Ukraine Breaking News Today Live on 02-27-2024

"There is a strong international law, economic and moral case for moving forward," US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Tuesday it was urgent for G7 nations to jointly seize profits from frozen Russian assets and redirect them to Ukraine, as the group prepared to meet on the issue.

Calls have been mounting in the United States and Europe to set up a fund for Ukraine using billions of dollars in bank accounts, investments and other assets frozen by the West over Russia's 2022 invasion.

Zelensky's Office expects to sign a security agreement between Ukraine and the US after $60 billion in aid passes through Congress and before a future NATO summit in Washington.

On the sidelines of the “Ukraine. Year 2024” forum, Andriy Yermak, the chief of Zelensky's Office, commented on the terms of signing a security agreement with the United States to implement the G-7 Joint Declaration adopted at the previous NATO summit.

The bilateral agreement between Ukraine and the US is expected to be signed after the US Congress approves $60 billion in aid to Ukraine and before the NATO summit in Washington in July.

Former senior NATO official Camille Grand said Macron's statements were a "major political signal."

French President Emmanuel Macron has smashed a major taboo by floating the possibility of sending Western troops to Ukraine, raising the stakes in a showdown with a nuclear-armed Russia.

Hosting a conference of European leaders on Monday night, the French leader refused to rule out the dispatch of Western troops to Ukraine as Russia's invasion stretches into its third year and Kyiv's military campaign appears to be faltering.

On a visit to the US, Poland's foreign minister made powerful statements aimed at reminding Americans that their global credibility is now on the line based on how they choose to support Ukraine.

My pro-Ukrainian/anti-dictatorships American friends want Poland’s Foreign Minister Sikorski to replace Secretary Blinken.

One reason: Sikorski talks the language of core American values.

Among the key topics of the bilateral talks between President Zelensky and Saudi Arabia leadership will be the Ukrainian peace formula and the return of POWs.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky traveled to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, seeking Riyadh’s support to further his peace plan and to get new prisoner exchanges going with Moscow.

“The first topic is the Peace Formula. Last year in Jeddah, we held an effective advisors' meeting to discuss its implementation,” Zelensky wrote on his Facebook page.

The Ukrainian Air Force looks on track to get Sweden’s impressive Gripen fighter jet, but even though the Swedes seem motivated, if it happens it will take about a year.

Muharrem Demirok, leader of Sweden’s Social Democrat opposition Center Party, on Monday called on the ruling conservative government to move quickly on plans to transfer high-tech JAS 39 Gripen fighter aircraft to Ukraine, now that Sweden has overcome its last hurdle to joining NATO.

Two years on, a leading historian, and two prominent journalists and authors comment on what Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine signifies for them.

Serhii Plokhy

The substances found in Zaporizhzhia are medicines and not chemical weapons which shows either ignorance or a heavy-handed attempt by Moscow to justify its use of chemicals.

Today the Pro-Kremlin news sites, TASS and Ria Novosti, had splash headlines announcing that the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) had raided houses in the occupied territory of Zaporizhzia and foiled a Ukrainian special services “terrorist” operation.

The reports included an FSB video in which heavily armed agents raided two houses, arrested three occupants and recovered explosives and chemical substances which they proudly displayed to the camera.

It’s time for the US and the West to stop walking on eggshells when it comes to Russia.

For two years Russia has been paralyzing the West with threats limiting Western response to Russian terror in Ukraine. To stop the carnage Putin must be surprised. There are three possibilities here.

The current state of the Russian war is defined by two factors:

The 70-year-old, a key figure of the Nobel Prize-winning Memorial group, is the latest target of Kremlin repression, which has intensified since the offensive in Ukraine.

A Russian court on Tuesday sentenced top human rights campaigner Oleg Orlov to two and a half years in jail for denouncing Russia's assault on Ukraine.

The 70-year-old, a key figure of the Nobel Prize-winning Memorial group, is the latest target of Kremlin repression, which has intensified since the offensive in Ukraine.

President Zelensky and your Bankova team: why the continuing double standards regarding Moscow’s vassal in Belarus, Aleksander Lukashenko?

Mr. President, with all due respect, I’m returning to the theme which you obviously, for some mysterious reason, seem to find embarrassing and wish to avoid. That is, Kyiv’s official relations with Belarus.

Mr. President, your advisors in your Presidential Office – because I understand that the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has been long sidelined by the fact that it is not allowed much of a say – will no doubt have informed you that there were pseudo-parliamentary elections in Belarus last weekend on Sunday, Feb. 25.

"This is absolutely not in the interests of these countries, they should be aware of this," Peskov said after being asked about Macron's statement.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday that sending troops to Ukraine was not in the interests of Western countries, after French President Emmanuel Macron said the option was on the table.

"This is absolutely not in the interests of these countries, they should be aware of this," Peskov said after being asked about Macron's statement, adding that many countries "are keeping a fairly sober assessment of the potential dangers of such actions".

Early voting for president began on Sunday in occupied parts of Ukraine, as well as remote areas of Russia. Again, the Kremlin intends to justify the farcical elections with hand-picked observers.

Election authorities said that voting had begun on Sunday in remote areas of the country and parts of occupied Ukraine, the pro-Kremlin newspaper Izvestia reported.

Candidates for the presidency launched their campaigns on TV last week, and there is regular media coverage of them conducting election campaigns throughout the regions.

The Sukhoi Su-34 is Russia’s top frontline fighter bomber, designed primarily for launching laser-guided bombs or long-range guided missiles in precision strikes on ground targets.

Ukraine’s Armed Forces (AFU) have brought down another Russian Su-34 fighter bomber, the ninth Russian frontline aircraft recently shot down.

The two-man crew managed to eject, according to the Air Force’s Commander.

The Ukrainian Air Force said Russian drones flew over Moldovan airspace during Monday night’s attack, adding that it had happened “more than once” in the past, but Moldova has denied the claims.

The Ukrainian Air Force (UAF) said Russian missiles and drones flew over Moldovan airspace en route to targets in Ukraine during an attack overnight which previously happened “more than once”, adding there’s nothing “particularly new” about it, but Moldova has denied that Monday night’s incident happened. 

On Feb. 26 at 11:31 p.m. local time, the UAF announced on Telegram that “unidentified UAVs from the border with Moldova” were heading towards Khmelnytsky.

Johnson leads a Republican majority in the House of Representatives and has refused to put a vote on a supplemental funding bill in which Joe Biden has asked for $61 billion in assistance for Ukraine.

Poland's top diplomat on Monday appealed to US Speaker of the House Mike Johnson to allow a vote on approving much-needed aid to Ukraine, warning he would bear responsibility if Russia triumphs.

"I again appeal personally to Speaker Mike Johnson. Please let democracy take its course. Please, let's pass this to a vote," Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said on a visit to Washington.

What should the next steps be in the war? Europe's press weighs up the current situation and looks to the future.

At least 10,000 dead Ukrainian civilians, 6.5 million refugees and 3.7 million displaced persons within Ukraine, according to the UN. These are the tragic statistics of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022. On top of that, estimates put the number of soldiers killed in action in the hundreds of thousands; Zelensky recently spoke of 31,000. What should the next steps be in the war? Europe's press weighs up the current situation and looks to the future.

Better to make concessions than go on like this

The high-stakes showdown comes after President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that his country desperately needs continued support from the West to defeat Russia.

US President Joe Biden hosts urgent talks with top Congress leaders at the White House Tuesday in a bid to unlock billions of dollars in stalled emergency aid to war-torn Ukraine and avert a looming government shutdown at home.

The high-stakes showdown comes after President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that his country desperately needs continued support from the West to defeat Russia and voiced hope the United States would approve the $60 billion package.

After almost two years of intense negotiations, Budapest’s National Assembly dealt another blow to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s geopolitical ambitions.

The Hungarian National Assembly, the Országgyűlés, voted on Monday to endorse Sweden’s long-delayed bid to join NATO – the final hurdle making the Nordic nation NATO’s 32nd member and finally ending what has been an almost two-year impasse.

It is possible that Stockholm could be formally inducted within the week and, thereby, complete the process that began with Finland and Sweden bidding to end their traditional neutrality in response to Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Finland became the 31st member of the Alliance on April 4 2023.

"While there was 'no consensus' on the sending of Western ground troops to Ukraine, "nothing should be excluded. We will do whatever it takes to ensure that Russia cannot win this war," Macron said.

French President Emmanuel Macron triggered a shockwave in Europe on Tuesday by refusing to rule out the dispatch of Western ground troops to Ukraine in its fight against the Russian invasion.

Macron had hosted a conference of European leaders on Monday -- just over two years to the day after Russia invaded Ukraine -- seeking to rally greater support for Kyiv, which faces increasing battlefield challenges and dwindling munition stocks.

A center has been set up in Russia to replace foreign components, especially electronics, with Russian-made elements that are of inferior quality but allow for weapons production.

Russians are trying to increase both quantity and quality of weapons it has been exhausting, after acquiring old munitions from Belarus and North Korea, but is hampered by Western sanctions and foiled by Western air defense systems, according to a recent interview with Ukrainian intelligence.

Russia plans to produce 2.7 million units of ammunition this year. According to Ukrainian intelligence, last year, Russia produced 2 million rounds of 122-mm and 152-mm ammunition.

Latest from the Institute for the Study of War.

Key Takeaways from the ISW:

• Sweden will join NATO following Hungary’s formal approval of Sweden’s accession bid on February 26.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin signed two decrees on February 26 that officially re-establish the Moscow and Leningrad Military Districts, codifying major Russian military restructuring and reform efforts.
• The formal transfer of regions previously under the responsibility of the Northern Fleet is likely part of a wider Russian effort to re-establish military district commands as the primary headquarters for the Russian ground forces while reassigning naval assets to the Russian Navy, as ISW previously reported.
• The re-creation of the MMD and LMD supports the parallel objectives of consolidating control over Russian operations in Ukraine in the short-to-medium term and preparing for a potential future large-scale conventional war against NATO in the long term.
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated on February 25 that Russia is preparing a new offensive that will start in late May or summer 2024, consistent with ISW’s assessment that Russian forces have regained the theater-wide initiative and will be able to pursue offensive operations when and where they choose as long as they hold the initiative.
• Chief of the Russian General Staff Army General Valery Gerasimov is continuing a recent campaign to engage with Russian military personnel following the Russian capture of Avdiivka, Donetsk Oblast and reportedly visited a command post of the 58th Combined Arms Army (CAA) in Ukraine.
• Over 20 heads of state, including 15 European Union (EU) leaders met in Paris on February 26 to discuss ramping up ammunition supplies to Ukraine.
• Germany announced a new military aid package to Ukraine on February 26.
• Transnistrian sources reportedly told Russian independent outlet Verstka that Transnistria, a pro-Russian breakaway region of Moldova, is not planning to ask to join Russia during the Congress of Deputies in Tiraspol on February 28.
• Russian forces recently made confirmed gains near Kreminna, Bakhmut, and Avdiivka amid continued positional engagements along the entire frontline.
• Russia reportedly imported almost 450 million euros (about $488 million) worth of sanctioned “sensitive” European goods, including weapons technology, between January and September 2023.