Over the past day, the Russian Armed Forces (RF Armed Forces) completely blocked the cities of Kherson and Berdyansk. On Sunday, February 27, the official representative of the Ministry of Defense Igor Konashenkov told reporters.
“Over the past day, the cities of Kherson and Berdyansk were completely blocked by the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. The city of Genichesk and the Chernobaevka airfield near Kherson have also been taken under control,” he said.
Also, according to Konashenkov, more than 470 Ukrainian soldiers in the Kharkiv region voluntarily laid down their arms and surrendered. Assistance is currently being provided to Ukrainian servicemen. After completing the documents, they will be sent to their families.
In addition, on Sunday it became known that the groupings of troops of the Luhansk and Donetsk People’s Republics managed to establish control over the settlements of Novoakhtyrka, Smolyaninovo, Stanichno-Lugansk, as well as Pavlopol and Pischevik. The LPR forces advanced 52 km, the DPR — 12 km.
A day earlier, on February 26, the Russian military managed to secure a node of the North Crimean Canal in the Kherson region in order to remove the water blockade of Crimea.
On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a special operation to protect the civilian population of Donbass. After that, the Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky accused the Russian Federation of hitting the country’s military infrastructure and introduced martial law throughout Ukraine. He also said that Kyiv is breaking off diplomatic relations with Moscow and withdrawing its diplomats from the embassy.
On February 21, Putin signed decrees recognizing the independence of the DNR and LNR. Also, the Russian leader signed agreements on friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance with the republics. The treaties were ratified the next day.
The situation in Donbass escalated on February 17, 2022. In the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, heavy shelling by Ukrainian security forces was reported, including from heavy weapons. The republics announced a general mobilization and evacuation of civilians to the territory of Russia.
Since 2014, the Ukrainian authorities have been conducting a military operation against the inhabitants of Donbass, who refused to recognize the results of the coup d’état and the new government in Ukraine. At the same time, Kyiv blames Moscow for the current situation. Russia has repeatedly stated that it is not a party to the conflict.
For more up-to-date videos and details about the situation in Donbass, watch the Izvestia TV channel.