Moscow has reaffirmed its desire to conquer the city of Bakhmout, “an important node (of the lines) of defense of Ukrainian soldiers in the Donbass”, according to Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.
Russia said Tuesday, March 7 that it would fight until the capture of Bakhmout, judging the city crucial for the continuation of its offensive. Meanwhile, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres arrived in Ukraine, where he is due to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday to discuss the deal on Ukrainian grain exports.
Franceinfo summarizes the main events of the day on the front of the war in Ukraine.
kyiv calls for keeping sea lanes open to deliver grain to Africa
Ukraine on Tuesday called for international efforts to keep open the Black Sea sea lanes used to transport millions of tonnes of grain to African countries. A Ukrainian envoy told the Least Developed Countries summit in Doha that 2.7 million tonnes of grain had been shipped since November, when Kiev launched its “Grain from Ukraine” program, mainly for poorer African countries.
Ukraine plans to send at least 60 more ships “to the countries most affected by famine and drought in Africa and Asia”added Maksym Subkh, special envoy of Ukraine for the Middle East and Africa
‘Pro-Ukrainian group’ behind Nord Stream gas pipeline sabotage, US intelligence says
A “pro-Ukrainian group” would be behind the sabotage of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea, reports Tuesday the New York Times based on information seen by US intelligence. The newspaper does not detail what would be this information to which the American intelligence had access, nor the identity of this “pro-Ukrainian group”.
Information collected by US intelligence suggests that the perpetrators behind the sabotage were “opponents of Russian President Vladimir Putin”probably Ukrainian or Russian nationals, depending on the New York Times.
UN chief is in Ukraine to meet with Zelensky
UN chief Antonio Guterres arrived in Ukraine on Tuesday to meet President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Wednesday on his third trip to the country. The Secretary General arrived in Poland on Tuesday morning, from where he continued his journey and entered Ukraine.
During his meeting with the Ukrainian head of state, he will notably discuss the renewal of an international agreement last summer on Ukrainian cereal exports, announced his two spokespersons, Stéphane Dujarric and Farhan Haq.
In kyiv, hundreds of people to mourn the “saboteurs” killed in Russia
Several hundred people attended on Tuesday in kyiv the funeral of volunteer fighters killed during a mission of “sabotage” in Russia, while several attacks along the Russian borders have been recorded in recent months.
Mourners, many of whom wore khaki outfits and had their faces covered, attended St. Michael’s Monastery in central Kiev for the funeral of the four men killed in December in the Bryansk region bordering Ukraine in western Russia. The FSB, the Russian security services, had announced that they had killed these men, claiming that they were armed with guns and explosives.
More than 20 arrested after alleged sabotage of Russian military plane in Belarus
More than 20 people have been arrested in Belarus in connection with the alleged sabotage of a Russian military aircraft last month at an airfield near Minsk, the leader of this Moscow-allied country, Alexander Lukashenko, announced on Tuesday.
The main suspect, presented as a Russian-Ukrainian working for the special services of kyiv, and “more than 20 of his accomplices who were on Belarusian territory” have been arrested to date, said the head of state, quoted by the state news agency Belta. According to the Belarusian security services, the KGB, this man identified as Nikolai Shvets was arrested after “a large-scale special operation”.
Russia maintains its objective of taking Bakhmout
Russia said on Tuesday that it would fight until it took Bakhmout, the epicenter of particularly deadly fighting for months in eastern Ukraine, deeming the city crucial for the continuation of its offensive despite the fierce defense of the Ukrainians.
Bakhmout “is an important node (of lines) of defense of Ukrainian soldiers in the Donbass”Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Tuesday.
The conflict will be felt over “generations”, according to the UN
The scale of the destruction inflicted by Russia on Ukraine will be felt in the rights of generations to come, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said on Tuesday. “The war in Ukraine has led to civilian casualties and destruction on a shocking scale”said the UN official during his speech at the session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva.
“The rights of Ukrainians will be affected for generations to come, and the impact of the war on fuel and food prices, as well as geopolitical tensions, are penalizing people in all regions of the world”he added.
Warsaw will deliver 10 Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine this week
Poland will deliver ten of its Leopard battle tanks to Ukraine this week, Poland’s Defense Minister announced on Tuesday. “Poland will deliver 10 Leopard 2A4 tanks to Ukraine this week”said Mariusz Blaszczak in front of journalists in Warsaw, before flying to Stockholm where he will attend the meeting of the Ministers of Defense of the European Union.
Poland had promised at the end of January to send a total of 14 Lepoard 2 tanks to kyiv and four had already been delivered on February 24, the anniversary of the Russian invasion.
Ukraine says it identified its shot soldier in execution video
The Ukrainian army claimed on Tuesday to have identified its soldier who, prisoner, seems to have been killed by bursts of bullets after declaring “Glory to Ukraine” in an execution video that has gone viral.
“According to preliminary data, the deceased is the serviceman of the 30th mechanized brigade Tymofiï Mykolayovych Shadura”who took part in the fighting near Bakhmout (east) and had been considered missing since February 3, the Ukrainian army said on Telegram.