Moscow is creeping towards Bakhmut amidst fierce fighting
Russia on Tuesday claimed it had captured the village of Blagodatne north of Bakhmout in eastern Ukraine.
Ukraine and Russia have been engaged in a vicious battle for several weeks over control of the city Moscow says is key to conquering the precious Donbass region.
The Russian Defense Ministry, in its daily briefing, claimed that “Blagodatne had been liberated” after an offensive by “voluntary assault units” supported by aircraft and artillery.
Russia uses the term Volunteers as a synonym for paramilitary forces such as the Wagner Group operating in Ukraine.
Evguéni Prigojine, head of the notorious mercenary force, claimed his men took the village on Saturday, although this was denied by Kyiv.
The Russian army and Wagner have been trying to take Bakhmout, a town of 70,000 before the conflict, since the summer – so far without success.
For several weeks, Moscow soldiers have been intensifying their offensive to encircle the city, and in January they captured the town of Soledar.
But the fighting has come at a high cost, with both sides suffering heavy casualties.
Lithuania denounces Russian embassies as ‘propaganda institutions’
Amid rising diplomatic tensions between the Baltic states and Moscow, Lithuania’s foreign minister on Tuesday urged EU countries not to host Russian ambassadors.
“There is no point in having a Russian ambassador in a European capital,” Gabrielius Landsbergis told reporters in Riga.
“In most cases, it is no longer a diplomatic institution, but a propaganda institution that covers up war crimes and generally promotes a genocidal agenda,” he stressed.
Lithuania expelled its Russian ambassador in April 2022 after mass graves of civilians were discovered in the Ukrainian city of Bucha.
Ukraine’s western allies have called these discoveries evidence of war crimes, although Russia denies this.
Last week, neighboring Baltic country Estonia expelled its Russian ambassador after the Kremlin declared its Estonian ambassador persona non grata.
“We respect the principle of reciprocity in relations with Russia,” Estonia’s foreign ministry said at the time, adding that the Russian ambassador should leave before February 7.
Latvia, the third Baltic state, soon announced that it would also expel its Russian representative in solidarity with Estonia.
The US accuses Russia of violating the nuclear deal
Washington on Tuesday accused Russia of not respecting a nuclear disarmament agreement called New Start.
American diplomats have criticized Moscow for suspending nuclear inspections and canceling talks planned under the deal.
But they did not accuse their Russian counterparts of building nuclear arsenals beyond agreed limits.
With their new majority in the House of Representatives, the US Republicans had asked the country’s top diplomat whether Russia was violating the disarmament treaty.
“Russia is not fulfilling its New Start obligations to facilitate inspection activities on its territory,” a Foreign Ministry spokesman said.
Last year Moscow announced it would postpone a meeting between Russia and the US on nuclear inspections scheduled for late November, accusing Washington of “hostility” and “toxicity.”
Relations between the two nuclear powers are at their lowest point in recent history, sparked by the outbreak of fighting in Ukraine.
Immediately after his election in January 2021, US President Joe Biden extended New Start until 2026.
Signed in 2010, it limits the pair’s nuclear stockpile to a maximum of 1,550 warheads, a nearly 30% reduction from previous limits set in 2002. It also sets the maximum number of launchers and heavy bombers at 800.
Kyiv berates Croatian president over Crimea comments
Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry on Tuesday criticized Croatian President Zoran Milanovic for saying Crimea would never come under Ukrainian control again, calling his comment “unacceptable”.
Russia seized the Black Sea Peninsula from Ukraine in 2014, and Kyiv has said it will not give up efforts to regain control of the region.
In a remark on Monday setting out his objection to Zagreb providing military aid to Kyiv, Milanovic said it was “clear that Crimea will never again be part of Ukraine”.
“We consider unacceptable the statements made by the Croatian President who questioned the territorial integrity of Ukraine,” Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko wrote on Facebook.
In the same statement, Nikolenko thanked the Croatian government and people for supporting Ukraine since the Russian invasion last February. Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic has openly expressed his support for Ukraine.
“We greatly appreciate and thank the Croatian government and people for their unwavering support of Ukrainians in the fight against Russian aggression,” wrote Nikolenko.
Ukraine is pushing for western fighter jets
Kyiv on Tuesday enlisted the support of the Baltic states and Poland in its bid to get Western fighter jets, although there are no signs that larger nations like the US and Britain will change stance and start supplying Ukraine with fighter jets.
“Ukraine needs fighter jets… missiles, tanks. We must act,” said Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu in the Latvian capital Riga at a press conference with his Baltic and Polish counterparts.
These countries, which lie on NATO’s eastern flank, feel particularly threatened by Russia and have pushed hard for military assistance.
Several Western leaders have expressed concerns that the deployment of fighter jets could escalate the nearly year-long conflict and draw them deeper into the war.
Such fighter jets could give Ukraine a big boost, but countering Russia’s massive air force would still be a major challenge.
Kiev officials have repeatedly urged allies to deploy jets, saying they are essential to challenge Russia’s air superiority and ensure the success of future counter-offensives led by Western main battle tanks.
Asked about the shipments of Western arms to Ukraine on Tuesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov reiterated the Kremlin’s view that “NATO has long been directly engaged in a hybrid war against Russia.”
The Russian military will “take all necessary measures to derail the fulfillment of Western plans,” he added.
Both Ukraine and Russia are believed to be building their arsenals for an expected offensive in the coming months. The war has largely deadlocked on the battlefield during the winter.