On the 27th, the war in Ukraine fell into anxiety. Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered the Russian military deterrent force to be transferred to a special state of combat readiness, and the Russian and Ukrainian delegations will negotiate on the Ukrainian-Belarusian border, two news that has become the focus of attention from the outside world.
I. Northern Front: Kharkov enters the street battle
According to CNN reported on the 27th, Oleg Sinagupov, head of the local government in Kharkiv, Ukraine, said on Sunday that as Russian troops entered Kharkiv, street fighting broke out in the city center.
Sinagupov urged the citizens of Kharkiv to stay in their shelters and not to go anywhere. "Russian chariots drove into Kharkov, including the city center. warn! Don't leave the shelter! ”
The Ukrainians said they destroyed a number of Russian vehicles in the battle in Kharkov
Kharkiv is the second largest city in Ukraine with a population of about 1.4 million and is located less than 32 kilometers south of the Russian border. It is the center of education and heavy industry in northern Ukraine, and its inhabitants mainly speak Russian.
On Thursday, Russian troops approached the city shortly after the start of operations. In the past three days, the Russian army has not carried out large-scale military operations in this area, and the Ukrainian army has been able to prevent the Russian army from entering the city. This suggests that the Russian action on this line may only complement the attack on the other side of the northern front, forming a pinch attack on Kiev.
However, according to the information conveyed by multiple media outlets, the situation has now changed, and fighting has broken out in the center of Kharkov.
However, Mayor Kharkav said on the evening of the 27th that the Ukrainian army had repelled the Russian offensive and "completely controlled" Kharkov.
In addition, there is news that the war around Samui City, another important city on the northern front, has begun.
Russian military operations in the cities of Kharkiv and Samui could mean that it is not progressing as expected on the other side of the northern front.
Second, the Russian army continued to march to Kiev, the capital of Ukraine
On the afternoon of the 27th, Kiev Mayor Kierzwachiko said at a press conference that the Russian army continued to march to the Ukrainian capital 20 kilometers away from Kiev.
Kircwachko also added that 6 Russians were killed in a night battle in the city of Kiev. There are still some Russian special forces in the capital.
According to another report, at about 21:00 local time on the 26th in Kiev, lobanovsky Street, which was attacked during the day, was pitch black, and after a long period of air defense alarm sounded, a fierce exchange of fire occurred in this area.
In the early morning of the 27th, the night sky in southwestErn Kiev was illuminated by two large explosions. The explosion occurred near Vasilikov, about 30 kilometers south of Kiev. CNN confirmed that a video of an oil storage area at Vasilikov Air Base was on fire. The previous day's report said that Russian paratroopers had carried out airborne landings here and fought fiercely with ukrainian troops.
The Ukrainians fought at Vasilykov
3. Eastern Front: Pro-Russian armed forces are advancing slowly
Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov told reporters on the 27th that pro-Russian civilian armed forces in Donetsk and Luhansk recaptured some new settlements from the Ukrainian army with the support of the Russian army.
He said, "The forces of the Luhansk People's Republic, supported by Russian fire, successfully carried out offensive operations and took control of Novo Vahtirka, Smoljaninovo, Staničinoye-Luganskoye and other settlements. Since the beginning of the offensive operation, it has advanced 52 kilometers deep. Konashenkov said, "The troops of the Donetsk People's Republic continued their offensive in the direction of Petrovsk, advancing another 12 kilometers. ”
4. Southern Front: Siege of Kherson, fierce battle of Mariupol
On the 27th local time, the city of Kherson, located in the south of Ukraine, was surrounded by Russian troops. The city of Kherson is the capital of the state of Kherson in the region adjacent to Crimea.
Earlier on the 27th, senior officials of the Ukrainian Interior Ministry said that Russian troops had tried to invade the city of Mariupol, they sent their special forces to sabotage, shelled critical infrastructure, but "we defended our city."
The Russian Defense Ministry said on the 27th that Ukrainian nationalists from the "Azov" battalion used the "Hail" rocket artillery system to shell the residential area of the "Saltana" settlement on the outskirts of Mariupol and the school in Mariupol, and the residential buildings were damaged and some civilians died.
V. The struggle for air supremacy
CNN said a senior U.S. defense official assessed that Russia was encountering "tougher than expected" resistance from the Ukrainian military, and that the military had unexpected supply difficulties.
He believes that on the battlefield, Russia has suffered more losses in terms of personnel, armored vehicles and aircraft than the United States estimated. That's partly because Ukrainian air defenses have performed better than U.S. intelligence assessments have expected.
Russia has yet to establish air supremacy over Ukraine due to the fierce competition between the Ukrainian Air Force and air defense systems for control of its airspace.
Sixth: Putin ordered the Russian military's strategic deterrent force to shift to a special state of combat readiness
On the 27th local time, after NATO issued an aggressive statement against Russia, Russian President Putin ordered the nuclear deterrent of the Russian army to turn into a special state of combat readiness.
Immediately after the announcement, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations accused the move of unacceptable escalation. U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Thomas Greenfield said: "This means that President Putin is continuing to escalate this conflict in a completely unacceptable way, and we must continue to contain his actions in the strongest way possible." ”
In response to the news, the BBC believes that the shift of the nuclear deterrent to a special state of readiness is a way for Moscow to warn, but this does not mean that Russia intends to use nuclear weapons. Russia's aim is likely to be to try to block NATO's support for Ukraine, the BBC said.
The Ukrainian foreign minister believes that Putin's decision is to put pressure on the Ukrainian delegation currently scheduled for Russian-Ukrainian negotiations on Monday local time.
Seventh: Sanctions against Russia and assistance to Ukraine by all parties
One of the most important news about the situation in Russia and Ukraine on the 27th is undoubtedly that the United States and other Western countries plan to remove some Russian banks from the SWIFT international settlement system. According to foreign media reports, all members of the Group of Seven have agreed on this decision.
Japan, the last member of the Group of Seven to make this decision, also announced new sanctions against Russian President Putin personally on the 27th.
At the same time, as part of the new round of sanctions against Russia, France, Italy, Spain, Austria, Sweden and other European countries have announced the closure of their national airspace to Russian flights.
On the other hand, Western countries are also expanding their assistance to Ukraine. According to Reuters, CNN and other foreign media reports, on the 27th, military aid from Lithuania and Poland has arrived in Ukraine. The United States, Germany, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Portugal, Israel and Australia have unveiled their latest aid plans for Ukraine.
On the 26th local time, US Secretary of State Blinken issued a statement saying that the US State Department has authorized an additional $350 million (about 2.2 billion yuan) of military assistance to Ukraine.
Australian Prime Minister Morrison said on the 27th that Australia will provide "lethal" military assistance to Ukraine through NATO. Australia has previously pledged to provide "non-lethal" aid to Ukraine in the form of military equipment and medical supplies.
According to the Dutch media "Dutch Times", the Netherlands will ship 200 Stinger-class surface-to-air missiles to Ukraine as soon as possible. The decision followed Ukraine's additional demands on military materiel.
Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croix said on the 26th that Belgium will provide 2,000 machine guns and 3,800 tons of fuel to the Ukrainian army.
European Council President Michel said on Twitter on the evening of the 26th that the EU will assist in the delivery of military aid to Ukraine. Michelle did not reveal other details.
Of the series of military aid programs, the most interesting is undoubtedly the German plan. Germany changed its previous attitude of refusing to provide weapons assistance, saying that it would provide Ukraine with 1,000 anti-tank missiles and 500 Stinger anti-aircraft missiles.
German Chancellor Scholz announced at the German parliament that the Wehrmacht will receive 100 billion euros of special funds for defense modernization, and from this year, Germany's annual defense expenditure will exceed 2% of the country's GDP.
"In the past we wanted to solve problems diplomatically, but now we have to invest more in national security to protect freedom and democracy," Scholz said. ”
Eight. Upcoming negotiations
On the evening of the 27th Beijing time, a good drama was staged between Ukraine and Russia around whether to hold negotiations in Belarus.
Initially, the Russian side announced that the Russian delegation had arrived in Gomel, Belarus, waiting for the Ukrainian side to send someone to participate in the negotiations.
Subsequently, Ukrainian President Zelenskiy rejected the offer of negotiations in Belarus on the grounds that Russian troops were launching an offensive from Belarus, and instead offered that negotiations could take place in Warsaw, Istanbul or Budapest.
Around this contradiction, the Russian and Ukrainian sides seem to have reached an impasse, and the Russian side even set a final deadline for the Ukrainian side to decide whether to participate in the negotiations.
Surprisingly, just a few minutes after the last time announced by the Russian side, the foreign media broke the news that Ukraine would send a delegation to participate in the negotiations. Subsequently, Ukrainian President Zelenskiy and Foreign Minister Kureba also confirmed that the Ukrainian delegation would hold talks near the Pripyat River on the Ukrainian-Belarusian border.
Regarding the peace talks, Foreign Minister Cullieba also revealed the inside story behind it. He said there was a "real risk" of Belarus joining Russian military operations before Ukraine decided to participate in the talks. During a telephone conversation between Ukrainian President Zelenskiy and Belarusian President Lukashenko, Lukashenko assured that as long as Ukraine sent a delegation to participate in the negotiations, the Russian military forces deployed in Belarus would remain on standby.
According to foreign media reports, the negotiations are scheduled to be held on Monday morning local time, and the Russian delegation has arrived at the scene on the evening of the 27th Beijing time.
Source: Privy Council No. 10