25/2/2023–|Last updated: 2/25/202311:24 PM (Makkah Al-Mukarramah)
The head of the Russian military “Wagner” company, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said that his fighters had taken control of a village located directly north of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, which was denied by the Ukrainian military leadership, while a demonstration took place in the German capital on Saturday, in which thousands of people participated, refusing to supply Ukraine with weapons.
The head of the Wagner Company stated that the company’s elements took control of the village of Yagedny, which is located less than two kilometers from the city center of Bakhmut, located in Donetsk Province.
And if Wagner’s control over the village is confirmed, this means that the Russian forces will tighten the screws on Bakhmut, which is of little strategic importance, but it has become a symbol of control over the Donbass region in eastern Ukraine.
And the Russian news agency “Tass” quoted Wagner’s media agency as saying that the Ukrainian forces blew up a dam located near Bakhmut in order to slow down the advance of the Russian forces.
On the other hand, Ukraine denied that the Russian forces controlled the village of Yagedny, and a Ukrainian military report published a day after the first anniversary of the start of the Russian war on Ukraine said that the villages near Bakhmut are still under the control of Kiev.
And the Al-Jazeera correspondent quoted Ukrainian military sources as saying that intense fighting is taking place in the northern axis of the city of Bakhmut, without the attacking forces being able to make any new progress.
Russian forces and pro-Moscow separatist forces have been trying to control the strategic Bakhmut in Donetsk Province for months, in light of continuous Ukrainian resistance.
Black Sea
The Ukrainian Southern Operations Command said that Russian forces are preparing to launch a missile attack on Ukraine from the Black Sea.
It added that the frigate “Admiral Makarov” headed to the Black Sea with 8 missiles on board, noting that Russia has doubled the number of its ships operating in the Black Sea, in a move perhaps to prepare for other missile attacks.
Also on the southern front, the Al-Jazeera correspondent reported an escalation in the intensity of the mutual shelling between Russia and Ukraine between the two banks of the Dnieper River, and the Russian Ministry of Defense said today, Friday, that it had shot down three Ukrainian fighters in Kherson (south) and Donetsk (east), and Russian forces also bombed positions of the marines and special forces. Ukrainian in the center of the country Dnipro.
Berlin protest
10,000 people took to the streets in Berlin today to protest the supply of weapons to Ukraine, while the police deployed heavily to maintain order.
She co-organized the prominent left-wing German political demonstration Zar Wagenknecht (a member of the Left Party) the day after the first anniversary of the Russian war in Ukraine.
“We call on the German chancellor to de-escalate arms shipments. Now! Because every day that passes costs us up to 1,000 lives and brings us closer to a third world war,” protest organizers said on their website.
A banner carried by one of the demonstrators read, “Negotiate and do not escalate,” while another banner read, “It is not our war.”
A Berlin police spokesman said 10,000 people had gathered to demonstrate at the famous Brandenburg Gate in the city centre.
The police mobilized 1,400 personnel to maintain the peace, banning military uniforms, Russian and Soviet flags, Russian military anthems, and right-wing symbols.
G20
India, the current chair of the G20, said today, Saturday, that most members of the group “strongly condemn” the war in Ukraine, which entered its second year yesterday, and affirmed their positions demanding Russia’s withdrawal from Ukrainian territory.
In a statement issued at the end of the meeting of finance ministers and heads of central banks of the countries of the group near the Indian city of Bengaluru, New Delhi stated that all countries of the group had ratified the statement condemning the Russian war on Ukraine, with the exception of Russia and China.
German Finance Minister Christian Lindner said at the G20 meeting that his country regrets China’s position not to condemn the war on Ukraine.
On the other hand, the Russian Foreign Ministry accused Western countries in a statement of having “destabilized” the G20 summit in India, by trying to adopt a joint statement on Ukraine through “blackmail”.
The American Associated Press reported that the meeting of the G20 finance ministers concluded today, Saturday, without a consensus on the position on Russia’s war on Ukraine.
