February 28, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

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.

In a late night address Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that in five days, 56 missile strikes and 113 cruise missiles were launched in Ukraine by Russian forces.

"Kharkiv is a peaceful city, there are peaceful residential areas, no military facilities. Dozens of eyewitness accounts prove that this is not a single false volley, but deliberate destruction of people: the Russians knew where they were shooting."

"There will definitely be an international tribunal for this crime — it's a violation of all conventions. No one in the world will forgive you for killing peaceful Ukrainian people," he said.

The White House said US President Joe Biden and world leaders “recognized the bravery of the Ukrainian people in the face of Russian aggression and discussed their continued support to Ukraine, including security, economic, and humanitarian assistance,” during a secure call Monday. 

Joining Biden on the call, according to the White House, were:

The White House said the group “also discussed their coordinated efforts to impose severe costs and consequences to hold Russia accountable while working to maintain global economic stability, including with regard to energy prices.” 

The European Union has included a pair of key individuals among its latest list of sanctioned persons.

These two men are:

In a press release published Monday, the European Council said it's adding a further 26 persons and one entity "to the list of persons, entities and bodies subject to restrictive measures in respect of actions undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine."

Additional restrictive measures — including the freezing of assets and the institution of travel bans — were also placed on:

The EU's top diplomat, Josep Borrell said in the press release that with these sanctions the EU is "targeting all who are having a significant economic role in supporting Putin’s regime and benefit financially from the system." 

Borrell added that the sanctions will "expose the wealth of Putin’s elite" and ensure that those "who enable the invasion of Ukraine will pay a price for their action."

This follows a host of new measures imposed by the EU on Russia last week, which included a ban on transactions with the Russian Central Bank and a ban on overflight of the EU airspace amongst other things.

In total, restrictive measures have now been imposed on 680 individuals and 53 entities, the EU said.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Monday the US has taken steps “to address any impact on the global markets, global oil markets, that we expect could happen, expect at the time could happen, and could continue to happen as a result of President Putin’s invasion.”

Though she declined to weigh in on specific details, telling CNN’s Phil Mattingly doing so “wouldn't be constructive to our overarching objectives,” Psaki cited officials’ recent visit to Saudi Arabia, telling Phil “there has been an ongoing discussion about steps that we can all take as a global community to address any volatility in the market.”

She also said that the decision to sanction some of Russia’s largest banks and back expulsion from SWIFT was part of an effort to ensure actions were “maximizing the impact on President Putin, the Russian elite, the economy, while minimizing it on the global markets and the American people.”

Some more context: Oil prices surged above $100 per barrel after Russia launched an invasion of Ukraine, piling pressure on a global economy already reeling from rampant inflation. Russia is the world’s No. 2 oil producer and a major exporter of natural gas. Supply disruptions could drive retail prices higher, making it more expensive for people around the world to fuel their cars and for Europeans to heat their homes. Gasoline prices are already at record levels in parts of Europe.

“So sanctioning energy would affect Russia's income stream, certainly that would be a reason to do it, but would also have extreme consequences on the world energy markets, particularly for our allies in Europe,” Psaki acknowledged Monday, adding the administration has “additional steps we could take, but we consider all of those factors as we make determinations."

The United States has asked 12 Russian United Nations diplomats to leave the country due to their alleged engagement in “activities that were not in accordance with their responsibilities and obligations as diplomats,” Ambassador Richard Mills, Deputy Representative of the United States to the United Nations, said during a UN Security Council meeting Monday afternoon. 

Russian Ambassador to the UN Vassily Nebenzia responded by saying Mills’ explanation of the expulsions was “not satisfactory.” 

The US Mission to the UN also said in a statement that the 12 Russian diplomats were “intelligence operatives…who have abused their privileges of residency in the U.S. by engaging in espionage activities that are adverse to our national security.”

“We are taking this action in accordance with the headquarters agreement. Today’s action has been in the works for several months,” US Mission spokesperson Olivia Dalton said.

Nebenzia first announced the news of the expulsions during an earlier press briefing at the UN Monday afternoon. He said he did not know which 12 diplomats were among those asked to leave, but said US officials visited the Russian Mission to the UN and delivered a letter demanding that they leave the country by next Monday, March 7.

“I’ve just received information that the US authorities have undertaken another hostile action against the Russian Mission to the United Nations grossly violating their commitments on the host country agreement that they undertook,” Nebenzia told reporters. “They just visited the Russian Mission and gave us a note prescribing us to do what they demand.”

CNN has also reached out to the State Department for more information.

CNN’s Kylie Atwood and Pooja Salhotra contributed to this report.