Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has called for a "cessation of hostilities" in what he described as US President Donald Trump's "aggression against Iran," following coordinated attacks by the United States and Israel on February 28. Lavrov offered Russian mediation in the conflict, while President Vladimir Putin expressed "deep concern." However, as a new war flares, the Russia-Ukraine conflict has entered its fifth year with little prospect of peace in sight.
On February 27, Russian forces allegedly escalated their offensive by shelling outlying communities of Kramatorsk, a city in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region. The Washington-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) noted this was "the first time that Russian forces have hit Kramatorsk or its suburbs with tube artillery." Kramatorsk is part of a "fortress belt" along with Sloviansk, Druzhkivka, and Kostiantynivka, a north-south defensive line in which Ukraine has heavily invested.
Putin has demanded the surrender of this fortress belt as a condition for a ceasefire. Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskii stated on Telegram that in February, Ukrainian Defense Forces regained control over more territory than the enemy seized, marking the first such achievement since the Kursk offensive operation in August 2024. The ISW corroborated this, estimating Ukraine made net gains of 257 sq km (100 square miles) this year.
In the past week, Ukraine scored several fire victories. An estimated 200 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles struck the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiysk on Monday, blowing up an oil terminal and damaging six of seven moored tankers. They also damaged jamming and radar systems on the frigate Admiral Essen, the minesweeper Valentin Pikul, and anti-submarine warfare corvettes Yeysk and Kasimov. The same night, Ukraine struck the Albashneft oil refinery in Krasnodar Krai, destroying fuel tanks and pipelines.
Russia's condemnation of the war in Iran and offer to mediate mirror Trump's calls for an end to Russia's aggression in Ukraine and his attempts to launch negotiations. Lavrov turned the tables on the US at a Tuesday news conference, stating, "The United States has stated openly, and President Donald Trump has said it without hesitation, that it will not be guided by any UN principles. It will be guided only by the interests of its own state." Putin, in a phone call with Gulf leaders the same day, claimed Russia "respects the sovereignty of other countries and does not interfere in other people's affairs," even as his troops fight for territory in Ukraine.
While most US allies have distanced themselves from Trump's war against Iran, Ukraine encouraged it. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Saturday it is "fair to give the Iranian people a chance to rid themselves of a terrorist regime... and to guarantee security for all nations that have suffered from terror originating in Iran." He referred to the "more than 57,000" Shahed-type drones designed by Iran and sold to Russia, or produced in Russia under license, that have been launched against Ukraine.
Source: www.aljazeera.com