Russian invasion of Ukraine: Day 736

Summary for Thursday, 29th February 2024 - DAY 736

It's 10:00am in Kyiv.
A quick look at some of the key developments over the past 24 hours:

• Several members of Ukrainian special forces have died in an assault on the Tendra Spit in Kherson oblast, according to reports. Ukraine’s special operations forces confirmed the deaths, suggesting those who died had stayed behind to ensure the main contingent escaped.
  
  
• Russia claimed on Thursday that its forces had re-entered the village of Robotyne, which Ukraine retook from the occupiers in August 2023. Russia’s state-run Interfax news agency cited the defence ministry saying troops had taken over some buildings but it was unclear whether Ukrainian troops had completely withdrawn. There was no confirmation from reliable sources. Robotyne lies between Avdiivka and Kherson, and south-east of Zaporizhzhia, on the frontline in Zaporizhzhia oblast.
  
  
• Ukraine’s forces shot down 10 Russian aircraft in as many days with the latest being two Russian Su-34 fighter-bombers on 27 February, according to the Ukrainian general staff.
  
  
• The UK government said on Wednesday that how Ukraine uses donated cruise missiles is “the business of the armed forces of Ukraine” after comments by Germany’s chancellor, Olaf Scholz, about possible UK and French involvement in targeting, and how Germany would not get involved in similar activity by sending its Taurus missiles.
  
  
• The Russian defence ministry claimed through state media on Wednesday that its forces had captured Petrovske, formerly renamed by Ukraine as Stepove, in eastern Ukraine.
  
  
• Ukraine’s foreign ministry on Wednesday cautioned against any meddling from Russia in Moldova’s neighbouring breakaway region of Transnistria, whose separatist leaders have supposedly appealed to Moscow for “protection” – a ploy that has previously been instigated by Russia to justify invading other countries.
  
  
• Moldova’s government has called the Transnistrian separatists’ request a propaganda event. Transnistria is a primarily Russian-speaking region that is legally part of Moldova. In February 2022 leading up to the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russian-backed militants in Ukraine also asked for Moscow’s “protection”.
  
  
• Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has promoted the idea of joint arms production at a summit of south-eastern European countries in the Albanian capital, Tirana. Zelenskiy proposed a Ukrainian-Balkans defence forum in Kyiv or a Balkan capital, similar to initiatives held last year with British and US weapons companies. A joint declaration signed by 10 countries at the summit said their leaders were ready to take part in a Ukrainian-led peace summit in Switzerland this spring to discuss Zelenskiy’s vision of peace.
  
  
• Albania, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Romania are Nato members, have joined western sanctions against Russia, and sent arms and equipment to Ukraine. There are significant arms industries in parts of the Balkans left over from the former Yugoslavia. Serbia has not imposed sanctions on Russia, and neither Belgrade nor Kyiv recognise the independence of Kosovo, an Albanian enclave that claims independence, backs Ukraine and seeks EU and Nato membership.
  
  
• The EU should consider using profits from frozen Russian assets to buy military supplies for Ukraine, the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, said on Wednesday. Japan has backed the idea, saying the EU proposals appear to have a basis in international law.
  
  
• Poland’s prime minister, Donald Tusk, said his government was considering a “temporary” closure of the border with Ukraine for goods, amid tensions over low-priced Ukrainian grain. “We are talking with the Ukrainian side about a temporary closure of the border, the cessation in general of trade.” However, Oleksandr Kubrakov, Ukrainian deputy PM, said: “Ukraine is not going to close its borders with Poland. No one from the Ukrainian side is negotiating about this. Our people are fighting for their existence in a war with the Russian aggressor. For us, a stable border is a matter of survival.”
  
  
• Ensuring Ukraine’s success against Russia is “the biggest test of our generation”, UK Foreign Office minister Andrew Mitchell said on Wednesday. He added: “At the G20 foreign ministers meeting it was clear there are few illusions about what Russia is doing and that the UN and Britain underlined how dangerous Putin’s actions are for the entire world.”
  
  
• Russian forces struck 11 communities along the Sumy oblast border in 42 separate attacks on Wednesday, the regional military administration reported according to the Kyiv Independent. No casualties or damage to local infrastructure were reported.
  
  
• Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov will attend a diplomacy forum in Turkey from Friday, the countries’ governments said. Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Lavrov would meet Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan.
  
  
• A court in southern Russia jailed a Ukrainian man for 11 years and six months after convicting him of espionage for trying to procure secret missile components for Ukraine, Russian news agencies reported on Wednesday.
  
  
• China’s Eurasia envoy, Li Hui, will visit Russia, Ukraine and the headquarters of the EU this week for talks. The trip will represent “the second round of shuttle diplomacy on seeking a political settlement of the Ukraine crisis”, China’s foreign ministry said in a statement, adding Li would also go to France, Germany and Poland.
  

Ukraine plans to export a high volume of electricity on Thursday, taking advantage of lower domestic consumption during a spell of mild weather, the energy ministry said.

The country’s electricity exports, which began shortly before it was invaded by Russian troops in 2022, were halted after numerous Russian attacks on power infrastructure and the seizure of the largest nuclear power plant at Zaporizhzhia.
However, Ukraine has exported significant volumes of power to eastern Europe this month.
A ministry statement said:

For the current day, electricity imports are forecast to total 2,497 megawatt hours (MWh) while exports are expected to reach 4,797 MWh.
Ukraine has been experiencing a surplus of electricity for three days and the surplus was transferred to Poland.

Energy minister German Galushchenko last month told Reuters that Ukraine could resume substantial energy exports as early as this spring because of lower domestic consumption.

Ukrainian forces have pushed back Russian troops from the village of Orlivka, west of Avdiivka, but the situation on the eastern front remains difficult

- Ukrainian army chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said on Thursday.
Orlivka is less than 2 kilometres northwest of Lastochkyne, which was recently occupied by Russian forces.
Russian forces last week captured the strategic eastern Ukrainian city of Avdiivka after a months-long assault and are pressing on several other areas along the frontline, Ukrainian authorities say.
Ukraine’s military said this week it had withdrawn from two more villages near Avdiivka, losing more territory as support from its western allies runs short.
On Telegram, Syrskyi said:

The enemy continues active offensive actions in many areas of the frontline. The situation is particularly tense in the Avdiivka and Zaporizhzhia sectors.

He said Russian assault units were trying to break through the Ukrainian defences and capture the settlements of Tonenke, Orlivka, Semenivka, Berdychi and Krasnohorivka.
Syrskyi, who visited troops on the eastern front, said some commanders had revealed certain shortcomings in their “situational awareness and assessment of the enemy”, which directly affected the sustainability of defence in certain areas.
"I took all measures to remedy the situation on the ground, with the allocation of additional ammunition and material resources, as well as the necessary reserves."

Sri Lanka has decided to stop issuing free long-term visas to Russian and Ukrainian nationals who have lived in the Indian Ocean island nation for the past two years

- a government official said on Thursday.
Since Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Sri Lanka has allowed Russians and Ukrainians to stay in the country without paying for visas, but they will now have to pay the charges.
The rate is about $50 for a 30-day visa, if they wish to stay in Sri Lanka, public security minister Tiran Alles told Reuters.
“Whoever wants to stay back can apply for new visas,” Alles added. “They can immediately renew their visas and remain here.”
Last week immigration authorities said they were ending the free long-term visa scheme for Russian and Ukraine nationals, setting a 7 March deadline for the departure of those without new visas in a notice that sparked comment on social media.
About 300 to 400 Russians and Ukrainians are estimated to have been staying in Sri Lanka since February 2022, said Priantha Fernando, the chairman of the island’s tourism body.
“This has nothing to do with normal tourists,” Fernando said. “We are more than welcoming them … there is no issue.”

A Russian court on Thursday rejected an appeal by a Russian-American woman against her detention on a treason charge.

The FSB Security Service said last week that Ksenia Karelina had been detained on suspicion of raising funds for Ukraine’s armed forces. The Los Angeles resident had been collecting funds for a Ukrainian organisation whose ultimate beneficiary was the Ukrainian army, the FSB said.
A Russian lawyers’ group said she had donated just over $50 to a charity that sends aid to Ukraine.

Ukraine says it shot down three Russian planes

Ukraine’s military said on Thursday it had shot down three more Russian Su-34 fighter-bombers, the latest successes it has reported against Moscow’s air force.
On Telegram, army chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said:

After successful combat operations against an enemy aircraft in the night on Feb. 29, two more Russian aircraft were destroyed: Su-34 fighter-bombers in the Avdiivka and Mariupol sectors.

Russia, which began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine two years ago, did not immediately comment on Syrskyi’s remarks. Reuters could not immediately verify his comments.
Avdiivka in eastern Ukraine fell to Russian forces this month after a long battle. Russia took full control of the south-eastern port city of Mariupol in May 2022.
The Ukrainian military said last week that Russia had lost six warplanes in three days, Reuters reports.

Putin warns West against sending troops to Ukraine in major speech

Summary - Emily Atkinson and Nadia Ragozhina, BBC News

• Vladimir Putin has given his annual state of the nation address, two weeks before Russia's 2024 presidential election
  
• Putin warned that any deployment of Western troops in Ukraine would have "tragic" consequences
  
• He claimed Western rhetoric threatened a "conflict with the use of nuclear arms and consequently the destruction of civilisation"
  
• The comments appear to respond to French President Macron, who earlier this week did not rule out sending Western soldiers to Ukraine
  
• Putin also said the Russian military had the "initiative" in the two-year, full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and was advancing in a number of areas
  
• Ukrainian troops recently withdrew from the eastern town of Avdiivka - but overall, the frontlines have been largely unchanged for months
  

The Polish prime minister, during a visit to Warsaw, said the country won’t rule out introducing a ban on agricultural products from Russia

Like much of Europe, Poland has been gripped by protests in recent weeks as farmers demonstrate against EU environmental regulations and what they say is unfair competition from Ukraine since the bloc waived duties on imports in 2022.
However, Polish prime minister Donald Tusk said agricultural products from Russia and Belarus were also causing market distortions.
Tusk told a news conference:

Latvia decided to implement an embargo on the import of [agricultural] products from Russia.
We will analyse the case of Latvia, and I do not rule out that Poland will take an appropriate initiative.

Tusk said the EU needed to “seriously focus on better regulations when it comes to the import of cereals and food products from the east”.
Tusk is due to meet the farmers’ leaders later on Thursday.

More than 500 identified as war crimes suspects, says Ukraine

Ukraine has identified 511 people suspected of war crimes since Russia’s Feb. 2022 invasion and has already handed down 81 convictions, its prosecutor general said in Kyiv on Thursday.
Andriy Kostin was speaking at a war crimes conference alongside the chief prosecutors of Poland, Lithuania, Romania and the President of the EU justice arm, Eurojust.
At a press conference after their meeting, the prosecutors announced the signing of a two-year extension to the work of the Joint Investigation Team, an initiative by five European Union countries to probe war crimes in the conflict, Reuters reports.
Russia has denied its troops commit war crimes, despite the conflict having killed thousands of Ukrainian civilians.
The JIT is conducting what Eurojust chief Ladislav Harman called the “biggest investigation of war crimes in history.”
Lithuanian Prosecutor Gen Nida Grunskiene said the JIT had so far spoken to over 5,000 Ukrainians as part of their investigations.
Commenting on the 81 convictions, Kostin acknowledged that most had been conducted without the suspects in custody.
He said Ukraine wanted to get justice as quickly as possible instead of waiting until the end of the war.
“Most of these convictions are in absentia, but it speaks to the fact that we are securing justice right now,” he said.
Kostin added that discussions were taking place with more than 40 countries about the possibility of forming a war crimes tribunal. He indicated that a decision on the format of the panel this year would be “a powerful signal”, but did not say more about when it could start.
He said such a tribunal was likely to last several years once it began.
Kostin and Grunskiene said investigators had managed to establish the identities of three people, all pro-Russian militants from the Donetsk region, suspected of killing Lithuanian film director Mantas Kvedaravicius in the city of Mariupol.
Kvedaravicius’ death was announced by Ukraine’s defence ministry in April 2022. Kostin on Thursday said the film director had died as a result of torture inflicted by the three suspects, including broken bones, knife wounds and a mock execution.
The director was filming a documentary showing the suffering of Mariupol’s residents during a brutal, months-long siege of the city by advancing Russian forces. The documentary, Mariupolis 2, was released several months after his death.

The European parliament said on Thursday Russian president Vladimir Putin bore the “criminal and political responsibility” for opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s death and should be held to account

AFP reports that in a resolution passed with 506 votes in the 705-seat assembly, the parliament said “The Russian government and Vladimir Putin personally bear criminal and political responsibility for the death of their most prominent opponent, Alexei Navalny.”
Lawmakers called for an “independent and transparent international investigation” into the circumstances of Navalny’s death and asked the EU’s 27 members states to “intensify” support for Russian political prisoners.
Nine lawmakers voted against the resolution.
In a separate development, allies of Navalny said attempts to hire a hearse to take his body to his funeral service on Friday had been blocked. Reuters reports that Kira Yarmysh, a spokesperson for Navalny, said on social that unknown individuals had been threatening hearse providers by phone.

Ukraine's Defence Intelligence says Russian boat ablaze in Sea of Azov, casualties reported

Oleksandr Shumilin - Ukrainska Pravda

Defence Intelligence of Ukraine (DIU) has reported that a boat belonging to the Coast Guard of Russia's FSB Border Service has caught fire in the Sea of Azov.

Source: a report from DIU

Details: DIU unveiled an audio recording of a radio intercept dated 29 February which features Russian military personnel discussing the fire. The crew of the burning ship reported that the fire had engulfed the wheelhouse and that an emergency team, fire pumps and a helicopter were urgently needed.
Later, the crew reported that the number of casualties had risen to five.
The DIU report did not specify the type of ship, noting that "information on the nature of the enemy losses is being gathered".

Two more billionaires renounce Russian citizenship in wake of Ukraine war

RFE/RL's Russian Service

Forbes reported on February 29 that billionaires Andrei Baronov and Ratmir Timashev have become the latest tycoons to renounce their Russian citizenship since Moscow launched its ongoing invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
According to Forbes, Baronov and Timashev are now citizens of Cyprus, with Baronov residing in Switzerland and Timashev in the United States. Baronov has criticized the war, saying it caused him "deep suffering." Timashev did not comment.
Other tycoons who have given up their Russian citizenship since February 2022 include Vasily Anisimov, Timur Turlov, Ruben Vardanyan, Yury Milner, Nikolai Storonsky, Oleg Tinkov, and Igor Makarov.
To read the original story by RFE/RL's Russian Service, click here.

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Russian authorities on Thursday detained journalist Sergei Sokolov, the editor of Novaya Gazeta, on charges of discrediting the army

- the newspaper and Russian state media reported.
Novaya Gazeta said in an online report that Sokolov’s detention was over coverage of the Russian army in an article, but did not provide more details, according to Reuters.
Russian news agency Tass reported that Sokolov had “posted material on the Novaya Gazeta Telegram channel” which showed “signs of verbal discrediting the actions” of the army.
Sokolov faces a fine of up to 50,000 roubles ($550), Tass and Novaya Gazeta both reported.
Novaya Gazeta is known for its investigations which have sometimes taken aim at the Kremlin, government policy and top officials.
Its former editor-in-chief Dmitry Muratov, a Nobel prize winning journalist, stepped aside in September to challenge his designation by authorities as a “foreign agent”, a label Moscow uses to stigmatise and complicate the life of people it deems to be working against Russian state interests.

Polish PM suggests Poland may ban grain imports from Russia

European Pravda, Ukrainska Pravda

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk. Photo: Getty Images

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has not ruled out the possibility that the country may impose a ban on imports of agricultural products from Russia, following the example of Latvia.

Source: Reuters, citing Tusk during a press conference in Warsaw on 29 February, as reported by European Pravda

Details: The Polish prime minister noted that Russian and Belarusian agricultural products imported to Poland also cause market distortions, which protesting farmers resent.
"Latvia decided to implement an embargo on the import of (agricultural) products from Russia. We will analyse the case of Latvia, and I do not rule out that Poland will take an appropriate initiative," Tusk added.
Tusk also stated that the European Union needs to "seriously focus on better regulations when it comes to the import of cereals and food products from the east".
Like most European countries, Poland has been gripped by farmers' protests in recent weeks, opposing the EU's environmental regulations and what they say is unfair competition from Ukraine after it was granted trade benefits.

Background: 

• Last week, the Latvian parliament passed a temporary ban on imports of agricultural products from Russia and Belarus until at least July 2025. Latvia stated that this step seeks to sever economic ties with the aggressor countries and complements EU sanctions.
  
  
• Earlier, Latvian Prime Minister Evika Siliņa noted that her country was setting an example for others by banning grain imports from Russia and Belarus.
  

Closing Summary:

A brief rundown of the main developments from today:

• The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, has said the west are attempting to “destroy us” and to “contain our development” in his annual address to parliament. He said: “The so called West with its so colonialist tendencies is striving not only to contain our development but they are intent on destroying us and using our space for whatever their purposes are including Ukraine.
  
  
• Putin also said Russia will fight back and “defeat” Nato on their own territory against the threat of expansion, which he warned could trigger a nuclear war. He said: “They are preparing to strike our territory and using the best possible forces most effective forces to do so. But we remember the fate of those who tried to invade our territory and of course their fate will be much more tragic than anything that we could face.”
  
  
• European defence and foreign ministers will meet in Paris in coming days to discuss further support for Ukraine and Moldova, a French foreign ministry spokesperson said on Thursday.
  
  
• Russian authorities on Thursday detained journalist Sergei Sokolov, the editor of Novaya Gazeta, on charges of discrediting the army, the newspaper and Russian state media reported. Novaya Gazeta said in an online report that Sokolov’s detention was over coverage of the Russian army in an article, but did not provide more details, according to Reuters.
  
  
• The European parliament said on Thursday Russian president Vladimir Putin bore the “criminal and political responsibility” for opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s death and should be held to account. AFP reports that in a resolution passed with 506 votes in the 705-seat assembly, the parliament said “The Russian government and Vladimir Putin personally bear criminal and political responsibility for the death of their most prominent opponent, Alexei Navalny.”
  
  
• Ukraine has identified 511 people suspected of war crimes since Russia’s Feb. 2022 invasion and has already handed down 81 convictions, its prosecutor general said in Kyiv on Thursday. Andriy Kostin was speaking at a war crimes conference alongside the chief prosecutors of Poland, Lithuania, Romania and the President of the EU justice arm, Eurojust.
  
  
• Ukraine’s military said on Thursday it had shot down three more Russian Su-34 fighter-bombers, the latest successes it has reported against Moscow’s air force. On Telegram, army chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said: “After successful combat operations against an enemy aircraft in the night on Feb. 29, two more Russian aircraft were destroyed: Su-34 fighter-bombers in the Avdiivka and Mariupol sectors.”
  
  
• A Russian court on Thursday rejected an appeal by a Russian-American woman against her detention on a treason charge. The FSB Security Service said last week that Ksenia Karelina had been detained on suspicion of raising funds for Ukraine’s armed forces. The Los Angeles resident had been collecting funds for a Ukrainian organisation whose ultimate beneficiary was the Ukrainian army, the FSB said.
  
  
• Sri Lanka has decided to stop issuing free long-term visas to Russian and Ukrainian nationals who have lived in the Indian Ocean island nation for the past two years, a government official said on Thursday.
  
  
• Russian president Vladimir Putin said he believes it is important for Russia to strengthen ties with Arab countries and Latin American countries during his annual address to the nation.
  
  
• Ukrainian forces have pushed back Russian troops from the village of Orlivka, west of Avdiivka, but the situation on the eastern front remains difficult, Ukrainian army chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said on Thursday. Orlivka is less than 2 kilometres northwest of Lastochkyne, which was recently occupied by Russian forces.
  
  
• Ukraine plans to export a high volume of electricity on Thursday, taking advantage of lower domestic consumption during a spell of mild weather, the energy ministry said. The country’s electricity exports, which began shortly before it was invaded by Russian troops in 2022, were halted after numerous Russian attacks on power infrastructure and the seizure of the largest nuclear power plant at Zaporizhzhia.