18 February 2026
Peru
Peru’s Congress voted to remove Interim President Jose Jeri from office four months into his term. Jeri is under investigation for alleged “illegal sponsorship of interests” following two meetings with Chinese businessmen. The meetings were not publicly disclosed. Legislators will convene on Wednesday to elect a new interim president, who will be expected to lead the country during the election and until the nation’s newly elected president is sworn in on July 28.
Cuba-Russia
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez held talks with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov today and will meet later with President Vladimir Putin. Lavrov urged the U.S. to refrain from blockading Cuba and promised that Moscow will “continue supporting Cuba and its people in protecting the country’s sovereignty and security.”
Russia
Kremlin officials are considering deploying Russian naval ships to protect the shadow fleet from “Western piracy”. It is believed that there are approximately 1,500 shadow-fleet tankers propping up the Russian economy, but only 600 are facing sanctions and therefore face the risk of seizure on the high seas. Approximately 11 have been seized by the US Navy and Coast Guard.
Somalia
The Somalian government claims that it has taken territory back from al-Shabaab, which the group has controlled for years. US-backed airstrikes have been pivotal in this campaign. The US targeted ammunition storage, their food storage and their water storage, which severely hampered al-Shabaab’s ability to put up an extensive fight.
Ukraine
Ukraine’s former army chief and current ambassador to Britain, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, revealed that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had ordered his office raided by security forces in an act of intimidation. This raid occurred near the end of 2022 and was witnessed by a dozen British military officers. Zaluzhnyi said he forced the security agents to leave after calling reinforcements and threatening to fight them. Zaluzhnyi is seen as Zelenskyy’s main political rival.
India-France
Prime Minister Modi hosted French President Macron in Mumbai for trade talks. India will now produce the Airbus H125 civilian utility helicopter, France will introduce AI into India’s healthcare system, and India will produce HAMMER missiles.
Social media wires
A detailed look at what US Air Force assets have been transferred to the Middle East
Ukraine is taking advantage of the Starlink outage
Featured Photo: “Russian navy ship in Vladivostok”, Wikimedia Commons, 2026
The Wires Brief is a daily breaking news report incorporating wire service news and social media updates. DefRep cannot verify the authenticity of social media reporters nor the accuracy of social media updates. Feature photos are altered with grayscale.