A battle “painful and difficult”. In his daily statement, Volodymyr Zelensky paid tribute, on Sunday March 5, to the “bravery” soldiers fighting the Russian army in the Donbass region, in the east of the country, where the city of Bakhmout is located, which has become the epicenter of an all-out war and is threatened with encirclement. The Ukrainian president underlined how this battle had inflicted for months very heavy losses on both sides, in artillery duels and muddy trenches. Follow our live.
“More than 130 enemy attacks” hindered in the past 24 hours, according to the Ukrainian army. As Russian troops continue their efforts to encircle the symbolic city of Bakhmout, the Ukrainian General Staff has affirmed that “more than 130 enemy attacks” had been repelled in the past 24 hours in several sectors of the front, notably in Kupiansk, Lyman, Bakhmout and Avdiivka.
The city of Zaporizhia observes a day of mourning on Monday. After thirteen people were killed in a bombardment that hit a residential building on March 2, the mayor of Zaporizhia decided to declare Monday a day of mourning. “It is a great sorrow, writing Anatolii Kurtiev on Telegram. Together, let us honor the glowing memory of all those whose lives were cut short on that tragic night in March.”
In Estonia, elections against a backdrop of war in Ukraine. Prime Minister Kaja Kallas’ party won Sunday’s parliamentary elections in Estonia. With 31.2% of the vote, the center-right formation will however have to form a coalition with one or more other parties in Parliament. But there is no question of allying with the far-right EKRE party, which came second with 16.1% of the vote. During the election campaign, the latter had pleaded against additional arms deliveries to kyiv, saying that Estonia should not harm its relations with Moscow. He also campaigned for “protection” Estonian workers against the influx of Ukrainian refugees and other migrants.