What is the situation in Bakhmut?
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(CNN) --
Ukrainian forces still control the Bakhmut-Kostiantynivka highway, according to a deputy commander of Ukraine's National Guard, a crucial route for getting supplies to the disputed city that has seen a bloody battle in recent weeks.
Although Russian forces are slowly making progress in their bid to capture Bakhmut, Commander Volodymyr Nazarenko dismissed growing speculation of a possible Ukrainian withdrawal from the city.
News summary of Russia's war in Ukraine on March 4
In Zaporizhia, more than 10 people have been killed after a Russian attack on a high-rise residential building, according to authorities.
Meanwhile, the president of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, promised during her visit to Ukraine that the Russian war will not go unpunished.
Here are the highlights of Russia's war in Ukraine for Sunday, March 5, 2023:
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Ukrainian forces still control a key road in Bakhmut
Ukrainian forces are holding on to a key route in and out of the hotly contested town of Bakhmut, according to a deputy commander of the Ukrainian National Guard.
“The Ukrainian Armed Forces control the Bakhmut-Kostiantynivka highway, it is quite stable,” said Volodymyr Nazarenko, second in command at the Svoboda battalion.
"The situation near Bakhmut, as well as in its surroundings, is very much like hell, as it is on the entire eastern front."
The Bakhmut-Kostiantynivka highway is a crucial route for bringing supplies to the city.
Nazarenko further indicated that there have been no "tactical changes" on the Ukrainian side, adding that "we are maintaining the defence."
Why is Bakhmut important to Putin if his strategic value is limited?
“The enemy looks for weaknesses, tries to distract our forces by fighting, withdrawing our reserves, trying to combine different methods and tactics.
Yet they fail,” he stated.
Nazarenko dismissed growing speculation about a possible Ukrainian withdrawal from the city.
"We will not go out.
On the contrary, some new reserves come in as reinforcements to sustain the defense.
The entire combat area is under bombardment but there is a connection with the city, there are routes that are not cut off, ”he said.
“In this hell, every day feels like an eternity.
It's really hard to count how many months Bakhmut has been going strong.
However, they cannot capture the city”, continued the deputy commander.
Death toll rises to 13 after missile attack in Zaporizhia
Rescue teams search a damaged building after a missile attack in Zaporizhia, Ukraine, on March 2.
(Credit: Adri Salido/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
The death toll from Thursday's missile attack in the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhia rose to 13, according to a Ukrainian official.
"(There are) 13 dead, including a small child, as a result of a missile strike in Zaporizhia on March 2," Anatoliy Kurtiev, secretary of the Zaporizhia Regional Council, said in a Telegram update on Sunday.
Following Russia's shelling of the high-rise residential building, Ukrainian President Andriy Yermak's chief of staff posted on Telegram on Thursday that "people slept at home, but for terrorists, residential buildings are also 'military targets.' ".
According to the update, five people were reported missing and four people remain in the hospital.
As of 11 a.m. local time (4 a.m. Miami time) on Sunday, rescuers in Zaporizhia continued to "search for people under the rubble and dismantle dangerous elements of the building throughout the day," Kurtiev added.
On the day of the attack, Ukrainian authorities said a pregnant woman was among those rescued from the building.
The president of the European Parliament visits Ukraine and promises that the Russian war will not go unpunished
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomes European Parliament Speaker Roberta Metsola to Lviv, Ukraine, on March 4.
(Credit: Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout/Reuters)
The president of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, visited Ukraine on Saturday and promised that "the aggressors who have started a war on our continent will not go unpunished."
Speaking on a panel at the "United for Justice" conference in Lviv, Metsola reiterated parliament's support for initiatives that collect evidence of possible crimes committed by Moscow and its forces.
The three-day conference was organized by the Ukrainian authorities "to ensure accountability for major international crimes allegedly committed in Ukraine," according to the European Union Agency for Cooperation in Criminal Justice.
"I am a mother of four children.
I wish I could tell them, when Ukraine wins the war, that they will all be held accountable for the crimes they have committed and the atrocities we have seen committed against the brave Ukrainians,” Metsola said.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz meets Biden after a transformative year over the war in Ukraine
The first lady of Ukraine, Olena Zelenska, was also on the panel with the leader of the European Parliament.
Metsola met this Saturday with the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, and together they met with students from the Ivan Franko National University in Lviv.
"The future of Ukraine and Europe rests on the shoulders of the young," the European leader said in a tweet.
During the visit to the university, Metsola said that the two met with “young women and men who hope for a better future.
Eager to play an important role in the reconstruction of Ukraine.
Hope.
Belief.
Leadership".
In another tweet about his meeting with Zelensky, Metsola said that he “learned a lot about Ukraine last year.
But perhaps the most important lesson is the one articulated by (Ukrainian poet) Taras Shevchenko: 'Keep fighting, you will win for sure'."
“Certain in the search for peace and freedom as he is in life.
Never give up,” he added.
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