Below are the crucial updates on the 1,098th day of Russia’s comprehensive invasion of Ukraine.
Situation as of Thursday, February 27:
Combat Operations
- Five fatalities and eight injuries in Kostiantynivka, Donetsk region, were reported by regional Governor Vadym Filashkin due to Russian guided bomb strikes. Two more deaths occurred in a separate attack on Kyiv, one being a Ukrinform journalist, according to state news.
- Russia’s defense ministry claimed shooting down 19 drones across the nation and the annexed Crimea overnight, with Belgorod region reporting one fatality.
- Drone attacks in the Kyiv region resulted in one death, discovered among houses that caught fire, with earlier reports stating at least four injured.
- Ukraine’s Air Force defended against an overnight Russian drone attack, shooting down 110 and losing another 66 that did not reach targets.
- Moscow’s military forces recaptured two territories in the Kursk region previously taken by Ukrainian forces.
- Ukrainian forces asserted control over the village of Kotlyne in eastern Donetsk following counterattacks, a strategic location near key transit routes and logistics center Pokrovsk.
- Ukraine’s military reported strikes on Russia’s Tuapse oil refinery on the Black Sea and two military airfields in Crimea, with 40 explosions noted at the oil depot.
Politics and Diplomacy
- Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced upcoming meetings in Istanbul with US counterparts to address the restoration of diplomatic missions in each country.
- A protest walkout occurred during a UN Human Rights Council session marking the invasion’s anniversary, with Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin addressing the assembly.
- Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal confirmed the US and Ukraine have crafted a final rare earth minerals agreement, with the US supporting Kyiv’s bid for security guarantees.
- AFP indicated the final minerals pact draft omitted the initial demand for a $500bn repayment for US aid offered during Joe Biden’s presidency.
- The US chose not to co-sponsor a WTO statement condemning Russia’s actions in Ukraine, the first such nonsupport since the conflict’s onset, according to Reuters.
- President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated the minerals pact’s success hinges on Donald Trump’s approval, also noting that the agreed economic framework awaits decision on security assurances.
- Zelenskyy negated the plausibility of repayments, termed as a debt, labeling the notion as unfair to Ukraine and stating any repayment attempts would be refused.
- A White House official relayed that a meeting between Zelenskyy and Trump was improbable if the Ukrainian leader did not consider the deal finalized.
- In his inaugural cabinet assembly, Trump emphasized that security guarantees for Ukraine must come from Europe, not the US.
- Acceding to Ukraine’s NATO aspirations was dismissed by Trump, who implied that such ambitions may have provoked Russia’s invasion.
