On 28 February, Ukraine began restricting the dissemination of military information. The Russians had not provided such information since the beginning of the invasion.

The fighting for Kyiv continued. The Russians tried to surround and cut off the capital of Ukraine. In the south, the Russians took Berdyansk and reached Vasylivka. Fights continued for Kharkiv, which was shelled by the Russians with Grad MLRS rockets. Shells fell on residential areas, causing a large number of casualties among civilians, including children. 

In some cities, there were also cases of looting and shop robberies, to which the local population responded with lynching (looters were tied to trees and poles).

President Zelensky signed Ukraine’s application for membership in the European Union. The application was supported in a joint open letter by the presidents of Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Bulgaria, who also called for swift action to immediately grant Ukraine the candidate status and open the negotiation process.

The Ukrainian authorities agreed, without any preconditions, to enter into peace talks with Russia on the Belarusian-Ukrainian border near the Pripyat River. The meeting was arranged during a telephone conversation between President Zelensky and Alexander Lukashenko.

Volodymyr Zelensky stated that the operations of Russian troops in Ukraine fulfil the elements of genocide. In his opinion, Russia’s aggression against Ukraine was aimed at terrorizing and punishing Ukrainian people for its pursuit of sovereignty and independence. Ukraine filed a lawsuit against Russia with the UN International Court of Justice.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba accused some Western politicians of wanting to continue economic cooperation with Russia, calling it betrayal and trafficking in the blood of Ukrainian citizens.

Photo of EU and Ukraine flags. CC-BY 4.0