NU.nl regularly gives you an overview of the situation in Ukraine. With this time: it doesn’t look like the battle for Bakhmut will be over anytime soon. President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday that the Ukrainian army will continue to fight for the city in the east of the country. According to him, the future of Ukraine is determined in Bakhmut.
Ukrainian commanders think the decision to continue fighting in Bakhmut is justified, because the Ukrainians are still killing many Russian soldiers there. Bakhmut has been surrounded by Russian troops for weeks and the city is now almost completely in ruins. According to a Ukrainian adviser, literally every meter is being fought for.
Critics believe that Kyiv should give up the battle for Bakhmut, because the Ukrainians are also suffering heavy losses. The Ukrainian army could soon be so thinned out that a counteroffensive would be difficult. But Zelensky doesn’t want to hear it. “We must destroy the enemy. And we will destroy them,” he said on Tuesday.
Ontvang meldingen bij nieuws over de oorlog in Oekraïne
Russia extends grain deal for 60 days
There was also a diplomatic success on Tuesday: Russia will extend the grain deal with Ukraine by sixty days. Moscow made this known after consultations with the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland.
The existing agreement, which was concluded in July 2022, allows the export of Ukrainian grain and other agricultural products. The deal was a breakthrough in combating global food shortages that erupted as a result of the war. In November, after difficult negotiations, the agreements were extended until March 18. So now another sixty days are added.
Whether the deal is renewed again within 60 days will depend on the relaxation of sanctions against Russian exports of food and fertilizer. That says the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister, Sergey Vershinin.
Russia suffers heavy losses
The Russians, meanwhile, are suffering heavy losses. US intelligence reported Monday that the number of Russian wounded and killed has now passed 200,000. According to American sources, that number symbolizes how far Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has gone.
In addition, both the Russians and the Ukrainians are facing a shortage of ammunition. According to British intelligence, this is also the reason why the Russian winter offensive is not getting along.
On Tuesday, Russian attacks in eastern Ukraine claimed three lives. The attacks took place in Kramatorsk and villages in the Kharkiv region.
Russian parliament bans criticism of mercenary army
The Russian parliament took a new step in censoring its own people on Tuesday. Lawmakers approved a proposal to criminalize discrediting “groups of volunteers” fighting in the war. These are mercenaries from the Wagner Group who are currently fighting in Bakhmut.
Discrediting the regular forces was already forbidden. Now people who speak ill of volunteers in the war can also be sentenced to five years in prison. Those who deliberately do so with “false information” risk fifteen years in prison.
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