Russia
The head of the presidential office, Andriy Yermak, has met the deputy head of the Rusisan presidential administration and the “handler” of the Ukraine issue, Dmitry Kazak, to discuss an all-for-all exchange of prisoners, which the Normandy Four leaders discussed at a Paris summit in December 2019. Yermal said that he planned to hold “the next exchange track” in March.
The editor in chief of the international Russian-language TV channel RTVi, Aleksey Pivovarov, was denied entry to Ukraine at Kyiv Zhulyany airport on the evening of 28 February. Border guards said that he could not confirm the purpose of his visit, which he denies.
As of 1 March, Ukrainians will need to carry their foreign passports when they travel to Russia due to a change in birder regulations.
Four Ukrainian fishermen arrested by the Russian FSB in the Sea of Azov on 14 February have returned home after a 10-day arrest. Each of them is found guilty of an administrative offence and their boat cannot take to the sea during the next 30 days, the State Border Service said.
Military
One Ukrainian serviceman was killed, three wounded and three sustained combat injuries on 1 March, the Joint Forces Operation (JFO) HQ has said. The enemy used 82-mm mortars banned by the Minsk agreements, an anti-tank missile system, grenade launchers, heavy machine guns and small arms.
Two Ukrainian servicemen got wounded as the enemy shelled the Maryinka checkpoint on the line of contact in Donbas on 29 February, according to the JFO HQ. The Russian occupying troops stepped up the use of heavy artillery, bringing the total number of attacks to 19.
Raytheon/Lockheed Martin Javelin JV will manufacture Javelins for Ukraine and several other countries under a contract with the US Department of Defense. Work will be performed in Tucson, Arizona, with an estimated completion date of 25 June 2020.
Reshuffle
The leader of the propresidential faction Servant of the People, Davyd Arakhamiya, said that parliament would not consider Serhiy Tyhypko’s appointment as prime minister at its extraordinary meeting on 4 March. He refused to give any names but confirmed that a government reshuffle is imminent.
Church
The leader of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Svyatoslav Shevchuk, had an audience with Pope Francis in Vatican despite the latter’s light illness, according to Vatican News.