Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 370

Here is the situation as it stands on Tuesday, February 28, 2023:

Diplomacy

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov says Russia will not resume participation in New START nuclear arms treaty talks until Washington listens to Moscow’s position, Izvestia reported.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has paid a surprise visit to Kyiv to reaffirm Washington’s support and economic aid to help Ukraine’s war campaign.

Foreign ministers from around the world will meet in New Delhi this week in the shadow of the war and US-China tensions; host India hopes issues such as climate change and debt in developing countries are not overlooked.

China has “very clearly” taken Russia’s side in the Ukraine war by providing diplomatic, political and economic support, the US State Department said.

The Kremlin said a Chinese peace plan that urges both sides to agree to a gradual winding down of forces and warns against the use of nuclear weapons, should be analysed in detail, taking the interests of all sides into account.

Human rights

The United Nations rights chief condemned Russia’s “senseless” invasion of Ukraine at the beginning of a Human Rights Council session at which countries want to strengthen scrutiny of suspicions that Russia has committed war crimes, which it denies.

Fighting

The military situation is becoming increasingly difficult around Bakhmut, the focal point of Russia’s advances in eastern Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

Russia’s defence ministry said its forces had destroyed a Ukrainian ammunition depot near Bakhmut, and had also shot down four HIMARS missiles and five Ukrainian drones.

Reuters was not able to verify battlefield reports.

Economy

Russian banks and politicians have played down the latest foreign sanctions on Russian lenders, promising speedy solutions to any problems with clients’ foreign currency dealings.

-al jazeera