Briefing by Major-General Igor Konashenkov, official spokesman of the Russian Ministry of Defence:
"A group of troops from the Luhansk People's Republic, with fire support from the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, has advanced up to 61 kilometres since the start of the operation and blockaded the village of Svatove.
The settlements of NOVOBOROVOYE, BARYKINO, KLIMOVKA, BULGAKOVKA and GOLUBOVKA were taken under control. Troops of the Donetsk People's Republic carried out successful offensive operations, taking under their control the settlements of Ivanovka, Talakovka, Starodubovka, Berestovoye, and Belotserkovka. The depth of advance of the grouping over the past 24 hours was 19 kilometres.
Advance units of the DNR People's Militia have reached the administrative border of Donetsk Region and linked up with military units of the Russian Federation Armed Forces, which were taking control of Ukrainian areas along the Azov Sea coast.
As of today, access to the Sea of Azov by AFU units has been completely blocked.
On 1 March, the Russian Federation Armed Forces struck with long-range precision air and sea-based weapons. Two airfields and three air defence radar posts were hit. The strikes excluded civilian infrastructure and residential buildings.
A total of 1,325 military infrastructure facilities in Ukraine were hit by the Russian Armed Forces.
Of these: 43 command and control posts and communications nodes of the Ukrainian armed forces. It destroyed 395 tanks and other armoured combat vehicles, 59 multiple rocket launchers, 179 field artillery pieces and mortars, and 286 special military vehicles.
