Portal:Current events/2026 February 17
February 17, 2026 (Tuesday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Russo-Ukrainian war
- Eastern Ukraine campaign, Russian strikes against Ukrainian infrastructure
- Three Sloviansk Thermal Power Plant engineers are killed and another is injured in a Russian drone attack on a vehicle in Mykolaivka, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. (RBC-Ukraine)
- At least six people are injured and buildings and vehicles are damaged in large-scale Russian strikes on Sumy Oblast, Ukraine. (RBC-Ukraine)
- Eastern Ukraine campaign, Russian strikes against Ukrainian infrastructure
- Red Sea crisis
- The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations says a vessel and a skiff exchanged small-arms fire southwest of Aden, Yemen. (The Jerusalem Post)
- Communal conflicts in Nigeria
- Lakurawa militants kill 34 people in coordinated shooting attacks on eight villages in Arewa LGA, Kebbi State, Nigeria. Seven of the villages are destroyed as well as several cattle are stolen. (Reuters) (Vanguard News)
Business and economy
- 2026 Cuban crisis
- Canadian mining firm Sherritt International announces that it will suspend operations in Moa, Holguín, Cuba, after planned fuel deliveries were not fulfilled due to the U.S. blockade affecting oil shipments to the island. (AA)
Disasters and accidents
- 2026 Lake Tahoe avalanche
- Eight backcountry skiers are killed, six others are rescued and one is reported missing in an avalanche on the Donner Pass northwest of Lake Tahoe in California, United States. (CBC News) (KABC-TV)
- At least four people are killed and 29 others are injured in a more than 30-vehicle pileup in Pueblo, Colorado, United States. (WLS-TV) (Times Now)
- At least three servicemen are reportedly killed and several others are injured in an explosion at a military commandant's building in Sertolovo, Leningrad Oblast, Russia. (News.Az) (Al Jazeera)
International relations
- 2026 United States–Iran crisis
- Iran partially closes the Strait of Hormuz for several hours due to military exercises and warns the United States to avoid a military escalation. (Euronews) (Reuters)
Law and crime
- Killing of Quentin Deranque
- French police arrest nine people, including an aide to legislator Raphaël Arnault, in connection with the fatal beating of Quentin Deranque during clashes between far-left and far-right groups in Lyon last week. (AFP and Reuters via Al Jazeera)
- Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
- An Azerbaijani military court sentences former Republic of Artsakh state minister Ruben Vardanyan, who was arrested in 2023 while leaving the region after Azerbaijan regained control, to 20 years in prison for terrorism, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. (Reuters)
- Two people are killed and eight children are injured in a shooting at a park in San Francisco del Rincón, Guanajuato, Mexico. (AFP via Gulf News) (Radio New Zealand)
- An 18-year-old is arrested after running towards the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C., with a loaded shotgun, multiple rounds of ammunition and a tactical vest. (Reuters) (WJLA-TV)
Politics and elections
- Impeachment of José Jerí
- Premiership of Tarique Rahman
- Bangladesh Nationalist Party leader Tarique Rahman is sworn in as the 11th prime minister of Bangladesh following the party's victory in the recent election. (The Guardian)
Science and technology
- Solar eclipse of February 17, 2026
- An annular solar eclipse lasting up to 2 minutes and 20 seconds is visible from Antarctica, for the first time since 2014, the Southern Ocean, and the South Indian Ocean, and partially observed in Africa, Argentina, and Chile. (EclipseWise) (AP) (hub.pl)