Live blog: Consequence of inaction every day in Ukraine is dire — Biden

Tuesday, February 27, 2024

1728 GMT — US President Joe Biden has warned top congressional leaders of the dire cost of failing to give Ukraine military aid as he hosted high-stakes talks at the White House.

The rare Oval Office meeting escalated efforts to unlock billions of dollars of stalled assistance for Ukraine's fight against Russia— and to avert a government shutdown at home.

"On Ukraine, I think the need is urgent," said Biden, flanked by Vice President Kamala Harris, adding that the "consequence of inaction every day in Ukraine is dire."

House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Donald Trump ally who leads a razor-thin Republican majority, has refused to allow a vote on a so-called supplemental funding bill in which Biden has asked for the new aid to Ukraine.

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1817 GMT — Macron under fire from French opposition over remarks on sending troops to Ukraine

After saying that sending troops to Ukraine "cannot be ruled out," French President Emmanuel Macron faced flak from the opposition on both the left and right.

Marine Le Pen, parliamentary party leader of the far-right National Rally, said on X: "Tens of millions of French people presently are terribly worried about the comments made by Emmanuel Macron yesterday, who indicated that he did not rule out sending troops to Ukraine."

Similarly, Jean-Luc Melenchon, the leader of the left-wing France Unbowed, said on X: "Sending troops to Ukraine would make us belligerents. War against Russia would be madness. This belligerent verbal escalation by a nuclear power against another major nuclear power is already an irresponsible act."

1746 GMT — Macron not ruling out troops in Ukraine 'good sign', Kiev says

French President Emmanuel Macron sent a good signal by not ruling out deploying Western troops on the ground in Ukraine, a senior Ukrainian official told AFP news agency.

"Macron is now demonstrating a deep understanding of the risks posed to Europe by the war in Ukraine," presidential aide Mykhailo Podolyak said, calling it a "good sign."

1726 GMT — Russia will step up its hybrid attacks in spring: Ukraine

Russia will escalate an ongoing influence operation this spring aimed at destabilising Ukraine and scuppering international support for Kiev in its two-year-old war with Moscow, Ukrainian intelligence claimed.

Ukraine is struggling to fend off Russian troops along much of the front line as Kiev faces challenges in replenishing its ranks and a potential cut in US military aid.

The Kremlin will bolster its offensive by stepping up efforts to seed disinformation on social media, sparking conflict among Ukrainians and so wing doubt among Kiev's allies of its chances for victory, according to a presidential intelligence committee.

1705 GMT — US 'will not send troops to fight in Ukraine:' White House

The White House said the United States would not send troops to fight in Ukraine, after French President Emmanuel Macron refused to rule out the dispatch of Western forces.

"President Biden has been clear that the US will not send troops to fight in Ukraine," National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a statement.

Biden believes the "path to victory" is for Congress to pass blocked military aid "so Ukrainian troops have the weapons and ammunition they need to defend themselves" against Russia, Watson added.

1636 GMT — Russia using disinformation to split West: Ukraine

Ukraine accused Russia of waging a large-scale "disinformation" campaign to divide its Western allies and sow panic among its population.

Kiev has become increasingly frustrated with hold-ups to Western aid in recent months, warning it has lost ground to Russia due to ammunition shortages.

"The international goal of the Russians is to reduce support for our country from the pro-Ukrainian coalition in the world," Ukraine's intelligence service said.

1515 GMT — Ukraine says 'fierce battles' under way near key town

Ukrainian forces said "fierce battles" were under way near the key town of Chasiv Yar in eastern Ukraine where Russia "is actively trying to advance."

"Fierce battles are already taking place on the outskirts" of Ivanivske and Bogdanivka, army spokesperson Ilya Yevlash said in televised comments.

Chasiv Yar is located near Bakhmut, which fell to Russian forces in May 2023.

1419 GMT — Moscow says plans to present Ukraine's peace formula to Russia an 'ultimatum'

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said plans to present Moscow with the peace formula proposed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is an "ultimatum."

"He (Zelenskyy) said that this would not be considered negotiations, but a normal person understands that this is an ultimatum.

"… They are trying to attract as many countries as possible to various events to discuss this paper," Lavrov said told a news conference in Moscow with his Yemeni counterpart Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak.

1039 GMT — Sending troops to Ukraine 'not in the interest' of the West: Kremlin

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has said that sending troops to Ukraine was not in the interests of Western countries after French President Emmanuel Macron said the option was on the table.

"This is absolutely not in the interests of these countries, they should be aware of this," Peskov said after being asked about Macron's statement, adding that many countries "are keeping a fairly sober assessment of the potential dangers of such actions".

"The very fact that the possibility of sending some contingents from NATO countries to Ukraine is being discussed is a very important new element," he said.

1009 GMT — West's discussion of direct intervention in Ukraine is good: Kiev

Discussion by Western democracies of direct military intervention in Ukraine's war against Russia is good and shows awareness of the risk to Europe from Russian aggression, a senior Ukrainian presidential official has said.

"This shows, firstly, an absolute awareness of the risks posed to Europe by a militaristic, aggressive Russia," presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said in a written comment on Macron's statement.

1000 GMT — NATO has no plans to send troops to Ukraine: Stoltenberg

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the military alliance has no plans to send combat troops into Ukraine amid reports that some Western countries may be considering putting boots on the ground in the war-ravaged country.

Stoltenberg said “NATO allies are providing unprecedented support to Ukraine. We have done that since 2014 and stepped up after the full-scale invasion. But there are no plans for NATO combat troops on the ground in Ukraine.”

Ahead of a trip to Paris, where top officials from over 20 countries discussed options to increase help for Ukraine, Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico said that some countries are weighing whether to strike bilateral deals to send troops to Ukraine to help it fend off the Russian aggression.

0654 GMT — Russia stopping Ukraine at Dnipro river: Moscow

Russia's defence ministry said that its forces were preventing Ukranian forces from crossing from the right bank of the Dnipro river, near the village of Krynky in Ukraine's Kherson region, Russian state news agency TASS has reported.

0622 GMT — Russia bans gasoline exports for six months from March

Russia has announced a six-month ban on gasoline exports from March 1 to compensate for rising demand from consumers and farmers and to allow for planned maintenance of refineries.

The ban, first reported by RBC, was confirmed by a spokeswoman for Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak.

Russia previously imposed a similar ban between September and November last year to tackle high domestic prices and shortages. Only four ex-Soviet states — Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan — were exempt.

0546 GMT — Ukraine says it destroys 11 Russia-launched drones, two missiles

Russia launched 13 attack drones and a barrage of missiles at Ukraine overnight, with air defence systems destroying 11 drones as well as two guided missiles over several regions, Ukraine's air force has said.

In total, Russia launched 13 attack drones, four of the Kh-59 guided air missile, one air-to-surface Kh-31P missile and ballistic missiles, the Ukraine's force said on the Telegram messaging app.

It was not immediately clear how many ballistic missiles Russia reportedly launched or what happened to the missiles and drones that were not downed.

0311 GMT — US aid needed to defend grain export corridor: Zelenskyy

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Monday that without new US military aid his country would be unable to defend a Black Sea shipping corridor that has allowed Kiev to export millions of tons of grain to global markets.

Ukraine launched the shipping corridor hugging its western Black Sea coast near Romania and Bulgaria in August, a month after Russia quit a year-long landmark deal — brokered by Türkiye along with UN supervision — that had allowed the safe Black Sea export of nearly 33 million metric tons of Ukraine grain.

Ukraine is on track to export all grain from its 2023 harvest despite Russian attacks on Ukrainian ports and infrastructure, Britain's foreign office said this month.

2325 GMT — Putin vows to boost Russian special forces' ability to strike

President Vladimir Putin has promised to increase the mobility and striking potential of Russia's special operations forces, saying this is a key priority to make the country's army stronger.

"We will continue to strengthen the Special Operations Forces, increase their mobility and striking potential, and arm them with new-generation weapons and equipment," Putin said in a congratulatory video message issued ahead of the February 27 Special Operations Forces Day in Russia.

"Let me emphasise that this is one of the key priorities for the long-term development of the army and navy."

2311 GMT — Poland FM says US House speaker to blame if Russia advances in Ukraine

Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski has urged US House Speaker Mike Johnson to allow a vote on new US aid for Ukraine, saying Johnson would be to blame if the bill failed and Russia advanced on the battlefield.

In remarks to the Atlantic Council think tank, Sikorski said Johnson "has in the past spoken warmly about Ukraine."

"Therefore, I'd like him to know that the whole world is watching what he would do, and if the supplemental were not to pass and Ukraine was to suffer reversals on the battlefield, it will be his responsibility," he continued.

He was referring to a $95 billion funding bill containing $60 billion in security aid for Ukraine that passed the Democratic-controlled Senate this month in a 70-30 bipartisan vote.

2240 GMT — Macron doesn't rule out sending Western troops to Ukraine

French President Emmanuel Macron has said that sending Western troops on the ground in Ukraine is not "ruled out” in the future, and added the new coalition would be set up to supply "missiles and bombs of medium and long range" to Ukraine.

Macron spoke after a meeting on Ukraine in Paris brought together over 20 European heads of state and government and other Western officials in Paris.

"There's no consensus today to send in an official manner troops on the ground. But in terms of dynamics, nothing can be ruled out," Macron said.

Macron declined to provide details about which nations were considering sending troops. He added that "we will do everything needed so Russia cannot win the war."

For our live updates from Monday, February 26, click here.