Russia-Ukraine war updates: Russia says Lavrov to visit Turkey
These were the updates on the Russia-Ukraine war for Wednesday, February 28, 2024.
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- Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will head to Turkey on Friday as the two countries prepare for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s upcoming visit, according to spokesperson Maria Zakharova.
- Addressing the European Parliament, Yulia Navalnaya says Putin must answer for what he has done to Russia, Ukraine – and to her husband, activist Alexey Navalny, who died earlier this month.
- China’s Foreign Ministry says Li Hui, special envoy for Eurasian affairs, is scheduled to travel to Russia, the European Union headquarters, Poland, Ukraine, Germany and France.
- Ukraine says it destroyed 10 Russian drones launched overnight.
- Ukraine’s president is co-hosting a summit in Albania with the stated goals of “peace, security, cooperation”.
- G20 finance ministers are meeting in Brazil on Wednesday with the Russia-Ukraine war expected to take centre stage.
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Here is what happened today
We will be closing the live blog soon. Here’s a recap of the day’s main events:
- Pro-Russian separatist officials in the breakaway Moldovan region of Transnistria appealed to Moscow for “protection”, according to a resolution passed by a special congress of the region.
- Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of opposition leader Alexey Navalny, addressed the European Parliament, calling Russian President Vladimir Putin a “bloody mobster” who must answer for what he has done.
- At least two civilians have been killed and another one injured in Kupiansk, a town in northeastern Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, in a Russian attack with guided bombs, according to the head of the Kharkiv regional military administration.
- Over the past 24 hours, Russia has destroyed the radar of a Ukrainian S-300 air defence system, an ammunition depot, a storage facility for fuel and lubricants, and a warehouse for storing and manufacturing drones, according to Russia’s Ministry of Defence.
- Russia claimed to have captured the Ukrainian village of Stepove, which it calls Petrovskoye. It is located 5km (3.1 miles) northwest of Avdiivka.
Belgium allocates $217m for urgent purchase of 155mm shells for Ukraine
Prime Minister of the Kingdom Alexander De Croo says in Brussels his country “can give the Ukrainian president what he asks for – shells”.
“Belgium is allocating 200 million euros ($217m) as part of the Czech initiative to purchase shells abroad to support Ukraine. More shells will arrive in the coming weeks,” he said.
According to De Croo, up to 50,000 artillery shells can be purchased for this amount.
He emphasised that the Czech Republic’s initiative for joint purchases of 155mm shells for Ukraine by Western countries has already been supported by the United Kingdom, Denmark, the Netherlands, Canada and Sweden.
The first shells along this line are expected to arrive in Ukraine at the end of March.
Zelenskyy needs Western Balkan states for lobbying
Jahja Muhasilovic, a political analyst on the Balkans and the Middle East, has told Al Jazeera from Bosnia’s Sarajevo that “Albania is known to be one of the staunchest supporters of limiting Russia’s influence here in the region.”
“In a way, Zelenskyy’s visit in Albania is having that geopolitical connotation. He is probably counting on the Western Balkan countries not to help them militarily because they are limited, but through their lobbying part that they can play in continuing the armament of the Ukrainian troops,” he said.
“Albania is also fighting the Serbian maligning influence that is also affecting Ukraine. Serbia has been acting as a little Russia in the region. The Russians are using Serbian networks in order to project their power here in the Balkans,” Muhasilovic added.
Transnistria tensions: Will Russia try to annex Moldova’s breakaway region?
Pro-Russian rebels hint at a referendum, a move Moldova has dismissed as meaningless propaganda.
Read our full story here.
Ukraine loses Stepove village near Avdiivka to Russian forces
Russia has claimed to have captured the Ukrainian village of Stepove, which it refers to as Petrovkoye. It is located five kilometres (3.1 miles) northwest of Avdiivka.
Russia’s defence ministry said in a statement that its forces “liberated” the settlement, “occupied more advantageous positions and repelled 11 counterattacks of the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ assault groups in the areas of the settlements of Leninskoye, Novgorodskoye, Novobakhmutovka, Tonenkoye, Orlovka and Pervomaiskoye”.
It also said the Russian forces killed up to 165 Ukrainian troops, destroyed two Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, an M113 armoured personnel carrier and five vehicles in the battle.
“In addition, during the counter-battery fight, the artillerymen hit three D-20 guns, an Msta-B howitzer, a Gvozdika self-propelled artillery mount and five D-30 howitzers,” the ministry added.
Russia destroys Ukraine’s S-300 radar, ammunition depot
Over the past 24 hours, Russia has destroyed the radar of the Ukrainian S-300 air defence system, an ammunition depot, a storage facility for fuel and lubricants, as well as a warehouse for storing and manufacturing drones, according to Russia’s defence ministry.
The Russian forces “also damaged live forces and military equipment in 131 districts”, its statement said.
What to know about Transnistria
Pro-Russian rebels in Transnistria have asked for “protection” from Russia during a special congress. Here are some points to know about Transnistria in the context of the continuing Russia-Ukraine war:
- Recognised internationally as part of Moldova, the Russian-backed breakaway territory has been under the control of separatists since 1992.
- About 470,000 people live in Transnistria, where ethnic Russians and Ukrainians together outnumber ethnic Moldovans. After Russia invaded Ukraine, it was estimated to have 1,500 soldiers in Transnistria, which Moscow referred to as a “peacekeeping” force. Kyiv has been concerned that those forces could be used to attack Ukraine from the west.
- Moldova is not part of NATO and has sought to stay neutral since its independence with neutrality enshrined in its constitution. There have been concerns about its ability to defend itself from a potential Russian invasion should Putin push towards its border with Ukraine.
Ukraine uncovers corruption scheme involving military wearables
Ukraine’s SBU security service and the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) have uncovered a corruption scheme involving the misappropriation and sale of items of one of the territorial defence brigades of Kyiv, according to the SBI press service.
The organiser of the scheme was one of the civilians “who had influence on individual military personnel under his control”, according to the SBI report.
With their help, he exported body armour, helmets, winter and summer sets of clothing, as well as shoes from the territory of one of the military units, which he planned to sell online.
The organiser and two other defendants in the case, one of whom is a military man, were detained while selling military property worth more than two million hryvnia (about $52,000) at a “discount” of nearly 50 percent.
EU lawmakers urge US House speaker to back Ukraine aid
Leaders of 23 European parliamentary chambers have urged Republican US House Speaker Mike Johnson to help fight “the axis of evil” and release a $60bn aid package for war-torn Ukraine.
Johnson, a Donald Trump ally who leads a razor-thin Republican majority, has refused to allow a vote on a so-called supplemental funding bill, in which US President Joe Biden has asked for the new aid to Ukraine fighting against the Russian invasion.
In a joint letter, the heads of assemblies from 19 European countries including Austria, France, Germany and the Netherlands called on Johnson to help “provide Ukraine with the necessary funds to continue its fight”.
“We believe that thanks to your personal leadership, the Congress will demonstrate historic bipartisan unity in support of the collective efforts to assist Ukraine,” they said in the letter, an English-language copy of which Yael Braun-Pivet, president of France’s lower-house National Assembly, posted on X.
US consular officials visit Paul Whelan: Embassy
The US embassy in Russia says US consular officials have visited Paul Whelan, a US marine corps veteran imprisoned for five years for espionage, in the Mordovia region southeast of Moscow.
“Paul deserves to go home, and we will continue to work to bring home all US nationals wrongfully detained or held hostage abroad,” the embassy said on X.
Consular officers from @USEmbRu visited wrongfully detained U.S. citizen Paul Whelan today at IK17. Paul deserves to go home, and we will continue to work to bring home all U.S. nationals wrongfully detained or held hostage abroad.
(AP Photo/Dmitry Serebryakov) https://t.co/P9Sa2H5Zs4
— Посольство США в РФ/ U.S. Embassy Russia (@USEmbRu) February 28, 2024
Civilian killed in Russian shelling of Ukraine’s Nikopol: Local official
Ukraine attacks Russia’s border village of Tishanka: Belgorod governor
Ukraine’s air force has shelled the village of Tishanka in Russia’s Belgorod region and attacked a Kamaz truck with a drone, according to the region’s governor.
“The village of Tishanka, Volokonovsky district, came under fire from the Armed Forces of Ukraine. There were no casualties. As a result of the shelling, windows were broken in one private residential building and a fence was cut. There was damage to the power line,” Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Telegram.
In addition, a kamikaze drone attacked a Kamaz vehicle in the village. No one was injured as a result of the explosion; the windows of the car were broken.
Russian guided bombs kill at least two civilians in Ukraine’s Kupiansk: Local official
At least two civilians have been killed and another one injured in Kupiansk, a town in northeastern Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, in a Russian attack with guided bombs, according to the head of the Kharkiv regional military administration.
Oleg Sinegubov said on Telegram that “a hit was recorded in the central part of the city”.
“As a result of enemy fire, a 59-year-old man and a 39-year-old man were killed, one woman was injured. There are probably more people under the rubble. Residential buildings, civil infrastructure were damaged. Special services are working at the scene,” he added.
Breakaway Moldovan region asks Russia for ‘protection’
Pro-Russian separatist officials in the breakaway Moldovan region of Transnistria have appealed to Moscow for “protection”, according to a resolution passed by a special congress of the region.
Officials will ask Russia’s Federation Council and State Duma “to implement measures to protect Transnistria in the face of increased pressure from Moldova”, the resolution said, according to local and Russian news agencies.
Pro-Russian rebels in Transnistria held a special congress today, only the seventh in its history, amid a deepening row with the Moldovan government over customs duties.
If you’re just joining us
It’s 3pm in Kyiv and 4pm in Moscow (13:00 GMT). Here are some of the main developments:
- Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of Alexey Navalny, makes an address to the European Parliament in which she calls Putin a “bloody mobster”.
- Russia promises “countermeasures” over Sweden’s entry into NATO in a message from its Stockholm embassy.
- Russia’s State Duma unanimously approves a bill banning advertising on websites of “foreign agents”.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is in Albania to attend a Ukraine-Southeast Europe summit.
- China heralds historically strong relations with Russia as it calls for the two countries to coordinate on security, stability and development in the Asia-Pacific region.
- European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen says the EU should consider using profits from frozen Russian assets to buy supplies for Ukraine.
How has the Kremlin responded to accusations of involvement in Navalny’s death?
The Kremlin has denied allegations that Moscow was involved in his death and warned there would be legal consequences for anyone who heeded what it called a provocative call to protest from people it has labelled as dangerous US-backed “extremists”.
A close ally of Navalny urged Russians to turn out in big numbers for an election day protest against Putin next month, which Navalny had called for shortly before he died.
Afterwards, Dmitry Peskov, Putin’s press secretary, told reporters that Navalny’s supporters were well known for their “provocative” appeals to break the law and there would be consequences for those who heeded such appeals.
The Kremlin has also called an accusation made by Navalny’s mother that it was trying to blackmail her into holding a private funeral for her son by withholding his body as absurd.
Russia’s parliament approves bill banning advertising on websites of ‘foreign agents’
Russia’s State Duma has unanimously approved the bill which targets “foreign agents”, a designation authorities have given to anti-Kremlin politicians, activists and media.
Vyacheslav Volodin, the Duma speaker and close ally of President Vladimir Putin, said the law would bolster Russia’s security in its third year of war in Ukraine.
The bill also bans designated foreign agents from placing their own “advertising materials”, punishable by fines and up to two years in prison for repeated offences. Advertisers can incur penalties reaching 300,000 roubles ($3,262).
Journalist Katerina Gordeeva, who runs one of Russia’s most popular YouTube shows with 1.64 million subscribers, wrote on the Telegram messaging app that she was suspending her work due to the law.
“We will no longer be able to work as before,” Gordeeva said. “Of course, we will look for a way out.”
Russia’s promises ‘countermeasures’ over NATO entry
Russia has promised “countermeasures” over Sweden’s entry into NATO in a message from its Stockholm embassy.
Sweden cleared the final hurdle to become the 32nd member of the alliance on Monday when last holdout Hungary’s parliament ratified the Nordic country’s membership.
“Russia will take countermeasures of a political and military-technical nature in order to minimise threats to its national security,” the embassy said in a post on Telegram.
Sweden dropped two centuries of military non-alignment in applying for NATO membership alongside Finland in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Ukraine faces a ‘deplorable situation’ on the front line: Russia’s Foreign Ministry
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova says that Kyiv faces “a deplorable situation” on the front line, and the recent statement by Macron about the possible deployment of French troops to Ukraine has had no effect, according to Russia’s state TASS news agency.
On Monday, the French president had said that sending Western ground troops to Ukraine could not be “ruled out”.
His comments came after some 20 European leaders gathered in Paris to send Vladimir Putin a message of European resolve on Ukraine and counter the Kremlin’s narrative that Moscow was bound to win a war now.
Poland’s President Andrzej Duda said after the conference that the most heated discussion was about whether to send troops to Ukraine and “there was no agreement on the matter”.
‘Everything that makes us good partners also makes Putin weaker’: Zelenskyy
The Ukrainian president has posted a thread on X as he attends the southeast Europe summit in Albania.
“We all want Europe to be a space where every nation determines its own destiny,” he said. “We have seen in the past how someone else tried to determine the fate of other nations. This happened in the Balkans, in Eastern Europe, and in all other parts of Europe. Now Putin wants to do exactly the same.
“It is critical for all free nations that he and his regime lose. All his failures are our security,” he added.
He concludes the thread by calling for unity, stating, “Everything that makes us good partners also makes Putin weaker. That is why he invests so much in divisions and crises.”
At the Ukraine-South-East Europe Summit, I stressed that there must be no Europe of “different dignities"—when someone deserves security and peace while someone else’s struggle for peace is ignored; someone deserves integration while someone else has to stay behind and wait. 🧵
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) February 28, 2024
‘Putin must answer for what he has done with my country’: Navalnaya
“Putin must answer for what he has done to a neighbouring peaceful country, and Putin must answer for everything he has done to Alexey,” she says, her voice cracking with emotion.
“My husband will never see what a beautiful Russia of the future will look like, but we must see it. I will do my best to make his dream come true”.
“The evil will fall, and the beautiful future will come”, she concludes.
Putin is the leader of an ‘organised criminal gang’
Navalnaya urges the members of the Parliament to fight what she describes as a “mafia” not with “diplomatic notes” or “statements of concern” but rather “investigations into the financial machinations”.
She urges them to look at the “source of mafia associates in your countries… lawyers and financers who are helping Putin and his friends to hide money”.
Navalnaya then assures the audience that they “have reliable allies, there are tens of millions of Russians who are against war, against Putin, against the evil he brings”.
“You are not dealing with a politician but with a bloody mobster,” she added.
Not sure if Alexey’s funeral will be peaceful: Navalnaya
Alexey Navalny’s widow says she is not sure whether his funeral will be “peaceful” or if “the police will arrest those who have come to say goodbye to my husband”.
Even in “Putin’s gulag”, she says Navalny could pass on “ideas for projects that would make the Kremlin panic. He was the opposite of everything boring”.
“If you really want to defeat Putin, you have to become an innovator. You are you have to stop worrying.”
“Putin is the leader of an organised criminal gang,” she says.
Navalny’s widow addresses European Parliament
Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of Alexey Navalny, the Russian opposition leader who died in a prison camp, is addressing the European Parliament.
More to follow.