On February 18, the 1,455th day of the Russia-Ukraine war, violence and diplomacy both made headlines. Fighting raged with deadly drone attacks hitting Ukraine and Russia. Three people died in a Russian drone attack on a civilian car in Mykolaivka, Donetsk, confirmed by Ukraine’s emergency service. The victims worked at a power station. In Zaporizhia, a Russian drone strike killed a woman and injured six others, including two children. Meanwhile, Russian-controlled Zaporizhia saw a woman killed by Ukrainian shelling in Vodyane village. In Russia’s Kursk region, a Ukrainian drone attack killed one person in Kalinovka. An explosion at a military police facility in Sertolovo, Leningrad region, caused a building collapse killing three people. The cause is unknown. Ukraine said it hit the Ilsky oil refinery in Krasnodar, Russia, setting it on fire. Russian authorities later extinguished a fire at an oil reservoir in the Black Sea port of Taman after a drone attack. Russia’s Ministry of Defence said they shot down 151 Ukrainian drones overnight across several regions. Russian Deputy Defence Minister Aleksei Krivoruchko admitted Starlink satellite internet systems used by Russian forces have been down for two weeks but claimed this did not reduce their drone operations’ effectiveness. On the diplomatic front, Russian and Ukrainian negotiators met for the first day of US-led peace talks in Geneva, continuing with a second day planned. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he is ready "to move quickly towards a worthy agreement to end the war" but questioned Russia’s seriousness. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said no news was expected on the talks yet. In world politics, the Vatican declined to join US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace, stressing the UN’s primary role in handling crises. Trump's board faced criticism for inviting Russian President Vladimir Putin amid the ongoing war. Meanwhile, France allowed the Russian shadow fleet tanker, Grinch, to leave after the owning company paid a fine worth several million euros, announced French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot.