LIVE – War in Ukraine: Russia claims capture of new town near Bakhmut

Russian occupation authorities on Friday noted a “sharp increase in intensity” of fighting in southern Ukraine’s Zaporozhye region, where fighting is raging “along the entire front line”.

“The intensity of military operations in the direction of Zaporozhye has increased sharply,” Vladimir Rogov, the leader of the Zaporozhye regional occupation authority installed in Moscow, said on Telegram. “If we look at the entire front line, then now there are battles everywhere,” he told Russia’s Ria Novosti news agency.

Reuters news agency reports that in an interview with Russian RBK media on Thursday, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov criticized the ban on beards for Russian soldiers. A speech joining the speech of the leader of the Wagner group, Yevgeny Prigogy.

Viktor Sobolev, a member of the Russian parliament and retired former lieutenant general, defended the ban on beards, smartphones and tablets as “an essential part of military discipline”.

Ramzan Kadyrov called Sobolev’s comments a “blatant provocation” and said his mostly Muslim soldiers grew beards as part of their religious duty.

Kadyrov and Prigozhin’s soldiers operate in Ukraine, but are largely outside the command of the Russian army.

Is Russia preparing for the escalation of the conflict? According to photos circulating on social networks, anti-aircraft defense systems were installed on the roofs of several defense and administrative buildings in Moscow on Thursday and the previous days.

The Russians are worried that the West is agreeing to send long-range missiles to Ukraine that can reach Moscow. Therefore, they will be proactively equipped to protect themselves from possible strikes.

>> Read our article here

Russia’s Defense Ministry announced on Friday that its forces had taken control of the small town of Klichchiivka, south of the city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region.

Last week, Russian forces claimed to have captured the town of Soledar, north of Bakhmut, which is still the subject of heavy fighting with the Ukrainian army. Klichchiivka, which had a population of about 400 people before the war, was captured by Russian forces with the support of the air force, the ministry said.

Berlin, the host country for the new meeting between the allies in Ramstein, has opened the door for several countries to supply Ukraine with German-made Leopard 2 heavy tanks manufactured in Kiev.

Poland and Finland have expressed their readiness to supply such tanks to Ukraine. but for this they needed the consent of Germany.

Newly appointed German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said the answer “will be clear in the next few hours or tomorrow (Friday) morning” when asked whether Berlin would allow its European allies to send tanks.

Why Poland and Finland pressure Germany to deliver Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine >> Read our article here

A convoy of three trucks carrying water, food and basic necessities, as well as medicine, is being “unloaded” near Soledar, according to a UN spokesman.

The aid convoy is in the territory controlled by the Ukrainian government and is expected to deliver about 800 people.

Last week, the Russian military and Wagner Group mercenaries announced that they had conquered the modest town of Soledar in eastern Ukraine, near the town of Bakhmut, which the Russians have been trying to capture for months. Ukrainians still protest the Russian takeover of the city.

Salt mines, the road to Bakhmut… Soledar, a strategic or symbolic prize for Russia? >> Read our article here

Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov explained on Friday that “the last two years (…) have been very bad for relations between the United States and Russia.”

“Unfortunately, bilateral relations are probably at the lowest level today. There is no hope for improvement in the near future,” he said at the press conference provided by the agency. Reuters.

The Kremlin spokesman had already warned Washington on Thursday of a possible escalation following the West’s announcement of long-range (over 100,000) weapons capable of hitting Russian territory.

Emmanuel Macron and the Minister of the Armies, Sébastien Lecornu, will not go to Germany, as the two men will convey their wishes to the Armies this Friday in Mont-de-Mars, Landes.

According to the ministry, France will be represented in Ramstein by “a pair of diplomats from the General Directorate of International Relations and Strategy (DGRIS), as well as a military representative of the General Staff of the Armed Forces.”

Ukraine’s security services (SBU) claim to have arrested “seven Russian agents” in the Dnieper region of eastern Ukraine.

According to the SBU, “the detainees gave the Russians the coordinates of the critical infrastructure of Ukraine” and “collected intelligence information (…) about the movements of units of the (Kyiv) forces in the region.” the army.

Their “possible involvement in the January 14 attack on a residential building in Dnieper, which killed at least 45 people, including six children,” Ukrainian security services said. According to the information of the service, they started their “reconnaissance activity” as early as “October 2022”.

The Kremlin said on Friday that the delivery of Western tanks to Ukraine “will not change anything” in the situation on the ground, ahead of a major meeting of Kyiv’s allies to increase military support in Germany.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Western countries maintain the “illusion” of Ukraine’s possible victory on the “battlefield”: “Such (tank) supplies cannot radically change anything, they will create new problems for Ukraine.”

The US is not alone in announcing new military aid to Ukraine. In addition, Great Britain has committed to sending 600 Brimstone missiles, Denmark 19 French-made Caesar guns, and Sweden “Archer” self-propelled guns.

The systems, all of which have a range of several tens of kilometers, are smaller than the Ukrainians claim.

On Thursday, hours before that meeting at the American base in Ramstein, Washington announced $2.5 billion in new military aid, including 59 Bradley armored vehicles, to be added to the 50 light armored vehicles of this type promised on January 6. , and 90 Stryker armored personnel carriers, according to the Pentagon.

The US military will also supply Ukraine with 53 mine-resistant armored vehicles (MRAPs) and 350 M998 vehicles, the popular Humvee. This new installment brings total US military aid to Ukraine to $26.7 billion since the Russian invasion began on February 24.

Vladimir Zelensky thanked his American ally for this new “important help against the aggressor”.

Hello everyone and welcome to this live stream on the situation in Ukraine. The conflict began 330 days ago on Friday. Today is celebrated by the meeting of Kyiv’s allies in Ramstein, Germany.

The meeting in Germany is presented as decisive. Vladimir Zelensky said he expected “strong decisions” such as sending heavy armored vehicles to help his country in decisive battles against Russia.

This meeting is the third meeting in the format called “Ramstein” since the beginning of the conflict. Defense ministers and high-ranking military officials from about fifty countries are gathering around US Secretary of State for Defense Lloyd Austin.