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Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers his annual address to the Federal Assembly in Moscow [Sputnik/Gavriil Grigorov/Kremlin via Reuters]
By Al Jazeera Staff
Published On 29 Feb 2024

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29 Feb 2024 - 17:00
 (17:00 GMT)

Thank you for joining us

This live page is now closed. Thanks for following our coverage of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

You can read our full coverage of the war here.

The latest analysis of fighting is available here.

29 Feb 2024 - 16:50
 (16:50 GMT)

Here is what happened today

We will be closing the live page soon. Here’s a recap of the day’s main events:

  • Russia’s Defence Ministry has claimed that its troops killed 1,325 Ukrainian soldiers in the past 24 hours.
  • Ukraine’s military said it shot down three more Russian Su-34 fighter-bombers, the latest successes it has reported against Moscow’s air force.
  • The European Parliament says Russian President Vladimir Putin bears the “criminal and political responsibility” for opposition leader Alexey Navalny’s death and should be held to account.
  • Putin’s warning to the West that it risks nuclear war if it sends soldiers to Ukraine should be taken seriously, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk was cited by Poland’s Onet publication as saying.
  • The European Parliament has approved a resolution calling for the transfer to Ukraine of “everything necessary for victory”, including long-range missiles and frozen Russian assets, according to its press service.
29 Feb 2024 - 16:40
 (16:40 GMT)

Poland buys $2.5bn US battle command system

Poland has signed a deal with the US to buy a $2.5bn integrated battle command system, its defence minister says.

The NATO and EU member has made important military purchases in recent years – mainly from the US and South Korea – amid security concerns over the war in neighbouring Ukraine.

Warsaw currently spends more than 4 percent of its gross domestic product on defence, the highest rate among NATO members.

“The Polish army is acquiring an operational brain for air and missile defence systems,” Polish Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said alongside the US ambassador to Warsaw.

“Poland will be the second country, after the United States, to have the world’s most modern integrated command system,” he added.

29 Feb 2024 - 16:30
 (16:30 GMT)

North Korean missiles used by Russia contained parts from EU, Japan, China: Report

The North Korean KN-23/24 ballistic missiles that Russia used to strike Ukraine earlier this month contained electronic components from European, Japanese and Chinese companies, according to Ukrainian law enforcement agencies cited by Ukrainska Pravda.

The newspaper’s sources said the missiles that previously fell in the Obolonskyi district of Kyiv contained Western microcontrollers, flash memory drives, converters, power supplies, amplifiers, and satellite signal patch antennas.

In the production of missiles, which were subsequently purchased by Russia, North Korea used components from companies such as Germany’s Siemens; the US’s Fairchild Semiconductor International, Inc and Analog Devices, Inc; Japan’s NSK Ltd/NSK Automation; China’s Zhongkewei; and others.

Some parts and fragments of the missiles contain tags with handwritten Korean characters. The publication published photographs of the wreckage provided by the source.

Previously, the British research organisation Conflict Armament Research (CAR) reported that North Korean missiles contain foreign components, the report said.

29 Feb 2024 - 16:15
 (16:15 GMT)

Russian troops inch ahead as war in Ukraine barrels into third year

By John T Psaropoulos

Ukrainian forces in the east have struggled to find stable new defences over the past week as Russian troops continue to advance after capturing Avdiivka – suggesting artillery and other shortages are affecting Ukraine’s ability to hold the 1,000km (620-mile) front line.

Ukrainian forces withdrew from Avdiivka on February 17 after a four-month Russian onslaught to take the town.

On Saturday, Ukrainian defenders also withdrew from the village of Lastochkyne, 3km (1.9 miles) west of Avdiivka, never having had a chance to build proper defences under fire.

“There were no defences built there, and the fighters had to withdraw from the battles in Avdiivka and gain a foothold in the very process of hostilities,” one Ukrainian military reporter known as DeepStateUA wrote on Telegram to his 700,000 followers, predicting that the same would occur at other points in the retreat.

Read our full story here.

A local man clears the way for a damaged car to be towed near a residential building damaged in a Russian drone strike in Dnipro, Ukraine [Mykola Synelnykov/Reuters]
29 Feb 2024 - 16:00
 (16:00 GMT)

Russia attacks residential area of Ukraine’s Mykolaivka

The Russian army has attacked a residential area of Mykolaivka in the Kramatorsk district of the Donetsk region with a KAB-500 aerial bomb.

Eight private houses, a hospital, a garage and two civilian cars – as well as a gas pipeline and electrical networks – were damaged in the city, according to Ukraine’s national police force.

There were no reports of casualties, it said on Telegram.

29 Feb 2024 - 15:45
 (15:45 GMT)

Russia to ban petrol exports

The Russian government has introduced a ban on petrol exports from tomorrow to August 31.

A statement published on Telegram said “the government has taken measures to maintain a stable situation in the fuel market during the spring field work”.

It is clarified that the export ban does not apply to fuel exported to provide international humanitarian assistance and for the personal use of citizens.

The restriction also does not apply to supplies within the framework of intergovernmental agreements, including the countries of the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union.

29 Feb 2024 - 15:30
 (15:30 GMT)

Editor’s Choice: What to read and watch

Here are some must-read pieces that we have published on the conflict over the past 24 hours:

In-depth: Russian troops inch ahead as war in Ukraine barrels into third year

Explainer: Why has the EU sanctioned Indian, Chinese companies for Russia links?

Watch: Is the West’s military support enough for Kyiv?

Listen: Is the West’s existing support enough for Ukraine?

You can find more of our coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war here.

29 Feb 2024 - 15:15
 (15:15 GMT)

Putin’s speech should be looked at in upcoming election context: European Commission

Putin’s message to the Federal Assembly continues “a well-known lie”, according to European Commission spokesperson Peter Stano said at a briefing in Brussels.

He was cited by European Pravda as saying that Putin’s speech “should be looked at in the context of the upcoming presidential elections in Russia. This is part of Putin’s efforts for re-election”.

“This is another opportunity for him to spread well-known lies. He continues to deceive his own nation and mislead the public abroad, because there are those who still continue to listen to him,” Stano added.

He also called all of Putin’s threats against Europe and the rest of the world, including nuclear ones, absolutely unacceptable and inappropriate.

“Putin is deceiving the nation, the nation lives under an iron fist and Stalin-style repression, the army is in a catastrophic state, the economy is collapsing, the country’s credibility is completely destroyed and his efforts to destroy Ukraine have failed,” Stano said.

29 Feb 2024 - 15:00
 (15:00 GMT)

Attempts to hire a hearse for Navalny funeral blocked: Spokesperson

Allies of deceased Russian opposition politician Alexey Navalny say that attempts to hire a hearse to take his body to a funeral service the following day had been blocked by unknown individuals.

Kira Yarmysh, a spokesperson for Navalny, said on X that unknown individuals had been threatening hearse providers by phone and that nobody had agreed to transport his body as a result.

File: Candles burn as people attend a vigil following the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, at the Trocadero near the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France. [Benoit Tessier/Reuters]
29 Feb 2024 - 14:45
 (14:45 GMT)

Europe must take Putin’s statements seriously: Poland’s PM

Putin’s warning to the West that it risks nuclear war if it sends soldiers to Ukraine should be taken seriously, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk is cited by Poland’s Onet publication as saying.

“Not only the aggressive rhetoric but also the decisions that Putin announced – to increase Russia’s self-sufficiency, transfer the economy to a military footing, modernise the army – all this should be taken absolutely seriously,” Tusk said of Putin’s state of the nation speech.

Europe must understand that the “arms race” that Russia is imposing on the world obliges the West to wake up and prepare from a military point of view for potential threats, he added.

“The European Union must make decisions that balance Russia’s military capabilities and make Europe better prepared for bad scenarios,” Tusk added.

29 Feb 2024 - 14:30
 (14:30 GMT)

Putin bears ‘criminal’ blame for Navalny death: EU parliament

The European Parliament says Putin bears the “criminal and political responsibility” for opposition leader Alexey Navalny’s death and should be held to account.

“The Russian government and Vladimir Putin personally bear criminal and political responsibility for the death of their most prominent opponent, Alexey Navalny,” the parliament said in a resolution passed with 506 votes in the 705-seat assembly.

Putin “should be held accountable”, it said. Only nine lawmakers voted against the resolution.

The lawmakers also called for an “independent and transparent international investigation” into the circumstances of Navalny’s death.

29 Feb 2024 - 14:15
 (14:15 GMT)

Ukraine removes five children from Russian-held Kherson region

Ukraine has removed five Ukrainian children – two girls and three boys – from the occupied territory of the Kherson region, according to the head of Ukraine’s Kherson military administration, Alexander Prokudin.

“Among them is one orphan. The children’s ages range from 4 to 16 years,” he said on Telegram.

“We are returning children to free Ukrainian lands,” he said, adding that it was made possible with the help of the Save Ukraine organisation.

He added that since the beginning of the year, 25 children have already been returned from Kherson.

29 Feb 2024 - 14:00
 (14:00 GMT)

Sides battle for control of Ivanivske, Bohdanivka in Donetsk region

Russian troops are trying to capture the villages of Ivanivske and Bohdanivka in the Bakhmut district of Ukraine’s Donetsk region.

Ilya Yevlash, the spokesperson of Ukraine’s Khortytsia forces, said that the Russian army was actively using assault groups, special forces and raising reserves.

29 Feb 2024 - 13:45
 (13:45 GMT)

EU parliament calls for transfer to Ukraine of ‘everything necessary for victory’

The European Parliament has approved a resolution, calling for the transfer to Ukraine “everything necessary for victory,” including long-range missiles and frozen Russian assets, according to its press service.

This document was supported by 451 parliamentarians. Another 46 deputies opposed it, and 49 abstained.

The text of the adopted resolution notes that the main goal of supporting Ukraine is that it must win the war, thereby preventing serious consequences for the whole world.

According to the authors of the document, all leaders of authoritarian countries are watching the war and assessing their capabilities for pursuing an aggressive foreign policy.

29 Feb 2024 - 13:30
 (13:30 GMT)

Russian shelling kills two people in Ukraine’s Bakhmut

One person was killed in the town of Siversk and another in the town of Pereizny of Donetsk region’s Bakhmut district, according to the head of the regional military administration, Vadym Filashkin.

He wrote on Telegram that Russians shelled the populated areas of the Donetsk region 26 times in the past 24 hours.

29 Feb 2024 - 13:20
 (13:20 GMT)

Ukraine claims it killed 54 Russian soldiers on Dnipro’s left bank

The Russian army continues to attack Ukrainian units on the left bank of the Dnipro River, with Ukraine managing to repel four attacks in the past day, according to the Defence Forces of Southern Ukraine.

“During the day, we received confirmation that the enemy on the left bank has lost 54 occupiers; 8 guns; 1 Murom-M video surveillance complex; 1 set of antenna system; 10 units of armoured vehicles; 2 boats. The enemy’s field ammunition depot has been destroyed,” the forces said on Telegram.

29 Feb 2024 - 13:10
 (13:10 GMT)

Civilian killed in Russia’s air attack on Ukraine’s Zaporizhia region

At least one civilian has been killed after Russian troops attacked the village of Yurivka, in Ukraine’s Zaporozhia region, according to the head of the regional administration, Ivan Fedorov.

He said on Telegram that the Russian military had used guided bombs at about 13:10 local time (11:10 GMT).

29 Feb 2024 - 13:00
 (13:00 GMT)

Ukraine uncovers $4.9m corruption scheme in its defence ministry

Auditors of Ukraine’s defence ministry have found that military units groundlessly paid additional monetary compensation to military personnel who did not participate in hostilities, the ministry’s press service has said in a statement on Facebook.

“In fact, a number of military personnel were in permanent deployment points and performed duties not related to combat operations, but received combat supplements,” it added.

The department reported that similar incidents were recorded in military units of the Kyiv, Zhytomyr, Khmelnytsky and Poltava regions.

The total amount of unjustified payments amounted to 186.6 million hryvnia ($4.9m). The ministry handed over all audit materials to law enforcement agencies, the statement said.

29 Feb 2024 - 12:50
 (12:50 GMT)

Russia seeks to destroy ‘right of Ukrainians to exist’: Eurojust chief

Ladislav Hamran, the head of the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation, also known as Eurojust, made the remarks at the United for Justice international conference in Kyiv.

“When the invasion began, President Putin made no secret of the fact that his goal was to destroy the identity and culture of the Ukrainian nation,” he said.

Hamran added that judging by the crimes committed against the cultural heritage of Ukraine, Russia “is trying not only to destroy Ukrainian traditions and culture, but also the right of Ukrainians to exist”.