Russo-Ukrainian war, day 738: Ukraine uses surface-to-air missiles to shoot down another Russian Su-34 fighter-bomber aircraft

Exclusive

“Old Guard” stands with Putin’s propaganda in France. High-profile former French presidents, prime ministers, and intelligence chiefs vocally back Kremlin talking points on Ukraine.

“It’s a holy war”: British medic sees Ukraine’s battle against “pure evil.” Former policeman, British citizen Peter Fouche, now a combat medic in Ukraine’s army, calls on the West to give Ukraine weapons now or find themselves using those weapons soon.

Military

Air Force: Ukraine engages two Russian warplanes, downing one Su-34 bomber. Ukrainian Air Force commander Mykola Oleshchuk says Ukrainian missileers engaged two Russian aircraft in the east, downing one Su-34 fighter-bomber aircraft, which raises reported recent Russian plane losses to 15.

Frontline report: Four Ukrainian soldiers repel outnumbered Russian attack near Robotyne. Four Ukrainian soldiers halted a sudden Russian nighttime offensive near Robotyne, maintaining their positions despite being outnumbered by three armored fighting vehicles and twenty-four soldiers.

Ukraine downs Russian Su-34 bomber, 14/17 explosive drones over past day. Ukrainian air defense destroyed 14 Shahed drones over Odesa, Kharkiv, Mykolaiv, Zaporizhzhia, Sumy, and Dnipropetrovsk oblasts.

Intelligence and technology

Concerns rise over Telegram’s ties with Kremlin and security risks. A new study from Ukraine’s Centre for Strategic Communication, established under the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy to resist Russia’s informational attacks, has found that 88% of Ukrainians use Telegram.

Telegraph: British defense firms seeking to arm Ukraine stymied by “nightmare” UK MoD. British defense companies seeking to provide arms and equipment to Ukraine claim that the lack of Ministry of Defence engagement and reviews of proposals has created barriers to them supporting the war effort against Russia, The Telegram says.

Ukraine receives 27 SUVs from British farmers. British farmers “driving thousands of kilometers to donate their SUVs so that our country can win,” Maksym Kozytskyi, head of the Lviv Oblast Military Administration, said.

Explosion rocks Russia’s Yekaterinburg power station supplying defense plants. While Russian officials claim that the cause of the explosion was a technical malfunction, a Russian Telegram Mash channel has reported the alleged use of homemade explosives.

Bloomberg: Ukraine may receive first shells through Czech-led artillery initiative “within weeks.” Jan Jires, the Czech Republic’s director general for defense policy and strategy, told Bloomberg that the initiative is “demonstrating we are actually doing something, not waiting what is going to happen on the (Capitol) Hill.”

UK intel: Russia likely grounds A-50 fleet following loss of second aircraft in Ukraine. To bridge the gap caused by the A-50 losses, Russia is likely exploring alternatives, including repurposing aircraft and reactivating mothballed A-50s.

Humanitarian and social impact

Russian Shahed drone attack kills six civilians in Odesa, Kharkiv Oblast (updated). Overnight, Russian Shahed drone strikes killed five civilians in Odesa and one in Kharkiv Oblast.

Political and legal developments

Sweden’s Security Service says Russian Orthodox Church spies for Kremlin. On 29 February, a Swedish agency for grants for religious institutions said that it would cut support to the Russian Orthodox Church after the Swedish Security Service warned the representatives of the church “had contacts with individuals working for Russian intelligence services.”

Russia intensifies search operations in Mariupol ahead of sham elections. Russia has sent additional police squads to occupied Mariupol to search for members of the resistance movement ahead of the sham presidential elections, said the advisor to the city’s mayor, Petro Andriushchenko.

Read the daily review for Fri 1 March, 2024 here

As of 02 Mar 2024, the approximate losses of weapons and military equipment of the Russian Armed Forces from the beginning of the invasion to the present day:

• • Personnel: 415640 (+960)
  • Tanks: 6624 (+14)
  • APV: 12611 (+29)
  • Artillery systems: 10153 (+347)
  • MLRS: 1003 (+3)
  • Anti-aircraft systems: 696 (+5)
  • Aircraft: 346 (+1)
  • Helicopters: 325
  • UAV: 7829 (+35)
  • Cruise missiles: 1915 (+3)
  • Warships/boats: 25
  • Submarines: 1
  • Vehicles and fuel tanks: 13267 (+61)