Russia’s defense minister conducted a lead inspection in eastern Ukraine, his ministry said on Saturday. It comes as the battle for the symbolic city of Baghmouth intensifies, and Washington has announced new military aid to Kiev.
The Russian Defense Ministry indicated that Sergei Shoigu “inspected a command post at the front” in the “Donetsk-south direction”, without specifying the exact location or date of the visit.
Mr. The ministry released a video showing Shoigu riding a helicopter, then talking to a soldier in front of damaged buildings under guard.
Earlier in the day, paramilitary group Wagner, which continues to accuse the Russian military command of providing insufficient support, called on President Volodymyr Zelensky to withdraw his forces, saying they had “virtually surrounded” Bagmouth in the Donetsk region.
New help for Kiev
Amid fighting in the region, President Joe Biden announced $400 million in new military aid to Ukraine on Friday during a visit to Washington by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
Western military aid to Ukraine is crucial for Kiev to counter Russian troops and regain ground, but the Kremlin has said such aid “prolongs the conflict”.
Nevertheless, Washington announced this new military support, including munitions, specifically for the Himars rocket system that Ukrainian forces have used with devastating effect on Russian troops and logistics lines.
On Twitter, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov thanked the US and hailed it as a “solid investment in the future successes of the Ukrainian military on the battlefield.”
Zelensky-Metsola junction
For his part, Volodymyr Zelenskiy met with European Parliament President Roberta Metzola in Lviv, western Ukraine, on Saturday. “Ukraine aims (…) to start negotiations on joining the European Union this year,” he said in a message on Telegram.
The battle for Bagmouth, an industrial city whose strategic importance is disputed, has been ongoing since the summer. The city has become a landmark since it has been at the center of fighting between Russians and Ukrainians for months.
In recent weeks, Russian forces have advanced, cutting three of four Ukrainian supply lines, making the defenders’ position increasingly precarious.
“Wagner’s divisions have practically surrounded Bagmouth, and there is only one way out,” Wagner’s boss, Evgeny Prigozhin, said in a video released by his press service on Friday.
In War Gear, Prigozhin called on Mr Zelensky – who has pledged to defend Bagmouth “as long as possible” – to order Ukrainian troops out of the city.
Russian attacks were repulsed
On Saturday, the Ukrainian Army General Staff noted that it had repelled more than 150 Russian attacks in the past 24 hours and noted that in the Baghmoud area, “the enemy has not stopped trying to encircle the city.”
The Russian military did not mention the situation in Bakhmaut in its statement on Saturday, saying only that “active operations” were continuing “in the direction of Donetsk,” where the city is located.
Increasing pressure on Bakhmout
For its part, the British Ministry of Defense insisted on Saturday that Bagmouth’s Ukrainian defenders were “under heavy pressure with intense fighting in and around the town”.
According to this source, the Russian regular army and Wagner Group have advanced on the northern outskirts of the city, which is now “vulnerable to attacks from three sides”.
“Ukraine is reinforcing the area with elite units and in the last 36 hours two major bridges in Bakhmout have been destroyed, including a major bridge connecting the city with the last major supply route,” the ministry said.
kyiv also said on Saturday that the head of Ukraine’s special forces, General Viktor Korenko, had inspected units defending Baghmouth. The city, now largely destroyed, had a population of about 70,000 before the Russian invasion. According to local officials, 4,500 now remain.
Infrastructure is the goal
Meanwhile, authorities from several Ukrainian regions in the south and east of the country have reported new Russian fire against civilian infrastructure in the past 24 hours.
Ukrainian emergency services said on Saturday that the number of victims of a strike against a residential building in Zaporizhia between Wednesday and Thursday night had risen to 10, including a child, and that search operations were continuing through the rubble.
Officials in the region announced that two civilians had died during a “Russian artillery” strike at Kauliai Pole on Saturday morning.
This article was published automatically. Sources: ats / afp
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