Key developments on Feb. 27
- Zelensky sees 'window' for peace deal before US midterms
- Flamingo threat triggers unprecedented missile alert across Russia, 1 claimed shot down
- From Starlink to 'digital officers,' Fedorov on first month as Ukraine's new Defense Minister
- Russia, Ukraine, agree to 'local truce' at occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant to repair key backup power line
Ukraine has a chance to end the war with Russia before the U.S. midterm elections in November, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview with Sky News published on Feb. 27.
"Now I think that we have a chance... it depends on these months, if we will have a chance to finish the war before autumn," the president said.
"Before elections, important, influential, elections in the United States. If it will be possible to achieve a peace... now we have this window."
The comments come amid ongoing U.S.-mediated efforts to broker peace between Kyiv and Moscow, which have yet to achieve a breakthrough on ceasefire and territorial issues.
Zelensky previously signaled that Washington will likely pressure both Ukraine and Russia to conclude a deal by summer, linking this to domestic political dynamics in the U.S.
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From Starlink to 'digital officers,' Fedorov on first month as Ukraine's new Defense Minister
Ukraine's Defense Ministry is restructuring and transforming its work according to a new strategic vision and data-driven plan to implement it, recently-appointed minister Mykhailo Fedorov has told journalists.
35-year-old Fedorov, who gained frame in the years before the full-scale invasion for world-leading digitalization reforms as Digital Transformation Minister, and later pioneered Ukraine's wartime drone procurement and distribution system, was appointed Defense Minister on Jan. 14.
The ministry's work, Fedorov said, is being driven by an updated war strategy, rather than the passive carrying out of bureaucratic duties.
"Our team came in with a vision — not simply to act as procurement officers or policymakers, but to take real responsibility for the strategic direction of the war," he said.
Among other areas, the first month of the ministry's renewed team was focussed on improving Ukraine's air defense capabilities, particularly against mass Russian use of Shahed-type long-range attack drones.
According to the minister, a new After Action Review system — much like that used in NATO militaries — has been put in place to analyze every mass Russian attack, studying where, how, and why Russian drones and missiles were successfully intercepted.
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Flamingo threat triggers unprecedented missile alert across Russia, 1 claimed shot down
Russia has claimed to shoot down a Ukrainian FP-5 Flamingo missile, amid an unprecedentedly large alert announced across Russia, Russian media and officials reported on Feb. 27.
The reported Flamingo attack comes just a week after the much-hyped missiles were used to strike the Votkinsk missile factory in Russia's Udmurtia Republic, suggesting a much-awaited expansion of their use by Kyiv.
A total of 13 Russian regions issued alerts in the afternoon, including Orenburg Oblast in the southern Ural Mountains, more than 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) from Ukrainian-controlled territory.
For eight of the regions, it was the first time such a missile threat was announced.
Authorities in the Chuvash Republic reported that one Flamingo missile was shot down over the region, while another lost its course.
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Russia, Ukraine, agree to 'local truce' at occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant to repair key backup power line
A "local truce" has been agreed upon by Russia and Ukraine in the area of the occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant while an important backup power supply is being restored, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on Feb. 27.
The facility — Europe's largest nuclear power plant — was occupied by Russia in the first weeks of the full-scale war, and has since been shut down, though still needing external power to remain stable.
The agreement to cease fire while repair work on the 330-kilovolt backup line is finished was reached through the IAEA's mediation, according to the website of the Russia's proxy plant administration, part of state nuclear energy agency Rosatom.
"Demining activities are ongoing to ensure safe access for the repair teams," said IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi, as cited by the agency on X.
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