live blog
Status: 02/28/2023 02:20 a.m
Ukrainian President Zelenskyy has described the fighting for the city of Bakhmut in the east of the country as “increasingly complicated”. Moscow sets conditions for resumption of New Start treaty with US. The developments in Liveblog.
2:20 a.m
Moscow sets conditions for resumption of New Start treaty
Russia does not want to resume participation in the New Start nuclear weapons treaty until the government in Washington accepts Moscow’s position. “The attitude of the collective West,” led by the United States, must change towards Moscow, said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov in an interview with the daily “Izvestia”. The security of one country cannot be provided at the expense of the security of another country. He explained that by arming Ukraine “as a single bloc, NATO will no longer appear as our conditional adversaries, but as enemies.”
On a Chinese peace plan for Ukraine that urges both sides to gradually de-escalate and warns against the use of nuclear weapons, Peskov says Beijing’s proposal should be heard, but the undertones of the proposal are important.
2:20 a.m
US welcomes Saudi Arabia’s commitment to Ukraine
The US has welcomed Saudi Arabia’s pledged support for Ukraine as a “positive step”. Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan al-Saud traveled to Kiev with a high-ranking delegation on Sunday and met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy there. During the visit, the Saudis agreed to send the Ukrainians $400 million worth of aid, US National Security Council communications director John Kirby said in Washington. The relief supplies include generators and urgently needed energy supplies.
2:20 a.m
According to Zelenskyy, the situation in Bakhmut is becoming more and more complicated
For the Ukrainian defenders in the embattled city of Bakhmut, the situation is becoming “more and more complicated,” according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. “The enemy is constantly destroying everything that can be used to defend our positions, to fortify and defend them,” said Zelenskyy in his evening video address. He called the Ukrainian soldiers who have been defending Bakhmut for six months “true heroes”.
The Ukrainian army defends the city in a battle of attrition to tie down as many Russian troops as possible and inflict heavy casualties on them. However, Russian forces are not only attacking from the east. They have also worked their way north and south of Bakhmut, leaving the Ukrainians with only one clear road for a possible retreat.