The pressure on the Ukrainian army intensifies in Bakhmout, the Russian troops continuing to progress in the northern periphery of this symbolic city.
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Advance of the Russians around Bakhmout, "epicenter" of the conflict
“
The Ukrainian defense of the city of Bakhmout is under increasing pressure, with intense fighting in and around the city
,” the British Ministry of Defense tweeted on Saturday March 4.
He reported an "
advance
" by the "
Wagner group
and the Russian regular army in the northern suburbs of the city now vulnerable to attack from three sides
".
As a result, Kyiv is "
reinforcing the area with elite units and in the past 36 hours two key bridges in Bakhmout have been destroyed, including a vital bridge connecting the city to the last main supply route", the official continued
. British ministry.
Villages north and west of Bakhmout were attacked on Saturday,
Serhii Cherevatyi, spokesman for the Eastern Grouping of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, told
CNN on Saturday, reporting a total of 131 assaults on that front.
The battle for Bakhmout, an industrial city whose strategic importance is disputed, has been going on since the summer.
The city has become a symbol, because it has been at the heart of the fighting between Russians and Ukrainians for months.
Inspection of a command post by the Russian Minister of Defense
For his part, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu inspected a forward command post in the “
Donetsk-South
” area on Saturday during a visit “
to the area of the special military operation
”, without specifying the exact place, nor the proximity to the front line, nor the date of this visit.
The ministry released a video showing Sergei Shoigu traveling in a helicopter, then talking - without a helmet or combat gear - with a soldier in the same uniform, in front of damaged buildings, under the guard of a soldier.
The day before, the paramilitary group Wagner, which regularly accuses the Russian army command of not providing enough support, claimed to have "virtually surrounded" Bakhmout, in the Donetsk region, and called on President Volodymyr Zelensky to sound the withdrawal of his troops.
Prigozhin wants Ukrainian troops to withdraw from Bakhmut
“
The situation in Bakhmout is difficult, but under control
,” a spokesman for the Ukrainian army, Serguiï Tcherevaty, told the My-Ukraina television channel on Saturday.
According to him, the city, now largely destroyed and largely emptied of its inhabitants, is currently
the "epicenter
" of the conflict.
In recent weeks, Russian forces have advanced, cutting off three of four Ukrainian supply routes and making the position of the defenders increasingly precarious.
"
Wagner's units have practically surrounded Bakhmout, there is only one road left
" to get out, Wagner's boss, Evguéni Prigojine, said on Friday in a video published by his press service.
Read alsoOn the front near Bakhmout, with a former international tennis star: the story of the special envoy of Figaro
In military uniform and helmet, Yevgeny Prigojine called on Volodymyr Zelensky - who had sworn to defend Bakhmout "
as long as possible
" - to order the Ukrainian troops to withdraw from the city.
kyiv said on Saturday that the head of Ukraine's special forces, General Viktor Khorenko, had inspected units defending Bakhmout.
New US aid of $400 million
As this fierce fighting continues, President Joe Biden announced $400 million in new military aid to Ukraine on Friday.
Western military aid to Ukraine has been crucial in enabling Kiev to resist Russian troops and even regain ground, but the Kremlin has said such aid would only "
prolong the conflict
".
Washington nevertheless included in this military support ammunition, notably for the Himars rocket system, which Ukrainian forces used with devastating effect on Russian troops and logistics lines.
Read alsoMoscow targets Ukrainian “saboteurs”
Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov hailed a new "
solid investment for the future successes of the Ukrainian army on the battlefield
".
The future of Ukraine is in the European Union
Roberta Metsola, President of the European Parliament
For his part, Volodymyr Zelensky received on Saturday in Lviv, in western Ukraine, the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola.
"
Ukraine aims (...) to start negotiations to join the EU this year
," he said on Telegram.
Roberta Metsola said she shares this goal.
“
The future of Ukraine is in the European Union
,” she said.
New Russian guns against civilian infrastructure
Meanwhile, several officials from Ukrainian regions in the south and east of the country have reported new Russian fire against civilian infrastructure in the past 24 hours.
According to a new report from the Ukrainian emergency services, the strike against a residential building in Zaporizhia, on the night of Wednesday to Thursday, left 11 dead, including a child.
The authorities also announced the death of two civilians during a "
Russian artillery
" strike on Saturday morning on the town of Goulyai Pole, and two other deaths during shootings at the town of Chervonohryhorivka in the Dnipro region.
On
Telegram
, the mayor of the town of Horlivka, under the control of pro-Russian separatists from Donetsk, told him that two civilians had been killed during a bombardment coming from “
Ukrainian forces
”.