Ukraine’s leaders have said Bakhmut has limited strategic value in the Donetsk region. With one take, Russia wins only “a small victory”, said Resnikov in an interview with the German tabloid “Bild” (Friday edition). Of course, you don’t want Russian success by taking it. Russia, on the other hand, hopes that taking Bakhmut will be an important step towards conquering the rest of the surrounding industrial area of Donbass, which consists of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
According to the military leadership in Kiev, Bakhmut’s defenders repelled several Russian attacks on Thursday. Russian artillery shelled several smaller towns around Bakhmut, the general staff in Kiev said in its situation report. Russian troops are surrounding the city on three sides and have been trying to encircle it for weeks.
IMAGO/SNA A settlement in Bakhmut is in ruins – here’s a photo from February 26
The city will continue to be defended. “Yes, it is difficult and difficult, but we know how to proceed,” Security Council Secretary Oleksiy Danilov told the RBC-Ukraine portal. A Ukrainian reconnaissance unit, which works with drones, has been ordered to withdraw, according to its commander. It is not clear how the withdrawal will go – according to news agencies, however, it may be in full swing in the eastern part of the city.
Prigozhin on video: Bakhmut surrounded
On Thursday, the Russian mercenary group Wagner apparently managed to advance to the river that separates the east and west of the city. According to the head of Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, the city is now surrounded, as he announced in a video published on Friday. The Ukrainian armed forces would have only one way out. Prigozhin asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to withdraw his troops from the city. A Wagner fighter told Russian news agency RIA Novosti that Ukrainian troops had already blown up almost all bridges over the Bakhmuzka River. The information was not independently verifiable.
For months, Wagner’s mercenaries fought a bitter battle with the Ukrainian soldiers defending Bakhmut. In the city, which was home to around 70,000 people before the war, several thousand civilians are still holding out. Wagner mercenaries act independently of the Russian military command. The Russian army has intensified its advance on Bakhmut in recent weeks.
AP/Yevhen Titov A destroyed building in Bakhmut
Expert: Ukraine is building new positions
With the loss of Bakhmut, Ukraine would have to pull back the defensive line. “You can clearly see that the Ukrainians have started to establish new positions on heights four to five kilometers west of Bakhmut,” military analyst and army guard commander Markus Reisner told “Kurier” (Thursday edition ). The next major line of defense is about 20 kilometers west of Bakhmut, where several small towns are located, Reisner said.
General Staff: repelled 85 Russian attacks
According to local authorities, two civilians were killed by Russian fire in the Donetsk region on Friday morning. Regarding the military situation, the Ukrainian General Staff announced that intense fighting continued, mainly in Donbass, in the east of the country. In the last 24 hours, 85 Russian attacks have been repulsed. This military information could not be independently verified. The front sectors of Kupyansk, Liman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Wuhledar were also named as the site of the battles.
APA/AFP/Katerina Klochko The fire brigade cleaning up after the Russian missile strike
Zelenskyy announces revenge for Zaporizhia
Meanwhile, Zelenskyi announced retaliation after the Russian rocket attack on the city of Zaporizhia, which left at least four people dead. “We will react militarily and legally to today’s brutal Russian rocket attack on Zaporizhia,” Zelenskyy said on Thursday in his nightly video speech: “The occupier will inevitably feel our strength, the power of justice in the truest sense of the word. “
A multi-storey residential building in the southern Ukrainian city was hit by a rocket during the Russian airstrike on Thursday night. Two villagers were killed, it was said overnight. Two more bodies were recovered on Friday morning, as announced by the Ukrainian civil defense in the morning. The death toll after Thursday’s attack has risen to at least four. Eight people in the multi-story building were injured. Several residents were also missing.
APA/AFP/Katerina Klochko Cleanup work after a Russian missile hit a house in Zaporizhia
Waiting for jet fighters
At the same time, Defense Minister Resnikov was confident that Ukraine would win this year. “I am an optimist, I see the situation on the battlefield, I see the support developing and I really see that there is a chance to end this war with our victory this year,” he said.
It is “the liberation of all our temporarily occupied territories up to our 1991 internationally recognized borders”. He rejected calls for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. In the interview, Reznikov was also confident that his country will soon receive Western fighters. “I’m sure we’re going to have two or three different types of fighter jets,” he said.
Medvedev threatens again
Former Kremlin chief and now deputy secretary of Russia’s Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, has warned NATO against supplying fighter jets to Ukraine. The delivery of NATO fighter jets and their maintenance in Poland would be equivalent to a direct entry into the Western military alliance’s war against Russia, Medvedev wrote in Telegram on Thursday.
“And anyone who decides on the delivery (repair) of such equipment or means of destruction, as well as foreign mercenaries and military trainers, should be considered a legitimate military target,” Medvedev said.
Scholz on Biden
Military support for Ukraine is also expected to be the main topic of the meeting between US President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz at the White House on Friday. Details leaked ahead of time. According to information from US government media, Washington intends to announce a military aid package worth 400 million dollars (about 380 million euros).
Assistance is expected to consist primarily of Guided Multiple Rocket Launchers (GMLRS) for HIMARS launchers, ammunition for Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles, and armored bridge-laying vehicles. Since the war began a year ago, the US has provided Ukraine with security aid totaling about $27.2 billion.
Kremlin warns of new weapons deliveries
Ahead of the planned meeting, the Kremlin warned of further Western arms deliveries to Ukraine. Those deliveries “will not have a decisive influence on the outcome of the offensive,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in Moscow on Friday. But it is “clear that they will prolong this conflict, with sad consequences for the Ukrainian people”.
“We note that the US is continuing its policy of increasing arms sales to Ukraine and persuading its protégés to do the same,” Peskov said. “This puts a huge strain on the economies of these countries and has a negative impact on the well-being of their citizens, including in Germany.”
Lula wants to talk to other countries
Meanwhile, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva held a video call with Zelenskyy. Afterwards, Lula tweeted that he wanted to encourage other countries to get involved in peace talks to end the conflict. “I reiterated Brazil’s desire to dialogue with other countries and engage in any initiative to build peace and dialogue. War cannot interest anyone.
Lula has refused to supply Ukraine with German-made ammunition, which Brazil has. He also reiterated that his country will remain neutral in the conflict. But Russia made a mistake by invading a sovereign country. “We emphasize the importance of upholding the principle of sovereignty and territorial integrity of states,” Zelenskyy wrote on Twitter after the conversation. “We also discussed diplomatic efforts to restore peace in Ukraine and the world.”