Photo : Mladen ANTONOV / AFP
Photo : Mladen ANTONOV / AFP
War in Ukraine: Day 734
By Padmashree Anandhan
War on the Ground
On 27 February, Oleksandr Kamyshin, Minister of Strategic Industries of Ukraine reported on Ukraine’s drone production to be matching Iran supplied Shahed drones. He said: “Both in terms of the size of the explosive devices and in terms of range and other technical parameters.” He added on Ukraine using other types of drones to fight against Russia and launch attacks across the borders.
On 27 February, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine’s President visited Saudi Arabia, crown prince Mohammed bin Salman to discuss on peace formula and prisoner exchange. Saudi Arabia which helped in previous mediations of prisoner swap also assured to partner with Ukraine on economic front.
The Moscow View
Claims by Russia
On 27 February, Vladimir Putin, Russia’s President vowed to boost the special operations force’s mobility and capabilities. The special operation forces which form critical part of Russia’s Armed Forces to carry out specific task and be combat ready. Marking the 10th anniversary of takeover of Crimea, Putin stressed to continue strengthening the striking capacity and through supply of “new generation weapons.”
On 27 February, Vyacheslav Gladkov, Governor of Belgorod area in Russia reported on the death of three after a series of drone attacks by Ukraine. According to the report from defence ministry, three civilians were killed due to a explosion on a residential building, the drones are claimed to be destroyed by Russia’s air defences.
On 27 February, in response to Macron’s statement in the Paris conference, Dmitry Peskov, Press Secretary of the President of the Russian Federation called for talks over avoiding direct conflict rather than discussing the possibilities.
The West View
Responses from the US and Europe
On 27 February, during the conference in Paris held to gather aid for Ukraine, Emmanuel Macron, France’s President expressed the disagreement among the European leaders on deploying ground troops in Ukraine. Despite the differences he missed to rule out the possibility of such deployment in his statement. Macron said: “But no dynamic can be ruled out. We will do whatever it takes to ensure that Russia cannot win this war.” This sparked statements amongst the NATO leaders and Russia.
On 27 February, following Macron’s statement Olaf Scholz, German Chancellor rejected the notion of deploying troops in Ukraine and Robert Fico, Slovakia’s Prime Minister stated the disunited stance among the European leaders on the same issue. Similarly, leaders from Sweden, Spain, Poland, Czech Republic expressed their differences on the plans to sent their soldiers into Ukraine.
References
“Ukraine updates: Putin marks Crimea takeover anniversary,” Deutsche Welle, 27 February 2024
“European leaders wary after Macron's Ukraine troop comments,” Deutsche Welle, 27 February 2024
“Ukrainian kamikaze drone kills three Russian civilians – governor,” RT, 27 February 2024
“Kremlin reacts to Macron’s remarks on NATO troops in Ukraine,” RT, 27 February 2024