28 February 2022

A US official said that Belarus was preparing to send its own soldiers into Ukraine in support of the Russian invasion, despite previous agreements with Ukraine. The Kyiv Independent relayed an anonymous report by unnamed Belarusian opposition journalists that Belarusian paratroopers were to be deployed, likely either to the Kyiv or Zhytomyr areas.

Fighting took place around Mariupol throughout the night. On the morning of 28 February, the UK defence ministry said that most Russian ground forces remained over 30 km (19 mi) north of Kyiv, having been slowed by Ukrainian resistance at Hostomel Airport. It also said that fighting was taking place near Chernihiv and Kharkiv, and that both cities remained under Ukrainian control. Maxar Technologies released satellite images that showed a Russian column, including tanks and self-propelled artillery, traveling toward Kyiv. The firm initially stated that the convoy was approximately 17 miles (27 km) long, but clarified later that day that the column was actually more than 40 miles (64 km) in length.

The Russian Defense Ministry announced the capture of Enerhodar, in addition to the surroundings of Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. Ukraine denied that it had lost control of the plant. Enerhodar's mayor Dmitri Orlov denied that the city and the plant had been captured.

The Times reported that the Wagner Group had been redeployed from Africa to Kyiv, with orders to assassinate Zelenskyy during the first days of the Russian invasion. Both the Ukrainian and Russian governments meanwhile accused each other of using human shields.

Arestovych claimed that more than 200 Russian military vehicles had been destroyed or damaged on the highway between Irpin and Zhytomyr by 14:00 EET. Kharkiv governor Oleh Synyehubov stated that 11 civilians were killed and dozens were wounded because of Russian shelling on Kharkiv during daytime.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/