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Key Developments on the 1,098th Day of Russia’s Full-Scale Invasion of Ukraine
Here is the situation on Thursday, February 27:
Fighting
- Russian guided bombs killed five people and injured eight in Kostiantynivka, eastern Ukraine, according to Vadym Filashkin, the governor of the Donetsk region. In a separate attack on Kyiv, two more people were killed, including a journalist from the state news outlet Ukrinform.
- Russia’s Defense Ministry reported shooting down 19 drones overnight across the country and in annexed Crimea. Authorities also confirmed one fatality in the Belgorod region.
- One person was killed in Ukraine’s Kyiv region following drone attacks, stated Governor Mykola Kalashnyk. Earlier reports indicated at least four injuries and several houses set ablaze. The victim’s body was found in one of the burning houses.
- Ukraine’s Air Force claimed to have shot down 110 out of 177 Russian drones in an overnight attack, with another 66 failing to reach their targets.
- Russia’s Defense Ministry announced that Moscow’s forces had retaken two settlements in the western Kursk region, which had been previously seized by Ukrainian troops.
- Ukrainian troops reported successfully gaining control of the village of Kotlyne in eastern Donetsk after launching counterattacks. The village is strategically located near a key transit artery and Pokrovsk, a vital logistics hub for Ukraine.
- Ukraine’s military also claimed to have struck Russia’s Tuapse oil refinery on the Black Sea coast and two military airfields in Russian-occupied Crimea. Forty explosions were recorded at the oil refinery site.
Politics and Diplomacy
- Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that U.S. and Russian officials are scheduled to meet in Istanbul, Türkiye, to discuss the restoration of diplomatic missions in both countries.
- Dozens of diplomats at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva walked out during a speech by Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin, which marked the third anniversary of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
- Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal confirmed that Ukraine and the U.S. have finalized an agreement on Ukraine’s rare earth minerals. Shmyhal noted that the U.S. supports Ukraine’s efforts to secure security guarantees.
- According to AFP, the latest draft of the Kyiv-Washington minerals deal removed all clauses related to the initial demand for a $500 billion repayment for U.S. aid provided during the administration of former President Joe Biden.
- The U.S. abstained from co-sponsoring a joint statement at the World Trade Organization condemning Russia’s war on Ukraine, as reported by Reuters. This marks the first time the U.S. has not supported the annual statement since the war began.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the success of the minerals deal with the U.S. would depend on President Donald Trump. He also mentioned that a framework economic deal with the U.S. is ready, but security guarantees remain unresolved.
- Zelenskyy confirmed that the final minerals deal does not include a “$500 billion, $350 billion, or $100 billion” debt, calling such terms unfair for Ukraine. He emphasized that Kyiv would not accept even “10 cents of debt repayment.”
- A White House official told Reuters that an invitation for Zelenskyy to meet with Trump “did not make sense” if the Ukrainian leader did not consider the deal finalized.
- During his first cabinet meeting, Trump stated that it was not the U.S.’s responsibility to provide Ukraine with security guarantees and that Europe should step up its efforts.
- Trump dismissed Ukraine’s aspirations to join NATO, suggesting that Kyiv’s desire to join the military alliance may have prompted Russia’s invasion.
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