Merge branch '2.x' into 3.x

Author: cowtowncoder

release-notes/VERSION-2.x

@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ Active maintainers:
 
 No changes since 2.21
 
-2.21.1 (not yet released)
+2.21.1 (22-Feb-2026)
 
 #645: (avro) Remove use of Avro `Schema.Parser().setValidate()` to allow
   use of Avro core 1.12.1 (2.x)
@@ -121,7 +121,7 @@ No changes since 2.19.1
 #571: Unable to deserialize a pojo with IonStruct
  (reported, fix contributed by Josh C)
 
-2.18.6 (not yet released)
+2.18.6 (22-Feb-2026)
 
 #645: (avro) Remove use of Avro `Schema.Parser().setValidate()` to allow
   use of Avro core 1.12.1 (2.x)