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Daily news on Russia’s war against Ukraine. A special release by Euromaidan Press
by https://www.geopolitic.ro/author/
February 28, the fifth day of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, saw Russian escalation in attacks on civilian infrastructure and residential areas. With Putin’s failed blitz stalled, Russian intensified artillery, rocket, and missile attacks on towns and cities across the frontlines. A residential neighborhood in the east-Ukrainian city of Kharkiv was reportedly struck by cluster munitions, causing high civilian casualties. Towns north of Kyiv have been consistently attacked, the Azov See port city of Mariupol has been under constant artillery and aerial strikes.
1 March 2022: Day 6
Situation
During Monday, Feb.28, Russian troops regrouped and accumulated armored vehicles and missile and artillery weapons in certain areas, primarily to surround and capture Kyiv and major cities of Ukraine, including Kharkiv, Chernihiv, Odesa, Kherson, and Mariupol. A significant part of military equipment comes from the territory of Belarus and through the occupied territory of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea.
Satellites images recorded a huge column of Russian equipment near Kyiv. Maxar claims that the total length of the column exceeded 27 kilometers (or 17 miles).
Yesterday afternoon northern rear-guard columns of equipment and fuel northeast from the village of Ivanky in Kyiv Oblast (50 km NE of Kyiv). The southern vanguard of the column of vehicles was east of Antonov Airport in Gostomel, close to Bucha and Irpin, scene of some of the heaviest fighting on the outskirts of Kyiv during the last couple of days.
Map showing the assessment of the military situation in Ukraine as of the morning of 1 March 2022. Source.
At 08:00 (Kyiv time) the General Staff reported that:
From the beginning of the day, the enemy regrouped troops and fired missiles and bombs from the air. He attempted to land tactical landings. Widely uses sabotage and reconnaissance teams to attack civilian and military infrastructure.
Defensive battles continue in the Siverskyi region in order to prevent the enemy from advancing to the capital from the north-eastern direction.
In the suburbs of Chernihiv, the appearance of separate enemy DRGs was noted, which, with the support of armored vehicles, tried to break into the city, but were destroyed by Ukrainian defenders.
In other areas, tank and mechanized units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, with the support of aircraft and artillery, continue to conduct defensive battles on the occupied borders. Fire defeat of the enemy by all available means is carried out.
In Slobozhanshchyna, mechanized brigades and BTGs of Airborne Assault Troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine from the operational group are destroying the manpower and military equipment of the Russian occupiers, who are trying to get in and restore the position on the first line of defense.
The Kyiv Defence Forces continue to defend the city, maintain the outer borders of the defense and critical state infrastructure, preventing the occupation units from approaching the suburbs of the capital. Active measures are being taken to identify and destroy the DRG of the enemy, who, ignoring the norms of international humanitarian law, disguises himself in the military uniform of the Armed Forces, National Guard, and National Police of Ukraine to penetrate Kyiv through the combat formations of our troops.
The steady defense of our troops rapidly lowers the morale of the enemy and his will to win. Cases of desertion and voluntary captivity by entire units have been reported.
Separate units of the most capable units of the Armed Forces of Belarus have begun moving to the State Border of Ukraine in the Volyn direction.
The territory of Belarus continues to be used for combat sorties of army, operational, tactical, and special aircraft of the RF Armed Forces to perform tasks in Ukraine.
Planes of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation resumed conducting air reconnaissance of objects on the territory of Ukraine from the airspace of the Republic of Belarus.
According to the General Staff, Ukrainian fighter pilots intercepted and shot down two Russian planes during a defiant air raid by the occupiers on Vasylkiv and Brovary. Anti-aircraft missile divisions S-300 reportedly shot down three airplanes According to preliminary data, these were Su-30 and Su-35. An anti-aircraft missile system Buk M-1 shot down a cruise missile and an enemy helicopter near Kyiv.
During the last 24 hours, we have seen videos of Bayraktar TB2 destroying an enemy tank and two anti-aircraft missile systems Buk” M-1.
Ukraine reportedly destroyed additional Russian equipment – 20 MLRS BM-21 Grad, 96 tanks, and 8 refueling stations.
It is alleged that the Russian tactical groups received an order to destroy the mobile communication towers in the course of advancing deep into the territory of Ukraine.
Humanitarian
Fighting in Ukraine has so far pushed roughly a half million people across the country’s borders, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, reported on Monday. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi has stated that the humanitarian consequences on civilians of this conflict will be devastating. The agency expects up to four million Ukrainians could flee if the situation deteriorates further.
Russian occupation forces are destroying infrastructure and launch missile and bomb strikes on settlements. “Since the beginning of the open invasion, Russia has launched 113 Iskander and Caliber surface-to-sea tactical missiles at peaceful towns and villages in Ukraine.
In Kharkiv, Russian troops are shelling residential buildings en masse. According to media, yesterday there were 9 dead and 37 wounded.
In Chernihiv and its environs, the Russians shelled residential areas, including a kindergarten.
View from the historic part of Chernihiv on a huge plume of black smoke rising fover the city after a ballistic mussile strike. Photo: MNS.GOV
As a result of the air raid, Maruiupol is left with almost no electricity supply. However, the city is held by the Ukrainian army.
In Okhtyrka, after the enemy shelling, many victims were taken out of the rubble.
Paramedics failing to rescucitate a 6-year-old wounded in a Russian strike on Mariupol. Source.
Legal
According to the General Staff of Ukraine, the most common war crimes of the Russian occupiers:
the use of weapons against civilians,
bombing, rocket and artillery shelling of residential areas, which leads to the destruction of civilian infrastructure. During the deployment of a column of tanks and armoured personnel carriers, the aggressor fired on the homes of residents in the Chernihiv Oblast from Talalaivka to Nizhyn. On their way through the village of Borodyanka, Russian tanks began to deliberately destroy infrastructure and housing, and a separate group of tanks opened fire on high-rise buildings.
The enemy, for cover, uses state symbols and uniforms of the Armed Forces, the National Guard and the National Police of Ukraine. Ukrainian flags are hung on columns of Russian military equipment. Such cases have been observed in the settlements of Peremoha, Nova Basan, Kyiv Oblast, and on the Krasnostav-Nizhyn highway in the Chernihiv Oblast.
Ukraine reports of cases where Russian forces hang a white flag on his vehicle ostensibly to surrender. However, after approaching the Ukrainian positions, the occupiers opens fire.
The office of the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court on Monday said it will seek court approval to open an investigation into alleged war crimes in Ukraine. The move comes just days after Russia’s invasion of its neighbour and prosecutor Karim Khan said on Friday he was following developments with concern.
New developments
According to Ukraine Armed Forces, there is a high probability that Lukashenko will attack Ukraine.
The networks of Ukrainian operators have been made unavailable for Russian telephone numbers.
Support
Neutral Switzerland has joined EU sanctions against Russia in a break with the past. Its banned five oligarchs close to Putin from entering the country. Russians held nearly $11.33 billion there, Swiss National Bank data shows.
Immediate granting to Ukraine prospects of accession were supported by the presidents of eight EU countries: Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia. “We firmly believe that Ukraine deserves the immediate prospect of joining the European Union,” is written in an open letter from the heads of state. Hopefully, more nations will follow the example shortly-
Presently the situation seems to have become a race between the Russian forces and the delivery of urgently needed defensive weapons to Ukraine.
Ukrainian soldiers have found several cluster bombs containing Lepestok (Petal) mines, which are widely banned under international humanitarian law, and can be listed as a war crime.
This essay was first published by Polititank on 24 February 2022 under the title “Ukrainian Independence and Russian Empire in the 21st century.” It explains why Russia wanted to and now indeed attacked Ukraine and also why the current war is unlikely to be solved by any talks or compromise – it is an existential conflict, where Putin’s goal is banal and simple: to destroy the Ukrainian state and nation.
The 2020 Belarus protests forced reluctant Lukashenka to surrender his country to the Kremlin’s intentions. The subsequent constitutional changes empowered Moscow’s new puppet and opened Belarus for a Russian nuclear presence. Then, in a single stroke, Russian soldiers oversaw the constitution changes and dragged the country into a war against Ukraine. The goal — capturing both Belarus and Ukraine for Putin’s “Greater Russia.”
French President Emmanuel Macron‘s recent, apparently misquoted remarks have reignited an international debate about “Finlandization” — specifically about the possibility for Ukraine to navigate its current difficult geopolitical situation by drawing lessons from this particular conceptual oddity.
Foreign policy analyst Pekka Virkki, one of Finland’s foremost experts on “Finlandization,” explains the phenomenon, its features, and why the idea of Ukraine’s “happy Finlandization” is inconceivable both practically and conceptually.
Railway workers Ruslan Arystarkhov and Artem Kiseliov seized two Russian invaders and a Russian armoured personnel carrier (APC), which was moving through Sumy Oblast.
By having veto power in the UN Security Council, Russia presents a threat to international security. It is finally time to act to revoke Russia’s membership in the UNSC.
Pe geopolitic.ro sunt publicate abstracte ale articolelor publicate în Revista GEOPOLITICA, care poate fi comandată pe www.geopoliticamagazine.com, în format tipărit sau electronic.
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