

The Pentagon plans to spend over $3 billion on a fleet of unmanned ships, inspired by Ukraine's successful use of naval drones against Russia's Black Sea Fleet, aiming to enhance future naval capabilities.

The facility coordinated the movement of ships of the Black Sea Fleet and served as a support point for ammunition and fuel logistics in the Crimean region.

Ukrainian forces launched powerful strikes on the Russian Black Sea Fleet base in Novorossiysk, potentially damaging the frigate 'Admiral Grigorovich'.

Ukraine's General Staff has confirmed that two frigates of Russia's Black Sea Fleet, the Admiral Essen and Admiral Makarov, were damaged in a strike on the naval base in Novorossiysk.

Ukrainian drones attacked the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiysk, causing a fire at an oil terminal and damage to buildings. This port is crucial for oil exports and hosts part of the Black Sea Fleet.

Ukrainian Defense Forces struck an area in temporarily occupied Crimea where the missile division of the Russian Black Sea Fleet's 15th Separate Coastal Missile Brigade, armed with K-300P Bastion-P coastal defence missile system, was concentrated.

Dmytro Pletenchuk, spokesman for the Ukrainian Navy, stated that Russia is unlikely to withdraw its Black Sea Fleet from Novorossiysk, even after significant Ukrainian strikes on its warships.

Occupied Crimea no longer serves as a full-fledged naval base for Russia's Black Sea Fleet, according to a Ukrainian Navy spokesperson. However, Moscow continues to utilize the peninsula for other military purposes.

Russia is responding to significant damage inflicted on its Black Sea fleet by launching a barrage of drone and missile attacks on Ukrainian ports, aiming to regain the upper hand without using its warships.

Ukraine has reported the destruction of the Russian Black Sea Fleet's reconnaissance ship, Ivan Khurs. This incident marks a significant loss for the Russian navy in the ongoing conflict.

A fire has broken out again at the Russian oil refinery in Tuapse, which is a key supplier of fuel for the Russian Black Sea Fleet.

Ukrainian defense forces successfully struck the Striletsky command post of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in the temporarily occupied city of Sevastopol. This action targets a key operational center for Russian naval forces.

The Russians still have the main force of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in the Black Sea, as well as five surface and two submarine missile carriers.

Ukraine's General Staff confirmed that two vessels of Russia's Black Sea Fleet, the Admiral Essen and Admiral Makarov frigates, sustained damage in Novorossiysk.

Agents of the Atesh partisan movement have recorded the redeployment of boats from the 102nd Special Purpose Detachment of Russia's Black Sea Fleet from their permanent base in Kostiantynivska Bay to Southern Bay in temporarily occupied Sevastopol.

Anti-drone netting covering tanks at an oil depot in Velikiye Luki, Russia. Satellite image ©2026 Vantor Ukraine carried out a long-range drone attack against a Russian oil depot on Wednesday night. A Ukrainian security source said anti-drone netting at the facility failed to stop the attack. Anti-drone netting has emerged as a common makeshift defense tactic on and off the battlefield. Ukrainian drones struck a Russian oil depot overnight, breaking through the netting that had been installed earlier to protect the site from such attacks, a security official told Business Insider on Thursday. Long-range Ukrainian drones struck an oil depot in Velikiye Luki, a city in western Russia's Pskov region, a source in the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said. They were only authorized to speak on the condition of anonymity to discuss military operations. The source said protective anti-drone nets had been stretched above fuel tanks at the oil depot. The facility belongs to the company Pskovnefteproduct and is located nearly 500 kilometers (310 miles) from the Ukrainian border. The nets were unable to prevent the strike from doing damage, the source added. Satellite imagery captured in December by US spatial intelligence firm Vantor and analyzed by Business Insider, shows what appears to be anti-drone netting covering roughly 15 tanks at the depot in Velikiye Luki. Anti-drone netting is seen in this December 14, 2025, image of storage tanks at Velikiye Luki. Satellite image ©2026 Vantor Anti-drone netting covering tanks at an oil depot in Velikiye Luki, Russia. Satellite image ©2026 Vantor Several explosions and a large fire were reported at the oil facility, the source said, citing local channels on the Telegram messaging app. Video footage shared on social media shows a massive blaze burning through a structure resembling anti-drone netting. This kind of netting has been spotted at other oil facilities in Russia in recent months. The tactic underscores how the country is turning to crude-looking, improvised defenses to protect energy infrastructure from ongoing Ukrainian attacks. "Vietnam, run!" - overnight, drones from the Special Operations Center "Alpha" of the Security Service of Ukraine successfully struck the Velikolukskaya oil depot. A large fire broke out at the site. Anti-drone nets had been stretched over the fuel storage tanks, but they did not… pic.twitter.com/bLBxuHNxtm — WarTranslated (@wartranslated) February 19, 2026 Concerns over the high drone saturation have led to similar measures on the battlefield. Anti-drone netting is common near the front lines. Ukrainian soldiers are using this material to cover critical logistics routes. And both militaries have added cage-like fencing to their armored vehicles to protect against drones. Additionally, Russia has also installed makeshift defenses, such as large, floating barriers, to protect its ports from the Ukrainian naval drones that have wreaked havoc on its Black Sea Fleet. The Ukrainian attack on Wednesday night marked Kyiv's latest deep-strike drone operation against the vast Russian energy sector, a major source of revenue that fuels Moscow's ongoing war efforts. "The SBU continues to work methodically on facilities that provide the Russian army with fuel," the security source said in a translated statement. "The destruction of oil depots directly affects the enemy's ability to conduct combat operations, advance and transfer reserves. Such operations are an element of the systematic weakening of the military potential of the Russian Federation," they added. Anti-drone netting has become increasingly common near the front lines in Ukraine. Dmytro Smolienko/Ukrinform/NurPhoto via Getty Images Neither Russia's defense ministry nor its US embassy responded to a request for comment on the attack. Moscow said its air defenses shot down roughly 300 Ukrainian drones over the past 24 hours. Since last August, Ukraine has been intensifying its long-range drone attacks on Russia's energy sector, targeting oil refineries, terminals, tankers, and platforms at sea. Kyiv has described the deep-strike campaign as its way of imposing "long-range sanctions" on Moscow. Many of these attacks — at least four in the past week, including the most recent strike — have been carried out by the SBU's Alpha group, an elite unit considered to be among the best of Ukraine's special forces. Its personnel have also been involved in ground operations. Meanwhile, Russia has significantly stepped up its missile and drone strikes against Ukraine's energy infrastructure this winter compared to previous years of the war. Since October, Ukrainian energy facilities have been the main target of Russian barrages, Britain's defense ministry said on Thursday. Russia has launched more than 20,000 drones, and its aircraft have fired over 300 missiles, "in attempts to systematically destroy Ukraine's electrical grid and heat generation capacity," the ministry said in an intelligence update. Read the original article on Business Insider

A severe drought has caused the waters of the Danube River to drop, exposing remnants of the Nazi Black Sea Fleet near Prahovo, which are now being removed 80 years after their sinking.

Ukrainian military spokesperson Dmytro Pletenchuk stated that Novorossiysk is now the only viable base for Russia's Black Sea Fleet after its inability to fully utilize Crimea as a naval base.

The Pentagon plans to acquire 47 unmanned vessels for $3.11 billion by 2031 to counter China in the Pacific, drawing lessons from Ukraine's successful use of naval drones against Russia's Black Sea Fleet.

Ukraine's drone and missile campaign has systematically damaged military infrastructure in Crimea, severely impacting Russia's Black Sea Fleet and leading to fuel rationing and food shortages for occupation authorities.

SBU special forces carried out a massive drone attack on Russian military targets in Crimea, striking three Black Sea Fleet ships and a MiG-31 fighter jet in Sevastopol and Belbek airport.

Ukraine has claimed a successful drone attack against the Russian frigate Admiral Makarov, one of the most modern ships in Russia's Black Sea fleet, though satellite images have not conclusively shown significant damage.

Ukraine's General Staff confirms damage to two Russian Black Sea Fleet ships in Novorossiysk  The Kyiv Independent

Several Telegram channels claim that up to five Russian Black Sea Fleet ships, including possibly the frigate Admiral Grigorovich, were hit in a drone attack on Novorossiisk, though these reports are unconfirmed.

Photos of the Russian Black Sea Fleet's medium reconnaissance ship Ivan Khurs, which was attacked by the Ukrainian Armed Forces in 2024, have appeared online.