The United States has warned China of dire consequences if it supplies arms to support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, while a senior general from Kyiv was in the frontline town of Bakhmut, where Ukrainian defenders are under constant attack.

War in Ukraine: The city of Bakhmut is largely destroyed after months of fierce fightingPhoto: AA/ABACA / Abaca Press / Profimedia

The latest on the war in Ukraine, day 369, LIVETEXT:

07:43A Russian A-50 military reconnaissance plane was damaged in a drone attack on Sunday at an airfield near the Belarusian capital Minsk, Belarusian guerrillas and exiled opposition fighters said, Reuters reported.

A brief summary of recent events:

  • CIA Director William Burns said on Sunday that he was “convinced” that China was considering supplying Russia with weapons for its war in Ukraine, but the US had no indication that a decision had been made or that any equipment had been delivered, AFP reported .
  • The US State Department confirms that “Crimea is Ukraine.” The US State Department confirmed that Crimea is Ukraine in a statement by spokesman Ned Price marking the nine-year anniversary of Russia’s occupation of the territory.
  • The commander of the Ground Forces of Ukraine, Colonel-General Oleksandr Syrskyi, went to the besieged city of Bakhmut to raise morale and discuss strategy with units defending the city and surrounding villages in eastern Ukraine, the Ukrainian military said.
  • The Armed Forces of Ukraine said that Russia continues to focus its main efforts on conducting offensive actions in the front-line areas of Kupyansk, Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Shakhtar.
  • The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyi, dismissed Eduard Moskalyov from the position of commander of the United Forces of Ukraine, which are participating in hostilities in Donbas. No reason was given.
  • The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyi, in his address to the people on Sunday evening, said that the pressure of Ukraine and the world on Russia will continue. Zelensky emphasized that the meetings held this week with several leaders, including Joe Biden, Georgia Maloney and Pedro Sanchez, show that Ukraine is respected by the whole world.
  • President Vladimir Putin has called the standoff with the West over the war in Ukraine an existential battle for the survival of Russia and the Russian people – and said he was forced to consider NATO’s nuclear capabilities.
  • Former Russian President Dmytro Medvedev, a Putin ally, has said that continued arms supplies to Kiev risk a global nuclear catastrophe, repeating his threat of nuclear war against Ukraine.
  • German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius on Sunday reacted skeptically to China’s proposed ceasefire in the war in Ukraine.
  • The European Union vowed to increase pressure on Moscow “until Ukraine is free” by passing a 10th package of sanctions against Russia on Saturday, a day after the anniversary of the start of the invasion of Ukraine.
  • Discussions regarding the joint maneuvers of the USA, Germany and Poland. Washington, Berlin and Warsaw are considering organizing joint military exercises in Poland within the framework of NATO soon in the face of the Russian threat on the eastern front, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said on Sunday evening.
  • Opposition: Russian planes were damaged by explosions in Belarus. On the morning of February 26, two explosions rang out at the Machulishchi airport near Minsk, the Belarusian opposition organization “Bypol” reports. According to the report, a Russian military plane was damaged as a result of the explosions, Kyiv Independent reports.

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Sunday’s events were live here on HotNews.ro