Russia attacks 9 communities in Sumy Oblast, damaging homes

"Khamenei, one of the most evil people in History, is dead," Trump wrote on Truth Social on Feb. 28. He also said the bombing of Iran would continue for at least the next week.

"Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime," Trump said in a video posted to his Truth Social, confirming U.S. invovlement in the strikes.

"At past negotiations, the Russian side directly said that they would accept the security guarantees offered to Ukraine by the U.S.," the head of the President's Office, Kyrylo Budanov, said on Feb. 28.

"The reason for the current events is precisely the violence and arbitrariness of the Iranian regime, in particular the murders and repressions against peaceful protesters, which have become particularly large-scale in recent months," the Foreign Ministry said in its Feb. 28 statement.

Among the companies sanctioned are Russian DPD service and Freightlink, joint-stock companies registered in Russia, according to a document attached to a decree published on the Office's website, signed by Zelensky on Feb. 27.

Russia and Iran have deepened cooperation in recent years, with Tehran supplying drones and other military equipment used by Russian forces in the war against Ukraine.

Russian troops launched an Iskander-M ballistic missile and 105 drones of various types, including about 60 Shahed drones, the Air Force said on Feb. 28. It reported downing 96 drones in the north, south, and east of the country.

The number includes 770 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day.

Flames engulfed one of the tanks at the Albashneft oil refinery in Novominskaya and burned an adjacent area of about 150 square meters, the Krasnodar Krai Operational Headquarters said.

The FP-7 tactical ballistic missile has a range of up to 200 kilometers (124 miles) and carries a combat load of 150 kilograms (about 330 pounds), according to the Ukrainian defense firm Fire Point.

The United States has lifted sanctions on three senior Malian officials who were previously designated for their ties to Russia's Wagner Group, the Treasury Department announced Feb. 27.

President Volodymyr Zelensky invited Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico to visit Ukraine in a phone call on Feb. 27, amid a row between Kyiv, Budapest, and Bratislava over a key oil pipeline.