The long battle for Bakhmout is turning in favor of Russian forces, according to the paramilitary group Wagner, which said on Friday that it had “virtually surrounded” this Donbass city.
The United States unveiled new military aid to Ukraine on Friday March 3 during the visit to Washington by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, which was an opportunity to reiterate Western support for Kiev. On the ground, the Russian paramilitary group Wagner claimed to have “virtually surrounded” the city of Bakhmout. Here is the essence of this new day of conflict.
The siege of Bakhmout becomes clearer
The Russian paramilitary group Wagner, whose men are on the front line on the front line in Ukraine, has announced that it has taken a further step towards taking Bakhmout, a city-symbol of the East. “Wagner’s units have practically surrounded Bakhmout, there is only one road left” to get out, said his boss, Evguéni Prigojine, in combat gear. He suggested to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to order Ukrainian troops to withdraw from the city. On Wednesday, the Ukrainian army denied that a withdrawal from Bakhmout was in progress.
Moscow promises “measures” against incursions on its soil
Russia has assured that it will “take measures” to prevent Ukrainian incursions, after the Russian authorities reported the previous day a “infiltration” of “saboteurs” Ukrainians in a Russian region bordering Ukraine. According to the Russian security services, this group opened fire on a car, killing two civilians and injuring a child in the village of Lioubetchané. The Ukrainian presidency has denied these allegations, seeing them as a “deliberate provocation” which aims, according to her, to justify the invasion that Moscow has been leading for more than a year.
The Russian Investigative Committee announced on Friday that it had sent a team to the scene, saying the situation was “under the control of the police”. Russian security forces said they had found a “large amount of explosives” in the zone.
US announces new military aid
The United States has announced new military aid to Ukraine to the tune of 400 million dollars, consisting mainly of ammunition. The new aid includes ammunition for the Himars rocket launcher systems used effectively by Ukrainian forces, as well as Bradley-type armored vehicles and other equipment, according to the US State Department. “As long as it takes, we will be united behind Ukraine to strengthen its army on the ground”, promised Washington. The first donor country to Ukraine, the United States has delivered or promised more than 32 billion dollars of various armaments to the forces of kyiv since the beginning of the Russian offensive.
Further Western arms shipments will only “to prolong” the conflict in Ukraine, had warned the Kremlin, earlier in the day, before a meeting in Washington between Joe Biden and Olaf Sholz. “We note that the United States is continuing its policy of increasing arms deliveries to Ukraine and persuading its proteges to do the same”lamented Moscow.
The EU evokes an “improvement” of Russian diplomacy
The head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, said he noted “a small improvement” diplomatically with Russia during the G20 meeting in India. While his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov left a working session last year, he is this time stayed for the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting when Western countries condemned Russia for its invasion.
“At least this time he stayed and he listened. It’s a small improvement but it’s important”judged Josep Borrell. “I think it’s better than nothing”he added, expressing his opposition to any exclusion of Russia from the G20. “We must keep the means to speak or at least to listen”he argued.
kyiv will host an office of the International Criminal Court
The Prosecutor General of Ukraine has announced that his country is preparing to open an office of the International Criminal Court in Kyiv, which investigation into possible war crimes or crimes against humanity committed during the Russian offensive in Ukraine. That “will allow the ICC prosecutor to more fully investigate international crimes committed in Ukraine”said Andriy Kostin, referring to an opening “in the near future”.
“However, there is currently no legal mechanism that would allow the ICC to bring to justice for the crime of aggression those who planned and launched this brutal and unprovoked war.”he regretted. “This would require the creation of a special international tribunal.” Volodymyr Zelensky hammered home that “Russian President Vladimir Putin and all his accomplices must be condemned in a legal and just way”arguing that “over 70,000 Russian war crimes” were registered in Ukraine.