The situation
is "complicating
" on the ground in the face of Russian troops in Ukraine, which is once again the target of intense bombing, President Volodymyr Zelensky acknowledged on Saturday February 4.
Indeed, the regions of Donetsk and Zaporijjia have been bombed over the past 24 hours, pressure has increased in Bakhmout, Odessa has been deprived of electricity...
Le Figaro
takes stock of the situation of the conflict in Ukraine.
To discover
Follow information on the war in Ukraine with the Figaro application
The situation “is getting more complicated”, admits Zelensky
“
During the 346 days of this war, I often said that the situation on the front lines was difficult.
And that the situation was getting complicated
, ”he said in his daily message.
"
It's very difficult now in Bakhmout, Vougledar, Lyman (in the East, editor's note) and in other regions
," added the Ukrainian head of state.
“
The enemy is concentrating its main efforts on conducting offensive operations in the directions of Kupyansk, Lyman, Bakhmout, Avdiivka and Novopavlivka
,” the Ukrainian Defense Ministry had warned shortly before.
The Donetsk and Zaporizhia regions bombarded
In the Donetsk region, " massive
" artillery fire
targeted Saturday morning Avdiivka, on the eastern front line, after Kramatorsk, another city much coveted by the Russians, was hit overnight by rockets, reported the Ukrainian authorities.
Rescuers use a crane to remove debris from a building damaged in a recent bombardment in Donetsk, Russian-controlled Ukraine, February 4, 2023. PAVEL KLIMOV / REUTERS
In the past 24 hours, in the southern province of Zaporizhia alone, shells have fallen on "
civilian infrastructure
" located in the territories of 26 localities, according to the same sources.
Strikes also continued on Kherson, a major southern city taken and then abandoned by the Russians.
Increased pressure on Bakhmout
Ukrainian border guards for their part assured on Saturday that they had repelled an "
assault of the invaders
" and chased them from the suburbs of Bakhmout after an aerial reconnaissance revealed that "
the enemy was preparing to attack
" this city at the epicenter of the fighting in Ukraine.
They fired mortars "
at the place of concentration of the occupants
", then "
forced them to retreat
", can we read in their press release.
Read alsoIn Bakhmout, the Khartia battalion resists in the face of bloody Russian nibbling: the story of the special envoy of Figaro
“
This week, the Russian occupation forces made every effort to break through our defense and encircle Bakhmout and launched a powerful offensive in the Lyman sector.
But thanks to the resilience of our soldiers, they failed
,” Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar summed up on Saturday.
Odessa without electricity
For its part, the port city of Odessa suffered major power cuts on Saturday following a technical incident in a power plant, which has constantly been the victim of Russian bombardments in recent times.
“
The district and the city of Odessa were almost completely blacked out.
Nearly 500,000 people have no electricity
,” said Maksym Marchenko, the head of the regional administration.
“
All essential infrastructure has been supplied (with power).
Thus, the city will have water and heat.
About a third of consumers have electricity
,” Energy Minister German Galushchenko said later.
New prisoner exchange
In this context, Volodymyr Zelensky was pleased that a new exchange of prisoners could take place on Saturday, allowing kyiv to recover 116 soldiers, including two officers.
In total, since February 24, the date of the start of the Russian invasion, 1,762 Ukrainians held captive by the Russians have been released, he noted.
Handing over of American weapons in “several months”
On Friday, the day a summit with the European Union took place in kyiv, Ukraine received assurances that it would obtain longer-range Western weapons.
The new US military aid, amounting to 2.2 billion dollars, includes in this regard rockets which could almost double the extent of the field of action of the Ukrainian strike force, according to the Pentagon.
These are in particular GLSDB (Ground Launched Small Diameter Bomb), small-diameter devices fired from the ground that can reach a target located 150 km away and therefore threaten Russian positions behind the front lines.
“
The handover of the GLSDBs will not take place for several months
”, however specified the American ministry of Defense.
Training on British tanks
At the same time, Paris announced that France and Italy would provide a MAMBA medium-range surface-to-air defense system in the spring to help Ukraine "
defend against attacks by Russian drones, missiles and aircraft
" .
.
As for Portugal, it is willing to send German-made Leopard 2 heavy tanks to the Ukrainians.
Volodymyr Zelensky also spoke on Saturday, without specifying them, of the "
very important things
" he was preparing with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, following a conversation the two men had just had.
He took the opportunity to salute the fact that "
now, in the United Kingdom, our guys have already started training on Challenger tanks
", of which London has promised to deliver 14 copies to his country.
Read alsoWar in Ukraine: French senator Philippe Folliot near the front line
A European embargo on petroleum products exported by sea must also come into force on Sunday, a “
negative
” measure which will “
further unbalance
” the markets, had deplored the Kremlin.
/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/prisa/2C5HI6YHNFHDLJSBNWHOIAS2AE.jpeg)
