Ukrainian officials said they are turning the page on a “cold and dark” winter that the army and the population managed to overcome, despite Russian strikes on energy sites.
Ukraine sees a spring again. “Winter is over. It was very difficult, every Ukrainian felt it”said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday, March 1, at the start of the meteorological spring in Europe. “But we managed to supply Ukraine with energy and heating”, he welcomed. On the ground, the victories did not flourish, however, the situation remaining critical around Bakhmout, and Russia claiming to have shot down drones over Crimea. Here’s what to remember from the day.
Ukraine proud to have “defeated winter terror”
“It was cold and dark, but we were unbreakable”launched the head of Ukrainian diplomacy, Dmytro Kouleba. “Ukraine has conquered winter terror”, he added, after a winter marked by Russian strikes on energy sites which caused massive cuts in electricity, heating and running water. kyiv’s Western allies gradually supplied it with anti-aircraft defense systems, and Russia decreased the frequency and scale of its attacks.
The Minister considered that the European Union had “also won”because she “did not freeze without Russian gas”, subject to sanctions. Moscow, which was one of Europe’s main suppliers, had relayed catastrophic predictions in the event of supply cuts. “Our partners have stood by our side in helping us”he welcomed, adding: “There is still a long way to final victory. But we already know how to win.”
kyiv still holds Bakhmout
On Wednesday morning, AFP journalists noted that the road leading to Bakhmout and Chassiv Iar, the town just to the west, had been closed to traffic by the police. The spokesman for the Eastern Command of the Ukrainian army, Serguiï Tcherevaty, denied to AFP that a Ukrainian withdrawal from Bakhmout was in progress. A possible withdrawal “will depend on the operational situation. So far such a decision has not been taken”did he declare.
More Ukrainian drones shot down
The Russian military claimed to have shot down ten Ukrainian drones in an attempted attack “massive” against its installations in annexed Crimea, the day after a similar incursion by several aircraft into Russian territory. According to the Ministry of Defense, six Ukrainian attack drones were shot down by Russian air defense and four others were disabled by electronic means.
This is not the first time that Crimea, a peninsula that Russia annexed in 2014, has been attacked using drones. Unmanned aircraft had targeted the port of Sevastopol there in December, a power station in early October and the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in August.
A billion euros of ammunition for Ukraine?
In a document seen by AFP, which is due to be discussed on March 7 by EU defense ministers, European countries are called upon to allocate one billion euros in March to honor their commitment to provide “emergency” ammunition claimed by kyiv. The head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, recommends devoting such an amount from the allocation of the European Peace Facility to the purchase of 155 mm shells used by the Ukrainian artillery. This funding would allow the rapid delivery of 250,000 shells, according to experts in Brussels.
Josep Borrell calls on EU members to dip into their strategic stocks. He insists on “extreme urgency” deliveries despite “depletion of Member States’ stocks”. The money from the endowment is then used to reimburse states for supplying Ukraine with arms and ammunition from their stocks.