Vladimir Putin thanks his special forces for fulfilling their 'heroic' military duty in Ukraine
February 28, 2022, 8:08 am

Vladimir Putin thanks his special forces for fulfilling their 'heroic' military duty in Ukraine

Russian president Vladimir Putin/Facebook

The Asharq Al-Awsat reported, citing Reuters that President Vladimir Putin on Sunday thanked Russia's special forces, singling out those who are "heroically fulfilling their military duty" in Ukraine, in a televised address that was also published on the Kremlin website.

Ukrainian forces were holding off Russian troops advancing on the capital Kyiv, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said as the biggest assault on a European state since World War Two entered a fourth day.

Zelenskiy said, but the night was brutal, with shelling of civilian infrastructure and targets including ambulances.

Casualties from the war are unclear. A United Nations agency reported 64 civilian deaths and Ukraine claimed to have killed 3,500 Russian soldiers.

More than 100,000 refugees, mainly women and children, have poured into neighboring countries, clogging railways, roads and borders since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched what he called a special military operation on Thursday.

Russian bombing of home buildings (File photo: Euromaidan Press)

Ignoring weeks of frantic diplomacy and sanctions threats by Western nations seeking to avoid war, Putin has justified the invasion saying "neo-Nazis" rule Ukraine and threaten Russia's security - a charge Kyiv and Western governments say is baseless propaganda.

Offering a glimmer of hope for talks, the Kremlin sent a diplomatic delegation to neighboring Belarus. Ukraine quickly rejected the offer, saying Belarus had been complicit in the invasion.

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But an adviser said that Zelenskiy left the door open for "real negotiations," elsewhere.

Russian missiles found their mark overnight, including a strike that set an oil terminal ablaze in Vasylkiv, southwest of Kyiv, the town's mayor said. Blasts sent huge flames and billowing black smoke into the night sky, online posts showed.

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The mayor, Natalia Balasinovich, said: "The enemy wants to destroy everything."

Source: aawsat

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Upon arriving to participate in the summit of the European Political Community, which includes around forty heads of state in Budapest, he said, "I look forward to sitting with the elected U.S. president and seeing how we will collectively ensure we meet challenges, including the threats from Russia and North Korea." He also noted that the strengthening of ties between Russia and North Korea poses a threat to the United States as well, according to reports from Agence France-Presse.

Before Trump's victory, Rutte expressed confidence that a united Washington would remain part of the defensive alliance, even if Trump became the 47th president of the United States. In an interview with German public broadcaster ZDF last Monday night, he stated that both Republicans and Democrats understand that NATO serves not only the security of Europe but also that of America. He added that both candidates are aware that the security of the United States is closely tied to NATO.

On Wednesday, NATO congratulated Trump on his victory but did not address the Ukrainian issue.

It is noteworthy that the relationship between the elected U.S. president and the defense alliance was not the best during his first term in the White House. Trump criticized NATO member states multiple times and even hinted at withdrawing from the alliance unless they increased their financial contributions.

Additionally, the issue of the Russian-Ukrainian war is one of the matters that complicate relations between the two sides, especially since Trump has repeatedly stated that he can end this ongoing conflict, which began in 2022, quickly. He implied that he had a peace plan between Kyiv and Moscow, while his vice president, JD Vance, revealed aspects of that plan, which stipulated Ukraine's commitment not to join NATO, thereby sending reassuring signals to the Russians.

Furthermore, many NATO member states in Europe fear that Trump might halt military aid to Ukraine after he previously criticized the U.S. for pouring funds into supporting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.