The situation is extremely tense in Bakhmout, in eastern Ukraine, symbol of the conflict between kyiv and Moscow.
Will the city of Bakhmout escape Ukraine? This is what the paramilitary group Wagner, which claims to have “virtually surrounded” the locality in eastern Ukraine, one of the symbols of the conflict, when the Russian Minister of Defense conducted an inspection in the conflict zone of eastern Ukraine on Saturday March 4. At the same time, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky received in Lviv, western Ukraine, the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola.
Franceinfo returns to the highlights of the day on the front of the war in Ukraine.
Russian Defense Minister visits eastern Ukraine
The Russian Defense Ministry said on Saturday that Sergei Shoigu inspected a forward command post in the “Donetsk-South” area during a visit “in the area of the special military operation”without specifying the exact place, nor the proximity to the front line, nor the date of this visit.
The ministry released a video showing the minister traveling in a helicopter, then talking, without a helmet or combat gear, with a soldier in the same uniform, in front of damaged buildings, under the guard of a soldier.
Fighting more tense than ever in Bakhmout
On Friday, the paramilitary group Wagner, which regularly accuses the Russian army command of not providing enough support, claimed to have “virtually surrounded” Bakhmout, in the Donetsk region, and called on President Volodymyr Zelensky to sound the withdrawal of his troops. The battle for Bakhmout, an industrial city whose strategic importance is disputed, has been going on since the summer. The city has become a symbol, as it has been at the heart of fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces for months.
“The situation in Bakhmout is difficult, but under control”, assured Saturday a spokesman for the Ukrainian army, Serguiï Tcherevaty, with the television channel My-Ukraina. According to him, the city, now largely destroyed and largely emptied of its inhabitants, is currently “the epicenter” of the conflict. In recent weeks, Russian forces have advanced, cutting off three of four Ukrainian supply routes and making the position of the defenders increasingly precarious.
Volodymyr Zelensky receives the President of the European Parliament in Lviv
For his part, Volodymyr Zelensky received on Saturday in Lviv, in western Ukraine, the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola. “Ukraine aims (…) to start negotiations to join the EU this year”, he pointed out on Telegram. Roberta Metsola said she shares this goal. “The future of Ukraine is in the European Union”did she say.
New Russian fire against civilian infrastructure
Meanwhile, several officials from Ukrainian regions in the south and east of the country have reported new Russian fire against civilian infrastructure in the past 24 hours. Ukraine’s emergency services said on Saturday that the death toll from the strike on a residential building in Zaporizhia overnight Wednesday-Thursday had risen to 10, including a child.
The authorities also announced the death of two civilians during a “Russian artillery” strike on Saturday morning on the town of Goulyaï Polé, and two others dead during shootings at the town of Chervonohryhorivka in the Dnipro region.