“The general situation in the area of special military operations is under control,” the ministry said, using the government-mandated term for the war in Ukraine. The denial came remarkably quickly. However, the ministry did not specifically comment on the situation in Bakhmut and the statements made by Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner’s troop chief, and by Russian military bloggers about the increasingly bad situation of Russian troops.
Prigozhin repeatedly warned of an impending pocket due to unprotected flanks. Poddubny also reported Ukrainian advances in the fighting around Soledar, which is just a few kilometers northeast of Bakhmut.
Lots of rumors from military bloggers
There, Ukrainian units managed to break through the Russian lines. “The situation is difficult,” wrote Poddubny. Russian forces only took Soledar at the end of January, after weeks of intense fighting. Recently, it became known that Russian army units in Bakhmut were apparently no longer cooperating with Wagner’s mercenaries.
According to the BBC, pro-Putin Russian military blogger Sascha Kots reported that Kiev has already started its offensive. As an indication of this, he said columns of low loaders with Western tanks had been sighted on the Kharkiv bypass. According to the US think tank Institute for the Study of War (ISW), the statements are an expression of growing “panic” in Russia over speculation about a Ukrainian counter-offensive.
debate
What would a Kiev offensive look like?
Kiev: Russian airstrikes to halt advance
Ukrainian army spokesman Serhiy Cherevatyj reported in the evening desperate attempts by Russian units to stop the Ukrainians’ advance with massive artillery strikes and air strikes. The intensity of the fighting has increased, Cherevatyj was quoted as saying by the Unian news agency. On Thursday alone, 165 Russian soldiers were killed and another 216 wounded, he said. His information could not be verified, nor that of the other side.
Enerhoatom boss: No need to fight for nuclear power plants
According to the operator, the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant could be spared from a Ukrainian counter-offensive. It is enough to isolate the Russian occupying forces at the plant from the inside, Petro Kotin, head of the Ukrainian nuclear company Enerhoatom, told US broadcaster CNN. “All we have to do is cut the connection between the Zaporizhia NPP and Crimea (the Black Sea Peninsula annexed by Russia),” Kotin said.
This will be achieved once Ukrainian troops capture the city of Melitopol, a good 90 kilometers southeast of the Enerhodar plant. After that, Russian troops would only have the choice of fleeing or surrendering. Europe’s largest six-block nuclear power plant at Enerhodar was occupied immediately after the Russian invasion in March last year.
Zelenskyy before visiting Italy?
According to Italian media reports, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is considering a visit to Rome over the weekend. There he could meet Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and also be received by Pope Francis, according to the ANSA news agency on Thursday night.
Portal/Alexander Ermochenko Cities like Mariupol were badly damaged in the fight against Russian troops
announced judicial reform
For Ukraine’s path to the European Union, Zelenskyy drew up a “comprehensive strategic plan” to reform the criminal law and law enforcement system. “Simply put, we need to ensure a system of law and order for our country consistent with our goal of Ukraine’s speedy accession to the EU,” Zelensky said in his evening video speech on Thursday.
“Ukraine must become and already is a place of strength for Europe and the entire free world.” Ukraine has officially been a candidate for EU membership since last summer.
more on the subject
Ukraine needs more time before offensive
Waiting for more weapons shipments
Zelenskyy lowered expectations on Thursday that the counter-offensive could start soon. There is still a lack of equipment for this, he said in an interview with the BBC. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has promised more weapons deliveries “if there are gaps and deficiencies”. The Ukrainian side must announce this, “and we will do everything we can to fulfill it,” Blinken told US television station PBS on Thursday, according to the Ukrainian news agency Ukrinform.