Negotiations between Russia and Ukraine

1 Belarus

Negotiations between the delegations of Russia and Ukraine began on 28th of February in the Gomel region, on the border of Belarus and Ukraine. They were broadcast on the website of the ’’BelTA’’ news agency. The Russian delegation is being led by the assistant to the Russian president, Vladimir Medinsky. The delegation also includes the Deputy Ministers of Defense and Foreign Affairs, Andrey Rudenko and Alexander Fomin, and the head of the Russian Parliament Committee on International Affairs — Leonid Slutsky. The Ukrainian side is being represented by the Defense Minister, Aleksiy Reznikov, an adviser to the head of the presidential office, Mikhail Podolyak, the head of the ruling political party «Servant of the People», David Arakhamia, the first deputy head of the Ukrainian delegation to the Contact Group for the settlement in Donbass, Andriy Kostin, deputy Rustem Umerov, and the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs — Nikolay Tochitsky. The Ukrainian delegation demands to pull all the Russian troops, including from Crimea and Donbass. The Russian-Ukrainian negotiations are lasting for 5 hours by now — a source of the TASS, attending the meeting, reported.

2 Russia

Due to the aggressive statements from the leading NATO countries against Russia, Vladimir Putin set the Russian forces of strategic deterrence to a special mode of combat duty. This became known during the meeting of Vladimir Putin with the Russian Minister of Defense, Sergei Shoigu, and the Chief of the General Staff, Valery Gerasimov. The Russian strategic deterrence forces are the backbone of the Russian combat power. They are designed to deter an aggression against Russia and its allies, as well as to defeat an aggressor in a war while using various types of weapons, including the nuclear.

3 Russia — Ukraine

«The Russian aviation has gained the air supremacy over the entire Ukraine» — the Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov stated on a briefing. He clarified that since the start of the operation, the Russian troops hit 1,114 military infrastructure facilities of Ukraine, including 31 command posts and communications centers, 314 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 57 MLRS, 121 artillery pieces and mortars, and 274 special military vehicles. He added that «Over the past day, the Russian Air Force destroyed 8 «Buk M-1″ combat vehicles, several radars for the S-300 and Buk M-1 air defense systems, 3 radio positions with P-14 stations, 4 combat aircraft on the ground, and 1 combat aircraft was shot down in the air» — end of quote.

4 Ukraine

The Russian army took control of the cities of Berdyansk and Energodar in the Zaporozhye region of Ukraine, plus the territory around the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant. The Russian helicopters KA-52 support the offensive operation of the People’s Militia of the DPR in the Mariupol region. Several Russian heavy flamethrower combat vehicles TOS-1A took positions around the city of Mariupol. The Russian forces used missiles to destroy a naval operations center, previously built by the US military, in the city of Ochakov — the center was built to control the 5th brigade of the Ukrainian warships. The Russian forces used tactical missile systems «Iskander-M» to attack an airbase in Zaporozhye. The Russian forces also used the ’’Iskander-M’’ to strike the Ukrainian 222nd Central Artillery Ammo Base in the Cherkasy region.

5 Donbass

The head of the administration of the town of Gorlovka, Ivan Prikhodko, reported on his Telegram channel about heavy Ukrainian shelling. There are dead and wounded civilians. “According to the preliminary data, as a result of the shelling by the Ukrainian troops of the hostel on the Kirov Street — 7 people were wounded, 3 people died» — Ivan Prikhodko stated.

6 Donbass

On 28th of February the HQ of the DPR announced the complete liberation of the village of Staromariivka, the ’’Donbass Today’’ news website reported. The DPR HQ specified that 19 settlements in the Donetsk region have been liberated by the military of the DPR from the Ukrainian forces.

7 Donbass

The head of the DPR, Denis Pushilin, reported on 28th of February that the mobilization of citizens of the DPR into the People’s Militia has been suspended. «As for the mobilization, it is suspended. The necessary numbers of the mobilization campaign have been filled by now» — he stated on-air of the «Russia-24» TV channel. According to him — the DPR is now more concentrated on the civil matters. «Today we must think about what we will do tomorrow, and on the day after tomorrow» — he concluded. Constantine Reztsov, specially for the ANNA NEWS