February 28, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

There have been at least 406 reported civilian casualties in Ukraine, including at least 102 killed just within the past few days, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths said Monday, citing numbers from the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. 

Griffiths addressed the UN Security Council via teleconference from Geneva on Monday, adding that the real number of civilian casualties “could be considerably higher, as many reported casualties have yet to be confirmed.” 

“The picture is grim — and could get worse still. Aerial attacks and fighting in urban areas are damaging critical civilian facilities and disrupting essential services such as health, electricity, water and sanitation, which effectively leaves civilians without the basics for day-to-day life,” Griffiths said. 

Humanitarian efforts on the ground: There are currently 119 humanitarian organizations operating in Ukraine, though their capacity to provide assistance has been limited due to military action, according to Griffiths. He also called for “assurances from parties to the conflict that humanitarian workers and movements will be protected even during the most severe days of the conflict and not waiting for the conflict to subside.” 

Griffiths also announced that the UN Secretary-General will launch a humanitarian appeal on Tuesday with two components:

Grandi said Monday that his office has already received over $40 million in donations from private citizens and companies from around the world. 

“I am counting on governments to do the same – and quickly. Ukrainians – and countries hosting refugees from Ukraine – cannot wait,” Grandi said.

There are currently 520,000 refugees from Ukraine in neighboring countries and the figure has been rising “exponentially, hour after hour,” Filippo Grandi, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), told the UN Security Council on Monday.

Grandi, who addressed the council via teleconference from Geneva, said he has worked in refugee crises for almost 40 years and has “rarely seen such an incredibly fast-rising exodus of people — the largest, surely, within Europe, since the Balkan wars.”

Grandi said the UN’s humanitarian workers have been relocated and military attacks might force them to move again. 

“The situation is moving so quickly, and the levels of risk are so high by now, that it is impossible for humanitarians to distribute systematically the aid, the help that Ukrainians desperately need,” Grandi said. “Civilians and civilian infrastructure must be protected and spared, and humanitarian access must be granted for those delivering aid to those impacted by war. A failure to do so will compound the already extraordinary levels of human suffering," he said.

Ukrainian Ambassador to the US, Oksana Markarova, left today’s meeting with US House members of the Ukrainian caucus feeling that they were on “the same page,” with the House. 

“We have very good understanding,” she added. 

Asked what more the United States can do, Markarova emphasized Ukraine’s need for more weapons and the continuation of sanctions against Russia. “We work actively with the administration, the President, and also with Congress on getting more weapons, so we need more weapons,” she told reporters. “And we are not asking anyone to fight for us, we are defending our country ourselves. But we need all the support that all civilized world can give us to actually continue effectively fighting, and also sanctions," she said.

She added, “We believe Russia, which is now acting like Nazi Germany in WWII, essentially killing innocent civilians — today they shot into a again into not only residential areas but also the orphanages and schools and kindergartens, horrible — they have to pay the price. They have to be isolated.”

Leaving the meeting, Democratic Rep. Mike Quigley told reporters that what they heard from the ambassador was “a message of thanks and appreciation,” and added, “they need more sanctions and they need more supplies.”

“I want to give the administration a lot of credit, and I think the ambassador just did,” he said, “of unifying the West, and moving forward on sanctions that work, and supplying them with materials they need.”

Quigley emphasized he believes the ambassador’s message is, “When you’re dealing with this kind of threat, hope and prayers matter. But when you’re dealing with Putin, hope and a Stinger and a Javelin are even better.”

His colleague, Rep. Brad Sherman, seconded this. “They would like more. I think they are thankful for what we’re doing, and it appears as if we are doing not only the right amount of money for now, but the right mix of weapons,” he said.

Later, he noted, “certainly in the back of my mind as others discussed the no-fly zone was the fact that once you have Americans shooting at Russians and Russians shooting at Americans, you are down a very dangerous road.” Sherman noted that the Ukrainians pushed for this option, but he sees it as “one step too dangerous.”

Asked about energy proposals discussed in the meeting, Sherman said, “We talked about strengthening the sanctions by preventing the entire world from buying oil and natural gas. Obviously from a Ukrainian standpoint, that’s an important step. It’s not a step that our European friends have been willing to take.”

A member of Ukraine’s Rada, or parliament, was also in attendance, Alexandra Ustinova.

“We are very grateful for all the support Ukraine gets right now and receives from the international community and from the United States who are the driving, leading force in protecting Ukraine,” she told reporters, “But unfortunately we need more help with every passing day, because we understand Putin becomes more aggressive, and something that seemed impossible a week ago to the whole normal world is a reality to my country today," Ustinova said.

As Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky continues to call for a no fly zone in Ukraine, the White House said Monday afternoon that US President Joe Biden remains firm in his commitment to keep US troops out of the conflict.

"It would require deploying US military to enforce, which would be a direct conflict, potentially a direct conflict, and potentially a war with Russia, which is something we are not planning to be a part of," she said.

Other US officials have also said US enforcing a no fly zone in Ukraine is currently off the table. 

US ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield said the Biden administration "has made clear" the US will not "put boots on the ground," she told CNN's Dana Bash on "State of the Union."

"We're not going to put American troops in danger. That means we're not going to put American troops in the air as well, but we will work with the Ukrainians to give them the ability to defend themselves."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that he is analyzing the results of Monday's talks with a Russian delegation, which lasted five hours.

Turkish minister of foreign affairs Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said on Monday evening that Turkey warned “all countries, that have coast to Black Sea, or not, not to let warships pass through the straits” according to Turkey’s state-run news agency Anadolu. 

On Sunday, Çavuşoğlu said Turkey recognizes Russia’s invasion as “war” which gives Turkey certain control over the straits that connect the Black Sea, Marmara and Aegean.

"To date, there has been no request for passage through the straits [since the war started],” Çavuşoğlu said according to Anadolu. “Until today, the Russians were asking whether we would implement Montreux if needed. We told them that we would apply it word by word,” he added.

"If Turkey is not a party to the war, it has the authority not to allow the passage of the belligerent countries' ships through the straits. If the warship is returning to its base in the Black Sea, the passage is not blocked,” he explained. 

More background on Montreux: The 1936 Montreux Convention gives Turkey the authority to ban warships of all countries, regardless of they are party to war or not and regardless they have a coast on the Black Sea or not, to pass from the straits during times of war if Turkey is a party of the war or if Turkey says it is under threat.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday called for the "complete closure of the sky for Russian missiles, aircraft and helicopters."

"A state that commits crimes against civilians cannot be a member of the UN Security Council. For such a state the entrance to all ports, canals, airports in the world must be closed. Such a state should not receive hundreds of billions for energy exports. To buy Russian goods now is to pay for killing people," Zelensky added.

France's Elysée Palace says it fears that Ukrainian civilians will be "massively" targeted in a Russian invasion, a spokesperson has said.

The concerns were revealed during a briefing with journalists on Monday, coming just after French President Emmanuel Macron's phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The spokesperson also expressed willingness to support Ukraine's aspirations to join the EU amid the escalation of the Russian offensive in Ukraine. 

As for the call between Macron and Putin, the spokesperson noted that it is "advisable to maintain all possible options to try to get out of the current spiral." 

The palace spokesperson described Putin as "following a logic of offense. So in the current situation, there are very serious risks of seeing Russia extend its operations with a considerable human, political, strategic and economic cost.”

After a follow-up question, the spokesperson added: "There are good reasons to fear that civilians will be targeted more massively and without precautions by the Russians."

The Elysée Palace spokesperson also commented on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's public request that the European Union consider admitting Ukraine as a member.

"There is a consensus among us that the European Union will emerge transformed from this ordeal, from this crisis," the spokesperson said. "In this context, I believe that everyone is well aware of the fact that Ukraine is a country in the heart of Europe, that Ukraine is a country whose destiny is important to us, whose democratic choice is important to us and that we want to be able to support its aspirations." 

However, they coached the palace's support by noting that, "we must be careful not to make promises that we cannot keep, not only to Ukraine, but also to all the countries around Russia that have close relations with Europe, which are themselves European countries."

Representatives from the three African nations on the UN Security Council — Kenya, Ghana, and Gabon — all condemned discrimination against African citizens at the Ukrainian border during a UNSC meeting at the UN HQ in New York City Monday afternoon 

Kimani added that the Security Council needs “to be able to understand that there are actors who want to magnify this story for cynical reasons that have nothing to do with the wellbeing and safety of Africans.” He also thanked Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia for allowing Kenyan citizens fleeing Ukraine visa-free entry into their countries. 

Ghanaian Deputy Ambassador to the UN Carolyn Oppong-Ntiri echoed the sentiment in her remarks, calling for the facilitation of persons fleeing Ukraine “without discrimination” and to provide them with humanitarian assistance, “including medical care in line with the principles of humanity, neutrality, and impartiality.” 

The UN Ambassador from Gabon called reports of racism “unacceptable.” 

“We ask for the respect of the dignity and for equitable treatment of all people in dire circumstances. It is an opportunity for my country to recall the African Union appeal for respect of international law that requires equal treatment for all people who cross international borders in conflict areas,” Ambassador Michel Xavier Biang said Monday. 

CNN’s Pooja Salhotra contributed to this report.