OSCE observers left Donbass

1 The DPR

The town of Gorlovka has been under fire from Ukrainian forces since 7 AM. 19 civilians were wounded. Several 120mm mortar shells were used in the shelling as well. The filtering and pumping stations were damaged, over 70,000 people are left without water. The HQ of the territorial defenses of the DPR stated that a «Tochka-U» missile was shot down over the city of Khartsyzsk. Shrapnel from the missile damaged houses. A white powder, presumably phosphorus, was found in the warhead. The Ukrainian forces used MLRS «Grad» to attack the town of Dokuchaevsk. 4 rockets were fired, then a mortar attack took place. The DPR’s People’s Militia reported that they liberated 6 more settlements in the Mariupol region.

2 Russia

Vladimir Putin received a report on the results of Russian-Ukrainian negotiations — his press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, reported. According to him, Vladimir Medinsky personally informed Putin about the results, and provided a written report. So far the Kremlin has yet to comment on the situation. The results of the meeting are yet to be analyzed. Peskov clarified that a personal meeting between Putin and Zelensky hasn’t been planned yet. A new round of negotiations between Ukraine and Russia may take place on 2nd of March. It is planned that they will be held on the border of Poland and Belarus — the Ukrainian diplomats reported. The Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei also mentioned that a new meeting will take place soon.

3 Ukraine

The military operation of the Russian forces is in a full swing. The Russian forces entered the city of Kherson. According to the local authorities, all roads to the city were blocked by the Russian military. The Russian troops prevented the possibility of an arrival of a military help to the Kherson garrison. Infantry and light armored vehicles were seen on the streets. Judging by the footage from the locals — there are no major battles in Kherson. Earlier there were battles with Ukrainian troops near the city. They suffered heavy losses. The advancing Russian troops were able to occupy the town of Kakhovka, and the North Crimean Canal.

4 The DPR

The Russian Ministry of Defense reported that the access of the Ukrainian forces to the Sea of Azov was cut off. The DPR forces joined the Russian forces near the city of Mariupol — the Ministry added. The Ukrainian forces in the city of Mariupol are surrounded. The Russian forces hit 2 Ukrainian airfields and 3 air defense radar posts with high-precision weaponry. A total of 1,325 military targets were hit. No strikes were made on the civilians. The Russian forces will attack the facilities of the security service of Ukraine and the 72nd main PSO center in Kiev — the Russian Ministry of Defense stated, and urged everyone who lives near the relay nodes in Kiev to leave their homes.

5 Russia

The Russian Federal Air Transport Agency extended the ban on flights in the south and central parts of Russia until 8th of March. The flights are limited to the airports of Anapa, Belgorod, Bryansk, Voronezh, Gelendzhik, Krasnodar, Kursk, Lipetsk, Rostov-on-Don, Simferopol, and Elista. The rest of the Russian airports, including the international ones, work as usual. The Russian airlines were recommended to organize transportation by alternative routes via the airports of Sochi, Volgograd, Mineralnye Vody, Stavropol and Moscow, in order to organize the transportation of passengers to the closed airports.

6 Ukraine

The application for the Ukrainian membership in the EU under the accelerated procedure has been accepted, registered, and is under a consideration — the head of the Ukrainian presidential office, Andriy Yermak, announced. He added that Vladimir Zelensky plans to make a video message to the European deputies.

7 The DPR

All the observers from the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission were evacuated from the DPR to Russia. Dozens of cars of the organization left Donetsk and Luhansk, and moved to the Russian border. The OSCE staff will be evacuated from Russia. Eduard Basurin stated that the Ukrainian troops could have received data on the military facilities of the people’s republics thanks to the representatives of the OSCE. According to the deputy head of the People’s Militia Department of the DPR, they came across documents that confirm this information.

8 Ukraine

The Ukrainian forces fired ’’Tochka-U» missiles at the city of Taganrog. Supposedly, 1 missile was intercepted by the local air defense systems. Constantine Reztsov, specially for the ANNA NEWS