Satellite: More than three-mile-long Russian military column on roadway to Kyiv
Satellite images show more than 3-mile-long Russian military column on roadway to Kyiv
From CNN’s Paul P. Murphy
As Ukrainians continue to repel Russian advances around Kyiv, new satellite images show a more than 3-mile-long Russian military convoy is on a roadway that heads toward the capital city.
According to Maxar, the convoy was seen on satellite images on Sunday around 10:56 a.m. local time on the P-02-02 road near Ivankiv, which is about 40 miles (60 kilometers) northwest of the Ukrainian capital. The P-02-02 road goes toward Kyiv.
Maxar identified fuel and logistical trucks, in addition to tanks, infantry vehicles and self-propelled artillery moving in the convoy.
Ukrainian President says he doesn’t expect much from Monday’s meeting but “let them try”
From CNN’s Tim Lister in Kyiv and Chris Liakos
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a brief televised statement that he doesn’t expect much from a meeting between Ukrainian and Russian delegations on Monday.
“I will say frankly, as always: I do not really believe in the result of this meeting, but let them try. So that no citizen of Ukraine would have any doubt that I, as President, did not try to stop the war when there was even a small chance,” Zelensky said.
“And while our guys are there, the President is here, the chief of staff is here, the prime minister is here, the army is here, the commander-in-chief is here. We will all defend our state and our borders,” he added.
Earlier Sunday, Ukraine’s Deputy Interior Minister Evgeny Yenin said talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations will take place Monday morning local time.
Ukraine claims successful drone attacks against Russian forces
From CNN’s Tim Lister in Kyiv
The Ukrainian military has claimed successful attacks by its Turkish-made force of drones against Russian forces.
On Sunday, the Armed Forces of Ukraine released footage showing the destruction of armor by a drone, and said it was carried out against a Russian BUK surface-to-air missile system.
Valerii Zaluzhnyi, the Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief, said the drone attack took place near the town of Malyn, 100 kilometers (about 62 miles) northwest of Kyiv.
The Ukrainian government began receiving the Bayraktar TB2 drones from Turkey last year.
White House: Russia putting deterrence forces on alert is part of a pattern of “manufactured threats”
From CNN’s Sam Fossum, Arlette Saenz and Devan Cole
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Sunday that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to put Russia’s deterrence forces, which includes nuclear arms, on high alert are part of a wider pattern of unprovoked escalation and “manufactured threats” from the Kremlin.
“This is really a pattern that we’ve seen from President Putin through the course of this conflict, which is manufacturing threats that don’t exist in order to justify further aggression — and the global community and the American people should look at it through that prism,” Psaki told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos on “This Week.”
Additionally, a senior administration official told CNN on Sunday that Putin’s move was “yet another escalatory and totally unnecessary step,” a senior administration official said Sunday.
“At every step of this conflict Putin has manufactured threats to justify more aggressive actions — he was never under threat from Ukraine or from NATO, which is a defensive alliance that will not fight in Ukraine,” the official said.
“The only reason his forces face a threat today is because they invaded a sovereign country, and one without nuclear weapons. This is yet another escalatory and totally unnecessary step,” they added.
Putin’s move comes in the face of universal condemnation from Western powers over Moscow’s unprovoked assault on Ukraine.
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BP says it will offload its 19.75% stake in state-owned Russian oil firm Rosneft
From CNN’s Anna Stewart and Niamh Kennedy in London
Oil giant BP will offload its 19.75% shareholding in Russian state-owned oil firm, Rosneft, according to a statement from the company.
“The BP board today announced that BP will exit its shareholding in Rosneft. BP has held a 19.75% shareholding in Rosneft since 2013,” the statement published on Sunday said.
Chief Executive Officer Bernard Looney will also resign immediately from Rosneft’s board, according to the statement.
The British company had faced calls from the UK government to offload its ownership stake following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Looney said he “like so many” others was “deeply shocked and saddened by the situation unfolding in Ukraine,” which prompted the company “to fundamentally rethink BP’s position with Rosneft.”
“I am convinced that the decisions we have taken as a board are not only the right thing to do, but are also in the long-term interests of BP,” the CEO added.
BP chair Helge Lund added that “the Rosneft holding is no longer aligned with BP’s business and strategy.”
European Union shutting down airspace to Russia, including private jets of oligarchs
From CNN’s Jennifer Deaton
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen confirmed on Sunday that the European Union is shutting down the EU airspace to Russia.
“We are proposing a prohibition on all Russian-owned, Russian-registered and Russian-controlled aircraft. These aircraft will no more be able to land in, take off or overfly the territory of the European Union. This will apply to any plane”, Von der Leyen said.
“Our airspace will be closed to every Russian plane. And that includes the private jets of oligarchs too,” she said.
Many European countries had already closed their airspace to Russian airlines and aircraft as of Sunday, including Germany, France and Italy.
White House official: Putin’s move on deterrence forces “yet another escalatory” and “unnecessary step”
From CNN’s Arlette Saenz
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to put his country’s deterrence forces, including nuclear arms, on high alert, is “yet another escalatory and totally unnecessary step,” a senior Biden administration official says.
“At every step of this conflict Putin has manufactured threats to justify more aggressive actions — he was never under threat from Ukraine or from NATO, which is a defensive alliance that will not fight in Ukraine,” the official said. “The only reason his forces face a threat today is because they invaded a sovereign country, and one without nuclear weapons. This is yet another escalatory and totally unnecessary step,” the official added.
More background: During a televised meeting with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov on Sunday, President Putin said, “Top officials in leading NATO countries have allowed themselves to make aggressive comments about our country, therefore I hereby order the minister of Defense and the chief of the General Staff [of the RF Armed Forces] to place the Russian Army Deterrence Force on combat alert.”
Shoigu replied, “Yes, sir.”
Ukrainian foreign minister: Putin’s nuclear readiness move attempts to put pressure on Ukraine
From CNN’s Ivana Kottasova in Kyiv
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Sunday that Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s order to put Russian deterrent forces on alert was an effort to raise pressure on the Ukrainian delegation at Monday’s scheduled talks.
“As you notice, this order by President Putin came shortly after the announcement was made about the two delegations ready to meet. And we see this announcement this order, as an attempt to raise stakes and to put additional pressure on the Ukrainian delegation,” Kuleba said a briefing in Kyiv.
Kuleba added, “But we will not give into this pressure” and said, “We will approach this talks with a very simple approach.”
Kuleba indicated that Ukrainian officials are willing to “listen to what Russia has to say.”
“We will tell them what we think of this. And what we are ready to discuss is how to stop the war and the occupation of our territories. Full stop,'” the foreign minister said.
Kuleba said Putin’s decision “to put on high alert his nuclear weapons is a direct threat to us. I have very simple message. It will be a catastrophe for the world, but it will not break us down.”
NATO secretary general: Putin’s nuclear readiness move is “dangerous rhetoric”
From CNN’s Allegra Goodwin in London
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s order for his country’s deterrence forces — including nuclear arms — to be placed on high alert, is part of a “dangerous rhetoric,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told CNN’s Dana Bash on Sunday.
“If you combine this rhetoric with what they’re doing on the ground in Ukraine, waging war against an independent sovereign nation, conducting a fully-fledged invasion of Ukraine, this adds to the seriousness of the situation,” he continued.
The Secretary General added, “That’s the reason why we both provide support to Ukraine, but also why we over the last weeks and months have significantly increased the presence of NATO in the eastern part Alliance, US but also European allies are now stepping up with more troops, more ships, more planes, and why we also have to realize that we are now faced with a new normal for our security.”
He went on to say this was “just the beginning of the adaptation that we need to do as response to a much more aggressive Russia.”
Source: https://www.cnn.com/europe/live-news/ukraine-russia-news-02-28-22/h_9841a54595035b06864e21a2e269f0ad
