Ukraine War Latest: 4 years after invading Ukraine, Russia admits war's goals 'not fully achieved'
Key developments on Feb. 24:
- 4 years after invading Ukraine, Russia admits war's goals 'not fully achieved'
- '10 steps ahead' — Fedorov outlines Ukraine's plan to force Russia to make peace
- In rare strike, Ukraine uses ATACMS to hit Russian command posts
- UK exempts Druzhba pipeline as it unveils its biggest Russia sanctions package, document shows
- Russian strike temporarily delayed Flamingo missile production, Zelensky says
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov acknowledged on Feb. 24 that, four years after launching its full-scale invasion, Russia has still not achieved its objectives in Ukraine.
The admission highlights the gap between the Kremlin's early expectations of a swift victory and the prolonged, costly war that has followed, as Ukrainian resistance continues.
Russian officials, propagandists, and some Western intelligence assessments initially predicted that Ukraine could fall within days or weeks, with Kyiv's capture seen as the likely primary objective.
Russian propagandist Margarita Simonyan famously said in 2021, "In a war, we'll defeat Ukraine in two days," a claim that has since come to symbolize Moscow's miscalculations.
Four years into the war, Peskov said that the main war objectives remain unmet.
"The main goal is to ensure the safety of people who lived and live in eastern Ukraine," the spokesperson told reporters, acknowledging that "the objectives have not been fully achieved."
'10 steps ahead' — Fedorov outlines Ukraine's plan to force Russia to make peace
To mark the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion, Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov has outlined Ukraine’s wartime strategy to force Moscow to sue for peace.
The plan aims to pressure Russia toward peace by strengthening air defenses, halting Russian advances, and increasing economic pressure on Moscow, Fedorov told journalists at a closed-door briefing on Feb. 23.
"Every day, every Ukrainian thinks about one thing — when the war will end. We want peace more than anyone else in the world." Fedorov said, adding that President Volodymyr Zelensky has tasked the Defense Ministry with reinforcing Ukraine's defenses "in a way that compels the enemy to make peace."
Fedorov said Ukraine's wartime strategy rests on three core objectives — securing the skies, stopping Russian advances across all domains, and depriving Moscow of economic resources that fund its war.
In rare strike, Ukraine uses ATACMS to hit Russian command posts
Ukraine's Defense Forces used U.S.-supplied ATACMS long-range missiles in a series of strikes targeting Russian command posts, ammunition depots, and logistics facilities in occupied territories overnight on Feb. 24, the General Staff reported.
"As part of consistent measures to reduce the offensive capabilities of the Russian aggressor, units of the Ukrainian Defense Forces continue to strike key enemy command and logistics facilities," the General Staff said.
UK exempts Druzhba pipeline as it unveils its biggest Russia sanctions package, document shows
The U.K. exempted the Druzhba oil pipeline as it rolled out its biggest sanctions package against Moscow on the Feb. 24 anniversary of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, a document shows.
The pipeline, a major route supplying Russian crude through Ukraine to Hungary and Slovakia, has become the focus of a dispute between Kyiv and the two EU countries.
London unveiled nearly 300 new sanctions to mark the war's anniversary, aiming primarily at Russia's oil exports, a key revenue stream helping Moscow fund its all-out invasion.
The measures targeted Transneft, a Russian state-owned company that operates the Russian section of Druzhba, one of the world's largest oil pipeline networks built to supply Russian crude to European countries.
Russian strike temporarily delayed Flamingo missile production, Zelensky says
President Volodymyr Zelensky said a Russian strike on a Ukrainian defense manufacturing facility temporarily delayed the rollout of Ukraine's domestically produced long-range Flamingo cruise missiles.
Speaking in a Feb. 23 interview with German broadcaster Tagesschau, Zelensky confirmed that a Ukrainian factory producing the missiles had been hit.
"There was a delay in production. Later, production resumed, and a certain number of missiles were built," Zelensky said, adding that Ukraine expects missile output to continue increasing and that Flamingo missiles have already been used in strikes against targets inside Russia.
Zelensky's comments refer to previously reported Russian strikes on facilities belonging to Fire Point, the Ukrainian company associated with the Flamingo missile program. Russian forces struck the company's production sites twice, destroying two major workshops, according to company officials.
Despite the damage, Fire Point said diversified logistics and manufacturing capacity allowed it to continue fulfilling contracts, though the strikes caused significant financial losses.
During one of the attacks near Vyshhorod, a software engineer employed by the company was killed.
