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Ukraine Invasion
Defense Policy / Programs
Foreign Policy
News Reports

Ukraine Invasion

• Russian Strikes Cause Injuries Among Civilians In Eastern Donetsk RFE/RL 29 Feb 2024 -- Russian troops shelled the Pokrovsky and Bakhmut districts of the Donetsk region causing multiple injuries among the civilian population, the Prosecutor-General's Office reported on the evening of February 28.
• In Address To Russians, Putin Warns Of 'Tragic' Consequences If West Sends Troops To Ukraine RFE/RL 29 Feb 2024 -- President Vladimir Putin gave his state of the nation address to Russians on February 29, outlining his view on how the war against Ukraine is progressing and Russia's relations with the West, which he threatened with "tragic" consequences if it sent troops into Ukraine.
• Putin Warns of Nuclear War if West Sends Troops to Ukraine VOA 29 Feb 2024 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Western countries on Thursday that they risk initiating a nuclear war if they send troops into Ukraine, saying Russia has the weapons to strike targets in the West.
• Statement by Russian Defence Ministry Russia MoD 29 Feb 2024 -- At night, the Russian Armed Forces have foiled another attempt by the Kiev regime to carry out a terrorist attack by a fixed-wing UAV against facilities on the territory of the Russian Federation.
• Ukraine Loses Up to 600 Soldiers Near Donetsk in Past Day - MoD Sputnik 29 Feb 2024 -- Ukraine has lost up to 600 soldiers in the Donetsk area over the past 24 hours, the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) said on Thursday.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Presidential Address to the Federal Assembly President of Russia 29 Feb 2024 -- Vladimir Putin delivered his Address to the Federal Assembly. The ceremony took place in Gostiny Dvor, Moscow.
• Putin warns West of nuclear war risk over troops in Ukraine Press TV 29 Feb 2024 -- Russia's President Vladimir Putin says certain Western countries are risking triggering a nuclear war by deploying boots in eastern Ukraine, warning Moscow could strike Western targets.
• Putin 'projects confidence' over war in Ukraine, Russia's economic growth under Western sanctions Global Times 29 Feb 2024 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin delivered his annual State of the Nation Address on Thursday. It was a key occasion for him to project confidence about Russia's development under the pressure from the West and Russia's "special military operation" in Ukraine before the presidential election in March. Commenting on the speech, analysts said Putin is telling the world that Russia is not concerned at all and is even satisfied with the current situation. Moscow is waiting for the US for talks, the analysts said.
• Threats For The West. Money For Mothers. Help For Veterans: What Putin Did And Didn't Say In His State-Of-The-Nation Speech. RFE/RL 29 Feb 2024 -- Six years ago, Russian President Vladimir Putin stood before a joint gathering of Russia's two chambers of parliament, along with dozens of cabinet and other government officials, and boasted that the country was developing a slew of powerful new weapons, a pointed warning to the West.
• Pacific Fleet corvettes Gromky and Hero of the Russian Federation Aldar Tsydenzhapov train to neutralise uncrewed surface vehicles Russia MoD 29 Feb 2024 -- The Pacific Fleet corvettes Gromky and Hero of the Russian Federation Aldar Tsydenzhapov crew trained to wipe out uncrewed surface vehicles during drills in the Peter the Great Bay.
• Sarmat, Kinzhal, Zircon: Which Top-Notch Missiles Did Putin Mention in Parliamentary Address? Sputnik 29 Feb 2024 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin delivered his State of the Nation to the Russian Federal Assembly (parliament) on Thursday, touching upon several pressing domestic and internal issues, including the special military op and new and advanced weapons.
• Russia's Strategic Nuclear Forces in State of Full Readiness - Putin Sputnik 29 Feb 2024 -- Russia's strategic nuclear forces are in a state of full readiness, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday.
• US Sees No Sign Russia Preparing to Use Nuclear Weapons - State Dept. Sputnik 29 Feb 2024 -- The United States does not currently have any sign that Russia is planning to use nuclear weapons but will continue to monitor the situation carefully, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said on Thursday.

Foreign Policy

• Russia hails Pyongyang for supporting its war against Ukraine Radio Free Asia 29 Feb 2024 -- Russia has expressed its gratitude to North Korea again for supporting its aggression against Ukraine in a show of solidarity as fresh claims of arms trading between the two authoritarian regimes emerged.
• U.S.- Russian Citizen's Appeal Against Treason Charge Rejected RFE/RL 29 Feb 2024 -- A court in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg on February 29 rejected an appeal filed by Russian-American Ksenia Karelina (aka Khavana) against her arrest on a treason charge.

News Reports

• Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's opening remarks during a meeting with representatives of Palestinian political parties, Moscow, February 29, 2024 Russia Ministry of Foreign Affairs 29 Feb 2024
• Russian International Money Launderer Pleads Guilty to Illicitly Procuring Large Quantities of U.S.-Manufactured Dual-Use, Military Grade Microelectronics for Russian Entities US Dept. of Justice 29 Feb 2024 -- Defendant Participated in Overseas Illicit Procurement Network That, After Russia's Invasion of Ukraine, Illegally Procured Large Quantities of Dual-Use, Military Grade Organic Light-Emitting Diode (OLED) Micro-Displays for Russian End-Users
• Security Beefed Up At Moscow Cemetery Where Navalny To Be Buried RFE/RL 29 Feb 2024 -- Russian opposition politician Aleksei Navalny's funeral service and burial is set to take place in Moscow on March 1 amid heightened security and other tactics that appeared aimed at discouraging people from attending.
• Vucic Says Serbia's Noncompliance With EU Position On Navalny's Death Not A 'Tragedy' RFE/RL 29 Feb 2024 -- Belgrade has not signed on to an EU declaration assigning responsibility for the death of Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalny to President Vladimir Putin, a move Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said wasn't a "tragedy."
• U.S. 'Too Slow' To See Putin Was 'Different Character' When He Returned To Presidency: Former Obama Adviser RFE/RL 29 Feb 2024 -- A former top adviser to U.S. President Barack Obama says the United States should have been quicker to recognize a change in Vladimir Putin when he returned to the Kremlin as president in 2012 and more outspoken in confronting his corruption.
• Soyuz-2.1b Rocket With Weather Satellite Launched From Vostochny Cosmodrome Sputnik 29 Feb 2024 -- A Soyuz-2.1b rocket with a Fregat upper stage carrying the Meteor-M hydrometeorological satellite, 17 Russian and one Iranian small satellites took off during the first launch from the Vostochny cosmodrome in 2024, a Sputnik correspondent reported on Thursday.
• Was The Exceptional Separatist 'Congress' A Swing And A Miss For Transdniester's Breakaway Elite? RFE/RL 29 Feb 2024 -- A breakaway "congress" in Moldova's Transdniester eyed as a possible portent of escalation in a decades-old frozen conflict came and went on February 28, with Chisinau seemingly dodging a bullet aimed by pro-Russian separatists at its ramped-up effort to reassert economic influence in the renegade region.
• Breakaway Transnistria asks Russia for 'protection' against Moldova Press TV 29 Feb 2024 -- Pro-Russian officials in the Moldovan breakaway region of Transnistria have called for help from Moscow to protect them in the face of increased pressure from Moldova's government.